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TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television
Second Jen

City’s Second Jen in Production

From a media release:

Production is underway on the original scripted comedy series Second Jen. The 30-minute, 6-part series from Don Ferguson Productions (DFP) began shooting July 5 in Toronto. Production continues until July 28, 2016. The series will roll out as a digital-first release on Citytv.com in August and join the City and Omni Television 2016/2017 prime-time schedule in the fall.

Second Jen is an ensemble comedy about two second-generation Chinese and Filipino-Canadian millennials experiencing all of life’s “firsts”. Caught between cultures and generations, two best friends move to their own apartment to prove to their immigrant families, and themselves, that they can make it on their own. Together, Mo and Jen straddle the gap between adulthood and childhood, between taking on family tradition and creating their own. With each step towards independence, Mo and Jen learn the sobering truth about growing up – everyone is faking it.

The series stars co-creators Amanda Joy (Devil’s Mile, Anxietyville) and Samantha Wan (Sudden Master, Ruby Skye P.I.) as best friends Mo and Jen, with Al Mukadam (Spun Out, Miss Sloane) as Lewis and Munro Chambers (Turbo Kid, Degrassi: The Next Generation) as Nate. Rounding out the cast are: Atticus Mitchell (Fargo, Young Drunk Punk) as Mo’s boss Garth; Nile Seguin (Winnipeg Comedy Festival, In The Ladies Room) as Mo’s co-worker Alister; and Janet Lo (Madam Mao, Pay the Ghost), Richard Tse (Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures, Payday) and Timothy Lai (Heroes Reborn, Rookie Blue) as Jen’s mom Bunny, dad Harold and brother Eric.

The series is written by Amanda Joy, Samantha Wan, Kevin Wallace (Air Farce, Comedy Bar) and Carly Heffernan (The Hour, SketchersonsTV) and directed by Romeo Candido (Ang pamana: The Inheritance, Prison Dancer: The Musical).

Second Jen is produced by Don Ferguson Productions (DFP) in association with Rogers. Helming the project is showrunner Jeff Biederman, who also acts as executive producer alongside Don Ferguson, Lucy Stewart and Kevin Wallis. From Rogers Media, Nataline Rodrigues is Director of Original Programming, Hayden Mindell is Vice President of Television Programming & Content and Colette Watson is Vice President of Television and Broadcast Operations.

Photo by Oz John.

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Baroness von Sketch Show

Link: Why the Baroness Von Sketch Show is the funniest thing on Canadian television since Kids In The Hall

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From David Berry of the National Post:

Link: Why the Baroness Von Sketch Show is the funniest thing on Canadian television since Kids In The Hall
One of the funniest sketches Baroness Von Sketch Show has featured is also one of the simplest — not just for the show, but in terms of possible concepts for a sketch, period. “Moms Say Hello” features a series of moms, identifiable by their high-waisted shorts and plaintively inviting faces, cooing “Hello” into phones, down stairs and beyond locked doors. Continue reading.

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Featured, Podcast

TV, eh? podcast episode 208 — Corndogs and Horndogs

After a bit of a break, we’re all back and chatting about the next two weeks of programming in Canadian TV. We move on to W Network’s The Bachelorette Canada After Show hosted by former Breakfast Television‘s Jennifer Valentyne, Global’s Mary Kills People heads into production, HGTV greenlights two new original series and cameras roll on CBC’s adaptation of Kim’s Convenience.

Side note: after we recorded the podcast, CBC renewed Still Standing and Baroness von Sketch Show for additional seasons.

Listen or download below, or subscribe via iTunes or any other podcast catcher with the TV, eh? podcast feed.

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Baroness von Sketch Show, Still Standing

CBC renews Still Standing and Baroness von Sketch Show

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From a media release:

CBC today announced the renewal of its acclaimed original series STILL STANDING and BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW. Starring comedian Jonny Harris and winner of the 2016 Canadian Screen Award for Best Factual Series, STILL STANDING has been renewed for a third season (13 x 30). Production is currently underway. All-female sketch comedy series BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW (6 x 30), which made its debut in June, has been renewed for season 2 (7 x 30) and will begin production this fall. Produced by Frantic Films in association with CBC, both series will return with new seasons in 2017.

STILL STANDING – Season 2 continues with all-new episodes Tuesdays at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT)
STILL STANDING follows Canadian comedian Jonny Harris (Murdoch Mysteries) as he explores the country, veering off the main highway to discover the hidden comedy in Canada’s far-flung small towns. Each week, Jonny takes a hilarious and heart-warming journey to find humour in the unlikeliest of places — small towns on the ropes. After immersing himself in the lives of local characters and unearthing the tall tales in these tiny towns, Jonny delivers a rousing original stand-up comedy routine — a toast, not a roast — for the whole community. Upcoming episodes include a visit to Canada’s most northerly mosque in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, sharp-shooting with a former Olympian in Omemee, Ontario, and welcoming a recently-arrived Syrian family in Mabou, Nova Scotia.

Baroness

BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW – Season 1 finale airs tonight, Tuesday, July 19 at 9:30 p.m. (10 NT)
BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW is an all-female, single-camera sketch comedy series that takes a fresh look at the world’s narcissistic contemporary culture. Fast-paced and irreverent, the series celebrates the absurd, mines the embarrassing and satirizes daily lives. Drawing on 15 years of comedy experience and multiple collaborations, the award-winning, talented team of Carolyn Taylor, Meredith MacNeill, Aurora Browne and Jennifer Whalen are the writers, stars and executive producers.

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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

AMI’s Four Senses to return for fourth season

From a media release:

Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) announced today that its cooking show with an accessibility twist, Four Senses, is returning for a fourth season and will begin production this fall.

Four Senses is a unique cooking show produced for AMI-tv by Varner Productions Limited that unites blind and sighted chefs in the kitchen. Hosts Christine Ha and Carl Heinrich are back for season four to share new recipes and experiences with a fresh group of celebrity guests. Each 30-minute show will also include nutrition guidelines for optimal eye health and accessibility tips and tools for independence in the kitchen.

Special guests this year include celebrities from the culinary world and beyond such as interior design gurus Colin and Justin, fashion icon Jeanne Beker, comedian and television star Luba Goy, and many more.  Each guest will share one of their favourite recipes with Christine and Carl, help the hosts prepare two additional dishes and share what inspires their own love of cooking.

Again this season Christine and Carl will be on the road shooting in field segments that highlight Canada’s diverse culinary landscape. Christine will explore Ontario, visiting a cranberry farm in Bala, learning about sustainable trout in Collingwood, and paying a visit to Lake Joe – the CNIB’s camp for individuals living with vision loss. Carl will be on a Nova Scotia road trip visiting Lunenburg, Wolfville, Digby, and Dartmouth. Along the way he’ll check out the Digby Days Scallop Festival, visit the oldest farmers market in Nova Scotia and learn more about the province’s growing wine and craft beer scene.

In keeping with AMI’s mandate of making accessible media for all Canadians, Four Senses features integrated description, where hosts and guests describe their surroundings and actions for audience members who are blind or partially sighted, as well as closed captioning for those with hearing loss.

Season four of Four Senses will air on AMI-tv in January, 2017.

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