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TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television
Industry News

AMI-tv announces its fall 2019 programming schedule

From a media release:

Today, Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) unveiled its AMI-tv schedule for the 2019 fall broadcast season, with a lineup of compelling new and returning AMI originals, exciting programs available in described video and perennial favourites.

For the first time in AMI-tv history, all original programming will air in the coveted 8 p.m. timeslot from Monday to Friday.

AMI This Week kicks it all off on September 9 at 8 p.m. ET. Season eight of the weekly magazine show—featuring host Victoria Nolan and Bureau Reporters Grant Hardy (Vancouver), Beth Deer (Edmonton), Alex Smyth (Toronto) and Laura Bain (Halifax)—continues its distinct community focus, sharing events and interesting stories from coast to coast.

AMI original productions are the centrepiece of the schedule. Season three of the award-winning series Employable Me returns, following a new group of Canadian job seekers. In Season one of Double Tap TV, Steven Scott and Marc Aflalo lead cutting-edge discussions on everything tech with news, reviews and interviews, all with an eye on accessibility. Season three of Eyes for the Job follows handyman Chris Judge, who is blind, and Alex Haider as they take on their biggest do-it-yourself projects yet.

New local original documentaries in the Our Community series include the journey of two communities building barrier-free baseball diamonds, and a pilot who flies children of all abilities in his four-seater airplane.

AMI-tv’s newest acquired series in described video is Frankie Drake Mysteries. Lauren Lee Smith stars as Frankie Drake, who—along with the female-only members of Drake Private Detectives—solves crimes in 1920s Toronto. Returning favourites include Murdoch Mysteries, Elementary, Monk, Blue Bloods, Rescue Me, Suits, The Shield, Breaking Bad, Drug Wars, Schitt’s Creek and Kim’s Convenience.

In keeping with AMI’s mandate of making accessible media for all Canadians, AMI’s original series and documentaries utilize Integrated Described Video (IDV) so they are accessible to individuals who are blind or partially sighted.

All dates subject to change. Additional fall programming will be announced in the coming weeks. Stream past episodes of AMI original programming on demand post-broadcast at AMI.ca or via the AMI-tv App on iOS and tvOS.

AMI-tv’s fall premieres (all times Eastern)

Monday, Sept. 9
8 p.m. – AMI This Week
8:30 p.m. – AMI originals repeats
9 p.m. – Murdoch Mysteries (Mon.-Thur.)
10 p.m. – Elementary

Tuesday, Sept. 10
8 p.m. – Eyes for the Job
8:30 p.m. – Double Tap TV
10 p.m. – Blue Bloods

Wednesday, Sept. 11
8 p.m. – Employable Me
8:30 p.m. – Employable Me
10 p.m. – Rescue Me

Thursday, Sept. 12
8 p.m. – Our Community
8:30 p.m. – AMI This Week repeats
10 p.m. – Frankie Drake Mysteries

Friday, Sept. 13
8 p.m. – AMI originals repeats
9 p.m. – The Shield
10 p.m. – Breaking Bad
11 p.m. – Drug Wars

Saturday, Sept. 14
7 p.m. – AMI originals repeats
8 p.m. – Kim’s Convenience
8:30 p.m. – Schitt’s Creek
9 p.m. – Saturday Night Movie

Sunday, Sept. 15
7 p.m. – Frankie Drake Mysteries
8 p.m. – Murdoch Mysteries
9 p.m. – Monk
10 p.m. – Suits

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Preview: CBC Docs POV’s Humboldt: The New Season should not be missed

How can you possibly return to the ice after fellow teammates, coaches and others close to you die? That path is explored through the eyes of Humboldt Broncos players and their families in the heartbreaking and touching “Humboldt: The New Season.”

Debuting as part of CBC Docs POV on Thursday at 9 p.m. on CBC, “Humboldt: The New Season” follows five survivors—Brayden Camrud and Derek Patter as they return to play for the 2018-2019 Humboldt hockey season with a different coaching staff and new teammates and Tyler Smith, Kaleb Dahlgren and Layne Matechuk—as they continue their recovery while pursuing their love of hockey in new ways.

Produced by Chris McIvor and Libby Lea of Frank Digital and Lucas Frison and Elise Beaudry-Ferland of Prairie Cat Productions, “Humboldt: The New Season” recalls the horrific crash between the Broncos bus and a tractor-trailer on that lonely road on April 6, 2018. Sixteen perished and those left behind have been affected physically and mentally for the rest of their lives. Set against a haunting rendition of Tom Cochrane’s “Big League,” while a drone hovers over kids playing hockey on a frozen pond, “Humboldt: The New Season” is a gut-punch from Minute 1.

Banners sit on the ice in a hockey rink.

“I didn’t know if I was going to be able to return after my injuries,” Brayden Camrud says in the opening minutes. “It’s been tough. You have a lot to think about. You think about all those other guys every day. I think about the boys who aren’t here.” Much of the documentary is spent telling the stories of those who were lost, including coach Darcy Haugan, assistant coach Mark Cross and athletic therapist Dayna Brons.

It’s also about healing, whether it’s the players themselves or the small town of Humboldt, whose citizens were thrust onto the world stage because of the accident and who rallied around each other.

The danger of making a project like this is that it can feel invasive, an excuse to get into the faces of those affected and exploit them. But the producers don’t ever do that. The result is a tear-filled story of remembrance and respect that everyone should watch.

“Humboldt: The New Season” airs as part of CBC Docs POV on Thursday at 9 p.m. on CBC.

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Industry News

Super Channel Heart & Home gives Hearties new hope this summer with the debut of When Hope Calls

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From a media release:

Super Channel is pleased to announce that When Hope Calls, a spin-off of Hallmark Channel’s beloved series When Calls the Heart, will premiere on Super Channel Heart & Home with a special two-episode debut on Friday, Aug 30 at 8 p.m. & 9 p.m. ET. Each episode of the ten-episode season will also be available on Super Channel On Demand, the day following its weekly linear broadcast.

To view the trailer for When Hope Calls, click here.

When Hope Calls stars Canadians Morgan Kohan and Jocelyn Hudon, whom Hearties will remember were introduced as Lillian and Grace, in 2018’s When Calls the Heart holiday movie, The Greatest Christmas Blessing. The series follows Lillian (Morgan Kohan) and Grace (Jocelyn Hudon), sisters who were orphaned and raised very differently, as they reunite as adults and open an orphanage in a small Northwest town in the early 1900s. The town and its people are on the cusp of change, transitioning from the simple times of the horse and buggy to the more modern times of cars and technology.

The series is currently in production 20 kilometres outside of North Bay Ontario and features a predominantly Canadian cast which also includes Wendy Crewson (Saving Hope) as Tess Stewart, Ryan-James Hatanaka (Nurses) as Gabriel Clark, Greg Hovanessian (Another Life) as Chuck Stewart, Hanneke Talbot (Star Trek: Discovery) as Maggie Pearson and Jefferson Brown (Good Witch) as Joe Moody.

When Hope Calls is produced by WHC Season 1 Productions Inc. and distributed by All Canadian Entertainment Inc.

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Another Life

Link: Showrunner Aaron Martin talks Netflix’s Another Life

From Heather M. of TV Goodness:

Link: Showrunner Aaron Martin talks Netflix’s Another Life
“Even though [her decisions on the earlier mission] had haunted her forever, she knew she could do that. She’s caught between guilt over the earlier tragedy and guilt over leaving her daughter, but also having a mission to save everybody she loves.” Continue reading.

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Killjoys

Links: Julie Puckrin talks Killjoys “Ship Outta Luck”

From Heather M. of TV Goodness:

Link: Julie Puckrin talks Killjoys “Ship Outta Luck”
“We knew we were going to a space prison this season, and I got lucky enough to write the episode introducing that world. Coming off the emotion and intensity of episode 503, it felt like time to have some fun and adventure. It was a blast to explore all the familiar prison story tropes and turn them on their head, Killjoys-style.” Continue reading.

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Link: Killjoys: Julie Puckrin talks Killjoys “Ship Outta Luck”
“It was so much fun! Obviously, the writing room had big discussions about what the prison was, and what it needed to be to tell the stories we wanted to tell, but as the first episode in, it was cool to run a little wild, and start to establish some of the characters and environments that other writers will build on.” Continue reading.

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