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Children's Programming

Link: Jason Priestley has daddy issues on Raising Expectations

From Melissa Hank of O.Canada.com:

Link: Jason Priestley has daddy issues on Raising Expectations
The young actors on Jason Priestley’s new TV show Raising Expectations have no idea who he is.

Well, sure, they know him in the way you’d know your dentist — he’s a guy who gets the job done yet probably hasn’t seen Kylie Jenner’s latest Instagram post that, OMG you guys, is like totes adorbs.

But if you mention the fact that the 46-year-old actor was once Teen Beat cover bait for his role on Beverly Hills, 90210? Someone emulated in hair, clothing and eyebrow lift? Crickets. Continue reading. 

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Children's Programming

Production on Season 5 of The Next Step begins

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From a media release:

DHX Television’s Family Channel and Radical Sheep Productions, a division of Boat Rocker Studios, announced today that principal photography has begun on the fifth season of the award-winning global tween series, The Next Step. The fan-favourite series, which follows the lives of an elite group of dancers that train at the Next Step studio, has become a worldwide phenomenon, sparking three Canadian tours, international tours through Europe, the UK and Australia, a feature film, and spin-off series. Production on the 20-episode order begins this summer in Toronto, with the fifth season slated to premiere on Family Channel in 2017.

Season five opens a new chapter for The Next Step dance studio. The studio is expanding and attracting a lot of fresh faces and the dancers are looking to step up their game. The dance world is a tight family, but competition will put old friendships and new relationships to the test, as the dancers try to strike a balance between individual talent and dedicated teamwork. This season asks the question: How far would you go to make it to the top?

In addition to returning fan-favourites from previous seasons of the show, season five of The Next Step will introduce fans to a new group of talented young dancers including: Dylan Ratzlaff as Jacquie; Jessica Lord as Lola; Milaina Robinson as Zara; Julian Lombardi as Ozzy; Hanna Miller as Heather; Noah Zulfikar as Kingston; Dawson Handy as Josh; and Julian Elia as Elliot.

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Children's Programming

Family Channel Celebrates girl power with the premiere of We Are Savvy, July 1

From a media release:

This summer, Family Channel dives into the world of pop culture with the brand new series We Are Savvy, debuting July 1 at 6:30 p.m. ET/PT. Hosted by three girls who are setting out to empower their generation, the magazine-style show features a variety of segments including inspiring peer profiles, crafty DIYs and interviews with pop culture leaders from the world of music, technology, sports and fashion. Plus, fans will be treated to special appearances by popular celebrities including Bailee Madison (The Fosters, Good Witch), Lennon & Maisy (Nashville), international recording artists Tegan and Sara, Alessia Cara, plus more.

Hosts Tehya, Sarah and Spencer are BIG fans of the internet and while they may differ in just about everything from music tastes to celebrity crushes, the three girls combine their unique talents to create a YouTube-inspired pop culture series that offers tweens a refreshing spin on the world around them. The cheeky (and stylish) magazine-style show is set in each of the hosts’ bedrooms and sews together feature stories with recurring segments. Each episode sees two of the hosts hanging out, while the third hits the road to entertain viewers with a unique look at the coolest venues and most coveted events including ComiCon, LUSH Cosmetics Factory, GoKart World and more. Together, the three girls aspire to create empowering content that caters to an audience who is fluent in “Emoji” and crazy for viral cat videos, but who also has an active life offline.

In the premiere episode, Sarah and Tehya share their Savvy tips for taking the perfect cell phone photos, while Spencer experiences the TIFF Bell Lightbox Digi Playspace Exhibit. Later, the girls play ‘kitten or cat?’ on the weekly Cat Chat segment, and design a DIY jean pocket organizer. The episode also features a special appearance and performance by Nashville stars Lennon and Maisy. Following the series’ Canada Day debut, new episodes will air regularly Fridays at 6:30 p.m. ET.

In addition to the aforementioned celebrity appearances, special guest stars include: Amy Sedaris (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt); Eden Sher (The Middle); Luna Blaise (Fresh Off the Boat); Simon Cadel (Raising Expectations); Sloane Siegel (Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street); Sixx Orange (The Kicks);  Canadian fashion expert Jeanne Beker; Canadian singer/songwriters Shane Harte (Lost & Found Music Studios), Buffy Sainte-Marie and Tyler Shaw; Australian singer Betty Who and classical crossover singer Jackie Evancho.

The girl power continues at Family.ca where kids can take the fun new quiz “What’s Your Savvy Style?” to find out which host they share the most similarities with. The dedicated show page also features more information about the series and its hosts. For a first look at exclusive video content including inventive DIYs and fun interview segments, fans can check out We Are Savvy‘s YouTube page. New episodes of We Are Savvy will also be offered on Family OnDemand and through the Family Channel App as they become available weekly.

Commissioned by DHX Television, and with international distribution handled by DHX Media, Savvy is executive produced by Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen for Banger Films’ kids division, B-Minors (Gaming Show (In My Parents’ Garage), Big Ticket Summer Concert) and is led by series producers Jeni Besworth (Grizzly Cup, Big Ticket) and Adrienne Reid (Fashion Television). Banger Films is an award-winning film and television production company based in Toronto. In its first 10 years, Banger has produced feature documentaries, TV series, live concerts and kids’ programs, which have been broadcast worldwide.

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Children's Programming

Odd Squad, hits movie theatres this summer; Season 2 premieres on TVO

From a media release:

This July, TVO and Sinking Ship Entertainment have joined with Cineplex Entertainment to bring Odd Squad: The Movie to theatres across Canada. A live-action educational series, Odd Squad features kid agents who solve math-related mysteries CSI-style. This is the first film for the award-winning series, designed to help kids aged 5 to 8 build their math, problem-solving, and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) skills.

Odd Squad: The Movie jumps off from the Season 1 finale, with agents Olive and Otto joining forces to defeat Odd Todd, a former agent turned villain. When the two leave to run their own squad, two new agents, Olympia and Otis, take their place. In the movie, Olympia and Otis are rivaled by a group of grown-ups, Weird Team, who are led by Weird Tom, played by 30 Rock’s Jack McBrayer. Armed with their wits, math abilities, and problem-solving skills, Olympia and Otis devise a plan to take back what’s theirs.

Odd Squad: The Movie will play in 90 theatres across Canada on Saturday, July 16 at 11 am and is part of Cineplex’s Family Favourites program. Tickets are available at cineplex.com.

Leading up to the film’s release, Odd Squad: Season 2 premieres on TVO beginning on Tuesday, June 21 at 4:55 pm. Season 2 features more creatures, gadgets, and odd occurrences to investigate, and agents Olympia and Otis, who are ready to solve the case. With math concepts embedded in each of their assignments, the agents problem-solve together and use their STEAM skills to set things right. Throughout the summer, episodes of Odd Squad: Season 2 will air on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4:55 pm and repeat Saturdays and Sundays at 9:15 am. Odd Squad: Season 2 will also be available on tvokids.com and on TVOKids’ YouTube channel.

The release of Odd Squad: The Movie and Odd Squad: Season 2 are part of TVOKids’ Summer of Odd. Kids can stay entertained while learning throughout the summer months, with new episodes of popular children’s series airing in new time slots. TVOKids’ full summer schedule is available on tvokids.com.

Odd Squad is produced by Sinking Ship Entertainment in association with TVO.

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Children's Programming, Industry News

Kids’ CBC greenlights Wandering Wenda based on Margaret Atwood’s children’s book

From a media release:

Kids’ CBC today announced that new animated series WANDERING WENDA (26×8) from Breakthrough Entertainment has been greenlit. Inspired by Margaret Atwood’s children’s book The Wide World of Wandering Wenda, the alliterative series follows young Wenda and her two best friends as they embark on magical adventures.Production by Breakthrough Entertainment and PIP Animation began in November 2015 and broadcast is slated for winter 2017.

Children will be transported into an exhilarating world of action, adventure and alliteration as they follow Wenda and her two best friends, Wu and Wesley Woodchuck on a series of wild, weird and wonderfully exciting adventures. No matter where Wenda wanders, she always finds herself mixed up in the middle of mayhem and when the going gets tough she uses her words. With some quick wordplay, Wenda manages to get out of the trickiest situations. By changing words she is able to shape her adventure and adapt the world around her to help her out of some sticky situations. Each episode will be a whimsical, globe-trotting adventure of sound, word and letter exploration aimed at early readers. Wenda and her friends allow audiences to share as they venture into daring exploits and new travel destinations, and armed with the power of words there is nothing they can’t overcome.

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