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

Link: Banff: Netflix launches Canadian charm offensive amid bid to regulate U.S. digital players

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From Etan Vlessing of The Hollywood Reporter:

Link: Banff: Netflix launches Canadian charm offensive amid bid to regulate U.S. digital players
Behind the scenes, Tanz and fellow Netflix execs heard a familiar chorus from local critics about the U.S. streamer’s evil algorithms, its unfair Canadian market advantage and how it doesn’t play by the same rules as domestic broadcasters. And on the eve of Banff, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government in Ottawa unveiled an expert panel to investigate ways to regulate online video and music streaming services and tax their growing business presence north of the border. Continue reading.

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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Wild Bear Rescue returns for Season 2, premiering June 22 on Animal Planet

From a media release:

Northern Lights Wildlife Society in Smithers, B.C. is bursting with rambunctious cubs for Season 2 of Animal Planet’s original Canadian series WILD BEAR RESCUE. Featuring 44 black bear cubs and a strong-willed grizzly prowling inside the rehab pens, Season 2 of the series premieres June 22, and airs Fridays at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT on Animal Planet. Bristling with drama, humour, and irresistible cuteness, the 12-part series follows Angelika and Peter Langen and their family-run operation that rescues, raises, and rehabilitates the cubs for their safe return back into the wild.

In Season 2, Angelika and Peter Langen return with their daughter Tanja, son Michael, son-in-law Shawn, and an array of dedicated volunteers who work to provide medical care, housing, and food for wounded and orphaned animals across the region. Throughout the season, the Langen team offers essential treatment to bear cubs, as well as lynx, fawns, birds, moose, cougars, and other wildlife. With a record number of animals in need, and faced with an unforeseen housing crisis, the Langen family must pull together and work harder than ever to provide these animals with the rehabilitation and care they need in order to survive.

WILD BEAR RESCUE is produced by Omnifilm Entertainment in association with Animal Planet. Executive Producers are Gabriela Schonbach and Michael Chechik. Series producers are David Gullason and Brad Quenville.

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Anne with an E, Awards, Featured, Letterkenny

Banff 2018: Anne with an E’s Moira Walley-Beckett and New Metric Media among Rockie Gala Award winners

Anne with an E showrunner Moira Walley-Beckett, Letterkenny and Bad Blood production company New Metric Media, and veteran producer Sheila Hockin were among the Canadians feted during the Rockie Awards gala on Tuesday night at the Banff World Media Festival.

Hosted by Tony Award-winning actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth—who began the show by munching ketchup potato chips and Timbits and closed with a stirring rendition of “The Prayer”—the evening also saluted Canadians who’ve made good in Hollywood. Jeremy Podeswa captured the Award of Excellence for his body of work as a director of such programs as Game of Thrones, Queer as Folk, The Tudors and The Pacific. David Shore was on hand to accept The Hollywood Reporter Impact Award for his hit medical drama The Good Doctor.

“Support is at the heart of innovation,” Mark Montefiore, New Metric Media’s president and executive producer of Letterkenny, Bad Blood and What Would Sal Do?, said upon receiving the Innovative Producer Award. “One can dream big all day long, but without the support of countless people, those ideas would simply remain as big dreams and not realities.”

Hockin was given the Canadian Award of Distinction for producing such shows as Vikings, The Handmaid’s Tale, Penny Dreadful, The Borgias, The Tudors, Canada’s Next Top Model and Queer as Folk.

Walley-Beckett accepted the Showrunner of the Year Award for her work on Anne with an E, set to return for Season 2 on Netflix next month and CBC in September.

“[Showrunning] is like conducting a full orchestra to play a symphony that you composed,” she said on-stage. “At the end of every season, I celebrate that I’ve lived to tell the tale. I love my work. Sleep is overrated. So is sanity.”

Here is the complete list of winners:

AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
Jeremy Podeswa

INNOVATIVE PRODUCER AWARD
New Metric Media

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER IMPACT AWARD
The Good Doctor

A&E INCLUSION AWARD
Elizabeth Vargas

CANADIAN AWARD OF DISTINCTION
Sheila Hockin

SHOWRUNNER OF THE YEAR
Moira Walley-Beckett

PROGRAM OF THE YEAR
This Is Us

SIR PETER USTINOV COMEDY AWARD
Sean Hayes

COMPANY OF DISTINCTION
NBCUniversal

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Featured, Masterchef Canada

Masterchef Canada: And the final two competitors are…

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Tonight, it was a battle for the place in the MasterChef Canada season finale and making dreams come true for the home cooks. Only one step is left for the Top 2. Who was going to be the lucky duo?

The MasterChef Canada kitchen surprised Andy, Beccy and Michael G. as they entered the room. Three different restaurants with three different cuisines were set up for three contestants to create a pop-up menu. Andy’s Halifax Hawker House served Asian street food with an East Coast flair. Beccy’s UK Gastro Pub gave an old classic a new modern twist. Michael’s Canadian Comfort Lodge was all about Canada. With 90 minutes to go and 30 food bloggers ready to eat, there was no pressure on the kitchen. Beccy and Michael G. were more traditional in their ideas, while Andy went in the absolutely different direction. He knew that Beccy and Michael G. were way more technical, so he went with some interesting flavour choices.

The bloggers came in and the show began. Andy served Korean halibut tartare with caramelized kimchi and yuzu curd. The dish looked stunning with bright, fresh and beautiful plating. But Chefs Claudio, Alvin and Michael were a bit disappointed with the lack of balance in the dish. Beccy made squab two ways with shredded Brussels sprouts and Yorkshire pudding to praise her heritage. The plating left the judges speechless. The cook on the meat was perfect, but the dish was not seasoned enough. The last dish of the night was a crusted rack of lamb with butternut squash confit, polenta and pea purée by Michael G. He surprised the judges with his plating, but some missed a few components and the cook on the meat was not even. Each home cook’s dish had their pros and cons. Chefs Claudio, Alvin and Michael made their decision. The winner of this challenge was … BECCY! She had made it to the FINALE!

Michael G. and Andy were left to battle in the Pressure Test. And the test didn’t disappoint. The challenge was to create three different classic Canadian desserts. The Nanaimo bar, butter tart and blueberry grunt were perfect on the judges’ table. Michael G. and Andy had 75 minutes to replicate the desserts and make them as perfect as the judges’ were. The final Pressure Test of the season was hard, fast and extremely emotional. Andy rushed to do the desserts, as he was redoing his missteps. Michael G. was pushing hard and was ahead of Andy.

Chefs Claudio, Alvin and Michael tried all of the plates. The look was important, but the taste was the main element. The home cook who would compete with Beccy in the finale was chosen. ANDY was the winner of the Pressure Test and Michael G.  went home. Who do you think will win MasterChef Canada this season? Let me know in the comments below!

MasterChef Canada airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on CTV.

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Northern Rescue

CBC and Netflix family drama Northern Rescue confirms additional casting as production begins

From a media release:

With production now underway in and around Parry Sound, Ontario, Don Carmody Television (DCTV) today revealed additional casting for new CBC and Netflix family adventure series NORTHERN RESCUE (10×60).

The series follows John West (William Baldwin), who uproots his three children from the big city to return to his hometown to take command of the local Search & Rescue service after the death of his wife. As the family comes to terms with their loss, the series explores the effects on their individual lives. The children’s Aunt Charlotte (Kathleen Robertson), struggles to help John and his children heal as she copes with the loss of her sister and her desire to have a family of her own. Along the way, John faces many situations that challenge him professionally and personally. As the family members work on rebuilding their lives, they will come to meet many colourful characters living in their northern community.

Joining the series are Amalia Williamson (Level 16) as Maddie West, John’s 16-year-old daughter;  Spencer MacPherson (DeGrassi: Next Class) as Scout West, John’s 14-year-old son;, and Taylor Thorne (Odd Squad) as Taylor West, John’s 10-year-old daughter. Also joining the cast are Michelle Nolden (Saving Hope) as Sarah West, John’s wife, Michael Xavier (Bitten) as Paul Simmons, a volunteer member of the SAR team; and Peter MacNeill (Call Me Fitz) as Harry, John’s retired SAR commander.

Created by Mark Bacci (Between, Real Detectives), David Cormican (Tokyo Trial, Between) and Dwayne Hill (Peg + Cat, Billable Hours), NORTHERN RESCUE is produced by Don Carmody Television (DCTV) for CBC and Netflix with the financial participation of the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation and the Independent Production Fund. Executive Producers are Carmody (Goon, Polytechnique, Chicago), Cormican, Bradley Walsh (Flower Shop Mystery, Kaya), Bacci, Hill and Baldwin. Producers are Carmody and Cormican. Walsh will also direct four episodes. Gail Harvey (Lost Girl, Heartland), Eleanore Lindo (Ransom, Murdoch Mysteries) and Michael McGowan (Between, Reign), each direct two episodes. Cinematography is by Brett Van Dyke (Bitten, Dark Matter) and Production Design is by Tony Cowley (Dexter, Jigsaw). Casting is John Buchan and Jason Knight (Titans, American Gods). For CBC, Sally Catto is General Manager, Programming; Helen Asimakis is Senior Director, Scripted Content; and Deborah Nathan is Executive in Charge of Production.

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