Tag Archives: Featured

Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

CBC’s Hello Goodbye tells our stories via Canada’s busiest airport

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Turns out Torontonians really do like to talk. Despite the belief they are a reserved folk, Dale Curd found them to be downright chatty when he spoke to them during Season 1 of CBC’s newest series, Hello Goodbye.

Adapted from the international series devised by BlazHoffski, CBC’s take on the 10-parter—debuting Friday, Jan. 8, at 8:30 p.m.—finds psychotherapist Curd traipsing around Toronto Pearson International Airport, getting the stories behind the folks in the departures and arrivals lounge. As expected, there is plenty of emotion, whether it be from those saying goodbye, or tearfully welcoming someone home. What struck me as I watched the first instalment is how readily complete strangers are willing to tell Curd their personal stories, whether it be that of a boyfriend seeing his gal pal after eight months apart or a man describing how much his arriving wife helped him get over the death of his father. It’s pretty engaging and emotional stuff.

“I just let the conversation unfold,” Curd says. “If I opened up the space just to allow them to share and let the conversation build naturally and ask natural questions, they wanted to tell me more. Those two men got to a point in the conversations where they felt it was important for me to know about them.” Rather than steer the conversation as most reality hosts do through talking, Curd mostly listens intently, letting his subjects speak and tell their tales. The former host of OWN Canada’s Life Story Project says by the time he’d been speaking to someone for nine to 10 minutes, they began to relax and open up; in some cases interviewer and interviewee both lost track of time, something truly remarkable in an international airport where schedules rule over all.

Curd has made a career out of listening to people, but even he was surprised during production of Hello Goodbye. He conducted a personal experiment: when cameras weren’t rolling, he’d wander into the crowd and strike up off-the-cuff conversations away from the series. What did he learn? People are generally open to discussion whether on-camera or not. He also discovered that—though Pearson is located in Toronto—the folks within in represent the nation.

“There are people from all over Canada who are coming to this hub,” he says. “[Domestic arrivals] really opened up my eyes to how many people from how many different places in Canada actually come through Pearson airport.” These are their stories.

Hello Goodbye airs Fridays at 8:30 p.m. on CBC.

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Awards, Featured, Podcast

TV, eh? podcast episode 197 – And the Ehward Goes to

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Our first podcast of 2016 covers the many projects debuting and returning over the next two weeks, including Degrassi: Next Class, Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan, Leave It to Bryan, Say Yes to the Dress Canada, Lost & Found Music Studios, Hello Goodbye, Chopped Canada, Schitt’s Creek, Buying the View and Mayday.

Talk turns to The TV Ehwards as Diane, Anthony and Greg recap the winners in all 10 categories.

Want to contribute to the discussion? Post links and discussion topics on our Reddit page.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Say Yes to the Dress Canada returns with tears and dress triumphs

Much of television is the equivalent of comfort food: you sit down, tune in and know what you’re going to get. Such is the case with Say Yes to the Dress Canada, returning for Season 2 on Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT with back-to-back episodes on W Network.

The franchise once again spotlights Canadian ladies from different backgrounds and personal stories with the same goal: to find the perfect dress for her wedding day. As it was in the debut season, Rachelle Pollari of Amanda-Lina’s Sposa Boutique in Toronto and her team of experts aid the gals and their families and friends in finding the perfect frock. The only change from Season 1 is that fashion director Joseph Spencer is out in favour of Tyrel, who helps put the finishing touches on each sale.

Say Yes to the Dress Canada has always been a tear-filled affair and Wednesday’s return is no different; the second episode spotlights bride-to-be Heather, who lost her mother at 17; and Ashley, whose mom skipped out when she was young, leaving John a single father. Several misses threaten to throw everything into disarray.

The genius of Say Yes to the Dress Canada continues to be the ability to tell meaningful stories about these brides and their families while seeking out the perfect frock within the constraints of a 22-minute runtime. By the end of each segment you feel like you know these ladies and wish you’d gotten an invite to their big day.

Coming up later this season: the stories surrounding a wedding officiant, a divorce lawyer, athletes and a lesbian couple. And the franchise features one of its own tying the knot, as consultant Dimitra comes in for a fitting and has the wedding of her dreams with her coworkers cheering her on.

Say Yes to the Dress Canada airs Wednesdays at 10 and 10:30 p.m. ET/PT on W Network.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Dominic Monaghan hunts more Wild Things on OLN

I’ve always enjoyed Dominic Monaghan’s animal hunt-travel show. The aptly named Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan finds the spunky, energetic Lost actor as he hopscotches the planet seeking out dangerous, unique and odd-looking beasties from the animal world. Among the items on his checklist this season are the Indian Cobra, the flying lizard, giant whale sharks and the rare Aye-aye lemur of Madagascar.

Monaghan’s enthusiasm and dry sense of humour is what keeps me coming back to the series and the information he includes in each episode is just as entertaining as the subject matter. In Tuesday’s Season 3 return on OLN, Monaghan and his long-suffering Toronto-based cameraman Frank Vilaca trek to Belize in search of the Fer-de-Lance or Bothrops asper, an aggressive, six foot long reptile capable of leaping a third of its length to deliver a bite on prey.

As with the first two seasons, Monaghan’s enthusiasm is addictive: you really want him to succeed in his hunt for the snake. Padding out each episode is the story of the region, in this case the pair offer a triptych of wildlife and the people who live in Belize, including a stop at a pyramid and some background on the Mayan culture.

While searching for the Fer-de-Lance, Monaghan discovers a “small” tarantula the size of his hand and describes how long the species lives (and how it would bite him if so inclined), shops in a market and instructs Vilaca on successfully injecting anti-venom in case a snake makes its mark on either of them. The duo also discover an inquisitive member of the raccoon family and the strongest animal in the jungle.

As for finding the Fer-de-Lance … well … I’ll let you watch and find out for yourselves, but following Monaghan and Vilaca on their journey is worth tuning to.

Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on OLN.

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Degrassi, Featured

Degrassi returns on a new network with the Next Class

New Year, new network and a new class. Yes, Degrassi makes its triumphant return to television in 2016 after upheaval in 2015. First came word last summer that Nickelodeon had cancelled the long-running teen series for U.S. viewers. That was followed by the news MTV Canada would no longer broadcast Degrassi in this country. After much hand-wringing on sad-face emoticons, the good news was announced: Degrassi was moving to Family Channel in Canada—it debuts Monday at 9 p.m. ET/PT—and Netflix in the rest of the world.

“A few years ago we were doing a read-through and Lyle [Lettau], who plays Tristan, said, ‘Why are we not on Netflix?'” recalls longtime series star and series producer Stefan Brogren. “And everyone said, ‘Yes Lyle, we’d all love to be.’ But that started us thinking about where our audience is at. Where are they watching these shows?” The audience was headed online, streaming content, and the Degrassi: Next Class folks decided if they had the chance to pitch the program to Netflix they would. Brogren is quick to compliment the online network, marvelling at the lack of notes and being left alone to follow the season story arc everyone wanted to follow.

The same is true of the relationship with Family, where Degrassi: Next Class takes pride of place in the channel’s new teen block, F2N. Brogren says their Canadian carrier has been just as supportive of the show’s direction, which kicks off with 10 episodes, and fans will see a lot more truth than they’ve seen from the iconic show amid the tales of high school students beginning their journey into adulthood. Of course, there are issues to tackle along the way, from homophobia and racism to substance abuse and the complications of dating in the social media age.

Back for more drama—and laughs—are Ana Golja (Zoe Rivas), Ricardo Hoyos (Zig Novak), Eric Osborne (Miles Hollingsworth III) and Sara Waisglass (Frankie Hollingsworth) alongside Brogren, who plays Principal Archie “Snake” Simpson. The New Class title is fulfilled by new cast in Jamie Bloch and Dante Scott, who play Yael Baron and Vijay Maraj, respectively.

“Yael is a girl in a man’s world,” Bloch, who most recently co-starred on Wingin’ It, says. “She’s very into video games and technology. She’s quiet and keeps to herself and doesn’t like to be the centre of attention.” Bloch had originally auditioned to play a lesbian character named Maude, but changes resulted in new student Yael.

“No, she is not a lesbian, and that becomes very clear near the end of the season,” Bloch says with a laugh.

“Vijay is very outgoing and energetic and a little bit dramatic,” Scott says of his character. “He’s always there to talk to if you need him—I think he’s a really good friend to have—and can take a negative situation and turn it into a positive.” Tonight’s debut episode oozes positivity; Scott says its because of characters like Vijay and stories that delve into hope and a bright future for the Degrassi kids.

“This season feels a little like old-school Degrassi did,” Brogren says. “We were able to have more fun while at the same time telling exactly the stories we wanted to tell. For all the trouble that goes on at Degrassi you still want to be there.”

Degrassi: Next Class airs Monday to Friday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Family Channel for two weeks and streams on Netflix outside of Canada beginning Jan. 15.

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