All posts by Greg David

Prior to becoming a television critic and owner of TV, Eh?, Greg David was a critic for TV Guide Canada, the country's most trusted source for TV news. He has interviewed television actors, actresses and behind-the-scenes folks from hundreds of television series from Canada, the U.S. and internationally. He is a podcaster, public speaker, weekly radio guest and educator, and past member of the Television Critics Association.
Industry News, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

RTR Media rolls on HGTV’s Open House Overhaul

RTR_media_logo

From a media release:

RTR Media is excited to announce the start of production on the new HGTV Canada series OPEN HOUSE OVERHAUL with designer/writer Samantha Pynn (Pure Design, Summer Home).

In Open House Overhaul, Sam and her crew overhaul houses on the real estate market in order to sell them fast and make top dollar. Production on the new 14×30’ series has started in Toronto and will premiere on HGTV Canada this spring. The program will be distributed by Distribution360, making it their first RTR Media property to represent after the recently announced first-look deal.

Samantha Pynn is a writer, decorator, stylist and TV host.  She’s the Contributing Design Editor for Chatelaine magazine and a columnist for the National Post.  Samantha Pynn’s first series with RTR Media was the HGTV Canada hit Summer Home.

Open House Overhaul is produced by RTR Media in association with Shaw Media, HGTV and with the assistance of the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit Program.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Preview: High-flying Airshow spotlights daredevils of the skies

I love airshows. I would not love to be a passenger in one of the planes that participate in them. Those loops, dives and stalls excite me when I’m safely on the ground but the thought of experiencing them first-hand causes my stomach to churn.

Those feelings were further driven home by Discovery’s latest series, Airshow, debuting tonight. To put it bluntly, I just don’t have the stuff to get behind the stick—or climb along the wing—that these folks do. But I’m more than happy to sit back and watch. Produced by Great Pacific TV, the same folks behind Highway Thru Hell, Airshow is stunning to watch on an HD TV. Bright paint, blue sky, black asphalt and multicoloured flight outfits pop as these folks explain not only their reasoning behind making a career out of performing in airshows but the inherent danger—and touch of crazy—involved.

Things don’t start all that promisingly. The awful footage of wing walker Jane Wicker and her pilot Charlie Schwenker, crashing and dying in an Ohio airshow in 2013 is shown before introducing viewers to former bush pilot and airline owner “Super Dave” Mathieson who admits to being bitten by the airplane bug when he was a youngster. Wing walker Carol Pilon is up next, describing the feeling of having the wind whip by her as she stands outside of her own airplane. Additional featured storylines in Episode 1 include rookie Stefan Trischuck and his Pitts Special and airbus Donna Flynn, who runs airshows.

Offsetting the interviews and airshow footage from the ground is stunning in-air stuff showcasing Dave performing in his MX-2 and Carol on her Stearman Bi-plane with veteran Marcus Paine at the controls; future episodes boast reel of The Patriots, Pete McLeod, Jon Melby and Sean Tucker taking to the skies.

If you’ve wanted to know what it’s like to fly in one of these planes alongside industry veterans, strap in and catch Airshow.

Airshow airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on Discovery.

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Industry News

Lone Eagle and Just for Laughs team for comedy projects

Lone_Eagle

From a media release:

Lone Eagle Entertainment and Just for Laughs are pleased to announce a new creative partnership to co-develop and produce comedic non-scripted programming.

The two companies will leverage their collective experience in working with comedic talent, concepts and contacts in the network landscape to bring forward a number of high concept projects in the coming months for the North American television market.

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Industry News

Cineflix Rights acquires Yap Films’ Battle Factory

media_cineflix_logo

From a media release:

Cineflix Rights, one of the UK’s leading independent television distributors, has acquired new content from Canadian producer Yap Films and South African producer Hive Content, as it heads to the Realscreen Summit 2015 looking to make more acquisition deals with producers.

Cineflix Rights has added to its growing “Factory” franchise with Battle Factory (14×30’, Yap Films). The series takes viewers into the hidden world of military and frontline gear factories all over the world and reveals how they are manufactured.

Battle Factory will sit alongside the highly successful brands Food Factory , Food Factory USA , and latest title Home Factory in the Cineflix Rights’ catalogue.

Food, Booze & Tattoos (13×30’, Hive Content) follows Brett Rogers as he travels across South Africa to track down the most mouth-watering food establishments, the coolest microbreweries, and the edgiest tattoo parlours; as well as showcasing South Africa’s unique and diverse contemporary cultures.

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Industry News

WGC reaches tentative agreement with Canadian producers

WGC logo

From a media release:

The Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) has reached a tentative agreement with the Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA) and the Association Québécoise de la Production Médiatique (AQPM) on a new Independent Production Agreement (IPA) for Canadian screenwriters.

Jill Golick, WGC president, says, “This proposed agreement makes forward-thinking changes that include expanding our jurisdiction and puts Canadian screenwriters in a better position in our evolving industry.”

After the deal has been presented to WGC members for ratification further details will be available. Once ratified by WGC members, the CMPA board and the general assembly of the AQPM, the new collective agreement will set the minimum terms of engagement until the end of 2017.

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