TV, eh?

From Peter Birnie of the Vancouver Sun:

• Brent Butt’s other passion involves chokeholds and knockouts
  “On his new series Hiccups, Brent Butt plays a mild-mannered counsellor whose sedate ways are a gentle counterpart to the mania of his client, portrayed by Butt’s wife Nancy Robertson. During the wildly popular six-season run of Corner Gas, Butt showed the same peaceful nature as proprietor of the only gas station in Dog River, Sask. Yet behind the calm facade of Canada’s favourite TV funnyman lies an interesting passion.” Read more.

From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family:

• Half Million Catch Hiccups, See Dan Exit
  “Hiccups and Dan For Mayor got a bit of a bump each for their season finales Monday night. Hiccups drew an overnight, estimated 498,000 viewers across Canada and Dan For Mayor pulled 516,000.” Read more.

8 p.m. – HICCUPS – “You Schmooze, You Lose” – SEASON FINALE
Millie (Nancy Robertson) is not happy about being nominated for an award and Joyce (Laura Soltis) gets a lesson on social skills from Taylor (David Ingram).

8:30 p.m. – DAN FOR MAYOR – “The Return of Wheel-O” – SEASON FINALE

As Election Day approaches, Dan (Fred Ewanuick) and Claire (Mary Ashton) struggle to express their feelings for each other while Dan’s election fortunes take a turn for the worse thanks to a surprise rival. When the votes are in, Dan is forced to make a choice that will affect him and the city of Wessex.

From Rob Salem of the Toronto Star:

• New comedies aren’t Corner Gas, but I’ll give them another shot
  “Neither one has turned out to be the next Corner Gas — despite CTV’s best efforts to convince us otherwise. But all the building-sized billboard images of Hiccups’ reunited Brent Butt and Nancy Robertson, together with Dan for Mayor’s Fred Ewanuick, cannot change the fact that both these new sitcoms have fallen considerably short of Gas’s admittedly unattainably high standard.” Read more.

From Jaime Weinman of Maclean’s magazine:

• The Perils of Hiatus
  “The shows have turned into kind of an interesting case history of what can help and hurt a new show in its quest to find viewers. CTV promoted these shows very heavily to begin with, and it paid off with high ratings for the first part of the season. Then the network had to decide whether to keep the shows on in May, putting them up against the very tough U.S. competition, or bring them back after the sweeps period. They chose the latter; they even delayed their return longer than originally intended so these shows wouldn’t be competing against widely-watched sports events. But as Bill Brioux noted, Hiccups and Dan finally came back a couple of weeks ago with a tremendous drop in viewership.” Read more.

8 p.m. – HICCUPS – “Dream Gig” – NEW EPISODE

Stan’s (Brent Butt) dream analysis idea backfires with Millie (Nancy Robertson) and Taylor’s (David Ingram) new talent agency doesn’t sit well with Joyce (Laura Soltis) or Crystal (Emily Perkins).

8:30 p.m. – DAN FOR MAYOR – “A Date with Vengeance” – NEW EPISODE

With days to go before the election and hardly a Dan for Mayor lawn sign in sight, Dan (Fred Ewanuick) gets some help on the campaign trail. Jeff (Paul Bates) gives Claire (Mary Ashton) career advice.

8 p.m. – HICCUPS – “Autograph Hound” – NEW EPISODE
Millie (Nancy Robertson) and Stan (Brent Butt) go to great lengths to track down a young autograph seeker while Joyce (Laura Soltis), Anna (Paula Rivera) and Crystal (Emily Perkins) team up to mess with Taylor’s (David Ingram) head at the office.

8:30 p.m. – DAN FOR MAYOR – “A Cleanse Getaway” – NEW EPISODE

Dan (Fred Ewanuick) gets some unexpected help in the campaign that gets both he and Jeff (Paul Bates) into hot water. Meanwhile, Claire (Mary Ashton) deals with the fall-out from her decision about the wedding.

From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family:

• Can Hiccups be Cured?
  “Why aren’t there more new Canadian scripted shows on Global, Roger and CTV next fall, asks Scott. Exactly. We linger over the dismal ratings Monday for Hiccups and Dan For Mayor.” Read more or listen here.

From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family:

• Break No Boost for Hiccups, Dan For Mayor
  “Hiccups drew an overnight, estimated national audience of 297,000 at 8 p.m., with Dan For Mayor getting 309,000 at 8:30.” Read more.

From John Doyle of the Globe and Mail:

• Some home truths about Canadian TV
  “Promotion matters more than anything. CTV knows this and has benefited enormously. It has promoted the hell out of Hiccups and Dan For Mayor. It made sure that every Canadian knew about Flashpoint and The Bridge. Maybe this was a lesson learned from the launch and success of Corner Gas, but the presence of Canadian shows on CTV is inescapable.” Read more.

8 p.m. – HICCUPS – “Model Patient” – NEW EPISODE
Millie (Nancy Robertson) is jealous of Stan’s (Brent Butt) new client and Crystal (Emily Perkins) tries to sabotage Anna’s (Paula Rivera) opportunity to become “the dirty duchess”.

8:30 p.m. – DAN FOR MAYOR – “Revenge is Swifty” – NEW EPISODE
While taking part in the candidate’s debate, Dan (Fred Ewanuick) gets embroiled in a career-ending muffin issue. Jeff (Paul Bates) is in trouble at his own work.

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.

CTV Announces Industry-Leading 2010-2011 Canadian Television Package

• CTV renews entire scripted slate: more FLASHPOINT, more THE BRIDGE, more HICCUPS, more DAN FOR MAYOR, more THE LISTENER
• CTV announces new daytime series THE MARILYN DENIS SHOW, debuting this fall
• Season 3 of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE CANADA to premiere August 15
• New international co-production drama THE BORGIAS joins CTV and Bravo! in 2011
• COMEDY NOW! is back for Season 13, ETALK returns for Season and W5 marks Season 45
• THE JUNO AWARDS, THE GILLER PRIZE and WE DAY all return

Following one of its most successful seasons ever for original Canadian programming, CTV unveiled today its 2010-2011 Canadian television package. The network has renewed its entire scripted slate of five original series, ordered a new daytime series, and confirmed the premiere date for its award-winning Top 20 hit dance competition series. Delivering more viewers to Canadian programming than any other network, the roster of original programming totals nearly 100 hours of prime-time Canadian programming on CTV alone during the 2010-2011 season.

With the majority of the original productions due to go into production this summer, CTV’s original series will premiere throughout the network’s 52-week schedule in 2010/2011. However, CTV confirmed today THE MARILYN DENIS SHOW, a new daytime series starring Gemini Award-winner and CHUM FM personality Marilyn Denis, premieres this fall. The series airs daily at 10 a.m. following LIVE! WITH REGIS AND KELLY and prior to THE VIEW, providing an uninterrupted flow of live programming on CTV each day from 6 a.m. – 1 p.m.

(more…)

From a CTV media release:

For the 2009-10 season, CTV had:

• the most-watched Canadian drama, FLASHPOINT (1.5 million viewers);
• the #1 new Canadian drama, THE BRIDGE (1 million viewers);
• the #1 new comedy programs (Canadian or American) of the year, HICCUPS (972,000) and DAN FOR MAYOR (913,000);

DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION – Sundays at 7 and 7:30 p.m. ET beginning May 30 – NEW EPISODES

Sav and Anya have been planning for their Spring Formal for as long as they can remember. That’s until Sav’s parents announce that their family friends the Hassans are coming for a visit that night and are bringing their daughter Farrah – Sav’s maybe-possible-future wife. Unable to come clean with Anya, Sav digs himself deeper trying to please his family. Will Sav go to prom with Anya? Or is the girl his parents chose for him the solution to all his troubles?

HICCUPS – Mondays at 8 p.m. ET beginning June 7 – NEW EPISODES

Continuing on HICCUPS, Millie (Nancy Robertson) is jealous of Stan’s (Brent Butt) new client and Crystal (Emily Perkins) tries to sabotage Anna’s (Paula Rivera) opportunity to become “the dirty duchess”.

DAN FOR MAYOR – Mondays at 8:30 p.m. ET beginning June 7 – NEW EPISODES

As the election draws nearer, Dan gets embroiled in a potential career-ending muffin issue. Meanwhile, campaign manager Jeff (Paul Bates) is in trouble at his own employment. Toronto Mayor David Miller makes a cameo appearance.

COMEDY NOW! – Saturdays at 10 p.m. ET beginning June 12 – NEW SEASON

Entering its 12th season, this hilarious all-Canadian, star-making stand-up series has won awards all over North America. A TV calling card for comedic success, COMEDY NOW! has featured some of Canada’s most successful comedians, including Brent Butt, Jeremy Hotz, Harland Williams, Shaun Majumder, Gavin Crawford, Gerry Dee, Nikki Payne, Roman Danylo and Russell Peters. Starring in the all-new 12th season are Ian Bagg, Dylan Rhymer, Dave Hemstad, JP Mass, Allyson Smith, Darcy Michael, Debra DiGiovanni, Ivan Decker, Kelly Taylor, Nick Beaton, Dana Alexander, Tyler Hawkins, Trent McClellan and Simon King.

8 p.m. – HICCUPS – “Hippy Anniversary” – NEW EPISODE
Millie’s (Nancy Robertson) anniversary gift puts Stan (Brent Butt) and Anna (Paula Rivera) at odds with each other, while Taylor (David Ingram) and Joyce (Laura Soltis) try to quietly take on a case of copyright infringement.

8:30 p.m. – DAN FOR MAYOR – “The Podium Conundra” – NEW EPISODE
Jeff (Paul Bates) has trouble convincing the other Mayoral candidates that Dan (Fred Ewanuick) should take part in the upcoming televised debate, while Dan and Brianna (Agam Darshi) decide to go public with their romance.

From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family:

• Hockey Hammers Hiccups, Dan for Mayor
  “Monday’s BBM Canada overnight estimates saw both Hiccups and Dan dip well below the half-million mark nationally, a first for new episodes of each. The Total BBM tally, which includes PVR viewing, will be higher, but still—these are shows that opened to close to 2 million viewers each in overnights.” Read more.

8 p.m. – HICCUPS – “Watch and Learn” – NEW EPISODE

Crystal (Emily Perkins) redecorates Millie’s (Nancy Robertson) condo, while Millie and Taylor (David Ingram) try and beat her neighbour at his own game. Stan (Brent Butt) tries to prove his abilities to a suddenly skeptical Joyce (Laura Soltis).

8:30 p.m. – DAN FOR MAYOR – “The Disc Compact” – NEW EPISODE

Dan (Fred Ewanuick) and Jeff (Paul Bates) get their hands on the campaign platform of their main opponent, but are faced with a moral dilemma. Also, Dan gets a new roommate.

8 p.m.

Millie (Nancy Robertson) learns that doing good deeds has its pros and cons, Joyce (Laura Soltis) struggles with self control when it comes to snacking and Taylor (David Ingram) becomes an unwitting victim of an online auction.

8 p.m. – HICCUPS – “Hot Luv” – NEW EPISODE

The competition heats up after Taylor (David Ingram) takes Millie (Nancy Robertson) to lunch. Meanwhile, Joyce (Laura Soltis) seeks Crystal’s (Emily Perkins) expertise and unexpectedly ends up getting Anna’s (Paula Rivera) advice.