A resurrection for Michael: Tuesdays & Thursdays?

Simon Houpt, the Globe and Mail‘s senior media writer, tweets that CBC’s cancelled series Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays is coming back under the new regime.

This is great news for those of us whose podcast partners mock us for bringing up the show every chance we get. Ahem.

Based on the real-life neuroses of co-writer and star Matt Watts, who played patient to Bob Martin’s therapist, Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays got critical acclaim but “boutique ratings” (in Watts’ words).

Heather Conway, executive vice-president of English services, has stated her intention to move toward more cable-like fare for the public broadcaster. The main criticism Michael faced in its one-season run was that it felt out of place on a populist broadcaster … and had the viewers to match. Its December 2011 finale garnered just 145,000 in overnight ratings.

With a new programming direction and new promotion, could Michael pull a Murdoch Mysteries and rise from the dead to a bigger audience? Here’s hoping.

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TV, eh? podcast episode 176 – A Sling vs Goliaths

This week the team unveils a brand new feature called … Calendar! (We’ll come up with a cooler name.) Also on the docket: our newest poll will snag someone a one-year subscription to Netflix Canada, a discussion regarding Numeris and whether network ratings can be trusted, and we all think Sling TV would be a fantastic choice for Canadians who want to cut the cable cord.

Listen or download below, or subscribe via iTunes or any other podcast catcher with the TV, eh? podcast feed.

Want to become a Patron of the Podcast? We’ve got a Patreon page where you can donate a small amount per podcast and get a sneak peek of each release.

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Tonight: Schitt’s Creek, Mr. D, Close up Kings, 22 Minutes

Schitt’s Creek, CBC – “Turkey Shoot”
David goes on a turkey hunt with some townies. Jocelyn takes Moira on a “relaxing” spa day, while Alexis meets the new love of her life, Ted, the town veterinarian.

Mr. D, CBC – “Dating Maya Student”
Gerry’s former pupil, Maya is back at Xavier as a student teacher and Gerry is having difficulty accepting her as an adult. Robert tries too hard to be cool while attempting to connect with a student, and Bobbi works to prove her femininity to Malik amidst a school wide outbreak of lice.

Close up Kings, OLN – “Vancouver”
Close up King Jonny uses the Capilano Suspension Bridge for an epic trick after the Kings leave the USA for the first time and head north to BC. While on the trip, Magick gets a shocking tattoo to make this a trip of a lifetime!

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Link: CBC spy series X Company awakens Jack Laskey’s senses

From Bill Harris of QMI Agency:

There are fivefold reasons Jack Laskey volunteered for X Company.

In the new eight-episode Canadian World War II-set series, which debuts Wednesday, Feb. 18, on CBC, Laskey plays a young rookie spy named Alfred Graves who has a condition called fivefold synesthesia.

“I’d heard of synesthesia before, but I hadn’t understood it in the way I do now, and had to, as a result of being cast in this beautiful role,” said Laskey, who is from England. Continue reading.

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Second World War thriller X Company debuts Feb. 18 on CBC

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From a media release:

From the creators of Flashpoint and the producers of Orphan Black comes the CBC original WWII spy drama X COMPANY, premiering Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) on CBC Television. Inspired by remarkable true events, X COMPANY is an emotionally driven character drama set in the thrilling and dangerous world of WWII espionage and covert operations. During World War II, a real life spy training school existed on the shores of Lake Ontario. The new series follows the stories of five highly skilled young recruits torn from their ordinary lives to train as agents at an ultra-secret training facility, Camp X.

In the series premiere, the head of Camp X, Duncan Sinclair (Hugh Dillon), pulls out all the stops to convince his British counterpart that Alfred Graves (Jack Laskey), a fragile young man with a perfect memory, would make a good Allied agent. Meanwhile Sinclair’s first team is already behind enemy lines working to thwart a German plot to slaughter an entire village.

Shot on location in Hungary last summer, the exhilarating new show highlights Canada’s epic role in the war, which has largely remained unseen for many Canadians. The international ensemble cast stars Evelyne Brochu (Orphan Black, Pawn Sacrifice) as Aurora, a half Jewish-German, half French-Canadian, trilingual strategist and undercover specialist; Jack Laskey (Endeavour, Hatfields and McCoys) as Alfred, a gentle soul with synesthesia – a condition that cross-wires one sense with another, giving him near-perfect memory; Warren Brown (Luther, By Any Means) as Neil, an English ex-copper specializing in weapons and combat who lost his family in the Blitz; Dustin Milligan (No Clue, Extract) as Tom, a Madison Avenue advertising wunderkind, intimately familiar with the mechanics of persuasion, propaganda and seduction; and Connor Price (Being Human, Carrie) as Harry, the team’s radio operator, explosives specialist and gadgeteer. Rounding out the cast is Hugh Dillon as Duncan Sinclair, who runs the secret training facility Camp X and Lara Jean Chorostecki as Sinclair’s right-hand woman, Krystina Breeland.

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