From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:
Link: Women Behind Canadian TV: Carol Hay
“The great thing about writing period drama is that you can tackle issues, get into stories and dig around, make a social comment or a societal observation that wouldn’t work in a contemporary setting.” Continue reading.Â
From a media release:
Thunderbird Entertainment Group Inc. (TSXV:TBRD) (“Thunderbird” or the “Company”), a global multiplatform entertainment company, is thrilled to confirm that author Cherie Dimaline will work with TV writer and producer Jennica Harper to adapt Dimaline’s  award-winning novel, The Marrow Thieves, for television. The series will be produced by the Company’s scripted division with Dimaline and Harper set to executive produce alongside Alexandra Raffé and Ivan Fecan, who is Thunderbird Entertainment’s Executive Chair of the Board.
The Marrow Thieves is set in a dystopian future where Earth has been ravaged by climate change. Wanted for their bone marrow, which contains the lost ability to dream, North American Indigenous people are being hunted by government recruiters and used as unwilling donors. The story centers on Frenchie, a highly resourceful Indigenous teenager, and his companions, who together embark on a journey to the old lands in the hopes of surviving and reuniting with loved ones.
Dimaline is a Métis author and editor whose fiction has been anthologized internationally. Renowned for many accomplishments, her most recent novel, The Marrow Thieves, won the Governor General’s Award for English-language children’s literature and the Kirkus Prize for Young Readers in 2017, the same year it was named a Native American Library Association Honor Book. Last year, The Marrow Thieves won the Sunburst Award, the Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s Amy Mathers Teen Book Award, and the Burt Award for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature. The Marrow Thieves has also been a finalist for the Trillium Book Award and the Ontario Library Association’s White Pine Award. Singer Jully Black represented the book on CBC’s 2018 Canada Reads, and it was later recognized as the bestselling Canadian book by CBC Books that same year. The Marrow Thieves has been a Canadian bestseller for over a year and continues to hold a spot on the Globe and Mail Canadian fiction list, nearly two years after publication.
Harper is a Vancouver-based TV writer and producer, whose background includes work on the current hit crime drama Cardinal, ABC summer thriller Somewhere Between, and popular crime drama Motive, among others. Most recently, she served as the co-creator, writer and showrunner on the comedy Jann, a fictitious take on the life of Jann Arden, which will premiere later this year. She has been nominated for a Canadian Screen Award and is the recipient of both a WGC Award for Screenwriting and a Leo Award.
In addition to being a Canadian bestseller, The Marrow Thieves is set to be published in the United Kingdom and Australia, as well as translated into German and French. It will also be a spotlight book at the 2020 Frankfurt Bookfair.
From a media release:
Starting Sunday, April 7 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, HGTV Canada gives viewers an in depth, personal look at the Baeumler’s struggle to transform their beachfront resort in the new Canadian original series Island of Bryan (13×60). Taking on their biggest challenge yet, Bryan and Sarah Baeumler move to the Bahamas with their four children to overhaul a run-down resort into a booming business. Despite the stunning backdrop of Bahamas’ white beaches and crystal blue water, they quickly discover that this is no vacation. Faced with daily hurdles and unforeseen challenges from construction delays and design limitations, Bryan and Sarah must work together to turn their embattled piece of paradise into the stunning dream of the Caerula Mar Club.
After a successful second season of Bryan Inc. – the #1 program on HGTV Canada last spring* – fans will experience the Baeumler’s bold and risky adventure first hand, seeing the step-by-step progress of the resort as it is transformed – from the hotel block and the private villas, to the poolside and the main club house. The final result is a beautiful boutique hotel that marries Sarah’s distinctive style with modern Caribbean design concepts and Bryan’s high level construction standards.
Island of Bryan is produced by Si Entertainment in association with Corus Entertainment’s HGTV Canada. New episodes will be available On Demand and at HGTV.ca each week after broadcast. Viewers can travel behind-the-scenes with exclusive Island of Bryan content at HGTV.ca, including tours of the Baeumler’s favourite rooms and spots around the island, fun videos of their four active kids (a.k.athe “B Teamâ€), Q&A with Bryan and Sarah, and more.
From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:
Link: Women Behind Canadian TV: Julie Puckrin
“I’ve been lucky to work in rooms that were not only gender-balanced, but in some cases, the women actually outnumbered the men! For many years, shows said ‘we need a woman in the room’, but in my career, I’ve never been the only woman.” Continue reading.
From a media release:
Cinespace Film Studios (Cinespace) today announced the signing of a multi-year lease with Netflix to expand its film and television production presence inside Marine Terminal 51 and the Cruise Ship Terminal, owned by PortsToronto and under long-term lease to Cinespace. The news comes the morning Netflix announced the creation of its Toronto production hub, expanding its production presence in Canada.
Netflix’s new production hub in Toronto will take advantage of the area’s globally-renowned and award-winning film production infrastructure, which includes deep pools of creative talent, technicians, suppliers and filming locations. Toronto’s overall film and television production volumes have reached $2 billion in recent years and have resulted in tens of thousands of jobs both directly and indirectly.
In addition to Toronto’s Netflix activity, Northern Ontario has also benefitted from several Netflix productions, demonstrating that film and television volumes rely on Ontario’s overall competitiveness as a film jurisdiction.
For Mayor Tory, the creation of a Netflix production hub in Toronto is a major milestone in his years of lobbying the Hollywood studios and digital platforms to send more business to Toronto, as well as his continuous urging of City agencies to audit their inventories for large sites that could be leased to the film industry.
About Cinespace Film Studios:
Cinespace Film Studios – a 30 years-running family business – is the largest private owner, operator and developer of studios for film, TV and digital media production in North America, with over 2 million square feet of space on over 100 acres in both Toronto and Chicago. Through direct advisory relationships with local government and through meaningful partnerships and internship programs with institutions – including York University in Toronto and DePaul University in Chicago – Cinespace is a market leader in infrastructure development for the screen-based industries.
