TV, eh?

From the WGC:

• Finalists Announced: The Writers Guild of Canada congratulates the 2010 Finalists

From John Doyle of the Globe and Mail:

• What to catch in between the gold medals
  “Meanwhile, back in the TV Racket: The Olympics are mere cover for feverish activity. New shows coming. New shows in production. Casting decisions made. Many shows ready to go to air as soon as the Olympics end. Some have even snuck onto the schedule already. Herewith, a summary of what’s happening.” Read more.

From Bill Harris of QMI Agency:

• ‘Less Than Kind’ finds new home
  “OK, we realize Mark McKinney has a vested interest in this, since his show Less Than Kind has moved from network TV to cable TV. Nonetheless, McKinney — who is best known as a member of The Kids in the Hall — believes that in a broader sense, cable TV is the place to be.” Read more.

From Rob Salem of the Toronto Star:

• Less Than Kind more than happy with its switch to HBO Canada
  “‘It actually feels like coming home,’ writer/producer Mark McKinney says of the move this week of his second-season sitcom, Less than Kind, to HBO Canada.” Read more.

From a media release:

LESS THAN KIND ONLINE ­ The Interactive Companion Website for LTK2 Launches January 19, 2010

Rolling out one month before the Season 2 premiere of LESS THAN KIND, Breakthrough New Media is launching LESS THAN KIND ONLINE, (www.lessthankind.ca ) on Tuesday, January 19, 2010. LESS THAN KIND (Season 2) debuts on HBO Canada, a multiplex channel of Astral Media¹s The Movie Network (Eastern Canada) and Corus Entertainment’s Movie Central (Western Canada) on Friday, February 19 at 8:30 p.m. ET/MT.

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LESS THAN KIND (Season 2)

Friday, February 19 at 8:30 p.m.

This half-hour Canadian comedy series follows overweight Winnipeg teenager Sheldon Blecher as he attempts to survive his awkward teenage years with a dysfunctional family that includes Sam Blecher, Sheldon’s self-destructive driving-instructor father; Anne Blecher, his unstable pyromaniac mother; and Josh Blecker, his failed-actor brother. As season two begins, the abrasive Sam is at Death’s door. But even Death won’t answer when Sam comes knocking. As a result, Anne’s anxiety reaches a breaking point while Josh is torn between obligations to his dying acting career, family and his girlfriend. As the turmoil at home escalates, Sheldon is dealing with seismic developments of his own as his best friend – braceface Miriam Goldstein – is becoming more than just a friend. Together they endure the explosive shift from their life as innocent geeks to being sixteen – a world on the cusp of sex, drugs and even rock ‘n roll. For Sheldon, this is a year of bullies and girl bullies, cliques and parties – just to add a little gasoline to the fire. Starring Maury Chaykin, Jesse Camacho, Wendel Meldrum, Benjamin Arthur, Brooke Palsson, Tyler Johnston, and Ross McMillan.

From a media release:

THE MOVIE NETWORK AND MOVIE CENTRAL ACQUIRE THE AWARD-WINNING COMEDY SERIES, LESS THAN KIND

Astral Media’s The Movie Network (Eastern Canada) and Corus Entertainment’s Movie Central (Western Canada) have secured full rights to the critically acclaimed, award-winning Canadian comedy series LESS THAN KIND, produced by Breakthrough Films & Television and Buffalo Gal Pictures. The new second season will premiere on Friday, February 19 at 8:30 p.m. ET/MT on HBO Canada, a multiplex channel of The Movie Network and Movie Central. Subscribers will also have the opportunity to catch the entire first season on The Movie Network OnDemand and Movie Central On Demand beginning Tuesday, February 23.

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From Alex Strachan of Canwest:

• Great Canadian TV: What you might have missed
  “Canadians love Canadians. Canadians love television. But Canadians don’t always love Canadian television. There is, however, some great TV being created north of the 49th parallel, despite our national boob-tube inferiority complex.” Read more.

From CBC:

• Young People F—ing wins big at comedy awards
  “The TV series Less Than Kind and The Jon Dore Television Show were among the multiple winners at the awards show presented by The Comedy Network.” Read more.

From a media release:

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is pleased to announce the nominations for the 24th Annual Gemini Awards, recognizing the year’s best in Canadian English-language television. The 2009 Broadcast Gala will take place on Saturday November 14th in Calgary, Alberta and will be broadcast live on Global and Showcase.

The drama Flashpoint leads the 2009 Gemini Awards nominations with a record 19 nominations, followed by The Tudors with 11 nominations. Being Erica, Diamonds, Less Than Kind, and The Border each received 9 nominations.

Click here for more information and a full list of nominees.

From a media release:

The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) announces the 2009 DGC Awards nominations. Comedian Shaun Majumder will host the annual gala on Saturday, October 24, 2009 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto. See nominees here.

From a media release:

TELEVISION NOMINEES

Taped Live Performance
Debra DiGiovanni – “Halifax Comedy Festival”
Laurie Elliot – “Just For Laughs Gala”
Jeremy Hotz – “Just For Laughs Gala”
Jeremy Hotz – “What a Miserable Show This Is”
Ron Sparks – “Comedy Now”

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From a media release:

NEW CANADIAN PRIME TIME PROGRAMS THIS FALL:

CONVICTION KITCHEN – A Citytv Original Production – 10 PM Sunday

World-renowned executive chef, Marc Thuet, and his wife and business partner, Biana Zorich, put their reputations on the line with a high-stakes challenge that will push them – and their charges – to the limit In Conviction Kitchen, Marc and Biana have just three weeks to train a staff of former bank robbers, thieves and minor offenders, completely outfit a brand new business, and create an Italian menu around fresh and seasonal ingredients… But the real challenge will be making it beyond opening night — Because once the eatery opens, the restaurant’s motley crew have only three months to turn a profit – or their bosses will pull the plug, and they’ll lose their second, and for many – the last chance to turn their lives around.

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From Eric Volmers of the Calgary Herald:

• Mark McKinney finds flexibility key to success in both TV markets
  “Mark McKinney seems as good a person as any to discuss weighing the lure of TV fame in the U.S. against a desire to develop our homegrown industry.” Read more.

From the Banff World Television Festival:

• Ustinov winner McKinney still a Kid
  “For Mark McKinney, this is the kind of year that could make a guy get reflective – not that he wants to. The Canadian funnyman is not only turning the big 5-0 this summer, but he will first pick up the Banff World Television Festival’s Sir Peter Ustinov Award for his career in comedy. ‘This came at a good time, because I have absolutely no time to reflect,’ McKinney quips. He’s too busy in his latest role – behind the scenes as showrunner on the Citytv half-hour Less Than Kind. Starring Jesse Camacho as 15-year-old misfit Sheldon who copes with his dysfunctional Jewish family (including Maury Chaykin as father Sam), the dark comedy wrapped season two last month in Winnipeg with prodco Buffalo Gal Pictures. It’s now posting in Toronto.” Read more.

From a media release:

New this fall:

CONVICTION KITCHEN

World-renowned executive chef, Marc Thuet, and his wife and business partner, Biana Zorich, put their reputations on the line with a high-stakes challenge that will push them – and their charges – to the limit In Conviction Kitchen, Marc and Biana have just three weeks to train a staff of former bank robbers, thieves and minor offenders, completely outfit a brand new business, and create an Italian menu around fresh and seasonal ingredients… But the real challenge will be making it beyond opening night — Because once the eatery opens, the restaurant’s motley crew have only three months to turn a profit – or their bosses will pull the plug, and they’ll lose their second, and for many – the last chance to turn their lives around.

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From Randall King of the Winnipeg Free Press:

• Strangers in a strange land: Locals, out-of-towners collaborate to capture ineffable Winnipeg weirdness in Season 2 of Less Than Kind
  “Not long after arriving on the set of the Winnipeg-set Less Than Kind, you have an idea Season 2 of the upstart Citytv series will be no less comically caustic than the first season.” Read more.

From a media release:

Citytv’s LESS THAN KIND STARTS PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY ON SEASON 2 IN WINNIPEG

• Mark McKinney Returns as Show Runner Alongside Series Creators Marvin Kaye and Chris Sheasgreen
• Tyler Johnston (Grandstar, Smallville) Joins Cast as Series Regular
• Bruce MacDonald joins the LESS THAN KIND Team of Directors

Maury Chaykin (Adoration, Blindness), Jesse Camacho (The Trotsky, 12 and Holding), Wendel Meldrum (Queen of the Lot, Seinfeld), Benjamin Arthur (That One Night) and Nancy Sorel (Cashing In) return the tag-team neurosis that is the Blecher family. This season they welcome Tyler Johnston (Grand Star, Smallville) to the cast. Mark McKinney (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, SNL, Slings and Arrows, Kids in the Hall) once again heads up the series created by Marvin Kaye and Chris Sheasgreen, and this season Bruce MacDonald (Pontypool) joins the team of directors which include Kelly Makin (Flashpoint, Brain Candy) and James Dunnison (Robson Arms). Filming runs from March 24 to May 29, 2009 on location in Winnipeg and Season 2 premieres on Citytv Fall, 2009.

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From NSI:

• Less Than Kind sold to Sony channels in Africa
  “Less Than Kind follows a 15-year-old teenager growing up in Winnipeg and was created by Chris Sheasgreen and Marvin Kaye.” Read more.

From a media release:

Less Than Kind
RETURNS Monday, March 9 at 9pm ET/PT (8pm CT, 10pm MT)
For 15-year-old Sheldon Blecher (Jesse Camacho), life sucks. He’s overweight, with a self-destructive driving-instructor father (Maury Chaykin), a pyromaniac mother (Wendel Meldrum), and a failed-actor brother (Benjamin Arthur) who won’t get out of Sheldon’s room. The family business, Blecher’s Driving School, is on its way down the toilet and his family lives in Winnipeg! As Sheldon struggles to escape his family, and his family struggles to keep the business running, cars crash, hearts break, blood pressure boils, and corned beef is eaten.