Yearly Archives: 2015

Dragons' Den

David Chilton exiting CBC’s Dragons’ Den

From a media release:

CBC is excited to be moving forward with Season 10 of the fan-favourite Canadian series DRAGONS’ DEN, with national auditions launching in Toronto Saturday, Feb. 7 in the CBC atrium. Aspiring entrepreneurs across the country will once again be given a platform to bring their ideas to life on a series that was watched by almost one third of English Canadians so far this season, and the chance to partner with five high-profile investors.

Season 10 will continue to feature new and innovative business pitches, while special episodes will highlight past success stories, showing the impact the show has had on entrepreneurship in Canada, as well as how the deals have shaped businesses across the country. A selection of these companies will be featured in the Season 10 retrospective which will also highlight the evolution of Canadian small business trends, as illustrated by the various pitches throughout the years. Back again by popular demand, the Student Special will feature a selection of the top business pitches Canada’s youth have to offer, while checking in with some of the young entrepreneurs from years past to see where their start-ups have taken them with the help of the Dragons. Finally, the Second Chance Special is back with some of the most memorable pitchers from the Den — this time with select pitchers receiving mentorship from past pitchers who have found success in the Den.

Next season will also feature some changes, as Dragon David Chilton is leaving the show to focus on his deals full-time.

Having starred as a Dragon for three seasons, David closed 22 deals which include success stories like Awake Chocolate; Steeped Tea; Hand and Beak; Love Child Organics; and The Heft.

DRAGONS’ DEN is the top-rated Canadian unscripted program on this fall season, with an average audience of more than 1 million Canadians each week. In addition to its success on-air, DRAGONS’ DEN is also a hit online, boasting an active and engaged online community and averaging more than 650,000 page views per month. Full episodes and exclusive behind-the-scenes content can be viewed at cbc.ca/dragonsden. DRAGONS’ DEN is filmed at the CBC Broadcasting Centre in Toronto and airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. (8:30NT) on CBC Television. Tracie Tighe is executive producer and Amy Bourne is senior producer. Dianne Buckner hosts.

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Industry News, Ratings

CBC schedule garners record-breaking numbers

1 Comment

From a media release:

CBC-TV is a primetime destination for Canadians this winter season, with a lineup of new and returning hits that continue to deliver strong ratings across all key demographics.With 1.3 million Canadians on average tuning in to watch THE BOOK OF NEGROES miniseries on Tuesday night, new confirmed data shows THE BOOK OF NEGROES debuted to an audience of 1.941 million people. THE NATIONAL also garnered impressive numbers on Tuesday night, with an audience of just over 1 million Canadians tuning in following THE BOOK OF NEGROES.

CBC WINTER SEASON RATINGS HIGHLIGHTS:

THE BOOK OF NEGROES premiere captured an audience of 2+AMA of 1.941 million. Confirmed audience data shows that more than 1.9 million Canadians watched the premiere episode of THE BOOK OF NEGROES on Jan. 7, with 1.6 million returning for the second episode the following week

SCHITT’S CREEK premiere captured an audience 2+AMA of 1.581 million, followed by 1.55 million for episode two at 9:30pm on January 13

MURDOCH MYSTERIES returned on Jan. 12 to a 2+AMA of 1.387 million viewers, which was the highest-rated episode of the season

RICK MERCER REPORT captured an audience of 2+AMA of 923,000 upon return on Jan. 13, with 1.109 million viewers tuning in on Jan. 20 — the highest viewership for RMR of the season so far

THE NATIONAL saw an audience of  2+AMA of 1.208 million on Jan. 7 and 1.001 million on Jan. 13, a record number for the 2014/15 season

HEARTLAND consistently garners more than 1 million viewers per episode, bringing in an audience of a 2+AMA of 1.027 million on Jan. 11 and 1.036 million on Jan. 18

THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES secured an audience of  2+AMA of 889,000 on Jan. 13, and 977, 000 on Jan. 20, which was its highest-rated episode since the 2013/14 season

DRAGONS’ DEN continues to capture the attention of Canadians, bringing in an average audience of about 1 million viewers each week

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Featured

Comments and queries for the week of Feb. 6

I was not able to view the  documentary Clara’s Big Ride and I was wondering if there is anyway to access it anymore? Thank you.—Gwen

Yes, you can view Clara Hughes’ inspirational cross-country adventure spotlighting mental health on CTV.ca.

First of all I LOVE your “Notes and quotes” on Heartland and completely agree with them. Secondly, when I first saw Brooke, I knew I recognized her from somewhere. After some research, I found out the actress who plays her was Stephanie, one of the finalists of the CBC reality show Over The Rainbow a couple years back!—Luiza

Thanks for reading my weekly reviews of Heartland, and good eye! I recognized her too, but couldn’t recall where.

I still don’t understand Peter’s anger about the specialist on Heartland. It was a non-invasive consultation Katie probably won’t even remember next year that could have potentially improved her quality of life. All the other points seemed “relative” to the issues they’ve (not) been dealing with but that seemed unnecessary. Plus, although Peter hated the idea of the doctor he still attended the appointment. It’s not like Lou went behind his back.—Melissa

Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? greg@tv-eh.com or head to @tv_eh.

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Featured, Sunnyside

Review: Pushing boundaries and poultry love on Sunnyside

Sunnyside is a very funny—and admittedly odd— little program and I applaud Rogers for putting it on the air in the first place. It’s rare that a series featuring a dude who falls in love with a live chicken is going to make it to primetime (if ever), so kudos to the company for allowing co-creators Gary Pearson, Dan Redican and the improv cast breathe life into these folks.

Thursday’s “Chain gang” continued to explore many of Sunnyside’s established characters, including the meth girls, who wanted to cheer up Georgette by taking her on a shopping spree … in a homeowner’s closet. (The program’s hidden gem might be Georgette, the meth gal who utters nary a word and whose eyes are constantly downcast. Alice Moran’s portrayal cracks me up every time.)

Kathleen Phillips continues to play memorable citizens, like Claire. An over-the-top poke at those folks who claim a Starbucks table as their “office” for the day, Claire showed up at Dark Roast with a bulky typewriter and announced the table she was at would be “her office from now on” and began clacking away on her food blog article “Croissant My Heart and Hope to Die.” She, of course, annoyed everyone in the place at first … until they got caught up in her out-loud reading of romance in a coffee shop.

Pat Thornton, meanwhile, continued to get away not only with playing every clueless simpleton in Sunnyside but as a dude who held deep, deep love for a live chicken. (“The heart wants what the heart wants. Sometimes the heart wants a chicken,” a poultry farmer advised his confused daughter after Thornton’s character grabbed a bird and ran off.). I cannot unsee those moments where he held the chicken close, romantic music playing, before ushering her into the bedroom and gently closing the door behind them.

Notes and quotes

  • The teeth on those meth ladies. Oh god, their teeth!
  • Shameless plug alert! Claire was entering a writing contest in Chatelaine magazine, which just happens to be owned by Rogers, owner of City. I’m sure that was totally a coincidence.
  • Who else caught the street sign that read “Pearson” on it? I’m assuming it was an homage to Sunnyside co-creator Gary Pearson
  • Only Pat Thornton could pull off a scene describing kissing a girl like holding a jar of change and pretending to lick a chocolate off the front of it “before it falls off and stains your date pants.”

Sunnyside airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on City.

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