Tag Archives: New Metric Media

Awards

Banff World Media Festival announces Rockie Awards gala host and awards recipients

From a media release:

The 39th annual Banff World Media Festival (BANFF) is proud to announce Emmy and Tony Award winner Kristin Chenoweth* (Trial & Error, Hairspray Live!) will host this year’s Rockie Awards Gala Ceremony featuring a star-studded line-up of award recipients. The night of celebration will take place on Tuesday June 12th at 7:00 p.m. at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Alberta, Canada.Awards to be bestowed include:

Awards to be bestowed include:

2018 COMPANY OF DISTINCTION AWARD: NBCUniversal
NBCUniversal is one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience.

The Company of Distinction Award recognizes a company demonstrating significant leadership in the world of screen-based entertainment. Past Honorees include: Disney | ABC, HBO, A&E, Lionsgate and CBS.

AWARD OF EXCELLENCE: Jeremy Podeswa (Here and Now, Game of Thrones, Six Feet Under)
A three-time Primetime Emmy nominee for Best Direction (Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, The Pacific) and with over 40 award nominations and wins since 1985, Jeremy Podeswa is one of the hottest directors in the golden age of TV. His body of episodic TV work includes directing ground-breaking cable television series and mini-series for HBO, Showtime, STARZ, AMC, F/X, and TNT and award-winning films including Fugitive Pieces (opening night, TIFF), The Five Senses (Directors Fortnight, Cannes Film Festival) and Eclipse (Berlin and Sundance Festivals).  

The Award of Excellence acknowledges exceptional achievement through a body of work over an extended period of time.  Past Honorees include:  Kenny Ortega, Diane English, Norman Jewison, David E. Kelly.

A+E INCLUSION AWARD:  Elizabeth Vargas (ABC News, A&E Investigates)
Elizabeth Vargas is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, and the first U.S. network evening news anchor of Puerto Rican and Irish-American Heritage. She is a brave storyteller and a trusted expert at bringing audiences closer to the heart of stories that have never been told in order to reveal genuine moments of truth. Vargas recently inked an overall production and first-look development deal with A+E Networks; she will also be the face of A&E Network’s new nonfiction journalistic banner, A&E Investigates. The initial project under the A&E Investigates banner is the limited series “Cults and Extreme Belief.”

The A+E Inclusion Award recognizes an individual whose efforts and vision in media champion and reflect the diversity of the world in which we live. Past Honorees include: LeVar Burton, Jonathan Murray.

CANADIAN AWARD OF DISTINCTION: Sheila Hockin (The Handmaid’s Tale, Vikings)
Primetime Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Drama Series (The Handmaid’s Tale), Sheila Hockin is one of Canada’s foremost executive producers, helping bring to life global hits like  The Tudors, The Borgias, Vikings, Penny Dreadful and most recently, the global phenomenon that is The Handmaid’s Tale. Before striking out on her own, Hockin co-founded one of Canada’s highest-profile independent production companies, Temple Street Productions, where she spent a decade producing such hits as Queer as Folk, Canada’s Next Top Model, and How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? This award is presented to a Canadian whose body of work exemplifies outstanding achievement in the entertainment industry. Past Honorees include:  Just For Laughs, Eric McCormack, Kim Cattrall.

INNOVATIVE PRODUCER AWARD: New Metric Media (Letterkenny, Bad Blood)
New Metric Media is a film, television, and new-media production company that works with top creative talent to produce outstanding content for domestic and international markets. Past and present projects include the CraveTV hit original comedy Letterkenny as well as the half-hour CraveTV comedy What Would Sal Do? and the six-episode, one-hour CityTV/FX Canada limited series Bad Blood. Not content to rest on traditional marketing alone, New Metric has successfully transformed its hit property Letterkenny into a robust consumer brand, complete with its own craft brew and touring live show. The innovative approach has made a discernible impact on Canadian culture, with Letterkenny phrases a part of regular lexicon and ironic “Hard No” tees a regular sight on the street.

The Innovative Producer Award recognizes the entrepreneurial excellence and achievements of an independent producer in TV/digital media. Past Honorees include:  Wolf + Rabbit, Don Carmody, marblemedia.

Additional awards to be presented at the 2018 Rockies Gala include: The Hollywood Reporter Impact Award, The Grand Jury Prize, and Program of the Year.

Host Kristin Chenoweth can next be seen in the upcoming second season of NBC’s “Trial & Error,” which premieres on July 19.

The Rockies are BANFF’s flagship awards program, taking place over two days and two events. Celebrated annually on the second day of the festival is the Rockie Awards Program Competition followed by the hors-concours (out-of competition) Rockie Awards Gala Ceremony which takes place on the third night of the festival honouring outstanding talent and executives from the industry. Over the years, the prestigious gala event has attracted some of the industry’s biggest names including Sir Laurence Olivier, Gregory Peck, Dinah Shore, Ricky Gervais, Chuck Lorre, Martin Short, James Burrows, John Cleese, David E. Kelly, Dick Wolf, Will Arnett, Christine Baranski, David Attenborough, Larry King, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, John Ridley, Jill Soloway, and Anthony Anderson, to a name a few.

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Bad Blood

City renews blockbuster original drama Bad Blood for Season 2

From a media release:

“We take care of our friends… so long as you remain a friend.” Following a successful six-episode Season 1 run, City is taking care of its viewers by greenlighting eight new one-hour episodes for Season 2 of the compelling, original drama Bad Blood, starring Canadian powerhouse Kim Coates. Produced in partnership with New Metric Media and Sphère Média Plus, in association with distributors DHX Media and Skyvision, writing on the new season is currently underway with production slated to begin this summer for a Fall 2018 premiere. Additional broadcast details will be announced at a later date.

Season 1 of Bad Blood is nominated for three 2018 Canadian Screen Awards, including nods for Kim Coates and Maxim Roy for Best Lead Actor and Actress, Drama or Limited Series, respectively, and Michael Konyves for Best Writing, Drama or Limited Series. Both Coates and Roy are among the confirmed presenters for Sunday night’s CSA broadcast gala.

Reaching 3.2 million Canadians and consistently holding a spot in the Top 10 shows among all English stations during its time period (Ind. 2+), Season 1 of Bad Blood followed the true-crime saga of one of Canada’s most notorious mafia bosses, Vito Rizzuto (Anthony LaPaglia). Now, five years after Rizzuto’s death, his former right-hand man Declan Gardiner (Coates) is the reigning king of the Montreal drug trade – that is, until a new breed of mafiosos arrive to wage war in an attempt to wrestle the city from his grasp.

Michael Konyves will return as showrunner, alongside writers Patrick Moss and Alison Bingeman. Additional casting details will be announced in the coming weeks.

 

 

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Letterkenny

Don’t Even Needs to sugar coats it, another six-pack of Letterkenny to launch Christmas Day

From a media release:

CraveTV just announced that a brand new six-pack of its scrappy original comedy LETTERKENNY launches Christmas Day. More than just a break from chorin’, to be fair, this latest six-pack of the award-winning series was shot last summer in Sudbury. And while everyone’s waitin’, an all-new FERDA EDITION is available to stream on Friday, December 8, featuring exclusive audio commentary from the cast who dish on the making of the Winter season six-pack. And if that doesn’t stuff your holiday sacks, you can check out the upcoming season’s trailer here, buds. Created by and starring Jared Keeso, the award-winning half-hour comedy is produced by New Metric Media in partnership with DHX Media and Playfun Games.

This upcoming LETTERKENNY six-pack finds The Hicks holding court back at the produce stand, shootin’ the breeze in the spirit of (literal) harmony and MoDeans 2-getherness. Wayne (Jared Keeso) tries to forget his former sweetie, Rosie (Clark Backo), and Katy (Michelle Mylett) finally chooses between Hockey Players Reilly (Dylan Playfair) and Jonesy (Andrew Herr), leaving one half of the tight duo to lift solo. The Skids might still be on drugs and Christian leader Glen (series director, Jacob Tierney) is actin’ weird again.

LETTERKENNY revolves around the dustups Wayne and his buds get into with their small-town rivals. The Hicks, The Skids, and The Hockey Players get at each other about the most mundane things, often ending with someone getting their ass kicked. Key residents of LETTERKENNY are Daryl (Nathan Dales), Wayne’s free-spirited younger sister Katy (Mylett), and Wayne’s buddy, Dan (K Trevor Wilson) – all Hicks. CSA-nominated Daniel Petronijevic returns as Hick McMurray and Melanie Scrofano as doting Mrs. McMurray. Dylan Playfair and Andrew Herr reprise their roles as hotshot Hockey Players Jonesy and Reilly. Tyler Johnston and Evan Stern return as Skids Stewart and Roald. Lisa Codrington returns as lusty bartender, Gail, Mark Forward returns as the temperamental Coach of the Letterkenny Irish and Tiio Horn is back as badass leader of The Natives, Tanis. Keeso’s 19-2 co-star, Adrian Holmes, guest stars in this six-pack as MoDeans 2 bouncer Bradley. Cara Gee (Strange Empire) and Jade Willoughby are Tanis’ new rez rivals Shyla and Shania.

Based on the internet sensation Letterkenny Problems, the half-hour comedy is currently a top performer and marquee program for CraveTV since its memorable launch on Super Bowl Sunday in 2016. Season 1 of LETTERKENNY took home three 2017 Canadian Screen Awards for Best Comedy Series, Best Writing in a Comedy Program or Series, and Best Direction in a Comedy Program or Series. As well, series creator Jared Keeso and co-writer and director Jacob Tierney have been recognized with a Writers Guild of Canada Screenwriting Award for TV Comedy.

Seasons 1 – 3, along with special episodes “Ferda Edition”, “The Haunting of MoDean’s II”, “St. Perfect’s Day,” and the original web series Letterkenny Problems are currently streaming on CraveTV. LETTERKENNY is also available on iTunes and Google Play. Season 1 of LETTERKENNY is currently available on DVD wherever DVDs are sold.

CraveTV recently announced a 40-plus episode production commitment and comprehensive multi-year with series producers New Metric Media. The deal also supports a 30-city LETTERKENNY LIVE! tour starring Keeso, Dales, Wilson, and Forward.

LETTERKENNY is produced by New Metric Media, in partnership with DHX Media and Playfun Games in association with Bell Media, with the participation of Canadian Media Fund, OMDC Tax Credits and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund and distributed by DHX Media. Jared Keeso is executive producer, co-writer, star, and creator, Jacob Tierney is executive producer, director, and co-writer and Mark Montefiore is executive producer for New Metric Media.

 

 

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Letterkenny

CraveTV Enters into Comprehensive Multi-Year Partnership with New Metric Media to Build LETTERKENNY Brand Worldwide

From a media release:

CraveTV and LETTERKENNY producers New Metric Media announced today they are joining forces to build the small-town, smash hit comedy beyond the series itself into a worldwide entertainment brand. The initiative is a comprehensive multi-year partnership that includes an unprecedented production commitment, investment in the support of any existing and new ancillary brand extensions, and a partnership on the international sales and distribution of the series, alongside DHX Media. The deal was negotiated by Bell Media’s Justin Stockman and Carlyn Klebuc, as well as Mark Montefiore of New Metric Media, and Jayme Alter, Denton’s Canada LLP.

In the comprehensive agreement, CraveTV and New Metric Media will partner on the production of more than 40 new episodes. With seasons 1-3 currently streaming, the agreement commits to a total of at least 73 episodes of the award-winning original comedy.

CraveTV’s commitment to brand support includes the continued cross-platform marketing campaigns for the series, as well its brand extensions including sought-after LETTERKENNY merchandise and the highly successful Puppers Premium Lager, in partnership with Stack Brewery in Sudbury.

As well, the partnership includes cross-promotional support for the just-announced, 26-city LETTERKENNY LIVE! tour, a 90-minute comedy experience starring Jared Keeso (Wayne), Nathan Dales (Daryl), K Trevor Wilson (Dan) and Mark Forward (Coach), kicking off in Halifax on February 28th, with plans to extend into the U.S.

Finally, CraveTV and New Metric Media’s multi-year commitment includes partnering on the sale and distribution of the series and its format, alongside DHX Media, to the international market. The series and format was officially rolled out to International buyers this week at MIPCOM in Cannes, France.

Based on the internet sensation Letterkenny Problems, the half-hour comedy – and now bona fide cultural phenomenon – is currently a top performer and marquee program for the streaming service since it made it memorable launch on Super Bowl Sunday 2015.

As previously announced, a special Halloween episode of LETTERKENNY, “The Haunting of MoDean’s II”, began streaming last week exclusively on CraveTV. Another six-pack of new episodes is set to launch later this year.

Shot on location in and around Sudbury, ON, LETTERKENNY revolves around the dustups Wayne (Jared Keeso) and his buds get into with their small-town rivals. The Hicks, The Skids, and The Hockey Players get at each other about the most mundane things, often ending with someone getting their ass kicked. Season 1 of LETTERKENNY took home three 2017 Canadian Screen Awards: Best Comedy Series, Best Writing in a Comedy Program or Series, and Best Direction in a Comedy Program or Series. As well, series creator Jared Keeso and co-writer and director Jacob Tierney took home a Writers Guild of Canada Screenwriting Award for TV Comedy. Seasons 1 – 3 are currently streaming on CraveTV and Season 1 is also available on iTunes and Google Play.

LETTERKENNY is produced by New Metric Media, in partnership with DHX Media and Playfun Games in association with Bell Media, with the participation of Canadian Media Fund, OMDC Tax Credits and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund and distributed by DHX Media. Jared Keeso is executive producer, co-writer, star, and creator, Jacob Tierney is executive producer, director, and co-writer. Mark Montefiore and Patrick O’Sullivan are executive producers for New Metric Media. Steven DeNure is  Co-Founder, President and COO of DHX Media. Sarah Fowlie is Director, Original Programming, Comedy, Bell Media.

 

 

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Bad Blood, Featured

Bad Blood: Brett Donahue on Nico Jr.’s dangerous business plans

By the end of Episode 1 of Bad Blood (catch up by watching the debut online), Mafia boss Vito Rizzuto (Anthony LaPaglia) was indicted for murders that occurred early in his career. That left a hole at the top of his crime family. And, despite Vito’s wishes that Declan Gardiner (Kim Coates) take over in his absence, it was Vito’s son, Nico Jr. (Brett Donahue), who stepped into the void.

Nico Jr., not interested is merely sitting back, feels a Rizzuto should be boss, and that means him. But, as viewers will see in this week’s episode, Nico Jr.’s decision has repercussions. In our latest interview—done from the set of Bad Blood in Sudbury, Ont., last year—Winnipeg native Brett Donahue explains his character’s actions and what it could lead to.

Did you know anything about the Rizzuto family before becoming involved in Bad Blood?
Brett Donahue: Not to the extent of what the Rizzuto family meant. We think, living in Canada and growing up in Winnipeg, there is organized crime and gangs and all that. But the Mafia, the iconic mob, was always something in New York or Chicago. But, I was in Montreal, because I was studying in Montreal, and I remember hearing on the news that Nico Sr. had been assassinated in his home and hearing—even for a murder—that it was a faux pas because it had happened in the home, which is something that you don’t do unless you’re trying to send a really strong message out. I was interested in who these people were and I learned a little bit more.

But, when received all of this stuff I read more into Vito’s accomplishments. As nefarious as he might have been, he was a real businessman and really, really built up this empire, first with his father and then with him, into this syndicate in Montreal.

You had this option, you had this path, this possibility of something different, but you’re going to put yourself in danger.

Growing up in southern Ontario, I heard nothing about this at all.
Well, that’s the thing. When things are running well, you don’t hear anything about it. It’s an eye-opener.

Give me the lowdown on your character, Nico Jr. What did you discover in your research and in the scripts?
In the research, I found out a lot more about Vito than Nico Jr., but in our story—which is a lot of fun to play—is this man who is coming into his own and he really wants to be a part of the family business. Like any story in a family business and ownership being passed down the line, he wants his turn to continue the prosperity that his grandfather and now his father built and prove his worth. The actions that he takes in our story is one of that, of wanting to protect his family and hold onto the power and prove himself as a man.

But his dad didn’t want him to continue the business.
That’s the thing. His dad protected him. But this is the classic immigrant story; the first generation works really, really hard so that future generations don’t have to, or have a better opportunity. So, his dad, out of real protection and love, wanted to have Nico Jr. have his hands clean. In this world, you’re always looking over your shoulder and expecting something. You’re never in an even-keeled, tranquil state. He really didn’t want him involved, but when Vito is indicted, Nico sees that as his moment to step in and prove himself. And it’s not just out of an ego-driven place, but it’s one of the only people you can really trust is family. And, the only way the groups that work with us is if a Rizzuto is in power. If there is any doubt in them, everything crumbles.

There is no retirement plan for the mob and yet Nico Jr. wants to do this despite the bloody, violent history.
He’s not an idiot or ignorant to what his family has done. And, I guess growing up in that environment, he’s comfortable with that level of risk. But the beautiful thing that we’ll see in our story is that there will be a sympathetic sense to Vito because, despite everything that has happened, he’s trying to turn things legitimate. If he gets his business out, he might still be in danger for the crimes he’s committed, but his family won’t. They’re out of it. That’s why it’s so disheartening to see Nico Jr. go down that path. You had this option, you had this path, this possibility of something different, but you’re going to put yourself in danger, your wife in danger, your kids and anyone else down the line in danger.

Bad Blood airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on City.

Look for more coverage of Bad Blood from our set visit late last year in the coming days, including exclusive interviews with actor Enrico Colantoni and director Alain Desrochers, and Business or Blood: Mafia Boss Vito Rizzuto’s Last War authors Antonio Nicaso and Peter Edwards.

Image courtesy of Rogers Media.

 

 

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