Piller/Segan and Blink49 Studios, have entered into a multi-year joint venture agreement that will see both companies contribute financial and creative resources for the development and production of a slate of premium scripted and unscripted content.
The partnership builds on a long-standing creative relationship between Blink49 Studios CEO John Morayniss and Piller/Segan partners Lloyd Segan and Shawn Piller, who previously collaborated on hit series Private Eyes and fan-favorite Haven during Morayniss’ tenure at eOne. The companies are currently producing Season 3 of Wild Cards (CBC/The CW), which has also been ordered for Season 4.
Designed as a hub for bold new projects, the joint venture will take an open-door approach to building long-term IP and franchises across genres, encouraging crossover opportunities for concepts that can thrive in multiple formats. Building on the strength of its existing creative team, Piller/Segan will expand its development capacity with the addition of a seasoned executive dedicated to sourcing and shepherding projects under the joint venture, working closely with Blink49 Studios leadership.
“This joint venture is a natural evolution of the trust and creative synergy we’ve built over many years,” said Morayniss. “With our combined financial commitment and infrastructure, Blink49 Studios and Piller/Segan are well-positioned to deliver globally resonant storytelling and provide creators with the resources they need to succeed.”
“We’re thrilled to formalize this next chapter with John and the incredible team at Blink49 Studios,” added Segan. “This venture gives us the reach and flexibility to champion a wide range of projects — from supporting established voices to cultivating fresh talent. Together, we’re building a dynamic environment where creators can take risks and bring ambitious ideas to life.”
The venture reflects both companies’ shared mission to empower creators, invest in innovative storytelling, and deliver high-quality programming to a global marketplace.
APTN is expanding its reach and offering new ways to connect with Indigenous stories in the digital era, including a free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channel, in-flight entertainment on Air Canada and the transition of the network’s streaming platform from APTN lumi to APTN+.
Select APTN programs are also now available on Air Canada flights commercial-free, including Indigenous Art Adventures,APTN Investigates and more. This new feature allows passengers to discover and enjoy Indigenous programming throughout their travels.
This fall, APTN lumi is becoming APTN+, a new name that improves the platform’s visibility and reaffirms APTN’s commitment to making Indigenous stories more accessible.
Producers Bruce Hills Entertainment, Counterfeit Pictures, and Hemmings Films are pleased to announce that they will go into production on Stand Up For Canada Starring Rick Mercer, a new one-hour comedy special set to premiere on CBC and CBC Gem. Timing for the premiere will be confirmed at a later date.
Set to film in front of a live audience in Saint John, New Brunswick on October 17, the special will capture a night on Rick Mercer’s wildly successful coast-to-coast comedy tour, which continues through October 2025, and is presented by MRG Live and Bruce Hills Entertainment. Mercer is joined by Canadian comedians Sophie Buddle, Mayce Galoni and Julie Kim, and performed 28 shows across 20 cities, with 24 sold-out venues and more than 40,000 tickets sold.
The Stand Up For Canada Starring Rick Mercer special promises to deliver a funny, insightful and heartfelt celebration of Canada through the comedy of one of the country’s most beloved voices, as well as a new generation of rising stand-up stars. Together, Mercer, Buddle, Galoni and Kim will shine a light on the diverse perspectives, stories and humour that make Canada’s comedy scene one of the richest in the world.
Stand Up For Canada Starring Rick Mercer is produced by Bruce Hills Entertainment, Counterfeit Pictures, and Hemmings Films, in association with CBC.
After a dozen seasons on the air, Top Chef Canada continues its winning recipe. There are new competitors from across the country facing off for big money, prizes and the title—and a new network broadcast on—but the core is still the same: to showcase the best chefs Canada has to offer.
Returning Tuesday at 10 p.m. Eastern on Flavour Network, host Eden Grinshpan and resident judges Mark McEwan, Janet Zuccarini, Mijune Pak and David Zilber welcome 10 chefs into the Top Chef kitchen to do battle.
We spoke to Eden Grinshpan about the upcoming season.
What has it been like being part of this franchise? Eden Grinshpan: It really is such an honour to be a part of such an epic franchise in Top Chef. I’ve been a huge fan for so long, so to get to be the host of the Canadian version is a true honour, and it’s still, for me, it’s my favourite gig, and every time we shoot a new season, it is such a thrill and I get to eat and taste food from some of the best chefs in the country, and I get to eat so many icons in the industry. So it’s truly an amazing experience.
What’s the production window? How much time is allotted for the filming of a season? EG: It’s usually around a month, but it is jam-packed. We do a lot in that month, basically. I say goodbye to my husband. I’m like, ‘Good luck. See you in a month.’ Because the mornings are super early. Sometimes the nights can be really late and just so much happens in such a short period of time. But I feel like it’s probably the best that it happens in that way because these chefs are putting their lives on hold as well.
There are some really unique themes and challenges to come in this 12th season. What are your thoughts on what the producers have come up with? EG: I am, every season, floored, in awe, so impressed. The production company, Insight, is amazing and their team is just so good at staying on what’s relevant, what’s important. We did an incredible challenge where we celebrated pride. We also went to the Indigenous Film Festival, where we are celebrating and highlighting Indigenous culture and cuisine. These are exactly what we should be focusing on and talking about: the diversity of this city and this country. That’s something that I think the show has done so beautifully and continues to just highlight in such a creative and fun way. Listen, it’s television. We are entertaining here, so it’s always so fun and beautiful. And this season in particular, even watching the trailer, I was crying.
It’s an incredibly emotional season and I really do feel that it’s going to touch so many people in so many different ways. I bawled my eyes out so many times. I am actually curious to see how many shots there are this season of me crying, and it’s not like a gentle tear. We are ugly crying here. The prize is huge. The stakes are huge. These chefs leave their jobs and their families for a long amount of time, and they’re putting their lives out there.
As with past seasons, this one features a mix of chefs from all walks of life. Some have Michelin stars, some don’t. Do you think having a star gives a competitor an advantage? EG: We’ve had a lot of chefs on this show who have catering companies blow some of these Michelin-starred chefs out of the water. So I think it really comes down to your ability, the seasoning, just the capability of the chef. Obviously, those Michelin-starred chefs they’re training at an insane level on a regular basis. So, obviously, it’s going to give them an upper hand on some level. And for instance, some other chefs have a more chill job and they may feel a little bit more insecure or whatever, but then they come into it and we’re blown away. It doesn’t need to be Michelin star to be absolutely delicious.
Top Chef Canada airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. Eastern on Flavour Network.
For 12 seasons on The Curse of Oak Island, brothers Marty and Rick Lagina have been searching for treasure on Nova Scotia’s Oak Island. And while there have been some tantalizing finds discovered, the massive alleged treasure eludes them.
Let’s hope the stars of Deadman’s Curse aren’t still digging for gold over a decade from now. Airing Thursdays on The History Channel, Canada’s West Coast is the setting for this doozy of a docuseries. Mixing action and adventure with Indigenous storytelling, rumour and legend, Deadman’s Curse follows prospector Kru Williams, mountaineer Adam Palmer, Indigenous explorer Taylor Starr and her father, Don Froese, who have worked tirelessly to finally solve the mystery of Slumach’s lost gold mine.
In the first episode of Season 3, Williams and Palmer made a startling discovery, uncovering an old mine. And while what they unearthed wasn’t Slumach’s, it did get the quartet—and viewers—excited.
We spoke to mountaineer Adam Palmer about his ongoing quest.
Before we talk specifically about Season 3, I wanted to compliment the production company, Great Pacific Media. They have created a really compelling series full of action and adventure, along with history and Indigenous storytelling. Adam Palmer: I’m glad you said that because it is truly, we’ve become a big family and working with perfectionists because that’s what they are. I have a scattered brain of all these maps and stories and leads and clues and evidence, and none of that would make sense if I didn’t have their help to format it in a way where people could understand it. I’m really noticing that when I get approached, it’s people that are watching the show are actually, I feel like they’re involved. And it’s because for that simple reason that it’s formatted in a way where we can bring history, we can bring legend, we can bring storytelling all together and in a way that people can follow it and understand it and learn from it. So that’s been a huge part, and that’s largely due to having a production company that stands behind you and presents your research or your passion in a format where everyone can feel involved and understand it.
You definitely have to put your phone down. There’s no scrolling through TikTok or Instagram or anything, although I did have to hit pause a couple of times just to do a little bit of my own kind of research, some quick Google searches. AP: Yeah. You’re not the only one that happens to. It’s amazing. And my biggest thing was researching old newspaper articles to get pieces of the puzzle, because there’s not a lot of history that’s recorded back in those days of prospectors going, looking for this mine. And you have to consider everything. This legend takes you down a rabbit hole where you cannot turn a blind eye to anything, anyone, or any place, because it all plays an important piece of the puzzle.
In regard to the Slumach storyline, in particular with Taylor doing the research into the court case … those documents aren’t necessarily there, and even if they are there, they may be wrong when it comes to court documents versus witness statements. So it can be very convoluted and confusing. AP: It is. There’s a lot of misinformation, and with any legend, you’re going to get people who embellish stories or put their own theories in there. I’ve taken an approach where there are kind of free piles, there’s evidence and facts, and you put that in a pile, and then there’s theories. You put that in a pile, and then there is the chaos pile, that’s all the craziness that you stumble upon. Is it related? Isn’t it related? Is a lost Spanish mine related to the lost gold mine at Pitt Lake? There’s always something in there that is a missing piece of the puzzle, and you slowly put it together. Three seasons of TV is literally like 20 years of research going into this, so it gets a little crazy.
Not only that we’re being shown more and more often that the Indigenous stories tend to be the truth. AP: Oral history is so strong. I start with the oral history now because it’s a hundred percent proven every single time. I take that oral history, I listen to the elders, I listen to them speak. A hundred percent of the time I’ve found that oral history is proven correct, and I think it’s because it can’t be changed through written words. When someone tells a story and you’re listening, you’ll pick up clues in there that’ll change your life.
In the first episode of Season 3, you’ve got to shut everything down for the winter and come back in the spring. Was there a legitimate fear that people could have gone in that time that you were away and actually discovered the mine? AP: No. No. You know what? I challenge anyone to try to find that. You think that there are a lot of people out there looking, but the only thing they’re looking at is Google Earth. I would love it if more people were actually out there helping; that would help me so much because they would get through a lot of the dirty work or checking off these areas that I want to check out.
I’m part of a climbing and mountaineering community, and everyone just wants to go to the top of the peak and then back home. No one wants to walk around in circles. No one wants to climb the mountain three or four times. Everyone wants to go up and go down. So it’s one of those things where, yeah, I mean, sure, I would be lying if I said I haven’t thought about it. But then again, I’m like, you know what? Out of the 20-some plus years that I’ve been searching, I haven’t seen any more incredible search team other than ourselves that is actually putting the time and effort into looking for this.
You need critical thinking skills for research. You kind of almost need to be a history buff, a mountain climber, and a prospector all in one to kind of really get started into this legend.
In the press release it mentions unconventional theories. How much are you allowed to tease what those unconventional theories are? AP: It’s unconventional theories from unconventional people. People come out and they try to give you their theories and where they think the gold is. And a lot of times to get to the bottom of that, to really investigate that theory, you need tools, you need ways to get in there, you need ways to research it that are not necessarily the norm. This legend doesn’t present itself in a linear format.
Do you find the gold at the end of Season 3? AP: I found something that’s going to take, if people are paying attention, they’re going to wonder why I was in Utah for these last two weeks. So there are things that are getting a little crazy, and there are things that we researched in Season 1 that we kind of come back to full circle in Season 3. And if the production company is going to film another season, it’s going to show people this. It’s going to change history.
Deadman’s Curse airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. Eastern on The History Channel.
