You thought you were done with us but Anthony Marco and Diane Wild are back, now joined by new TV, eh? partner Greg David.  We chat about the site’s revival, the Canadian TV fall schedule and shows in development.
- CBC’s 2014/15 season
- City’s fall schedule
- CTV’s fall schedule
- The Movie Network’s shows in development
- Bell Media’s shows in development
Listen or download below, or subscribe via iTunes or any other podcast catcher with the TV, eh? podcast feed.
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Congratulations TV-Eh on the relaunch! I’ve been coming to this site for years so it’s great to have it back. It was wonderful to hear this podcast for more reasons than one. The first is of course that it`s great to see TV-Eh back. When TV-Eh and then TV Guide Canada left in a 6-month period I was left doubly disappointed and to see TV-Eh back better than before is awesome. The other is that I finally have high speed internet as previously I only had what Sasktel (the provincial phone company) passed off as highspeed–now I can listen to your podcasts without them constantly freezing.
Regarding CBC – They are being unfashionably late in announcing their fall premiere dates. I`ve been impatiently waiting for days to hear when their shows premiere. The timing of when shows premiere means everything. A show needs a good timeslot to launch in and unfortunately Strange Empire is launching in probably what is the most competitive timeslot on TV this fall against The Voice, Dancing with the Stars and Sleepy Hollow with fellow newcomers Scorpion and Jane the Virgin competing for their share of viewers too–someone is going to get clobbered. I really hope Strange Empire can gain some ground because it has my favourite premise of new fall shows out there–I am impatiently waiting for a trailer. I’m cautiously hoping it lives up to my expectations. I haven’t been this excited about a Canadian show since Wild Roses but that show was a great disappointment to me because though the premise was good, it came across as a show that took place in Alberta but was written by Torontonians. People in my neck of the woods didn’t go for it because the writers failed to understand who people in the West are. It would be like Republic of Doyle written by a guy from Winnipeg–it wouldn’t jive–the reason RoD works is because its headed by someone from Newfoundland who is from there and gets it. Its why North of 60 worked so well and why Corner Gas and Less Than Kind did too. I’m not saying that for a show to be good it has to be written by someone that lives where its set, but it has to be written by someone who gets the people and the place. I’m a little worried that Laurie Finstad, as someone who has spent the bulk of her career in Vancouver and Montreal, might not be able to write about the wild west but hopefully she has writers around her that will.
Book of Negroes is a miniseries I’m really looking forward to. From the trailer I saw on youtube I was impressed. Did you guys happen to see the “New Dramas Coming to CBC” 3-minute clip on Youtube? I watched it about 5 times–it outlined CBC’s new fall dramas. Another miniseries that I’m also interested in is Camp X. And then there’s Schitt’s Creek which I will reserve judgement on until I see a promo. The title is atrocious but maybe that’s what can help it. The number one thing that brings new viewers to shows is a show’s title, particularly with men. I read an article either last year or the year before somewhere about how people pick new shows to watch. For men, it’s the title on the guide. Names like Swamp People and Timber Kings and Alaska Bush People draw men to watch. The same, interestingly enough, isn’t to be said for women. Women tend to choose new shows based on promos shown during shows they already watch or to check out actors/actresses they liked from previous shows they watched in new roles. And of course there’s a whole slew of people like us that search the internet on info about new shows but our numbers aren’t nearly as high. So who can really say if Schitt’s Creek will take off? It has a couple big names attached so I’ll wait to reserve judgement. It can’t be any worse than a lot of the other Canadian comedies (or American ones for that matter) that have come along in the last few years. Overall, CBC has a docket of shows I’m really excited about. I’m sad to see Arctic Air absent–the show was uneven at times but generally I liked it. I can’t wait to see what Republic of Doyle has cooked up for its final season–I’m sure it will be crazy. And there’s Heartland, a show I can watch will my girls, I’ve stuck with it from the start because there’s enough about it I like, even though it lacks depth. I don’t watch Murdoch Mysteries because I’m not a procedural person, but my kids like Napkin man on CBC Kids so there’s a point for Yannick Bisson and CBC there.
As for the 3 private broadcasters, there isn’t much I can say regarding Canadian content. I’ll watch Saving Hope again–it’s still a bubble show for me but I keep watching cause it’s Canadian. I’m excited for more hockey. I’m really hoping that there’s some nationally televised (meaning not blacked out regionally) Winnipeg Jets games I can watch.
And I’d also like to mention APTN. I guess you could call them a public broadcaster too. I like Blackstone, some parts of it more then others (eliminate the strip club scenes and I’d be happier because I think they take away from the story, but then I guess less male viewers would watch). A new show I really want to see is Mohawk Girls, which debutes this fall with 12 episodes and is co-produced with OMNI, APTN has a history of good original productions including Rabbit Fall, Medicine Woman, Mixed Blessings, Moccassin Flats and renegadepress.com. Mohawk Girls is set to debute November 24th but as far as I know, APTN hasn’t announced a premiere date yet for Season 4, just that it will be sometime this fall.
Many of the Canadian shows I like will come back midseason including Orphan Black, Vikings, Continuum, Degrassi, Remedy, Bitten and Masterchef Canada. Plus there’s newcomer Killjoys to look forward to. And as to Movie Central/Movie Network shows in development, it’s difficult to say which ones I want to make it to series because the descriptions are rather vague. I guess maybe Feral, Incarnate, Opium, The Siege, The Tenderness of Wolves and Thunderhouse Falls have potential. I was so disheartened to hear how many of Bell Media’s 29 shows in development are crime or cop shows. I hate procedurals and I’ve never really been a fan of cop shows in general. The only projects other than the ones mentioned above from Movie Central I might watch (more details are needed though) are Echoes, Ice, Strain, The Investigation and Tranquility.
P.S. Diane, I agree with you that Bachelor Canada and other shows like it should be stabbed in the eyeball.
P.P.S. I would definitely subscribe to a channel that only airs failed TV pilots.
Thanks for the comments Ally! (Which have paragraph breaks in the email I get but not here – I’ll have to see if we can fix that …). Interesting about how men are drawn to titles. And Blackstone is one of the best Canadians shows out there (Hard Rock Medical is another great one) but since I didn’t think I was coming back I may have deleted some APTN releases if they came before we started talking about a reboot. I’ll have to dig for some of their premiere dates.
Glad I have company in my show-eyeball stabbing.
Howdy! Yankee here. Want you to know that TV, eh? is one of the best media sites I was fortunate to find long ago while conducting a search re Canadian tv shows. Glad you’re back. You stand out from the crowd. Best wishes for one and all with your new webship.