TV, eh? | What's up in Canadian television | Page 357
TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television
Children's Programming, Industry News

Teletoon bolsters its position as Canada’s animation station with four new original series

From a media release:

TELETOON continues to deliver the best in animated programming with a stacked fall schedule featuring four brand new Canadian original series: Bravest Warriors, Cupcake & Dino: General Services, Chop Chop Ninja, and Total Dramarama, as well as the debuts of Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS, Super Dinosaur, and Transformers: Cyberverse. Additionally, new episodes of The Amazing World of Gumball, We Bare Bears, Wishfart, Teen Titans Go! and many more, round out the fall slate. Plus, fans can catch full seasons of the animation station’s favourites and new episodes of hit series the day after the broadcast on TELETOON On Demand.

New Canadian Original Series

Starting off the fall season, follow the larger-than-life antics of Cupcake, a pastry with a Napoleon complex, and his fun-loving brother, Dino as they try to make a name for themselves in the super competitive general services business in Cupcake & Dino: General Services debuting Monday, September 3 with back-to-back episodes at 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. ET. Following the premiere, the series will air Saturdays at 10 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. ET.

Then, the incredibly successful and popular digital-first series Bravest Warriors blasts onto TELETOON on Monday, September 3, launching with back-to-back episodes at 8 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. ET. Produced by Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana and created by Pendleton Ward ofAdventure Time, the animated comedy set in the far future follows the adventures of teenaged heroes-for-hire as they warp through the universe to save adorable aliens using the power of their emotions. After the premiere, the series will air Monday to Friday at 8 p.m. ET starting on Tuesday, September 4.

Plus, straight from the dojo, the sensei approved action-packed series Chop Chop Ninja kicks off on Saturday, October 6 at 11:30 a.m. ET. The new show packs some serious punch as Iro, an exuberant young ninja, along with his three friends – fellow classmates at the Ninja Academy – protect his island home from a steady onslaught of treacherous and not so treacherous villains, in hopes of proving that he deserves the legendary title of Chop Chop Ninja.

Also, this fall beginning, Sunday, October 7 at 6:30 p.m. ET, Total Dramarama is the outrageous, unexpected and totally random prequel to Total Drama Island. The series re-introduces Total Drama Island cast members as four-year-olds in a daycare centre. While they might be small, their personalities aren’t. Inside these pint-sized bodies are hilariously familiar characters Duncan, Harold, Leshawna, Owen, Beth, Noah, Izzy, Jude, Cody, Bridgette, and Courtney, and they are not going down for their naps without a fight. Left in charge of this feisty bunch of four-year-olds is Total Drama Island’s scary but loveable Chef.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Preview: Highway Thru Hell returns bigger than ever

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Highway Thru Hell boasts big weather, big rigs, big egos and big crashes. And, for the first time ever, the series has gotten bigger too.

Season 7, returning Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on Discovery, has grown in episode size; 17 instalments jam-packed with drama, thrills and heroism. Discovery’s highest-rated TV show—which has spawned its own successful spinoff, Heavy Rescue: 401—jumps into the latest season with a preview episode as several of the show’s cast sit down to reflect and look forward to the coming adventures. It’s something the Deadliest Catch folks have done in the past and it’s very effective. I like the natural interaction that comes from these sit-downs; there is no dramatic music playing and those chats aren’t edited for drama like a regular episode.

In particular, it’s great fun to have longtime competitors Jamie Davis and Al Quiring next to each other, poking fun and recalling some of the biggest wrecks and successes of their careers. Al warning of the dangers of the Spuzzum Creek bridge—showcased in Season 5—with its confines and height is a cool little nugget. These may be veterans of clearing up crashes but they have fears too. Also, we get some backstory into Al and Jamie’s relationship that I’ve never known before.

Jamie serves as a bit of a master of ceremonies, welcoming other Highway Thru Hell drivers, like Ken Duperon and Jason Davis, over to the spotlight to talk about white knuckle experiences of their own.

But Tuesday’s return isn’t all about waxing poetic on past jobs. Viewers get a peek at what’s to come, from a truck caught in a record-breaking mudslide, a loaded lumber rig in a precarious position and all manner of snapped cables, torn steel and tow trucks pulled into odd angles.

It’s going to be a heck of a ride.

Highway Thru Hell airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on Discovery.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

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Kim's Convenience

Link: ‘Kim’s Convenience’ actor Simu Liu on being an accountant, his big break, and ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ momentum

From Traci G. Lee of NBC News:

Link: ‘Kim’s Convenience’ actor Simu Liu on being an accountant, his big break, and ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ momentum
“I can say that it’s probably funnier than it’s ever been. I remember being on set for the first season and every day being scared we were going to get fired. And I feel like we all, to some degree, felt that anxiety because we knew how important the show was and none of us wanted to let it down or let each other down.” Continue reading.

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Killjoys

Link: Killjoys: Andrew De Angelis talks “O Mother, Where Art Thou”

From Kelly Townsend of The TV Junkies:

Link: Killjoys: Andrew De Angelis talks “O Mother, Where Art Thou”
“I think Dutch has always tried to find the path less complicated, which is one of the reasons she became a Killjoy: take no bribes, take no sides. Simple. But family, as we all know, is complicated. Dutch’s family, in particular, is a real mind-bender–Khlyen only speaks in stories, for crying out loud!” Continue reading.

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Killjoys

Link: Hannah John-Kamen talks dual roles and love stories in Killjoys

From Heather M. of TV Goodness:

Link: Hannah John-Kamen talks dual roles and love stories in Killjoys
“When I started creating Dutch, I was figuring who she was. When you play villainous roles, you have to play them as if they’re good, that what they’re doing is right and they have to do it. There’s an obligation to what they’re doing. Michelle [Lovretta] has this incredible ability to write complex characters There’s no such thing as good or evil. There are a gray areas.” Continue reading.

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