More than 66,000 Canadians have already signed up to the new basic TV package

From a media release:

In just five weeks, more than 66,000 Canadians have already signed up for the new basic television package, according to data collected by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). In addition, more than 1 out of 3 of these Canadians have also taken advantage of the new packaging options by subscribing to individual channels, small packages or both.

On March 1, 2016, Canada’s licensed television service providers began offering a new basic package that costs no more than $25 per month. The companies also began offering either the option to pay for individual channels (“pick-and-pay”) or small packages of no more than 10 channels.

The CRTC recently asked Access Communications, Bell, Cogeco, Eastlink, MTS, Rogers Communications SaskTel, Shaw Communications, TELUS and Vidéotron to provide data on the number of subscribers that have subscribed to the new basic television package.

The CRTC reminds Canadians that television service providers will be required to offer full pick-and-pay starting on December 1, 2016.

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HBO Canada Reveals New Episodic Images and Brand New Promo for Season 2 of Hit Original Series SENSITIVE SKIN

From a media release:

HBO Canada revealed today a first look at 11 all-new episodic images for the first episode of the Emmy®-Nominated, Canadian Original SeriesSENSITIVE SKIN. In addition, HBO Canada released the brand-new promo for the series, which returns May 15 at 8:30 p.m. ET on HBO Canada.

Sunday, May 15 at 8:30 p.m. ET
SENSITIVE SKIN picks up after the highly emotional cliff-hanger ending of the first season and sees Kim Cattrall’s Davina enter a new phase of her life. In the first episode, Davina searches for a new home but discovers that moving on isn’t as easy as she’d hoped, and soon finds herself in the picturesque Toronto Islands.

 

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Slasher cuts another character

With the Season 1 finale airing on Chiller this Friday, fans in Canada watching Slasher on Super Channel are still seven weeks behind. Sarah and Dylan have just moved to Waterbury, and Verna McBride (Mary Walsh) and Justin Faysal (Mark Ghanimé) are The Executioner’s first two victims. That is, if there is in fact just one person committing the crimes, something Police Chief Iain Vaughn (Dean McDermott) was hoping when Heather Peterson (Erin Karpluk) was arrested last week.

Clearly, as “Like As Fire Eateth Up and Burneth Wood”—Friday’s new episode—shows, the wrong person was put in jail. That’s not all we learn during the instalment; here’s a sneak peek at what’s to come.

Brenda confesses
We love Wendy Crewson in everything, but she really shines in Slasher. Creator Aaron Martin has written a sassy, cigarette smoking chick who isn’t afraid to speak her mind, especially when things get a little tense. When she and Sarah find themselves in a dangerous position, she pulls out a gun, stating: “You think I’d return to this shit-hole without packing a little heat?” Line of the night. There is one thing that scares Brenda, and that’s the past: her confession, revolving around an incident in 1968, threatens to ruin the relationship she’s got with Sarah.

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Tropes twisted
Horror movies contain some of the most hackneyed scenes and dialogue ever. Running and hiding in a closet. Calling “Hello, is anyone there?” into a darkened room. Hitting re-dial on your phone and having it ring the killer hiding inside your house. Martin’s nods to those well-worn customs are rife, but subtle twists on them result in truly scary moments.

Shout-out to Mr. D
Booth Savage, who played Principal Callaghan on Mr. D, gets new life on Slasher as the mayor of Waterbury. It’s pretty safe to say we’ve never seen this side to him before.

The Executioner vs. Sarah
Turns out The Executioner isn’t merely killing everyone. There is method to his madness and Sarah discovers what that is during the show’s closing moments.

Slasher airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on Super Channel.

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Orphan Black returns to form in Season 4

I was a huge fan of Orphan Black in Season 1. I sat, transfixed, as Tatiana Maslany assumed multiple personalities to play Sarah, Katja, Alison, Cosima, Helena and the first revelations about the Leda clones were first hinted at. I missed folks like Dr. Leekie, Det. Angie DeAngelis and Olivier Duval (a.k.a. the man with the tail), who were so important—and fun—in those early days.

So to see all of them packed into Season 4’s return, “The Collapse of Nature,” was not only thrilling, but a much-needed—in my eyes—reboot and reminder of why we all tuned in in the first place. Within the first four minutes (available to fans to watch online ahead of Thursday’s broadcast), it had been established there was yet another clone, M.K., who was working with Beth Childs. Speaking of Beth, she was alive and well. Yup, Orphan Black did a time jump back to before Sarah Manning ever entered the picture. There she was, sleeping when M.K. called to say she’d witnessed a body being buried in the woods. And who was next to Beth and wrapped in the sheets? Paul, also alive and kicking.

I was immediately immersed in the story as Beth and Art investigated the mutilated corpse, boasting a bifurcated penis and missing right cheek, and were off to find out who he was and why he was there. The path led Beth to the body mod club … and there was Olivier having shiny bling added to his tail.

We’ve all known Beth had issues, but to see them played out in front of us was amazing and added depth to the character. Addicted to drugs and battling to keep her relationship with Paul intact, Beth was only scratching the surface of the clone conspiracy—including questioning Leekie—when she stepped in front of that train. Feeling alone and emotionally disconnected, she turned to Art for affection before being called away by a girl at the club and witnessing the worm being pulled from a fellow club-goer’s cheek. The revelation the bearded guy involved in the plot is with the police union in wake of the alleyway shooting that killed Maggie Chen is pushing Beth into a corner she’s desperate to escape from. (As an aside, how great was it to see Felix in the police precinct, sassy as ever while defending the actions that got him booked in the first place?)

By episode’s end, we were jerked back to the present, with Art calling Sarah to tell her to run, that Iceland was no longer safe for her. I’m hoping that there’s at least one more episode where we see Beth’s storyline and see what she’d discovered before she took her life. And, of course, to learn more about M.K.

Orphan Black airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on Space.

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Bitten says goodbye

It’s always hard to say goodbye to a television show, especially one like Bitten. Far from stale, Season 3 felt like a bit of a rebirth for the show, and a move in a bold new direction. That’s certainly the case for Friday’s series finale “Truth, Changes, Everything.” Written by Daegan Fryklind, the script does close out stories, but leaves others wide open for interpretation and the imagination. Yes, there have been dark moments for several of these characters over the last three seasons, but by the end of “Truth, Changes, Everything,” I definitely felt hope.

Here’s what’s in store for Jeremy, Elena, Clay, Nick, Rachel, Paige, Sasha, Alexei, The Albino and Konstantin moving forward.

“Truth, Changes, Everything”
The episode title has a wonderful double meaning to it, referring both to how the truth literally changes everything and the storylines deal with truth, changes and, well, everything. Fryklind is a damned wordsmith and I love it.

Things start slow
The first 20 minutes are prep and posturing. Then the wheels really start to move and there’s no let-up. The next 22 minutes sped by faster than a wolf chasing down prey.

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Elena’s dream is realized
“We’re the outlaws now. It’s time to embrace our fate. This won’t stop until it happens, so let it come.” With those words, Elena makes a decision, putting irreversible steps in motion that can’t be stopped. Whether or not those steps were the right move will have fans talking for awhile.

Not everyone survives
It would be silly to assume everyone emerges from “Truth, Changes, Everything” unscathed—Bitten is a series about werewolves, blood and witches, after all—so place your bets on who will, and won’t, survive the final showdown. I can say those who do perish don’t do so in vain and are given the proper sendoff.

Bitten‘s series finale airs Friday at 10 p.m. ET on Space.

Let me know what you think of Bitten‘s series finale!

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