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Children's Programming, Industry News

DHX Television orders second season of hit original drama Backstage

From a media release:

DHX Television confirmed today that Fresh TV will deliver a 30-episode sophomore season of the hit original series Backstage for Family Channel’s 2017 broadcast season. The popular tween drama, which debuted in March 2016, has gained international acclaim and a devoted fan- following for its layered portrayal of daily life at an elite fine arts high school. The commissioning decision comes on the heels of Family’s Big Ticket Summer Concert announcement, revealing three of the series stars – Josh Bogert, Aviva Mongillo and Mckenzie Small – will make their touring debuts as performers on this year’s concert tour, accompanied by additional performers from the show. Production is set to being this summer in Toronto.

Backstage follows a group of immensely talented teenagers as they live through the highs and lows that come with attending the prestigious Keaton School of the Arts. From the angst and disappointments to the new friendships and crowning achievements, being a student at Keaton sets you on the path to becoming a star. Lifting the curtain on how these young musicians, dancers and artists see the world, their confessions and dreams are highlighted as they sing, dance and carve out the destiny they see for themselves – making it big.

The series’ stars: Josh Bogert as Miles; Aviva Mongillo as Alya; Mckenzie Small as Scarlett; Devyn Nekoda as Vanessa; Alyssa Trask as Carly; Julia Tomasone as Bianca; Matthew Isen as Jax; Colin Petierre as Sasha; Romy Weltman as Kit; Kyal Legend as Julie; and Adrianna Di Liello as Jenna.

Commissioned by DHX Television, and with international distribution handled by DHX Media, Backstage was created and developed by Fresh TV. Executive Producers are Brian Irving, who also serves as producer; Jennifer Pertsch, also the co-creator and a writer; Lara Azzopardi, the series’ co-creator, show runner, writer and director; Tom McGillis and George Elliott. Directors for the series include top music video directors RT! (Snoop Dogg, Sean Paul, Shane Harte), Director X (Iggy Azalea, T.I., Drake), Wendy Morgan (Dragonette, Janelle Monáe) and Warren Sonoda (Johnny Reid, George Canyon), as well as Mario Azzopardi (Stargate SG-1, The Outer Limits, Degrassi) and Lara Azzopardi (I Am an Apartment Building, Rewind).

 

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Children's Programming

Links: Raising Expectations

From Victoria Ahearn of The Canadian Press:

As a young star she fled fame for France, but Ringwald at 48 is comfortable now
The first episode of actress Molly Ringwald’s new Canadian family series “Raising Expectations” touches on an issue she’s deftly handled throughout her career: the perils of fame.

Airing Sunday on Family Channel, the comedy series première sees her character — a high-profile child psychologist and author and mother of five — recounting one of her husband’s tall tales at a conference. When the talk is posted online, it draws a flurry of accusations that the father (played by Jason Priestley) is lying and that the family isn’t as perfect as it seems. Continue reading.

From Tim Kelly of the Vaughan Citizen:

Vaughan’s Luke Bilyk sets sights on Raising Expectations
You may well know Vaughan’s Luke Bilyk as Drew Torres from Degrassi: The Next Generation where he starred for five years, but now the 21-year-old is hitting the small screen in a brand new show.
Debuting Sunday at 7:30 p.m. on Family Channel, Raising Expectations tells the story of a pair of “multi-exceptional parents” raising four “multi-exceptional children” and one not-so-exceptional child. Laughs and some life lessons ensue. Continue reading.

From Wendy Goldman Getzler of Kidscreen.com:

In Raising Expectations, DHX broadens reach
“We wanted to–within the regular Family Channel block–also think about [reaching] more people who frankly may not turn on Family Channel, who may not know about the channel or watch the channel. So we were thinking about a single-camera comedy that is age-appropriate for the core audience.” Continue reading.

From Jeremy Dixon of Kidscreen.com

Family quirks: A Q&A with Raising Expectations’ creator
“I wanted to tell a story that was very loosely based on a portion of my family, which is a family of nine. In other pilots that I’ve written, I like to dabble and draw from my family because we’re such a diverse bunch of characters. With Raising Expectations, I wasn’t thinking that I wanted to make a kids show. I wanted to make a show for a family, or a show that my family would want to watch.” Continue reading.

From Cynthia Reason of the Etobicoke Guardian:

Etobicoke School of the Arts’ Matthew Tissi stars in Raising Expectations
Matthew Tissi wasn’t even born when the Brat Pack had teens flocking to theatres in the ’80s and Beverly Hills 90210 had them glued to their TVs in the early ’90s, but he’s making up for lost time now by acting alongside two of that generation’s biggest stars. Continue reading. 

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Children's Programming, Featured

Jason Priestley shows his comic chops in Family’s Raising Expectations

I’ve seen Jason Priestley guest-star on Spun Out, so I knew he could do comedy. But would he be able to headline a comic project on Family Channel? Indeed he can. As a matter of fact, he’s one of many reasons to tune in to Raising Expectations.

Debuting Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on Family Channel, Priestley’s Wayne Wayney plays a somewhat out-of-touch dad alongside wife Paige (Molly Ringwald) and their four “multi-exceptional” children. The fifth kid? Well, not so much. Emmett (Simon Cadel) lacks the academic and physical prowess of his siblings, but has the street smarts to keep everyone grounded. And though the emphasis in the press releases surrounding Raising Expectations plays up Emmett a lot, he doesn’t really come off that much different from his brothers and sister. What does, however, is Priestley’s Wayne. After seeing him play a teen for so long on Beverly Hills 90210, it’s definitely a shock to see him playing a father. Thanks to the writing, he’s a blast.

Created by the same folks behind Todd and the Book of Pure Evil—Episode 2 features Emmett wearing a Crowley High t-shirt—Raising Expectations is a showcase for Priestley’s comic chops (he’s directing some episodes too). Whether he’s wallowing on a couch, feeling badly for lying to his family and drowning his guilt in bags of chips and tubs of ice cream, mistaking Internet trolls for gnomes or doing battle with a sap-filled tree, Wayne is the focus. Taking nothing away from Ringwald or the young cast—who are great too—but the series would be hard to watch with anyone else acting opposite them.

Another mark in Raising Expectations‘ favour? No laugh track. There’s simply no reason to have it when the writing is sharp and the performances are well done.

Raising Expectations airs Sundays at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on Family Channel.

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Children's Programming, Featured

Frank van Keeken ousted from The Next Step

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After creating four seasons of mega-hit The Next Step for Family Channel, Frank van Keeken has been removed as its executive producer.

Van Keeken made the announcement while accepting the Showrunners Award at the 2016 Writers Guild of Canada Screenwriting Awards, where he was being fêted for his body of work in the television industry. Van Keeken was reliving key moments in his TV career—his love of the medium began when he and his siblings would take turns holding the TV antenna on the roof of their home so signals from Barrie and Kitchener, Ont., could be picked up—that contained many ups and downs, including the news he’d been removed from The Next Step.

Van Keeken supposed to the assembled crowd that executives at Temple Street—The Next Step and Lost & Found‘s production company—viewed the formation of his own company, Beachwood Canyon Productions, as competition and therefore cut ties.

We’re awaiting a comment from Temple Street Productions.

Shot as a reality show, The Next Step follows the struggles of a group of dancers at The Next Step Dance Studio as they try to win national dance championships alongside the angst that is a part of being a young person. The Next Step has become a worldwide phenomenon, earning a BAFTA in 2015 and spawning its own touring dance company showcasing the program’s real stars. Its spinoff, Lost & Found Music Studios, spotlights struggling musicians trying to find their sound.

Van Keeken was the series creator on Winging’ It and Big Sound, executive-produced Billable Hours and was supervising producer on Greg the Bunny and Raising Dad, and has written for The Kids in the Hall and Maniac Mansion.

 

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Children's Programming

Link: Molly Ringwald molds ‘multi-exceptional’ kids in ‘Raising Expectations’

From Bill Harris of Postmedia Network:

Molly Ringwald molds ‘multi-exceptional’ kids in ‘Raising Expectations’
So for all these years Molly Ringwood has been married to Jason Priestley? Wow, they did a great job of keeping that secret.

“I know!” Ringwald said with a laugh. “Who knew?” Continue reading. 

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