From Eric Volmers of the Calgary Herald:
Link: Season 15 finds Heartland characters moving on, living life to the fullest after grief and loss
Earlier this month, actress Amber Marshall met a woman who may be the world’s biggest Heartland fan. Continue reading.
From a media release:
OVERLORD AND THE UNDERWOODS (20×30), an original live action, single-camera family comedy from award-winning Canadian writer Anthony Q. Farrell (NBC’s The Office, CBBC’s Secret Life of Boys) and co-creator Ryan Wiesbrock (Buddy Thunderstruck, Holly Hobbie), will land on CBC Gem on Halloween weekend. The series will premiere in two parts on CBC Gem, with the first 10 episodes all available to stream beginning Friday, October 29, and the remaining episodes in Winter 2022.
Produced by marblemedia and Cloudco Entertainment and filmed in Southern Ontario, the series features an ensemble cast including Patrice Goodman (Slasher, Sunnyside), Darryl Hinds (Second City, Little Mosque on the Prairie), Ari Resnick (Odd Squad, Clearwater Kids), Kamaia Fairburn (Endlings, Starfalls), Jayne Eastwood (Hey Lady!), Troy Feldman (Lord of the Rings musical) as “Overlord†and award-winning Canadian icon Jann Arden as the voice of “R0-FL†— a droid that has spent most of her life by Overlord’s side.
OVERLORD AND THE UNDERWOODS follows the Underwoods, a North American family, whose life is turned upside down when their distant cousin, Overlord, the second most-wanted villain in the universe, seeks refuge in their home after being forced into intergalactic witness protection. After snitching out his boss, the evil Colossatrotus, Overlord is sent to live with his incredibly nice, only known family on Planet Earth. Over the course of the series, the evil Overlord and the very sweet Underwoods discover a thing or two about each other as they learn to treasure the value of family and the importance of true friendship, diversity, and compassion.
Debts and detonations. That’s a key message delivered in Thursday’s Season 2 return of Big Timber on History.
The reality series once again rides alongside logger Kevin Wenstob and his team of family and staff as they work deep in the heart of Vancouver Island. This time the stakes are even higher than before. Aside from pulling down and shipping timber—and the dangers and drama associated with that—mounting debts at the mill, and possible bankruptcy, cause Kevin and his crew to forge into uncharted waters. Literally.
During the last timber season, Kevin purchased a new claim and heads there … with a little help from his mini ‘dozer and grader. With snow too deep to cut much-needed red cedar, Kevin is on the financial ropes, especially after receiving some mail from the government. As with many documentary series of this type, drama is presented via situations like the aforementioned two problems—usually just before a commercial break and often ad nauseam—and I have to bite my tongue and soldier through the storytelling trope to get to the good stuff.
Thankfully, Big Timber is full of good stuff—like Kevin plotting to use a beloved old boat in the timber process—and I’m looking forward to watching the full season.
Big Timber airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on History.
Image courtesy of Corus Studios.
I’m always up for furthering my knowledge of Canadian history, especially when it comes to the provinces west of Ontario. And, thanks to the appropriately titled Knowledge Network, I can do that with British Columbia.
Debuting Tuesday at 9 p.m. PT on Knowledge—and available to stream for free on the channel’s website—the four-episode British Columbia: An Untold History digs deep to trace Canada’s most western land. Written and directed by Kevin Eastwood, whose excellent “Humboldt: The New Season” was broadcast on CBC Docs POV in 2019, the four-parter is a dramatic retelling of the province’s history, warts and all.
“As a settler who has lived their whole life in B.C., and went to school and university here, I thought I knew a lot about this place, but making British Columbia: An Untold History taught me I didn’t really know that much,†Eastwood said in a press release in support of the show’s debut. He notes that over 70 people contributed to it through interviews with authors, historians, knowledge keepers, elders, families, and descendants of historical figures. Indigenous, Chinese, Japanese, Punjabi, Black, and European stories are complemented by archival photography, film artifacts and footage to make for a fascinating series.
Tuesday’s debut, “Change + Resistance,†traces the Indigenous resistance to oppression in British Columbia. With the gold rushes and establishment of the new colony, Indigenous leaders resisted settler laws and challenged unsanctioned expansion into First Nations territories, only to be forced onto reserves. First Nations endured more losses when the federal Indian Act and residential schools criminalized Indigenous culture.
British Columbia: An Untold History airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. PT on Knowledge Network. It can be streamed on Knowledge Network’s website.
Image courtesy of Kevin Eastwood.
From Melissa Hank of Postmedia:
Link: Legal drama Diggstown tackles difficult topics head-on
The truth, it’s uncomfortable. It’s messy, beautiful and bleak. Diggstown, the CBC legal drama now in its third season, embraces those facts — and audiences are arguably better for it. Continue reading.
From Charles Trapunski of Brief Take:
Link: Interview: Diggstown’s Natasha Henstridge and Crystal Lightning
Gemini Award winner Natasha Henstridge has plenty of experience in dramatic roles and has settled into her performance on the Floyd Kane Nova Scotia-set series Diggstown, especially during this pandemic season. Continue reading.
From Jordan Parker of Halifax Today:
Link: ‘Diggstown’ unafraid to uncover uncomfortable truths
The latest season of Diggstown offers a nuanced, in-depth method of exploring the hard-hitting topics creator Floyd Kane has never shied away from. Continue reading.
From Morgan Mullin of Chatelaine:
Link: 5 Reasons We Love Diggstown (If You Haven’t Been Watching, Start!)
Nova Scotia lawyer Marcie Diggs doesn’t care what you think. Instead, the anchor of the deeply watchable legal drama Diggstown spends her time figuring out what success and justice mean to her. Continue reading.
From Elisabetta Bianchini of Yahoo! News:
Link: ‘Diggstown’ gets honest about COVID-19, long-term care homes and inequities in Canada’s legal system
“One of the things that we’ve been talking about, in terms of the pandemic, across the country, has been the deplorable state of long-term care homes across the country, and the way in which we treat and care for our elderly.†Continue reading.
From Stephen Cooke of Saltwire:
Link: Season 3 of Halifax-shot Diggstown gives dramatic life to current issues
Diggstown is about to undergo a seismic shakeup. Continue reading.
From Jennifer Cox of The Suburban:
Link: Pierrefonds’ Shailene Garnett of CBC’s Diggstown talks about Season 3
The hard-hitting Canadian legal drama Diggstown on CBC is back for Season 3 and premieres on October 6th. Continue reading.
