Tag Archives: Letterkenny

Letterkenny

Hulu acquires U.S. rights to CraveTV Original and New Metric Media hit comedy Letterkenny

From a media release:

CraveTV and New Metric Media confirmed today that U.S. streaming platform Hulu has acquired the exclusive U.S. streaming rights to the first two seasons of the award-winning Canadian comedy series, LETTERKENNY, in a deal executed by series distributor DHX Media. Created by and starring Jared Keeso, the half-hour, small-town comedy is produced by New Metric Media in partnership with DHX Media and Playfun Games. Seasons 1 and 2 of the small-town comedy series will make their debut in the U.S. on Friday, July 13, only on Hulu.

As announced in October, CraveTV entered into a 40-plus episode production commitment and comprehensive multi-year deal with LETTERKENNY producers New Metric Media, the recipient of the 2018 Innovative Producer Award for entrepreneurial achievement at the upcoming Banff World Media Festival’s Rockie Awards.

As announced last week, all-new LETTERKENNY returns to Canadian screens Canada Day weekend, with a fresh six-pack launching Friday, June 29 exclusively on CraveTV. Jay Baruchel guest stars as Hard Right Jay, a Tiki Torch-carrying out-of-towner, who stirs things up in Letterkenny.

Based on the internet sensation Letterkenny Problems, the half-hour comedy is a top performer and marquee program for CraveTV since its memorable launch on Super Bowl Sunday in 2016.  LETTERKENNY took home two 2018 Canadian Screen Awards for Best Writing in a Comedy Program or Series, and Best Direction in a Comedy Program or Series. The series has also spawned brand extensions including sought after LETTERKENNY merchandise and the highly successful Puppers Premium Lager, in partnership with Stack Brewery in Sudbury, available now at LCBO stores in Ontario. LETTERKENNY LIVE!, a packed 26-city tour featuring a 90-minute comedy experience starring Keeso, and LETTERKENNY cast Nathan Dales, K. Trevor Wilson, and Mark Forward kicked off in Halifax on February 28 and wrapped in Surrey on April 6.

LETTERKENNY revolves around the dustups Wayne (Jared Keeso) and his buds get into with their small-town rivals. The Hicks, The Skids, and The Hockey Players get at each other about the most mundane things, often ending with someone getting their ass kicked. Key residents of LETTERKENNY are Daryl (Nathan Dales), Wayne’s free-spirited younger sister Katy (Michelle Mylett), and Wayne’s buddy, Dan (K Trevor Wilson) – all Hicks. CSA-nominated Daniel Petronijevic stars as Hick McMurray while Dylan Playfair and Andrew Herr are hotshot Hockey Players “Jonesy” and “Reilly”.Tyler Johnston and Evan Stern are Skids Stewart and Roald, Mark Forward is the temperamental Coach of the Letterkenny Irish, and Tiio Horn is the badass leader of The Natives, Tanis.

The first four six-packs of LETTERKENNY, along with special episodes “Ferda Edition”, “The Haunting of MoDean’s II”, “St. Perfect’s Day,” “Super Hard Easter,” and the original web series Letterkenny Problems are currently streaming on CraveTV.LETTERKENNY is also available on iTunes and Google Play. Seasons 1 and 2 ofLETTERKENNY are currently available on DVD wherever DVDs are sold.

LETTERKENNY is produced by New Metric Media, in partnership with DHX Media and Playfun Games in association with Bell Media, with the participation of Canadian Media Fund, OMDC Tax Credits and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund and distributed by DHX Media. Jared Keeso is executive producer, co-writer, star, and creator, Jacob Tierney is executive producer, director, and co-writer and Mark Montefiore is executive producer for New Metric Media.

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Awards

Banff World Media Festival announces Rockie Awards gala host and awards recipients

From a media release:

The 39th annual Banff World Media Festival (BANFF) is proud to announce Emmy and Tony Award winner Kristin Chenoweth* (Trial & Error, Hairspray Live!) will host this year’s Rockie Awards Gala Ceremony featuring a star-studded line-up of award recipients. The night of celebration will take place on Tuesday June 12th at 7:00 p.m. at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Alberta, Canada.Awards to be bestowed include:

Awards to be bestowed include:

2018 COMPANY OF DISTINCTION AWARD: NBCUniversal
NBCUniversal is one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience.

The Company of Distinction Award recognizes a company demonstrating significant leadership in the world of screen-based entertainment. Past Honorees include: Disney | ABC, HBO, A&E, Lionsgate and CBS.

AWARD OF EXCELLENCE: Jeremy Podeswa (Here and Now, Game of Thrones, Six Feet Under)
A three-time Primetime Emmy nominee for Best Direction (Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, The Pacific) and with over 40 award nominations and wins since 1985, Jeremy Podeswa is one of the hottest directors in the golden age of TV. His body of episodic TV work includes directing ground-breaking cable television series and mini-series for HBO, Showtime, STARZ, AMC, F/X, and TNT and award-winning films including Fugitive Pieces (opening night, TIFF), The Five Senses (Directors Fortnight, Cannes Film Festival) and Eclipse (Berlin and Sundance Festivals).  

The Award of Excellence acknowledges exceptional achievement through a body of work over an extended period of time.  Past Honorees include:  Kenny Ortega, Diane English, Norman Jewison, David E. Kelly.

A+E INCLUSION AWARD:  Elizabeth Vargas (ABC News, A&E Investigates)
Elizabeth Vargas is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, and the first U.S. network evening news anchor of Puerto Rican and Irish-American Heritage. She is a brave storyteller and a trusted expert at bringing audiences closer to the heart of stories that have never been told in order to reveal genuine moments of truth. Vargas recently inked an overall production and first-look development deal with A+E Networks; she will also be the face of A&E Network’s new nonfiction journalistic banner, A&E Investigates. The initial project under the A&E Investigates banner is the limited series “Cults and Extreme Belief.”

The A+E Inclusion Award recognizes an individual whose efforts and vision in media champion and reflect the diversity of the world in which we live. Past Honorees include: LeVar Burton, Jonathan Murray.

CANADIAN AWARD OF DISTINCTION: Sheila Hockin (The Handmaid’s Tale, Vikings)
Primetime Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Drama Series (The Handmaid’s Tale), Sheila Hockin is one of Canada’s foremost executive producers, helping bring to life global hits like  The Tudors, The Borgias, Vikings, Penny Dreadful and most recently, the global phenomenon that is The Handmaid’s Tale. Before striking out on her own, Hockin co-founded one of Canada’s highest-profile independent production companies, Temple Street Productions, where she spent a decade producing such hits as Queer as Folk, Canada’s Next Top Model, and How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? This award is presented to a Canadian whose body of work exemplifies outstanding achievement in the entertainment industry. Past Honorees include:  Just For Laughs, Eric McCormack, Kim Cattrall.

INNOVATIVE PRODUCER AWARD: New Metric Media (Letterkenny, Bad Blood)
New Metric Media is a film, television, and new-media production company that works with top creative talent to produce outstanding content for domestic and international markets. Past and present projects include the CraveTV hit original comedy Letterkenny as well as the half-hour CraveTV comedy What Would Sal Do? and the six-episode, one-hour CityTV/FX Canada limited series Bad Blood. Not content to rest on traditional marketing alone, New Metric has successfully transformed its hit property Letterkenny into a robust consumer brand, complete with its own craft brew and touring live show. The innovative approach has made a discernible impact on Canadian culture, with Letterkenny phrases a part of regular lexicon and ironic “Hard No” tees a regular sight on the street.

The Innovative Producer Award recognizes the entrepreneurial excellence and achievements of an independent producer in TV/digital media. Past Honorees include:  Wolf + Rabbit, Don Carmody, marblemedia.

Additional awards to be presented at the 2018 Rockies Gala include: The Hollywood Reporter Impact Award, The Grand Jury Prize, and Program of the Year.

Host Kristin Chenoweth can next be seen in the upcoming second season of NBC’s “Trial & Error,” which premieres on July 19.

The Rockies are BANFF’s flagship awards program, taking place over two days and two events. Celebrated annually on the second day of the festival is the Rockie Awards Program Competition followed by the hors-concours (out-of competition) Rockie Awards Gala Ceremony which takes place on the third night of the festival honouring outstanding talent and executives from the industry. Over the years, the prestigious gala event has attracted some of the industry’s biggest names including Sir Laurence Olivier, Gregory Peck, Dinah Shore, Ricky Gervais, Chuck Lorre, Martin Short, James Burrows, John Cleese, David E. Kelly, Dick Wolf, Will Arnett, Christine Baranski, David Attenborough, Larry King, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, John Ridley, Jill Soloway, and Anthony Anderson, to a name a few.

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Awards, Featured

Spiral, Anne, Letterkenny and Cardinal top 22nd Annual WGC Screenwriting Awards

Writers for Spiral, Anne, Letterkenny and Cardinal were among the winners at the 22nd Annual Writers Guild of Canada Screenwriting Awards in Toronto on Monday night.

The event, held at the Telus Centre for Performance and Learning’s Koerner Hall, celebrated the country’s screenwriting talent in television, web series and film. Spiral writer Karen McClellan (pictured above) won in the Shorts & Webseries category for her script “The Girl in the Dream.”

“Writers don’t get here on their own,” McClellan said. “I want to say a special shout-out to some writers who have taken a chance on me in the past: Susin Nielsen, Shelley Eriksen, Bruce Smith and a dear friend who is not here tonight but always in my heart, Denis McGrath.”

Letterkenny‘s Jared Keeso and Jacob Tierney won the TV Comedy category for their Season 2 script, “Relationships,” while Cardinal‘s Aubrey Nealon took home the TV Drama trophy for the Season 1 episode, “John Cardinal.”

Gavin Crawford, comedian, writer and host of CBC Radio’s Because News hosted, starting the night off with a surprise appearance by Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne a.k.a. Crawford. As Wynne, Crawford extolled the virtues of Canadian television and film writers while taking a jab at recent adaptations of Anne of Green Gables and Alias Grace.

“I’m particularly excited about Kale & Prune, a six-hour CBC miniseries adapted from a Margaret Atwood’s Whole Foods receipt,” he joked.

Alison Lea Bingeman, Marsha Greene, Rachel Langer, Joseph Kay, Cynthia Knight, Adriana Maggs, Elize Morgan, Jiro Okada and Sugith Varughese presented the night’s categories.

Mark Ellis was the recipient of The Denis McGrath Award for his service to the Writers Guild of Canada, Michael MacLennan was given The WGC Showrunner Award, Sarah Dodd the Sondra Kelly Award and Sherry White the Alex Barris Mentorship Award. WGC president Jill Golick, whose term has ended after eight years, had the final say of the night with an impassioned plea to the group’s members.

“Stories are the best way to change hearts and minds,” Golick said. “Keep writing my friends. Keep finding ways to bring truth to light. ”

The category winners are:

Shorts & Webseries
Spiral, Episode 101 “The Girl in the Dream,” written by Karen McClellan

Children’s
Mysticons, Season 1 “Sisters in Arms,” written by Sean Jara

Movie of the Week & Miniseries
Alias Grace, written by Sarah Polley

Best Script from Season 1
Anne, Season 1 “I Am No Bird, And No Net Ensnares Me,” written by Moira Walley-Beckett

TV Comedy
Letterkenny, Season 2 “Relationships,” written by Jared Keeso and Jacob Tierney

TV Drama
Cardinal, Season 1 “John Cardinal,” written by Aubrey Nealon

Tweens & Teens
The Stanley Dynamic, Season 2 “The Stanley Cheer,” written by Matt Kippen

Feature Film
Entanglement, written by Jason Filiatrault

Documentary
The Hundred-Year-Old Whale, written by Mark Leiren-Young

 

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Awards, Baroness von Sketch Show, Featured, Letterkenny, Orphan Black, Schitt's Creek

Baroness Von Sketch Show, Alias Grace and Andrew Phung take home trophies during Night 2 of Canadian Screen Awards

The writers on Baroness Von Sketch Show, Letterkenny, Orphan Black, Odd Squad, and Kim’s Convenience co-star Andrew Phung and Schitt’s Creek‘s Emily Hampshire were among the winners in the Creative Fiction Storytelling categories during Night 2 of the Canadian Screen Awards.

Hosted by Kim’s Convenience‘s Andrew Phung, the non-televised celebration honoured 42 categories in the guest performance, writing, directing, photography, editing, production design, visual effects, sound, limited, variety and sketch comedy.

“On the count of three, I want you to shout out what you had for breakfast!” Phung yelled at the crowd before calling out Schitt’s Creek‘s Daniel Levy for not answering. “Now I want you to shout out your favourite Canadian production, but it cannot be your own project!” He then called his mother on his cell phone for advice on how to host the show.

“Oh my god,” she said. “You should just do your best.”

Special awards were given to the late Denis McGrath (Margaret Collier Award) and Jay Switzer (Academy Board of Directors’ Tribute Award), and Bell Let’s Talk (Humanitarian Award).

Here are the winners in several of the key categories:

Best Supporting Actor, Drama
R.H. Thomson, Anne

Best Supporting Actress, Drama
Allie MacDonald, Cardinal

Best Guest Performance, Drama Series
Steven McCarthy, Mary Kills People

Best Pre-School Program or Series
Paw Patrol, TVO Kids

Best Animated Program or Series
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, YTV

Best Children’s or Youth Fiction Program or Series
Odd Squad, TVO Kids

Best Performance, Children’s or Youth
Ella Ballentine, L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables: Fire & Dew

Best Performance, Animation
Martin Short, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Halloween

Best Writing, Variety or Sketch Comedy
Aurora Browne, Meredith MacNeill, Carolyn Taylor, Jennifer Whalen, Jennifer Goodhue, Monica Heisey, Mae Martin, Zoe Whittall — Baroness Von Sketch Show, CBC

Best Writing, Comedy
Jacob Tierney, Jared Keeso — Letterkenny, CraveTV

Best Writing, Drama Program or Limited Series
Sarah Polley — Alias Grace, CBC

Best Writing, Drama Series
Graeme Manson, Renee St. Cyr — Orphan Black, Space

Best Writing, Children’s or Youth
Adam Peltzman, Tim McKeon — Odd Squad, TVO Kids

Best Writing, Animated
Sean Jara — Mysticons, YTV

Best Supporting or Guest Actor, Comedy
Andrew Phung, Kim’s Convenience

Best Supporting or Guest Actress, Comedy
Emily Hampshire, Schitt’s Creek

Best Sketch Comedy Program or Series
Baroness Von Sketch Show, CBC

Here is the complete list of winners from Wednesday night.

 

 

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Featured, Web series

Web series Ghost BFF puts the focus on mental health via two friends. And one of them is dead.

It’s important to talk about mental health. And while Bell does a great job stressing that one day a year in January, it’s something that should be done the other 364 days too.

Launching its first season of 11 episodes, Ghost BFF is available for streaming on Elizabeth Banks’ WhoHaHa’s website now. The brainchild of creator Vanessa Matsui (Lost Girl, Seed), Ghost BFF explores suicide and mental health through the eyes of Amy (Matsui). It’s been three years since Amy’s best friend, Tara (Tiio Horn, Letterkenny) died of a drug overdose. Amy has given up painting, is engaged to Mitchell (Dan Beirne, Space Riders: Division Earth) and battles with anxiety and a bad tummy. Suddenly, Tara appears—her ghost BFF, get it?—and throws Amy’s life into total disarray.

For Matsui, the idea for Ghost BFF came from a deeply personal place.

(l-r) Cristina Rosato and Vanessa Matsui

“It’s loosely inspired by a time when one of my best friends, following a period of depression, almost died by suicide,” Matsui says. “It was a very dark time. And, also, it was coupled with wanting to create my own work and being inspired by incredible female creators.” Ghost BFF is a project three years in the making, first as a short play Matsui performed in a friend’s basement before the possibility of being a short film was explored; ultimately Matsui pitched Ghost BFF as a web series to Katie Nolan (Hot Mom), who partnered to co-write and co-produce it.

The Centre for Mindfulness Studies features in several episodes as Amy strives to explore her own mental health, where she’s going in life and what her relationship with Tara was and still is. There are, of course, characters in Ghost BFF who advise Amy to “snap out” of what she’s going through mentally and stop taking her medication because they think she’s “fine.” It’s frustrating to know there are still people with that attitude towards mental health, and just drives home the need to educate and discuss.

(l-r) Jane Moffat, Dan Beirne, Rick Roberts

Yes, Ghost BFF concerns a serious topic, but it’s not all doom and gloom. There are plenty of laughs thanks to Matusi’s physical humour as Amy, Horn’s foul-mouthed Tara and the gloriously shallow Mitchell, and truly heartfelt moments too. Amy and Tara’s screaming match in a later instalment opens the door to honesty and regret.

“We definitely felt like we were walking a fine line [with the content],” Matsui says. “Obviously, I wanted to be respectful and sensitive to anyone who has suffered from depression or is suffering from depression. But, at the same time, my instinct was always to make this a comedy. Comedy can be cathartic. Sometimes through pain comedy emerges.”

Ghost BFF is available for streaming on WhoHaHa’s website.

Images courtesy of Babe Nation Creations.

 

 

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