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TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television
Featured, Private Eyes

Preview: Private Eyes goes on a “Getaway with Murder”

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I’ve been excited about Sunday’s episode of Private Eyes since May of 2017 when Cindy Sampson teased that Matt, Angie, Dr. Ken and Melanie were spending a weekend together.

Now that weekend is here and there’s, of course, murder afoot. And laughs. Here’s what Global has revealed regarding “Getaway with Murder.”

Shade and Angie are hired by the owner of a luxurious rustic lodge to investigate an infidelity case. Thinking it’ll be a breeze and a good opportunity for a mini-vacation, they invite Ken and Mel along to join them. But when their client ends up dead and the local sheriff proves to be out of his depth, they ditch their dates to solve the case – ultimately leaving them out in the cold.

And here is more info I can divulge of the instalment, written by Marcus Robinson and directed by James Genn, after watching a screener.

Ken has big plans for the weekend
It may be work for Angie, but Ken (Mark Ghanimé) has plotted some fun stuff for the couple, as well as a surprise for his lady love.

Kris Lemche guests
The veteran Canadian actor from such series as Emily of New Moon, Joan of Arcadia and a standout performance on Haven as Seth Byrne is unforgettable on Sunday as Deputy Conroy, who proves to be a tad inept when it comes to solving a grisly crime. Luckily, Angie, Shade, Mel and Ken are there to help in the investigation.

The Dream Team indeed
I’m not-so-secretly hoping there is a reason for Ken and Mel to join Shade and Angie on more cases. The quartet works really well together on this case and has a great chemistry. Fingers crossed the producers noticed this too.

Maz and Zoe together again
An escape room scenario allows the pair some quality time, leading to hilarity.

Private Eyes airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Global.

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Featured, Wynonna Earp

Photo gallery: Season 3 of Wynonna Earp

Yes, I know that Entertainment Weekly already posted these exclusive Wynonna Earp Season 3 gallery images the other day. But honestly, I can’t get enough of them. So when Space dropped these puppies—sans the EW watermark and therefore PERFECT for downloading as using as my new wallpaper—well, I just had to post them myself.

As Wynonna Earp fans already know, Season 3 returns to Space on Friday, July 20, at 9 p.m. ET. We already aware Megan Follows will portray Mama Earp, Jann Arden drops by for a recurring role, Zoie Palmer will play Jolene and Frankie Drake Mysteries‘ Chantel Riley checks in as Kate.

Like I said, this was just an excuse to post these gorgeous images again. Enjoy, and update your wallpaper while you’re at it.

[slideshow_deploy id=’48791′]

 

Wynonna Earp returns Friday, July 20, at 9 p.m.  ET on Space.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

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Industry News

Bell Media announces first wave of 2018/19 original Canadian entertainment productions with 42 new and returning series and specials

From a media release:

− New original comedy JANN and Season 3 of THE BEAVERTONjoin CTV’s winning schedule, as acclaimed event series CARDINAL is renewed for Season 4 in advance of Season 3 premiere −
− CANADA’S WALK OF FAME AWARDS returns to CTV –
− Bell Media Studios renewals include ETALK, THE MARILYN DENIS SHOW, THE SOCIAL, and YOUR MORNING –
− Three new titles join Discovery’s 10 returning original series for 2018/19 −
− New six-pack of LETTERKENNY slated for Crave TV –
− The Comedy Network renews CORNER GAS ANIMATED for Season 2 and returns to Montréal for new Just For Laughs projects –
−MASTERCHEF CANADA winner and celebrity chef Mary Berg stars in new lifestyle series MARY MAKES IT EASY for Gusto –
− Animated shorts series LITTLEKENNY joins interactive stand-up series JOKEOFF on Snackable TV −

In advance of today’s #CTVUpfront, Bell Media confirmed today its first wave of new and returning, English-language, original entertainment programming for 2018/19. A total of 13 new and 29 returning original series and specials are confirmed to- date, produced in partnership with independent producers and international content companies, as well as Bell Media Studios, the company’s in-house production arm.

Bell Media once again plans to spend nearly $900 million overall on French and English programming in 2018/19, all promoted by the Bell Media megaphone, including Canada’s most-watched television network, CTV.

More Canadians make Bell Media’s original programs their choice for homegrown viewing than any other media company. As Canada’s most-watched network in primetime for 17 years in a row, CTV is home to:

  • THE AMAZING RACE CANADA, the most-watched Canadian series for the 5th year in a row
  • CARDINAL, the #1 Canadian drama for A18-49 and A25-54 on broadcast television Bell Media Studio’s THE SOCIAL and THE MARILYN DENIS SHOW, the most-watched Canadian daytime programs in daytime
  • ETALK, the top-rated Canadian entertainment news program
    Further, Bell Media has three of the Top 5 Canadian series on entertainment specialty television among viewers A25-54 with Discovery’s HIGHWAY THRU HELL, CANADA’S WORST DRIVER, and HEAVY RESCUE: 401. Through the last broadcast year, 12 of Bell Media’s specialty channels increased their rank among all Canadian specialty channels.

NEW Bell Media Original Series and Specials for 2018/19 (by channel):

CTV

JANN
JANN is an original comedy series starring Jann Arden. Arden plays a fictionalized version of herself: a singer-songwriter of a “certain age”; dealing with the harsh reality that her former music career is now on a slow, relentless slide into obscurity. But it’s not just Jann’s career that’s on life support – she’s newly single, her sister may disown her, and her mother is clearly suffering from the early stages of dementia. Although Jann’s personal life is in shambles, she’s convinced that the cure-all is to rebrand her image in order to reclaim her celebrity status, so she embarks on a quest to return to greatness but gets tangled in the pressures of her ‘real’ life. Jann is at the crossroads between who she was, and who she wants to be, if she can just figure out what’s really important. (Project 10 Productions; 6 x :30)

CANADA’S WALK OF FAME AWARDS
CTV announced this morning a multi-year partnership with Canada’s Walk of Fame to become the official and exclusive broadcaster of the CANADA’S WALK OF FAME AWARDS in time for the awards’ 20th anniversary this December. CTV’s broadcast of THE 2018 CANADA’S WALK OF FAME AWARDS is a celebration of Canadians who have excelled on the national and international stage in their respective fields, including music, sports, film and television, literary, visual and performing arts, science, innovation, philanthropy, and social justice. The star-studded 2018 CANADA’S WALK OF FAME AWARDS broadcast will feature must-see performances and inspiring stories from previous and new inductees. (Insight Productions)

The Comedy Network

Just For Laughs
The Comedy Network returns to Montréal for the Just for Laughs Festival this summer, shooting a new stand-up series and specials for the 2018-19 broadcast year. (Just For Laughs Television)
CraveTV

NEW EDEN
CraveTV’s latest original production is NEW EDEN. Going into production this fall, the darkly funny mockumentary is a “true crime” anthology from two of Canada’s hottest comedic voices, Evany Rosen (PICNICFACE, BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW) and Kayla Lorette (THE BEAVERTON, SPACE RIDERS). (Peacock Alley Entertainment; 8 x :30)

Discovery

VINTAGE TECH HUNTERS
VINTAGE TECH HUNTERS follows a fascinating journey across North America in search of amazing pop culture and tech memorabilia. (Crooked Horse Productions/Boat Rocker Studios; 14 x :30)

DISASTERS AT SEA
New docudrama series DISASTERS AT SEA highlights the most mysterious and unexpected marine disasters in recent history. (Exploration Production Inc.)

ALBERTA FLOODS: ROGUE EARTH
Marking the fifth anniversary of the catastrophic “flood of floods,” ALBERTA FLOODS: ROGUE EARTH joins Discovery’s ROGUE EARTH documentary series. (Pixcom Productions; :60)

Gusto

MARY MAKES IT EASY
Mary Berg has a gift for making irresistibly delicious food. Her signature style is beautiful, but approachable; impressive, but never pretentious. For Mary, cooking is about fun and family and a strategic lack of fuss. When it comes to cooking science, Mary is an unapologetic food nerd who loves to demystify the process and break down techniques. Whether it’s an elegant party or an everyday dinner, Mary shows viewers how to dial down their stress with time-saving tips and easy-to-follow advice. (Proper Television; 30 x :30)

SnackableTV

LITTLEKENNY
There are 500 kids at Letterkenny Central School, and these are their problems. Based on CraveTV’s smash-hit LETTERKENNY, LITTLEKENNY is a series of animated, short-form extensions of the award-winning Canadian comedy program, and marks SnackableTV’s first foray into original content. Written and created by Jared Keeso, LITTLEKENNY includes the Hick’s origin story: how standing up for each other on the schoolyard resulted in their friendship. (New Metric Media/ DHX Media/ Playfun Games; Animation services provided by Little Blackstone Inc.; 6 episodes)

JOKEOFF
SnackableTV has commissioned its first interactive content. JOKEOFF is a new series that pits some of the world’s top comedians against each other in the ultimate stand-up competition. The short-form, bracket-style elimination series features a renowned mix of incredible comedic talent – from Kevin Hart, Joan Rivers, and Debra DiGiovanni, to Gilbert Gottfried, Jay Pharaoh, and Kevin James – as they go head-to-head in daily match-ups with some of their best material curated from the unparalleled Just For Laughs stand-up archives. The audience votes on the best jokes from each matchup and the winner from each round moves forward. The JokeOffs continue until there’s just on comedian standing! (Just For Laughs; 32 match-ups)

2018/19 Original Bell Media Studios Productions

Producing some of Canada’s most-watched daily programs, Bell Media Studios continues to offer a robust and unrivaled lineup of flagship series and national specials, along with factual and lifestyle series, including:

  • YOUR MORNING (CTV) kicking off CTV’s leading original daytime lineup
  • The country’s #1 and #2 Canadian daytime series, THE SOCIAL (CTV) and THE MARILYN DENIS SHOW (CTV)
  • Canada’s most-watched entertainment news program, ETALK (CTV)
    The 2018 IHEARTRADIO MMVAs (CTV/Much)
  • WE DAY 2018 (CTV/MTV)
  • THE SANTA CLAUS PARADE (CTV)
  • ETALK AT THE OSCARS (CTV)
  • Joining DISASTERS AT SEA for Discovery, the fan-favourite MIGHTY TRAINS (Discovery) hits the rails for a second season while MIGHTY CRUISE SHIPS (Discovery) sets sail for Season 3 (Exploration Production Inc.)
  • Half-hour docu-series WHERE TO I DO? (Gusto) – starring Canadian property and design expert Tommy Smythe and currently the most-watched new series on Gusto – is back for a second season of wedding venue hunts (Bell Media Studios/Motion Content Group)
  • Half-hour docu-series DOG TALES RESCUE (Gusto), following the day-to-day operation of a dog rescue and horse sanctuary, returns for a second season (Bell Media Studios/Motion Content Group)

Returning Bell Media Original Series Confirmed to Date for 2018/19 (by genre):

Drama

  • Ahead of its Season 3 premiere on CTV, internationally successful, critically acclaimed, and award-winning drama CARDINAL (CTV) has been renewed for Season 4 with stars Billy Campbell and Karine Vanasse. (eOne/Sienna Films)
  • Season 3 of international dramatic adventure series FRONTIER (Discovery), starring Jason Momoa, returns to the schedule this winter. (Take the Shot Productions/ASAP Entertainment)
    Comedy
  • New to CTV in midseason, the half-hour satirical news sensation THE BEAVERTON has been greenlit for Season 3. (Pier 21 Films)
  • The Comedy Network’s most-watched series debut of all-time CORNER GAS ANIMATED returns for Season 2. (Prairie Pantoons/335 Productions/Moving Mountoons/Vérité Films/Smiley Guy Studios)
  • Smash hit comedy LETTERKENNY (CraveTV) begins production on a new Season 4 six-pack in Sudbury this July. (New Metric Media/DHX Media/Playfun Games)

Sci-Fi

  • The most-watched original series in Space’s history, sci-fi adventure series KILLJOYS has been renewed for a fifth season ahead of its Season 4 premiere on July 20 at 10 p.m. ET. (Temple Street)

Reality

  • Original series and international format THE LAUNCH (CTV) returns for a second season, showcasing a new group of aspiring artists vying for a shot at stardom. Featuring world-renowned record executive Scott Borchetta, internationally acclaimed music industry legends will once again join the series as mentors. (Bell Media Studios/Big Machine Label Group/Eureka/ Insight Productions; 6 x :60)

Factual

  • Entertaining and educational hit series HIGHWAY THRU HELL (Discovery) returns for Season 7. (Great Pacific Media)
    Discovery’s most-watched original series of all time, CANADA’S WORST DRIVER (Discovery) enters its 14th (Proper Television)
    The road angels of hit series HEAVY RESCUE: 401 (Discovery) returns for Season 3. (Great Pacific Media)
  • 2018 Canadian Screen Award winner for Best Factual Series, MAYDAY (Discovery) returns for Season 19. (Cineflix Productions)
  • The Bunce family is back for more mining adventures for the Season 5 return of JADE FEVER (Discovery). (Omnifilm Entertainment)
  • Labrador’s rag-tag team of “MacGyver”-like mechanics returns for the second season of LAST STOP GARAGE (Discovery). (Proper Television)
  • The resilient crews of the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Ontario Northland Railway keep Canada’s critical freight and passenger trains rolling in Season 2 of ROCKY MOUNTAIN RAILROAD (Discovery). (Cineflix Productions)

Lifestyle

  • Italian cooking series BONACINI’S ITALY (Gusto), starring MASTERCHEF CANADA’S Michael Bonacini, returns for a second season. (Gusto Worldwide Media)
  • Season 2 of SPENCER’S BIG 30 (Gusto) showcases healthy, hearty meals that can be prepared in 30 minutes. (Gusto Worldwide Media)
  • Host Jessica McGovern returns to share her love of baking in Season 2 of FLOUR POWER (Gusto). (Gusto Worldwide Media)
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Industry News

Bell Media unveils exclusive CTV-branded portfolio of channels, creates next-generation digital destination, and launches new CTV Movies service

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From a media release:

In a bold move to strategically leverage Canada’s #1 entertainment brand, Bell Media announced today it will rebrand four of its leading entertainment specialty channels as CTV properties. Space, Bravo, Comedy, and Gusto will become CTV Sci-Fi, CTV Drama, CTV Comedy, and CTV Life. They will be joined by CTV Movies and CTV Vault, two new ad-supported VOD services, in a new CTV digital super-hub featuring all seven services.

With the new CTV super-hub, Canada’s best entertainment content will now be curated and exhibited together in a singular CTV destination. THE HANDMAID’S TALE, STAR TREK DISCOVERY, CARDINAL, THE BIG BANG THEORY, and Spider-Man, for example, will co-exist within the same environment.

The rebrand of the four specialties will be preceded by the launch of two, new digital VOD services, CTV Movies and CTV Vault. Debuting “in front of the wall” on the new CTV digital platform, CTV Movies and CTV Vault will each offer thousands of hours of content, refreshed weekly, all flowing from a ground-breaking new partnership with Sony Pictures Television.

The expansive movie catalogue will feature titles from every genre including, for the first time, family-oriented films, as well as blockbuster franchise titles like Spider-Man and Men In Black. CTV Vault will be the home of the entire catalogues of some of television’s most-popular series like COMMUNITY, RESCUE ME, DAMAGES, and THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW, among others. Free to consumers, the two services are 100% ad supported, and will anchor the new CTV super-hub with the newly branded CTV channels to follow.

The CTV super-hub will be available on connected devices everywhere, including the web, iOS, Android, Chromecast, Apple and Android TV, Xbox One, and Samsung smart TVs.

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Featured

Can learning superstitions teach you a country’s culture?

Most people across the world will be familiar with superstitions. A superstition is defined as “a widely held but irrational belief in supernatural influences, especially as leading to good or bad luck, or a practice based on such a belief.”

You’ll likely be familiar with superstitions such as the number 13 being particularly unlucky, or Friday the 13th being an unlucky double. You may also avoid stepping on cracks or walking under ladders. For the most part, these sorts of superstitions and unusual beliefs are passed off as being “foolish” or even “humorous” things that seem to be commonplace in every culture. But have you ever considered the use of superstitions and how they could actually be used as a learning tool?

Why Do People Believe in Superstitions?

In order to tap into the learning potential of a superstition, it’s important to consider how and why superstitions spread in the first place.

According to Lifehacker’s interview with Dr. Stuart Vyse, the author of multiple books of superstition, magic and why people believe in them, part of it is down to the fact that superstitions are taught to us when we are young. “They’re part of the lore of any culture. The basic process of socialization is a major part of it,” explains Dr Vyse. Dr Vyse also notes that superstitions emerge in contexts in which people cannot control things and so they use superstitions and odd beliefs as a sort of stand-in.

The popularity may also come as a result of superstitions being featured in popular culture. The CW’s Supernatural is all about extraordinary magical happenings and Syfy’s Superstition focuses on arcane weapons and magic. In Canada, Ron James has talked about traditions and superstitions, poking fun at them while multiple fledgling television shows including Blood Magick and Beowulf have also played it up. While these borrow heavily from existing superstitions, they also help these superstitions to spread.

What Are the Most Popular Superstitions Around the World?

We’ve already touched upon some common superstitions but there are plenty of popular ones to take a look at. One of the most well-known is the concept of lucky and unlucky numbers. According to Betway Casino’s research on the subject, these are rooted in real psychology, such as the number seven being seen as lucky because of the abundance of groups of seven (e.g. seven colours in the rainbow and seven days of the week). A whopping 25% of people surveyed in the UK said that the number seven was their lucky number.

Other popular superstitions include the concept of lucky charms, which are seen as an artifact or item that holds lucky properties. Cracked says that some weird lucky charms include the lucky rabbit foot, a lucky penny and a lucky four-leaf clover. There are also some lucky symbols, including lucky horseshoes and lucky fish, as well as the lesser-known lucky albatross, which is considered to be a good luck sign by sailors.

How Understanding Superstitions Teaches You About a Culture

When examining superstitions, it can actually inform a lot about a country and its culture. For example, four-leaf clovers are popular in Ireland because clovers are commonplace in the country but four-leaf clovers are rare (hence why finding one is seen as good luck). The lucky number seven is also rooted not just in psychology but also in Christian cultures and, so, where the lucky number seven is a popular idea, you can understand that the country’s culture has a huge connection to the Christian faith. The lucky symbol of a fish is also popular in Chinese, Hebrew, Tunisian, Ancient Egyptian, Indian, and Japanese cultures – in China, fish like the Arowana are specifically seen as lucky because the fish resembles the dragon, an animal in the Chinese zodiac.

On the one hand, superstitions can provide a greater understanding of a culture, how it works, as well as its traditions and its history, greatly enriching your experience of a place. But, on the other, it can lead to more questions as you explore and find out more about where these symbols and items can be found and how popular these different superstitions are.

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