Everything about Still Standing, eh?

Poll: What are your favourite Canadian TV shows of 2015?

UPDATE: The poll has now closed. Thanks to everyone for taking part! You can still let us know your favourite Canadian TV show of 2015 by writing it in the Comments section below.

As the year winds down, it’s time to reflect back on 2015. What a year it was for Canadian TV. Yes, there was some sad news—the cancellation of Strange Empire, Remedy and Rookie Blue come immediately to mind—but there was plenty to celebrate as well.

Sci-fi in Canada is stronger than ever thanks to Orphan Black and newbies Killjoys and Dark Matter, we’re getting laughs from series like Still Standing, Sunnyside and Young Drunk Punk and dramas like This Life, The Romeo Section and Motive continue to entertain.

As we get ready to say hello to 2016, help us celebrate 2015 by voting for your favourite five (5) Canadian television shows of the year. (Vote by clicking the boxes to the left of your favourite shows, then click the shaded “Vote” button located just below and right of Young Drunk Punk.)

UPDATE: The poll has now closed. Thanks to everyone for taking part! You can still let us know your favourite Canadian TV show of 2015 by writing it in the Comments section below.

What are your five favourite Canadian TV shows of 2015?

  • Dark Matter (12%, 7,269 Votes)
  • Lost Girl (11%, 6,777 Votes)
  • Killjoys (9%, 5,766 Votes)
  • Heartland (9%, 5,384 Votes)
  • Murdoch Mysteries (4%, 2,632 Votes)
  • Orphan Black (3%, 2,147 Votes)
  • Tornado Hunters (3%, 2,080 Votes)
  • Rookie Blue (3%, 1,634 Votes)
  • When Calls the Heart (3%, 1,557 Votes)
  • Rick Mercer Report (2%, 1,486 Votes)
  • The Liquidator (2%, 1,279 Votes)
  • Schitt's Creek (2%, 1,227 Votes)
  • Vikings (2%, 1,087 Votes)
  • The Amazing Race Canada (2%, 1,053 Votes)
  • Saving Hope (2%, 1,024 Votes)
  • Property Brothers (2%, 990 Votes)
  • Bitten (2%, 976 Votes)
  • Dragons' Den (2%, 970 Votes)
  • Continuum (2%, 955 Votes)
  • Haven (1%, 791 Votes)
  • Chopped Canada (1%, 786 Votes)
  • 22 Minutes (1%, 783 Votes)
  • MasterChef Canada (1%, 738 Votes)
  • Big Brother Canada (1%, 727 Votes)
  • Highway Thru Hell (1%, 686 Votes)
  • Canada's Worst Driver (1%, 684 Votes)
  • Degrassi (1%, 608 Votes)
  • The Nature of Things (1%, 580 Votes)
  • Love It or List It franchise (1%, 573 Votes)
  • The Fifth Estate (1%, 559 Votes)
  • Motive (1%, 557 Votes)
  • House of Bryan (1%, 549 Votes)
  • X Company (1%, 520 Votes)
  • Still Standing (1%, 480 Votes)
  • Strange Empire (1%, 397 Votes)
  • Marketplace (1%, 394 Votes)
  • This Life (1%, 394 Votes)
  • Hockey Wives (1%, 340 Votes)
  • Backroad Bounty (1%, 321 Votes)
  • 19-2 (1%, 311 Votes)
  • Remedy (0%, 266 Votes)
  • Mr. D (0%, 265 Votes)
  • Blackstone (0%, 262 Votes)
  • Polar Bear Town (0%, 252 Votes)
  • Ice Racer Showdown (0%, 214 Votes)
  • Young Drunk Punk (0%, 207 Votes)
  • Canada's Smartest Person (0%, 198 Votes)
  • Sunnyside (0%, 193 Votes)
  • The Next Step (0%, 174 Votes)
  • Mohawk Girls (0%, 170 Votes)
  • Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan (0%, 128 Votes)
  • Keeping Canada Alive (0%, 120 Votes)
  • The Other Side (0%, 113 Votes)
  • Chef in Your Ear (0%, 104 Votes)
  • The Romeo Section (0%, 99 Votes)
  • Blood and Water (0%, 93 Votes)
  • The Stanley Dynamic (0%, 88 Votes)
  • Make it Pop (0%, 81 Votes)
  • First Dates (0%, 68 Votes)
  • Unusually Thicke (0%, 67 Votes)
  • Open Heart (0%, 65 Votes)
  • Spun Out (0%, 58 Votes)
  • Sensitive Skin (0%, 47 Votes)
  • Max & Shred (0%, 42 Votes)
  • Some Assembly Required (0%, 30 Votes)
  • Crash Gallery (0%, 24 Votes)
  • Tiny Plastic Men (0%, 20 Votes)

Total Voters: 27,337

Loading ... Loading ...
Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Link: Jonny Harris juggles acting and standup in CBC shows

From Denis Grignon of the Toronto Star:

Jonny Harris juggles acting and standup in CBC shows
Possibly inspired by well-mannered theatre audiences, Harris went the polite route for his standup self and parlays that almost quiet persona in Still Standing. The show features him in a lot of heartfelt, one-on-one chats with the towns’ locals. It’s Harris’s ability to listen intently rather than jump in and make jokes that shines as brightly as his standup in the show. Continue reading.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Preview: Still Standing in Buxton, Ont.

I haven’t been quiet about my fondness for Still Standing. Jonny Harris is the perfect Wayne Rostad of this generation, visiting small communities across Canada and spotlighting their history, liveliness and quirkiness. With just 22 minutes of on-screen time, Harris and his writing team manage to tell a story through jokes and observations; no wonder Still Standing has been renewed for a season season.

For those wondering what all the fuss is about, tune in to Tuesday’s newest episode, when Harris arrives in Buxton, Ont. With a population of just 166, Buxton—near Chatham, Ont.—is a huge part of American history. The last stop on the Underground Railroad, Buxton was the place slaves headed to in search of freedom. As Harris did with his episode in Coleman, Alta.—site of the Frank Slide—he treads lightly when it comes to a heavy topic. But that doesn’t stop him from ending a heartfelt description of the dream sought by those slaves with a harsh reality.

“Canadian winters a bit of a kick in the nuts,” he states in his Newfoundland accent. “All that cotton and what I really need is some wool.”

Harris spends time tooling around the area in a sweet convertible Mustang, describing how much of the community is directly descended from slaves and that businesses have fled. Where once two stores, a gas station and garage once stood, there is nothing, forcing many young folks to flee town in search of opportunity. Ironic that Buxton was the centre for opportunity 150 years ago. African Americans, lured by the promise of free land, an education and protection from racism by Reverend William King, rang the liberty bell in town upon their arrival, signalling another freed slave.

What makes every episode of Still Standing a success is Harris’ curiosity and people skills. With his gap-toothed smile, wide eyes and wacky hair, it takes just minutes for east coast comedian to establish a repartee not only with his interview subjects but during the stand-up portions of Still Standing.

Still Standing airs Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. on CBC.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

CBC’s Still Standing renewed for Season 2

From a media release:

CBC’s summer hit about small towns with a lot of heart, STILL STANDING, has been renewed for a second season, which will be broadcast in 2016. The unique series follows comedian Jonny Harris (Murdoch Mysteries) as he travels across the country to small towns on the ropes who are managing to keep laughing in the face of adversity. During his week-long stint, he immerses himself in the local culture and mines enough material to put on an original stand-up comedy routine for the residents.Visiting towns from coast to coast, Jonny uses his time to learn what makes each place special doing everything from being challenged to eat a 20 Ib. bag of apples in Berwick, NS, mounting a 10,000 Ib. Harley Davidson in Lytton, BC, befriending a yodelling cowboy in Manitou, MB and being a guest in an eight person town (six person in the winter) in Rowley, AB.

Production company Frantic Films is looking for suggestions of small towns to visit for Season Two. They are hoping to hear from small towns that boast a strong sense of community and a narrative of adapting in the face of adversity, after economic and industrial changes in their region. Interested viewers can nominate their town online at cbc.ca/stillstanding. This season, the series visited Bamfield, BC, Coleman, AB, Souris, PEI, Willow Bunch, SK, Berwick, NS, Oil Springs, ON, Lytton, BC, Manitou, MB, Wawa, ON, Teeswater, ON, Rowley, AB, Buxton, ON and Fogo Island, N.L.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Link: CBC’s Still Standing gets laughs in small-town Canada

From John Doyle of The Globe and Mail:

CBC’s Still Standing gets laughs in small-town Canada
This is the sort of Canadian concept-show that could go horribly wrong. It’s a retro-CBC premise and on paper it reeks of CBC dutifully fulfilling its public broadcast mandate and showing Canada to Canadians.

But there is a delightful quality to Harris’s genuine curiosity about the people in obscure places, and there is great skill in his ability to lampoon the town without crossing any line into superciliousness. He’s a caution. Continue reading.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail