Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

AMI-tv announces its fall 2023 programming schedule

August 23, 2023 Greg David 1 Comment

From a media release:

Today, AMI unveiled its AMI-tv schedule for the 2023-24 fall broadcast season, with a lineup of exciting new and returning AMI originals available in described video for the blind, partially sighted and disability community in Canada.

In addition to new seasons of AMI-tv’s live daily shows, NOW with Dave Brown and Kelly and Ramya, AMI invites viewers to join host Bobbi Janzen for a new crop of accessible exercises in Healthy at Home, engage in technology conversations through Access Tech Live, and learn about those who demonstrate a desire to help drive positive social change through sport in Level Playing Field.

“AMI-tv’s robust fall schedule has something for everyone,” says John Melville, Vice President of Content Development and Operations, AMI. “From health and technology to sport and entrepreneurs and our daily live shows, we’re spotlighting and furthering the conversation on disability.”

Highlights of AMI-tv’s fall schedule include:

NOW with Dave Brown – weekdays at 9 a.m. Eastern
Join veteran broadcaster Dave Brown, weekdays at 9 a.m. Eastern, as he discusses the latest news, entertainment, sports and current events through a disability lens.

Kelly and Ramya – weekdays at 2 p.m. Eastern
Airing weekdays at 2 p.m. Eastern, Kelly and Ramya gives a dynamic and compelling voice to the disability experience in Canada. Stay tuned for more information later this fall regarding a special primetime broadcast of Kelly and Ramya’s annual holiday party.

Healthy at Home – Season 2 returns Wednesday, September 6, at 7 p.m. Eastern
Fitness instructor Bobbi Janzen guides viewers through an hour-long home workout that tones and strengthens for everyday living. Bobbi gives step-by-step detailed instruction that focuses on the muscle groups overused when using a white cane or guide dog, fitness advice for wheelchair users, and overall tips for better health.

Access Tech Live – Season 1 debuts Thursday, September 14, at Noon Eastern
As previously announced, Access Tech Live is a live weekly broadcast, hosted by Marc Aflalo and Steven Scott, that promises an interactive experience for viewers and the ability to cover technology news as it unfolds.

Level Playing Field – Season 4 returns Tuesday, October 3, at 9:30 p.m. Eastern
Hosted by Paralympian Greg Westlake (Para Sport Update, above), Level Playing Field introduces viewers to the athletes, community groups, healthcare professionals and grassroots innovators who demonstrate a desire to help drive positive social change through sport. Among the athletes featured in Season 4 are Para athletics sprinter Marissa Papaconstantinou, Para climber Chaz Misuraca and Toronto Raptors’ star Pascal Siakam’s generous donations to the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital.

Disrupt – Season 2 returns Monday, October 23, at 9 p.m. Eastern
Hosted by the charismatic Taylor Olson, Disrupt showcases music, short films, poetry, animation, spoken word, comedy, dance, puppetry and other mediums, with a disability-first punk rock attitude. Disrupt also features members of the disability community working in such key production roles as production manager, writer, assistant editor, assistant director, composer, assistant production designer and camera and sound assistants.

Mind Your Own Business – Season 3 returns, Wednesday, November 15, at 9 p.m. Eastern
Hosted by Kevin Shaw and with the help of mentors, entrepreneurs in the disability community aim to take their businesses to the next level. Businesses featured in Season 3 include Liberty Co consultants, Glass Brothers Construction Inc., Friendly Roads Mobility Service and Country Fields Beekeeping Supplies.

All dates subject to change. Additional fall programming will be announced in the coming weeks. Stream past episodes of AMI original programming on demand post-broadcast on AMI.ca or via the AMI-tv App.

About AMI-tv
AMI-tv is the world’s first television network to broadcast all programs with open format described video for individuals who are blind or partially sighted and is broadcast daily into more than eight million Canadian homes as part of the basic digital cable package with most service providers. AMI-tv is committed to broadcasting a variety of content with a focus on accessibility and inclusion.

About Accessible Media Inc.
AMI is a not-for-profit media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians who are blind or partially sighted. Operating three broadcast services, AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French, AMI’s vision is to establish and support a voice for Canadians with disabilities, representing their interests, concerns and values through accessible media, reflection and portrayal. To learn more visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.

Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

David Oulton’s new series Who’s There? to premiere August 24 on OUTtv; new season of Face to Face with David coming same day

August 1, 2023 Greg David

From a media release:

David Oulton’s new series, Who’s There?, is set to premiere on August 24 on OUTtv, the same day as his season 5 premiere for Face to Face with David on the same network. Both shows will air back to back.

Who’s There? is an all-new roundtable-style talk show hosted by Oulton. Rather than being interview focused, it’s topical, with a panel of guests discussing a range of conversation starters. Each panel consists of a celebrity guest, a business leader, and an everyday viewer. The premiere episode features actress Emmanuelle Vaugier (Two and a Half Men, Saw II & III), Vancouver restaurateur Anson Leung, and Darrell Ross.

The series was filmed at the Paradox Hotel in Vancouver with the first season consisting of six episodes. Celebrity guests featured throughout the inaugural season include Vaugier, Mackenzie Gray (Legion, Man of Steel), comedian Darryl Lennox, Karen Holness (Nancy Drew, Superman & Lois), William B Davis (The X Files), Ben Immanuel (The Man in the High Castle), and Tammy Gillis (Siren, Van Helsing).

Also premiering August 24 on OUTtv are new episodes of Oulton’s talk show Face to Face with David. Oulton returns in his infamous Versace bathrobe drinking red wine to welcome familiar faces including Vanessa Williams, AJ Cook, Luenell, Emily Hampshire, Jen Brister and many many others. The August 24 premiere features supermodel Janice Dickinson.

Face to Face with David season 5 premieres at 6pm PT/9pm ET on OUTtv, followed by the premiere of Who’s There? at 6:30pm PT/9:30pm ET. Both series will also be available to stream on OUTtvGo. Oulton is the creator, host, and executive producer of both series, with both being produced by Calgary-based production house L&C Style Productions Inc.

OUTtv is available in Canada, the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

The Hardy Boys

The plot thickens in the third and final season of The Hardy Boys

July 13, 2023 Greg David

From a media release:

Expect the unexpected in the third and final season of The Hardy Boys (8×60) premiering July 31 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on YTV. New episodes will roll out every Monday and will be available to stream live and on demand on STACKTV. The Daytime Emmy® nominated and four-time Canadian Screen Awards winning hit mystery series is based on the beloved books by Franklin W. Dixon, and is developed and produced in Canada by Nelvana, a world-leading international producer, distributor, and licensor of children’s animated and live-action content, and Lambur Productions, in association with Corus Entertainment.

The third and final season picks up right from the last scene of Season 2, building off the layers of mystery, strengthened friendships and major cliffhanger. In Season 3, Frank (Rohan Campbell) and Joe Hardy (Alexander Elliot) receive mysterious posthumous instructions from their grandmother, and they find themselves on the hunt for a third powerful relic — the same one their Great Grandfather was after. However, they aren’t the only ones looking for it…so the race is on to stop the relic’s power from being unleashed on the world! Nothing is what it seems, as The Hardy Boys and their friends face their most dangerous and unpredictable case yet.

Filmed in Toronto and Southern Ontario, the series features an all-Canadian cast and crew. Alongside Rohan Campbell (Halloween Ends) as ‘Frank Hardy,’ Alexander Elliot (Locke and Key) as ‘Joe Hardy’, Keana Lyn (The Yard) as ‘Callie Shaw’, Adam Swain (A Million Little Things) as ‘Chet Morton’, Cristian Perri (A Simple Favor) as ‘Phil Cohen’, Riley O’Donnell (Big Top Academy) as ‘Biff Hooper’, and Krista Nazaire (Before We Crash) as ‘Belinda Conrad’, Season 3 welcomes guest star Bailee Madison (Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, Just Go with It), as ‘Drew Darrow.’

Season 3 of The Hardy Boys is executive produced by Lambur Production’s Joan Lambur, Suzanne Wilson and Madeleine Lambur, Corus and Nelvana’s Doug Murphy, Pam Westman and Athena Georgaklis, co-showrunner and head writer Chris Pozzebon (Blindspot, Schitt’s Creek), and co-showrunner and head director Jason Stone (Riverdale, The Hardy Boys). Susan Alexander serves as production executive for Corus.

The Hardy Boys has received notable industry attention with a Daytime Emmy® Award nomination in 2021 for Outstanding Young Adult Series, as well as four Canadian Screen Award wins including in the categories for Best Children’s or Youth Fiction Program or Series (2022) and Best Writing in a Children’s or Youth Program or Series (2023).

The Trades

Production underway on the all-new Crave original comedy, The Trades

July 11, 2023 Greg David

From a media release:

Crave, in association with Rollercoaster Entertainment and Blink49 Studios, announced today that production is underway in Nova Scotia on the Crave Original comedy series, THE TRADES. From the producers of TRAILER PARK BOYS, THE TRADES is an eight-part, 30-minute, comedy set in a working-class community, where the stress and high risks of working in a refinery are balanced by the comedic, high-wire antics of the plant workers. The series will be available in English and French.

“From the moment I first read the pilot two years ago, I was immediately drawn to Ryan J. Lindsay’s vision for the series,” said Robb Wells, star and producer, THE TRADES. “I love all of the colourful characters, the backdrop, and especially, the different types of humour associated with each trade. It’s amazing to see the team come together, including an unbelievably talented cast and crew. It’s going to be so much fun, and I am very excited.”

THE TRADES centres around Todd Stool (Robb Wells, TRAILER PARK BOYS), a pipefitter who is proud of his working-class background, and collection of big boy toys. His sister, and roommate, Audrey (Anastasia Phillips, MOONSHINE), decides to follow in her big brother’s footsteps and pursue a career in the trades as a carpenter, just like their father Rod (Patrick McKenna, THE RED GREEN SHOW). While Todd loves his life, he dreams of climbing the corporate ladder and becoming site manager at Conch Industries – which isn’t so far-fetched, given the current site manager Bennett’s, (Tom Green, THE TOM GREEN SHOW) lifestyle. But Todd’s future, that of the plant—and the town, are thrown into question when Chelsea (Jennifer Spence, YOU ME HER), an ambitious young executive sent from head office, announces she is the new site manager, and vows to make some changes.

Rounding out Todd’s rag-tag crew are: Jimi (Enrico Colantoni, VERONICA MARS); Dewey (Jason Daley, TRAILER PARK BOYS); Homer (Jesse Camacho, LOCKE & KEY); Backwoods (Daniel Petronijevic, LETTERKENNY); Taser (Brandon Oakes, DIGGSTOWN); Medhi, the Chief Engineer (Raoul Bhaneja, BLINDSPOT); and Steph the Safety Chick (Susan Kent, THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES). Together, they balance the high risks of working in an oil refinery with bawdy nicknames, elaborate pranks, and jokes to amuse and enrage one another – but must work together if they want to save their livelihood and protect their community.

THE TRADES is co-produced by Trailer Park Boys Inc. and Kontent House Inc. in association with Bell Media’s Crave, with the participation of the Nova Scotia Film & Television Production Incentive Fund, and the assistance of the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and Ontario Creates. The series is distributed by Rollercoaster Entertainment and Blink49 is the exclusive U.S. sales agent. Ryan J. Lindsay is creator, writer, and executive producer; Shelley Eriksen is writer and executive producer; Warren Sonoda is director; Gary Howsam is executive producer; and Jonathan A. Walker and Robb Wells are producers. John Morayniss and Virginia Rankin are executive producers for Blink49 Studios. Co-executive producers are Andrew McMichael, Angelo Paletta, Ross Mrazek, and Ben Rappaport.

Moonshine

Link: Jennifer Finnigan Raises a Glass to ‘Quirky, Weird’ Moonshine and the Schitt’s Creek-Like Dramedy’s CW Debut

July 8, 2023 Greg David

From Matt Webb Mitovich of TV Line:

Link: Jennifer Finnigan Raises a Glass to ‘Quirky, Weird’ Moonshine and the Schitt’s Creek-Like Dramedy’s CW Debut
The CW this Friday night at 9/8c invites you to get a taste of Moonshine, an acquired Canadian dramedy set against the backdrop of financial hardship, small-town intrigue and a long-buried secret that threatens to annihilate a quirky clan once and for all. Continue reading.