TV, eh?

Canada’s Next Top Model premieres May 26 on CTV with the following contestants:

• Ebonie, 22, Repentigny, Quebec
• Rebeccah, 19, Ottawa, Ontario
• Linsay, 22, Edmonton, Alberta
• Alexandra, 22, Penticton, British Columbia
• Tara, 19, Chateauguay, Quebec
• Jill, 19, Vancouver, British Columbia
• Heather, 21, Halifax, Nova Scotia
• Tiffany, 23, Toronto, Ontario
• Nikita, 19, Calgary, Alberta
• Meaghan, 19, Winnipeg, Manitoba
• Maryam, 18, Vancouver, British Columbia

(info via anonymous tipster via eTalk Daily – thanks!)

Tuesday, March 31 – 10pm ET/PT

“BOARDROOM TO BEDROOM”

The remaining four designers fight to make it to the finale. They are instructed to create a modern take on the power suit. The workroom heats up when the designers find out they must also create a lingerie look for their models, who have a bigger hand in the design than usual. Guest judge designer David Dixon joins the panel to decide the top three designers who will create a collection to show at Toronto Fashion Week.

CTV Starts Production on CANADA’s NEXT TOP MODEL and Unveils Expert Panel of Judges

• Gemini Award-winning Reality Series Now Taping in Toronto
• FASHIONTELEVISION’s Jeanne Beker, Supermodel Yasmin Warsame, and Celebrity Photog Mike Ruiz Join Host & Executive Producer Jay Manuel to Judge Finalists for Cycle 3
• Nolé Marin Returns as Creative Director of CNTM’s Photo Shoot Challenges
• 5,000 Hopefuls Applied from Coast to Coast, Just 11 Made the Cut

CTV is one step closer to finding CANADA’S NEXT TOP MODEL with production now underway in Toronto and a cadre of fashion elite confirmed to mentor Canada’s top contenders. Host and executive producer Jay Manuel leads the panel of judges, which is comprised of FASHIONTELEVISION’s Jeanne Beker, supermodel Yasmin Warsame, and Montreal native and A-list photographer Mike Ruiz. Nolé Marin takes on the role of creative director for the second time. The Gemini Award-winning series is produced by Temple Street Productions in association with CTV.

(more…)

From Kat Angus of Canwest News Service:

• Amongst a bevy of beauties, only a chosen few will have the right stuff for Canada’s Next Top Model
  “Elmer Olsen only needs a few seconds to discover a model, but he still has a long day ahead of him. In the space of a few hours, the renowned model scout will audition hundreds of girls who have shown up to the Toronto open-call for Canada’s Next Top Model, quickly (but carefully) examining their facial features and their runway walk before giving them the thumbs up or sending them home.” Read more.

Hundreds of Top Model hopefuls tryout for CTV’s Canada’s Next Top Model Toronto Open Casting Call yesterday at Fairview Mall. Meaghan deWarreng-Waller, 19 flew in from Winnipeg, MB specifically to try out and received a call-back. Photo Credit: John White

From Richard Lieberecht of Sun Media:

• Hopefuls try out for ‘Top Model’
  “‘Designers in Paris, they don’t design for average women,’ he said. ‘Fashion is fantasy, not reality. Let’s face it – if you want to be a doctor, the good Lord can’t give everyone the brains to be a doctor. Not everyone can be a model, very simply.’” Read more.

From a media release:

Strike A Pose! CTV Announces First-Ever CANADA’S NEXT TOP MODEL Nation-Wide Casting Tour

• Five-city casting tour begins January 16 in Vancouver with stops in Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, and Toronto

Dream of strutting on the runway? The chance is closer than ever as CTV brings the catwalk to malls across the country in a CANADA’S NEXT TOP MODEL first. CTV announced today details for the first-ever, regional open casting tour. Girls with hopes of jumpstarting their modelling career have another great opportunity to prove they have what it takes to be Canada’s next ‘IT” girl. Set to strut from coast-to-coast, the five-city tour hits malls nationwide beginning Friday, January 16 at the Brentwood Town Centre in Vancouver. As announced last night on ETALK, the tour also includes stops in Edmonton, Halifax and Montreal, before concluding in Toronto on January 23. Nearly 4,000 applications from across the country have already been submitted to date online (another TOP MODEL first) and by mail. Now, even more will throw their hat into the ring. But in the end, only 10 women will be chosen to compete on-air.

(more…)

From the Canadian Press:

• ‘Canada’s Next Top Model’ to hold first-ever nationwide casting call
  “Canadian catwalk enthusiasts, it’s time to take your strut to the mall. Producers of “Canada’s Next Top Model” plan to hit five malls across Canada later this month to find leggy hopefuls for the reality TV show.” Read more.

From a media release:

CANADA’S NEXT TOP MODEL Cycle 3 Recruitment Closes Dec. 22

• CTV Announces Final Call to Catwalk Contenders for CANADA’S NEXT TOP MODEL
• Recruitment for third cycle of Gemini Award-winning reality series comes to a close December 22
• Apply now at www.model.ctv.ca for a chance to win a $100,000 modelling contract

Girls with a passion for fashion and dreams of jumpstarting their modelling career have six days left to apply for CANADA’S NEXT TOP MODEL. Deadline for applications is Monday, December 22, 2008. Visit model.ctv.ca to apply online – a program first this year – or download the official application kit and apply by mail. More than 2,000 applications from across the country have been submitted to date. Thousands more will apply, but only 10 women will compete on-air for an incredible grand prize that includes a $100,000 beauty contract. Cycle 3 of the hugely popular Gemini Award-winning series is scheduled to hit the airwaves Spring 2009 on CTV.

(more…)

From a media release:

Manuel Returns to CANADA’S NEXT TOP MODEL

• Recruitment continues for third cycle of Gemini Award-winning reality series
• Visit www.model.ctv.ca to download full application kit and/or apply online

CTV announced today the return of Jay Manuel as host and executive producer for the third cycle of CANADA’S NEXT TOP MODEL, coming to CTV in 2009. Recruitment has begun for the hugely popular, Gemini-Award winning series, and continues through December 22, 2008. Visit model.ctv.ca to download an official application kit and/or to apply online.

(more…)

From a media release:

CTV Begins Search for CANADA’S NEXT TOP MODEL

• Cycle 3 of Gemini Award-winning Reality Series to air on Canada’s No. 1 Network
• Visit www.model.ctv.ca to Download Full Application Kit and Apply Online

CTV announced today it is looking for CANADA’S NEXT TOP MODEL. Recruitment starts today for competitors for the third cycle of the 2007 Gemini winner for Best Reality Program or Series, which will air
for the first time on CTV in 2009. In a program first, CANADA’S NEXT TOP MODEL hopefuls have the option of submitting their application packages online at the series’ all-new website, model.ctv.ca. Applications are being received now through December 22, 2008. Thousands will apply, but only 10 women will compete on-air for an incredible grand prize that includes a $100,000 beauty contract.

(more…)

From a Writers Guild of Canada media release:

Canadian Nets Not Upfront About Lack of Canadian Original Scripted Drama

Canadian broadcasters CanWest and CTV held their upfronts this week, allowing a sneak peek at what Canadians can look for on their TV screens come Fall. To the Writers Guild of Canada, the new season is best summed up in the title of CanWest’s new show: “True Hollywood Story Canada” – the Canadian networks are filling their best time slots with U.S. programming, and offering very little new original scripted Canadian drama.

(more…)

From a media release (I’m including Canadian series only):

CTV’s fall season includes:

• Flashpoint (CTV), the Canadian-produced series to be simulcast with CBS follows an elite team of police as they thwart the most heinous of crimes at the moment they get out of hand
• The world premiere of The Listener (CTV), the Canadian-produced series airing in the U.S. on NBC and in 175 other countries, tracing the life of a young man with a very special talent – the ability to read minds
• So You Think You Can Dance Canada (CTV), the all-new Canadian version of the hit international format

CTV also announced today the first projects on its development slate for the 2008/09 season, including a pilot for a new comedy series from Corner Gas creator Brent Butt. Also announced were The Marilyn Denis Show, a daytime series starring Gemini Award winner and CHUM FM personality Marilyn Denis (for CTV), and an all-new season of Canada’s Next Top Model (for “A”).Additional projects will be announced later.

(more…)

From Katie Mapes of the Harvard Law School Record:

• Harvard Law (Television) Review: Canadian Television
  “For reasons that are beyond me, our neighbor to the north apparently doesn’t think it’s worth their time to police what videos are put on YouTube. But I’m not complaining. As a result, you can watch full seasons of Canadian television on-line. It’s a perfect way to kick back and to assure yourself that even a nation with universal health care and money that is terrifyingly worth more than yours still can’t manage to properly pronounce words like ‘sorry’ and ‘about.’” Read more.

Siri Agrell of the Globe and Mail reports on Canadian reality show contestants aiming to make more of their TV fame:

• Almost famous
  “Reality-show contestants try to leverage notoriety for a career, but once their 15 minutes are up, success can be elusive.” Read more.

From CBC:

• CBC’s The Hour wins Gemini for best talk show
  Canada’s Next Top Model, Skyland, Bathroom Divas, Backyardigans, and Wapos Bay were honoured at the awards for lifestyle, children’s and youth programming. Read more.

From Tara Merrin of Sun Media:

• Top Model’ winner aims to succeed
  “After so much being made of the new look, feel and calibre of City-TV’s CNTM this season, the only surprise was seeing a girl so similar to last year’s winner, Andrea Muizelaar, take the title. Both are from Ontario. Both have red hair. Both come from low-paying jobs. And both were deemed the least “pretty” of the Top 10. Still, Hardy says there is one big difference between her and her predecessor — drive.”

From GuelphMercury.com:

• She’s got the look
  “Three months. That’s how long Rebecca Hardy, a 22-year-old from Mannheim, kept quiet about her title as Canada’s Next Top Model.”

From Sun Media:

• ‘Canada’s Next Top Model’ crowned
  “Vancouver-born Rebecca Hardy, 22, who grew up in Mannheim, a town of about 1,200 near Waterloo, couldn’t hold her emotions last night as she and fellow semi-finalist Sinead Brady, 18, of Chatham, offered some final words to judges.”

From CTV:

• Factory worker crowned Canada’s Next Top Model
  “I’m super thrilled,” the five-foot-11 redhead with the edgy bob haircut said in an interview at the CHUM building in Toronto as the last episode of Cycle 2 of the Citytv reality TV series was airing.

Think Fashion thinks it should be Canada’s Next Role Model:

• Rebecca Hardy Wins Canada’s Next Top Model!
  “It was not uncommon to see Rebecca strip off her clothes for the camera, curse repeatedly or get absolutely intoxicated on the day before judging. In fact, viewers saw Rebecca get so drunk during one episode that she cheated on her boyfriend by kissing one of the male guests in the house. Role model material? I think not.”

From the Chatham Daily News:

• She was close to the top; C-K woman second in Top Model finals
  “Sinead’s classic beauty and stunning photographs weren’t enough to earn her the title of Canada’s Next Top Model. The 18-year-old Chatham woman came in second in the competition’s finale, which aired on Citytv Wednesday night. ”

From the London Free Press:

• Chatham teen top model runner-up
  “A science nerd from Chatham made it to the final two, but the Canada’s Next Top Model crown went to a meat factory worker from the Kitchener area last night.”

Rebecca Hardy, a 22 year-old factory worker from Mannheim, Ontario earned the title of “Canada’s Next Top Model” in the exciting season finale on Citytv Wednesday night.

In the highly-anticipated finale, the final four – Rebecca, Sinead, Tara and Tia, face off in a CoverGirl commercial shoot with photographer Jim De Yonker. All the girls surprisingly impress the judges, but when it comes time to eliminate, Tara and Tia are sent home.

(more…)