TV, eh?

From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family, includes ratings for hockey, Sophie, Little Mosque on the Prairie, Corner Gas:

• TSN Shoots, Scores; Being Erica Blanked
  “Being Erica: only 575,000 tuned in and only 201,000 25-54-year-olds, both less than The Border–already done for the season–regularly draws in that timeslot. (All figures BBM NMR overnight estimates.)” Read more.

From Maryanne Firth in the Welland Tribune:

• Fenwick native stars in new CBC drama
  “She’s back for a second season as Melissa Bryant on CBC’s sitcom Sophie, and she’s now balancing the role of Rebecca McGregor on CBC’s new nighttime drama Wild Roses.” Read more.

From John Doyle of the Globe and Mail:

• 2008 Great between the crises
  “Flashpoint (CTV, CBS) changed everything. It benefited from the paucity of new shows available in the United States, thanks to the Writers Guild of America strike, but as soon as it became a hit, it brought the Canadian TV industry alive with hope and ideas. It also got better, episode by episode. And it showcased great Canadian actors to Hollywood and the world.” Read more.

From Cassandra Szklarski of the Canadian Press:

• Borders came down for Canadian TV
  “The borders have come down for the Canadian television industry as homegrown programs made substantial inroads in the United States and abroad this year, and TV execs are predicting more gains in 2009.” Read more.

From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family, ratings for Rick Mercer Report, Air Farce, Dragons’ Den, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, The Border, The Tudors, Little Mosque on the Prairie, Sophie, So You Think You Can Dance Canada, Corner Gas, The Guard, etc.:

• Mercer, Air Farce still flying high
  As expected, Don Cherry helped boost the Rick Mercer Report back on top as CBC’s highest-rated non-hockey broadcast last week, drawing 1,169,000 viewers last Tuesday. In fact, if you add the other 815,000 who checked out Mercer’s Friday rebroadcast, the episode drew close to 2 million Canadians.” Read more.

From Bill Brioux of TV Feeds My Family, ratings for The Border, Dragons’ Den, Air Farce, Rick Mercer Report, Heartland, The Tudors, Little Mosque on the Prairie, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Sophie, So You Think You Can Dance Canada, Corner Gas, The Guard, and Degrassi, among others:

• Grace Park Behind Border Jump
  “Boosted by the series debut of Grace Park as Homeland Security Agent Liz Carver, The Border jumped to 765,000 viewers across Canada Nov. 10. That made it CBC’s highest-rated off-ice series last week.” Read more.

From AfterElton.com:

• “Sophie” and her gay BFF are coming to ABC Family
  “ABC Family (who brought us Greek) is set to bring more gay representation to U.S. television when it premieres dramedy import Sophie in early 2009.” Read more.

From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family, ratings for the below as well as So You Think You Can Dance Canada, Corner Gas, The Guard, Degrassi:

• Weekly Ratings in Jeopardy
  The Rick Mercer Report, opposite U.S. presidential election returns, drew 843,000 last Tuesday night. Air Farce Final Flight, still stubbornly resilient, drew 728,000, The Tudors, 652,000, The Border, 643,000, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, 631,000, Dragon’s Den, 617,000, Doctor Who, 547,000, Doc Zone, 515,000, Little Mosque, 514,000, Nature of Things, 455,000, Heartland, 430,000, fifth estate, 289,000 and dead last–below MVP and jPod numbers–poor Sophie at 251,000 viewers.” Read more.

From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family, with ratings for Mercer, Dragon’s Den, The Border, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, The Tudors, Heartland, Air Farce, Little Mosque on the Prairie, Sophie, The Guard, So You Think You Can Dance Canada, Corner Gas and Degrassi:

• Last Week: Mercer’s Back On Top
  “He shoots, he scores: last week’s Rick Mercer Report topped all CBC prime time shows with 1,114,000 viewers, outdrawing even Saturday night staple Hockey Night in Canada (1,021,000).” Read more.

From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family:

• Sophie: Viewers Wanted
  “Sophie was up slightly in Week Two, to 395,000 CBC viewers. … Little Mosque on the Prairie 684,000, CTV’s So You Think You Can Dance Canada 1,430,000 (a new high for the series).” Read more.

From Bill Brioux of the Canadian Press:

• Natalie Brown says she gets mixed up in crazy situations, like character Sophie
  “Most actresses starring in a sitcom can’t wait to tell you all about their favourite subject: themselves. Not Natalie Brown. The vivacious star of “Sophie” seems as oblivious to her career as her character is at times on her CBC comedy, which is back for a second season on Wednesday nights (check local listings).” Read more.

From Joel Rubinoff of the Toronto Star:

• Little Mosque, Sophie fine tune their humour
  “Neither show, frankly, seemed poised for a long run – Sophie because it was silly and had no rooting in reality, Mosque because it was more Corner Gas than Borat, its mild-mannered cultural barbs never intended as the scathing political A-bombs hyperventilating correspondents from CNN made them out to be.” Read more.

From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family:

• Very Little Mosque Battered By Bones
  “Little Mosque on the Prairie’s third season debut opened to 603,000, one of its lowest ratings ever. … Sophie returned for a second season of 20 new episodes with just 352,000 viewers.” Read more.

From John Doyle of the Globe and Mail:

• So, the right was wrong. But you’ll never hear about it on your TV
  “In tonight’s season premiere, we find out whether Rayyan (Sitara Hewitt) accepted J.J.’s (Stephen Lobo) marriage proposal, and what Amaar (Zaib Shaikh) does about it. Apparently, if I say anything more, CBC will be extremely annoyed. Probably cost me money.” Read more.

From Bill Harris of the Toronto Sun:

• Sophie out of the box
  “Natalie Brown did some unconventional things over the summer to prepare for the second season of Sophie. ‘I went with a group of friends and we did a yoga retreat in Italy with Russian instructors, very bizarre,’ Brown said. ‘I also squeezed in a quick trip to New York where the only class available was a mime workshop.’” Read more.

From Eva Friede of the Montreal Gazette:

• Sophie’s style
  “Natalie Brown goes shopping for a red carpet gown. The challenge is to find one that suits her real self and the ‘flirty, frazzled, flawed’ Sophie character she plays on TV.” Read more.

From Tim Arsenault of the Nova Scotia Chronicle Herald:

• CBC’s got 22 Minutes and more this week
  “This is a big week for your public television network as it welcomes back a slate of its most popular programming. Halifax-produced current affairs satire This Hour Has 22 Minutes made headlines of its own earlier this month when Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s security force clamped down on faux reporter Geri Hall at a Halifax news conference.” Read more.

From Brendan Kelly of the Montreal Gazette:

• Things are looking up for Natalie Brown
  “She’s now a bona fide Canadian star, thanks to the CBC sitcom Sophie, which debuted last season to strong ratings, is set to be launched in the U.S. early next year on ABC Family Channel and landed Brown a Gemini nomination.” Read more.

From Etan Vlessing of the Hollywood Reporter:

• Local hits power CBC fall lineup
  “Next week, the public broadcaster will bow the sophomore season of “The Border,” a drama about customs officials battling the bad guys on the Canada-U.S. border, and the third season of “Little Mosque on the Prairie,” whose U.S. format rights were recently picked up by 20th Century Fox.” Read more.

From a media release:

GEMINI-NOMINEE NATALIE BROWN RETURNS AS SOPHIE: YUMMY MUMMY, WORKING GIRL EXTRAORDINAIRE AND STILL LOOKING FOR LOVE

• Season Two debuts Wednesday, Oct. 1, at 8:30 P.M., on CBC Television

After one of the most difficult years of her life—being dumped by her boyfriend, becoming a single mom, and being thrown a career curve ball—Sophie Parker is back for her most challenging year yet. The lovable and comical SOPHIE, starring 2008 Gemini-nominee Natalie Brown (nominated for her role in the series), returns for a second season, Wednesday, Oct. 1, at 8:30 p.m. on CBC Television, following Little Mosque On The Prairie.

With Andre (Lyriq Bent), the father of Sophie’s baby, back in town, Sophie must face her true feelings and decide what man she wants in her life. The chemistry between Sophie and Andre is undeniable, but Rick (Sebastian Spence) is still in Sophie’s life, and maybe now is the time to mend their relationship. Meanwhile, Sophie lands Estelle (Sara Botsford) a starring role on the big screen. Facing personal and professional challenges in her own signature style, Sophie juggles life as a new mom and career woman in search of love.

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