All posts by Greg David

Prior to becoming a television critic and owner of TV, Eh?, Greg David was a critic for TV Guide Canada, the country's most trusted source for TV news. He has interviewed television actors, actresses and behind-the-scenes folks from hundreds of television series from Canada, the U.S. and internationally. He is a podcaster, public speaker, weekly radio guest and educator, and past member of the Television Critics Association.
Featured

2016-17 Canadian TV season renewal scorecard

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With the 2015-16 Canadian television season ended, the networks are putting the finished touches on their primetime lineups for 2016-17. That means celebrations for fans of shows that have been renewed and sadness for programs that won’t return.

To help keep track of what’s been renewed or ending, we’ve put together a handy list for you. Check back often to see the status of your favourites.

Renewed

  • Murdoch Mysteries (CBC)
  • Heartland (CBC)
  • Mr. D (CBC)
  • Vikings (History)
  • Schitt’s Creek (CBC)
  • Saving Hope (CTV)
  • The Rick Mercer Report (CBC)
  • This Hour Has 22 Minutes (CBC)
  • Hard Rock Medical (TVO)
  • Blood and Water (Omni)
  • Mohawk Girls (APTN)
  • Letterkenny (Crave TV)
  • Dragons’ Den (CBC)
  • Still Standing (CBC)
  • Love It Or List It Vancouver (W Network)
  • Masters of Flip (CMT)
  • Chopped Canada (Food Network)
  • X Company (CBC for third and final season)
  • This Life (CBC)
  • The Romeo Section (CBC)
  • Canada’s Smartest Person (CBC)
  • Hello Goodbye (CBC)
  • Crash Gallery (CBC)
  • Exhibitionists (CBC)
  • Interrupt This Program (CBC)
  • 19-2 (Bravo for fourth and final season)
  • Tiny Plastic Men (Super Channel)
  • The Other Side (APTN)
  • Home to Win (HGTV Canada)
  • Leave It to Bryan (HGTV Canada)
  • Timber Kings (HGTV Canada)
  • Tiny House Hunters (HGTV Canada)
  • Property Brothers (W Network)
  • Buying and Selling with the Property Brothers (W Network)
  • You Gotta Eat Here! (Food Network Canada)
  • First Dates (Slice)
  • Big Brother Canada (Global)
  • Ice Road Truckers (History)
  • Yukon Gold (History)
  • The Stanley Dynamic (YTV)
  • Marketplace (CBC)
  • The Fifth Estate (CBC)
  • Firsthand (CBC)
  • MasterChef Canada (CTV)
  • Canada’s Worst Driver (Discovery)
  • Cold Water Cowboys (Discovery)
  • Highway Thru Hell (Discovery)
  • How It’s Made (Discovery)
  • Jade Fever (Discovery)
  • Mayday (Discovery)
  • Mighty Cruise Ships (Discovery)
  • Vegas Rat Rods (Discovery)
  • Daily Planet (Discovery)
  • The Marilyn Denis Show (CTV)
  • The Social (CTV)
  • Orphan Black (Space)
  • Carnival Eats (Food Network Canada)
  • Degrassi: Next Class (Seasons 3 and 4) (Family Channel)
  • Baroness von Sketch Show (CBC)
  • Wynonna Earp (CHCH)
  • Private Eyes (Global)
  • Dark Matter (Space)
  • Killjoys (Space)

Not returning

  • Sunnyside (City)
  • Fool Canada (CBC)
  • Young Drunk Punk (CBC)
  • Motive (CTV)
  • Strange Empire (CBC)
  • Bitten (Space)
  • Ascension (CBC)
  • Blackstone (APTN)
  • Continuum (Showcase)
  • Lost Girl (Showcase)
  • Open Heart (YTV)
  • Remedy (Global)
  • Spun Out (CTV)
  • Rookie Blue (Global)
  • Haven (Showcase)
  • Package Deal (City)
  • The Pinkertons (CHCH)
  • Border Security (National Geographic)
  • 16×9 (Global)
  • Houdini & Doyle (Global)
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Killjoys

Space renews Killjoys for Season 3

From a media release:

– Hannah John-Kamen, Aaron Ashmore, and Luke MacFarlane return to star as the Quad’s favourite interplanetary bounty hunters –
– Production begins this winter in Toronto –
– Season 2 finale airs tomorrow night at 9 p.m. ET –

A day before the Season 2 finale and hours before a cast appearance at Canada’s largest genre convention Fan Expo, Space confirmed today that it has renewed its most-watched original series ever, KILLJOYS, committing to an additional 10, one-hour episodes. Season 3 begins production in Toronto this winter, and is expected to debut as part of Space’s popular summer lineup in 2017.

Created by showrunner Michelle Lovretta and produced by Temple Street in association with Space and Syfy, KILLJOYS follows a trio of reclamation agents – or “Killjoys” – as they get pulled further into political turmoil and the deepening mystery surrounding the Quad system, despite their vow to never take sides. Season 3 of the genre series sees the return of Hannah John-Kamen as Dutch, a stout-hearted bounty hunter with a fierce dedication to her Killjoy family, and on a quest to solve the mystery of her own identity; Aaron Ashmore as her loyal partner John, the witty tech wizard with a vulnerable heart; and Luke MacFarlane as D’avin, a born soldier who’s tactical skills and loyalty are as strong as his jawline.

Tonight at FAN EXPO in Toronto, Space presents a special advance screening of the KILLJOYS Season 2 finale at 6:30 p.m. ET in the John Bassett Theatre. Immediately following the screening, INNERSPACE hosts Ajay Fry, Teddy Wilson, and Morgan Hoffman moderate a jam-packed KILLJOYS panel with star Aaron Ashmore, cast mates Sarah Power, Rob Stewart, Thom Allison, Morgan Kelly, and Tamsen McDonough, along with showrunner Michelle Lovretta. Fans with a valid FAN EXPO pass or tickets for Thursday night have access to the panel. Admittance is first come first served. For more info on acquiring FAN EXPO tickets and passes, click here.

Season 2 of KILLJOYS on July 1 debuted with an impressive audience of 444,000, a 12% increase from Season 1. Throughout its Season 2 run, the series has reached nearly 1.1 million viewers each week and more than 3.1 million to viewers to date.

Season 1 of KILLJOYS is available now on CraveTVTM.

In the Season 2 finale of KILLJOYS “How to Kill Friends and Influence People,” (Friday, Sept. 2 at 9 p.m. ET on Space), the Killjoys and an old enemy join forces in a desperate bid to thwart Level Six’s plans for The Quad.

KILLJOYS was created by Michelle Lovretta (LOST GIRL, THE SECRET CIRCLE) who also serves as executive producer and showrunner. Executive producers are David Fortier, Ivan Schneeberg, and Karen Troubetzkoy. Universal Cable Productions distributes the series worldwide.

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Industry News

CRTC gets the facts wrong

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From a media release:

Mistakes get made, but most are not newsworthy. This one is.

The CRTC’s recent decision regarding “Certified Independent Production Funds” (CIPFs) includes a significant factual error. It claims that the Canada Media Fund (CMF) argued in favour of reducing the points needed for Canadian productions to receive funding from the CIPFs. The CRTC stated:

“The CMF argued that this amendment would give producers creative flexibility in the development of Canadian productions, which would lead to international market appeal and the potential for international investment. This, in turn, would lead to better recoupment for CIPF-funded programs and would therefore provide more money for CIPFs to invest back into Canadian projects.”

In fact, the CMF didn’t say any of that. Documents on the public record of this proceeding, submitted by the CMF and available on the CRTC’s website, show that the CMF never made these arguments, nor did it even address the issue in any substantive way.

The CMF is a well-established and respected funding body, whose views on the subject would presumably carry significant weight in a proceeding such as this. This makes the misattribution particularly concerning, and the WGC believes the error calls into question the rigour of this CRTC process.

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Children's Programming, Featured

Eric Leclerc plays magical pranks in YTV’s Tricked

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Eric Leclerc had me totally befuddled. He performed two magic tricks less than two feet away from where I was sitting, and I still have no clue how he pulled them off. (You can check out the video below.) I was still talking about his performance days after he’d done them, and you’ll feel that way after tuning into YTV’s new hidden camera show.

Debuting Monday on the network, Tricked stars Leclerc—a two-time Canadian Magic Championship winner—as he messes with the minds of everyday Canadians going about their business in and around Vancouver. Monday’s bow tracks the energetic Leclerc while he approaches folks in Granville Public Market. There, he pulls off several food-related head-scratchers, correctly producing favourite snacks, fruits and a wedding ring from the most unlikely of places and using a cell phone to make juice. I don’t want to give away the tricks themselves, but Leclerc’s targets were as amazed and confused as I was. How does he pull off intricate magic that involves, well, possibly reading one’s mind?

Tricked

“We spent five months in Vancouver filming, and performed 300 tricks,” Leclerc says during a press day in Toronto. “It was the first time in my career where I was doing magic that I wasn’t choosing to be put out there.” Adapted from a series in the UK, Force Four Entertainment auditioned hundreds of magicians before picking the Ottawa-based Leclerc. He and a team of magicians came up with all-original tricks, created and worked with him to perfect them before unleashing the brain-twisters on the public in 20 episodes. Having your angles covered is an important feature of magic, and Leclerc reveals well-placed production assistants and TV camera coordination blocked off key sight lines to keep the magic intact.

And yet, with all of that said, I still don’t know how Leclerc pulled off the trick he performed with a woman’s wedding ring at the end of Episode 1.

“When you experience magic in front of you, you know it’s not a trick,” Leclerc says. “Her reaction was real and that’s what this show is all about. It’s about their reaction when they trust a total stranger who says, ‘Lend me your wedding ring and let’s try something cool.'”

Tricked airs Monday to Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on YTV.

Images courtesy of Corus.

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