TV, eh?

From Renee Ghert-Zand of JTA:

• ‘Being Erica’ TV character transfixes Toronto Jews
  “With much of the character derived from the life experience of the show’s creator and executive producer, Jana Sinyor, this fictional 30-something Toronto Jew is resonating with many young Canadian Jews who see in her something of themselves.” Read more.

Bill Harris of QMI Agency breaks down the fall premiere dates, including Canadian shows:

• Fall TV getting weird
  “Our official fall TV preview section will appear in a few weeks, as the majority of shows are set to debut or return toward the end of September. But a significant number of programs will burst out of the gate before that, some even before Labour Day.” Read more.

Episode 3: Listen or download here or subscribe via iTunes or with any other program via the TV, Eh? feed

Co-hosts Anthony Marco and Diane Wild discuss the CBC fall schedule, including arguing about the merits of Battle of the Blades, deciding Rick Mercer and the gang at 22 Minutes should never have holidays so we can have a Daily Show/Colbert type show in Canada,cheering Being Erica‘s renewal, and cynically deciding CBC had nothing better in development. In other news, 18 to Life was picked up by The CW, Haven got decent ratings, Degrassi introduced a transgendered character, and The Pillars of the Earth premieres Friday on The Movie Network/Movie Central.

Plus, a 20-minute interview with Gordon Pinsent about his role in The Pillars of the Earth, his 80th birthday celebration at the opening of his new play, Due South, the new series he has in development with son-in-law Peter Keleghan, what progress he’s seen in the Canadian TV industry over the years, his relationship with Sarah Polley, and how he’s been in every Canadian TV show and movie ever made.

Your links

• The CW picks up CBC’s 18 to Life
• Haven hits 300,000 viewers
• Degrassi introduces a transgendered character – controversial or same old, same old?
• The Pillars of the Earth premieres Friday, July 23
• The incredible career of Gordon Pinsent
• The CBC fall schedule
• Is Battle of the Blades a case of Schadenfreude or cheesy fun? You decide. (But it’s totally cheesy fun.)
• The Christina Cox vampire show whose title I couldn’t remember is Blood Ties. Last week, I couldn’t remember the Chris Leavins movie The Hanging Garden. Next week, maybe I’ll forget the name of this podcast!
• For information on specific shows, check out the sidebar of TV, eh? under Categories, or search for the show title in that little search box

Your hosts

• Anthony can be found at Dyscultured and lovehatethings, and on Twitter here and here.
• Diane can be found here at TV, eh? and here, and on Twitter here and here.



By Diane Wild

Article first published as A Chat With Paula Brancati of Degrassi and Being Erica on Blogcritics

Paula Brancati is taking on New York Friday, when her character Jane Vaughn plays a major role in the two-hour television movie Degrassi Takes on Manhattan. And she’s taking on Canadian television in two high-profile series. Combined with her role as troublemaking friend Jenny in Being Erica, Brancati gets to do “a lot of stuff onscreen that I wouldn’t do offscreen,” as she said in a recent interview.

In Degrassi Takes Manhattan (known as Degrassi: The Heat Is On in the US), Jane tags along with her friends Holly and Declan “because her lies and cheating on Spinner are revealed, so she goes along as an escape.”

Naturally, “lots of debauchery ensues.”

For Brancati, however, the highlight was recording three songs for the soundtrack when Jane joins an indie rock band. Though she started acting in musical theatre as a child and has performed live, this was her first professional recording.

She’ll miss the movie’s premiere on Friday at the MuchMusic headquarters for a great reason, however: her play Love, Loss, and What I Wore premieres that night at Toronto’s Panasonic Theatre. Written by Nora and Delia Ephron and starring Andrea Martin, Louise Pitre and Mary Walsh, the play is a big part of Brancati’s big night.

The 10th season of Degrassi premieres on Monday, but as for Brancati’s involvement? “You know, you’ll have to wait and see the movie” she said. “The movie is really tumultuous. She experiences heartbreak and you don’t know what’s going to happen next with her. She has so many opportunities and places to go, so who knows if Degrassi or Toronto will be one of the options for her.”

Fans will definitely see more of Brancati when the third season of Being Erica airs, though. At 21, the actress gets to play Jenny as a 15-year-old in flashbacks and as a 30-year-old in present-day.

She’s already shot one episode where “there may have been some pole dancing involved. That doesn’t seem to be such a stretch for Jenny but for me it was a little daunting.”

And there’s more to come. She’s shooting another episode in a couple of weeks with the tentative title “Jenny on the Block.”

The show, of course, remains centred around Erin Karpluk’s Erica, but Brancati thinks the upcoming season will shake things up a little. “This season is very dark for Erica. It’s not just a formulaic episodic show. It goes in a whole other direction and there’s new characters .It’s not just a therapy session with Erica and Dr. Tom. I think fans will really enjoy it.”

As for the Degrassi movie, Brancati is curious about the audience reaction. “I want to hear how fans respond to the craziness that’s going to go down. And I want people to empathize with Jane. I really hope they do. She’s made some mistakes but I support the fact that she’s a good girl. Please feel for her!”

Degrassi airs on MuchMusic in Canada and Teen Nick in the US. Being Erica airs on CBC in Canada and SoapNet in the US.

Listen or download here or subscribe via iTunes or with any other program via the TV, Eh? feed

Co-hosts Anthony Marco and Diane Wild talk about the renewal of Rookie Blue, a new Flashpoint coming up, The Bridge tanking in the US, and the CTV lineup.

Plus, an interview with Paula Brancati, who plays Jane Vaughn on Degrassi: The Next Generation and Jenny on Being Erica. She’s featured in Friday’s Degrassi Takes Manhattan movie. The 10th season starts Monday – will she be back?

Your links

• Rookie Blue renewed
• New Flashpoint episode airs July 16
• The Bridge averages 3.2 million in US
• Diane will be a guest judge for the Vancouver audition callbacks for Wipeout Canada. Will she be a Paula Abdul or a Simon Cowell?
• The Hilarious House of Frightenstein
• Paula Brancati of Degrassi and Being Erica
• CTV’s fall season
• The Emmy nominations – everyone and Canadians
• For information on specific shows, check out the sidebar of TV, eh? under Categories, or search for the show title in that little search box

Your hosts

• Anthony can be found at Dyscultured and lovehatethings, and on Twitter here and here.
• Diane can be found here at TV, eh? and here, and on Twitter here and here.

From the DGC website – nominations include Being Erica, Flashpoint, Sanctuary, The Bridge, Death Comes to Town, G-Spot, Less Than Kind, Little Mosque on the Prairie, Degrassi, Heartland, How to be Indie, Overruled:

• The Directors Guild of Canada Announces the 2010 DGC Awards Nominees “The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) announces the 2010 DGC Awards nominations. Comedian Dave Foley will host the annual gala on Saturday, September 25, 2010 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto. The Guild will celebrate the career of acclaimed director Sidney Furie (The Ipcress File, Lady Sings the Blues) and the extraordinary contributions of Don McCutcheon and Paul Bronfman to the DGC and the Canadian film and television industry.” Read more.

From Shadi Elien of the Georgia Straight:

• From St. Urbain’s Horseman to Being Erica, Michael Riley loves creating characters
  “Every time Canadian actor Michael Riley takes on a new role, he embarks on a new journey. Whether he’s portraying the level-headed psychiatrist Dr. Tom on CBC’s hit series Being Erica , or the Cockney petty criminal Harry Stein from St. Urbain’s Horseman (which is now out on DVD), Riley loves nothing more than developing his characters from scratch.” Read more.

From Katherine Monk of Canwest News Service:

• Being Erica actor delights in being back home
  “Currently cresting on a wave of mass appeal in the wake of Being Erica, the successful CBC series in which he plays Dr. Tom, a psychiatrist with mysterious time-shifting talents, Riley is emotionally magnanimous and practically realistic about the roller-coaster life of a working actor.” Read more.

From Heather Hughes of TV.com:

• Being Erica Moves To Britain
  “Talk Back Productions confirmed that a UK version of Being Erica is in the “very early stages of development”. Like the original, the British remake (tentatively titled You Again) will centre on the life of a 30-something woman who travels back through time to fix her past mistakes, but that’s where the similarities end. The six-part series will be relocated from Toronto to Glasgow and see the leading lady as an NHS worker in the place of a private therapist.” Read more.

From Craig Takeuchi of the Georgia Straight:

• Leo Awards 2010 final winners: Alice, Sanctuary, Excited on top
  “As the second evening of Leo Awards concluded tonight at the Westin Bayshore, the TV miniseries Alice , a new take on the Alice in Wonderland story, led the winners of the Leo Awards, picking up a total of eight awards in a range of technical categories.” Read more.

From Alex Strachan of Canwest News Service:

• What’s wrong with the Canadian TV dramas on the networks this fall . . . and what’s right about the comedies.
  “Canadians are watching Hiccups and Dan For Mayor, in other words, because there isn’t a same-but-better version on NBC or CBS.” Read more.

From Out is Through:

• Erin Karpluk talks Being Erica season three
  “It’s so weird because it’s kind of like how [Erica] started off the pilot a little bit,” Karpluk says of her character’s position in season three. “And while she has evolved and grown as an individual it’s like life is kind of cyclical and there she is and she seems to be back in the bottom of the rabbit hole. Which is kind of nice because it kind of opens up a lot of different places for the show to go.” Read more.

From Vanessa Farquharson of the National Post:

• CBC Fall Preview: Erin Karpluk on the return of Being Erica
  “If she could go forward in time — much like her character on the CBC show Being Erica — actress Erin Karpluk would probably want to know whether she was still playing the same role. Usually, she doesn’t find out whether the network has renewed the show for another season until a few months before the cast is scheduled to shoot.” Read more.

From a media release:

Temple Street Productions Announces Start of Production on
Season Three of CBC Television’s Hit Series BEING ERICA
CBC to Rebroadcast Season 2 Starting July 14

Temple Street Productions and CBC Television announced that the international hit Being Erica has started production on Season Three in Toronto.

Erin Karpluk is back on board as the endearing and adorable Erica Strange. Michael Riley reprises his role as the enigmatic Dr. Tom, while other popular returning cast members include Erica’s ex-boss and new business partner Julianne (Reagan Pasternak), fellow time-traveler Kai (Sebastian Pigott), Erica’s mother Barb (Kathleen Laskey), father Gary (John Boylan) and sister Samantha (Joanna Douglas). Brent (Morgan Kelly) returns as Erica’s former colleague at River Rock Publishing who, this season, is determined to bring down Erica and her new business.

Newcomers this season include Adam (Adam Fergus) who both befriends Erica and is a thorn in her side; Lenin (Brandon Jay McLaren), a new love interest for Samantha; the “bear” couple Dave (Bill Turnbull) and Ivan (Michael Northey), new owners of Goblins café; and the all-powerful Dr. Arthur played by Oscar-nominated actor Graham Greene.

Transformation is the central theme for Season Three. Audiences will see Erica embark on a challenging new phase in her therapy with Dr. Tom, and watch her grapple with taking the next big step toward fulfilling her destiny.

Also back for Season Three is the show’s creative team, creator and executive producer Jana Sinyor (Dark Oracle) and executive producer Aaron Martin (Degrassi: The Next Generation, The Best Years), together with executive producers David Fortier and Ivan Schneeberg of Temple Street Productions (Billable Hours, Canada’s Next Top Model).

Since it premiered on CBC Television in 2009, the critically acclaimed show has been hugely successful worldwide. International distributor BBC Worldwide has sold Being Erica to almost 40 countries including SOAPnet (U.S), E4 (U.K.), ABC2 (Australia), Paramount Comedy (Spain) and SBS/Net5 in Holland.

This past year the show was nominated for nine Gemini Awards with Erin Karpluk winning for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role. Being Erica also won Best Scripted Format at the C21/FRAPA Format Awards at MIPCOM.

From a media release:

CBC TELEVISION CELEBRATES CANADIAN STARS, ICONS & HOMEGROWN HITS AT FALL 2010 SEASON PREVIEW

• Battle of the Blades is Back!
• Debbie Travis Comes to CBC Prime Time!
• Men With Brooms Brings Fresh Laughs for Fall! (pictured)

Kirstine Stewart, General Manager of CBC Television, previewed the network’s Fall 2010 schedule that features the highly anticipated new season of BATTLE OF THE BLADES, the debut of a brand-new format for ALL FOR ONE WITH DEBBIE TRAVIS on prime time television, a new half-hour comedy based on the popular Canadian movie MEN WITH BROOMS, and the return of several established CBC hits.

PAUL GROSS, DEBBIE TRAVIS, ERIN KARPLUK, RICK MERCER, PETER MANSBRIDGE, GEORGE STROUMBOULOPOULOS, DAVID SUZUKI, KURT BROWNING, DON CHERRY and RON MacLEAN, along with many other CBC celebrities, participated in the announcement for the Fall schedule that also includes THE RON JAMES SHOW, BEING ERICA, THE TUDORS, RICK MERCER REPORT, HEARTLAND, THE FIFTH ESTATE, DRAGONS’ DEN, the 50th season of THE NATURE OF THINGS, and CBC’s winning daytime lineup that includes STEVEN and CHRIS, BEST RECIPES EVER and KIDS’CBC.

(more…)

From Vlada Gelman of Entertainment Weekly:

• Being Erica renewed for season 3, but sans boyfriends
  “While it certainly makes sense for both guys to exit the series story-wise, I do wonder if Ethan’s departure is a little hasty. Before he was Erica’s boyfriend, he was her best friend for over ten years. It would be interesting to see the show explore the question of whether you can be friends with your ex and what happens after the breakup when your ex was your friend first.” Read more.

From Jennifer Armstrong of Entertainment Weekly (warning: like the headline says … spoilers):

• The new season of Being Erica … flash forward to a few spoilers
  “Now that we know we’ll continue to get our televisual dose of time-travel even after Lost ends — thanks to yesterday’s announcement that SoapNet’s Being Erica will return for a third season early next year — PopWatch is proud to bring you our own version of a flash-forward: A few exclusive tidbits about the coming season of the cult fave.” Read more.

From a media release:

HIT SERIES BEING ERICA RETURNS TO CBC TELEVISION FOR A THIRD SEASON THIS FALL

• Gemini Award-Winner Erin Karpluk is Back for 13 New Episodes

Kirstine Stewart, general manager of CBC Television, is pleased to announce that the critically-acclaimed series BEING ERICA is back for a third season this fall. The new season will feature thirteen one-hour episodes. The popular relationship drama with a time travel twist stars Gemini Award-winner Erin Karpluk as Erica Strange, a young woman on a one-of-a-kind quest through past and present to come to terms with life and relationships.

Winning the hearts of CBC viewers since its series debut in 2009, BEING ERICA is also capturing audiences south of the border. Simultaneously announced today is the third season pick up by SOAPnet, the Disney/ABC Television Group’s 24-hour soap opera channel with over 75 million household subscribers. BEING ERICA is one of SOAPnet’s most popular series. To date, BEING ERICA has aired in 38 countries worldwide.

Season two left Erica with no boyfriend, no job and a personal life in shambles. In season three, we find a newly single, more confident Erica on the path to forging a new identity for herself as she becomes the person she’s always wanted to be. Popular returning characters include Dr. Tom (Michael Riley), Erica’s ex-boss and new business partner Julianne (Reagan Pasternak), mother Barbara (Kathleen Laskey), father Gary (John Boylan) and sister Samantha (Joanne Douglas).

From Mike Morrison of Mike’s Bloggity Blog:

• EXCLUSIVE: Being Erica CONFIRMED for Season 3
  Being Erica has been renewed for a third season. … No word on the storylines for season 3 yet, but shooting starts on May 17.” Read more.

From Marisa Roffman of Zap2it:

• ‘Being Erica’: Erin Karpluk on the shocking finale and her Season 3 wishes
  “Kai is gone. Ethan and Erica broke up. And the last we saw of our leading lady, she was in that hallway of mysterious doors, choosing one. So, what’s next? Well, the show hasn’t been picked up for a third season just yet, but we went to series star Erin Karpluk to get her take on the finale and where it could lead… ” Read more.