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.
Bachelor Canada, Bachelorette Canada

Citytv reveals 26 singles heading to the lakeside love nest on Bachelor in Paradise Canada

From a media release:

Fall may be around the corner, but Citytv is gearing up for a quintessentially Canadian summer of love. Today, the network revealed the romantic hopefuls looking for another chance at love on the highly-anticipated new series Bachelor in Paradise Canada. Featuring a mix of 12 Canadian and U.S. Bachelor alumni favourites and – in a first for the global franchise – 14 Canadian #BachelorNation fans, Camp Paradise officially gets underway with a two-hour premiere on Sunday, Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Citytv and Citytv.com. Then, at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT, join KiSS 92.5’s Deepa Prashad and Daryn Jones for the weekly half-hour The Bachelor After Show: After Paradise Canada where they break down all the juicy gossip and drama from the Bachelor universe – The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Bachelor in Paradise – and across Bachelor Nation.

Ranging in age from 25 to 37 – and hailing from all over Canada and the United States – the Camp Paradise singles are a diverse group of character, energy, and background, with one thing in common – their search for that special someone. See full list below; fans can learn more about each romantic hopeful at Citytv.com.

Brand partnerships for the inaugural season of Bachelor in Paradise Canada include Expedia, Twisted Tea, KITS and Estée Lauder to name a few. Each of the sponsors will receive variations in multiplatform sponsorship integration across Roger Sports & Media’s Entertainment brands, including television, radio, and digital. Activations also entail in-show content, brand sell opportunities, co-branded promotions, and in-store extensions.

Hosted by Jesse Jones and featuring Bachelor alumni Kevin Wendt as bartender, Bachelor in Paradise Canada airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/PT and follows some of North America’s most eligible bachelors and bachelorettes as they explore new relationships in their secluded love nest on the lake where their only job is to soak up the summer sun, cozy up by the campfire, frolic in the water, take long romantic canoe rides under the vast Canadian star-filled sky… and fall in love.

Canadian Bachelor Alumni

Bianka Kamber, 37, The Bachelor Canada Season 1 (Brad Smith), Toronto, ON

Chris Kotelmach, 35, The Bachelorette Canada Season 1 (Jasmine Lorimer), Saskatoon, SK

David Pinard, 32, The Bachelorette Canada Season 1 (Jasmine Lorimer), Toronto, ON

Lisa Mancini, 28, The Bachelor Canada Season 3 (Chris Leroux), St. Catherines, ON

Mike Ogilvie, 34, The Bachelorette Canada Season 1 (Jasmine Lorimer), Winnipeg, MB

Stacy Johnson, 29, The Bachelor Canada Season 3 (Chris Leroux), Vancouver, B.C.

U.S. Bachelor Alumni

Alex Bordyukov, 32, The Bachelorette Season 13 (Rachel Lindsay), Detroit, MI

Angela Amezcua, 31, The Bachelor Season 21 (Nick Viall), Greenville S.C.

Brendan Scanzano, 26, The Bachelorette Season 17 (Katie Thurston), Toronto, ON

Caitlin Clemmens, 27, The Bachelor Season 23 (Colton Underwood), Toronto, ON

Illeana Pennetto, 26, The Bachelor Season 25 (Matt James), New York, NY

Kamil Nicalek, 33, The Bachelorette Season 14 (Becca Kufrin), New York, NY

Bachelor Nation

Adam Kunder, 28, Windsor, ON

Alice Li, 27, Toronto, ON

Ana Cruz, 26, Montreal, QC

Brendan Morgan, 30, Edmonton, AB

Connor Rogers, 27, Toronto, ON

Iva Mikulic, 25, Calgary, AB

Jeremy Lohier, 28, Montreal, QC

Joey Kirchner, 31, Medicine Hat, AB

Josh Guvi, 28, Vancouver, B.C.

Karn Kalra, 30, Toronto, ON

Kit Blaiklock, 27, Vancouver, B.C.

Nicole Cregg, 25, Toronto, ON

Sasanet Iassu, 26, Halifax, N.S.

Veronique Paquette, 31, Sudbury, ON

Bachelor in Paradise Canada is the Canadian version of the perennially successful Bachelor in Paradise franchise, which is currently in its 7th season on Citytv. Both the 10-episode, original reality series and The Bachelor After Show: After Paradise Canada are produced by Good Human Productions Inc., with Claire Freeland serving as Executive Producer, Keely Booth as Showrunner and Michael Margolis as Series Director.

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Feudal, Moonshine

Links: Moonshine, Season 1

1 Comment

From Heather M. of The Televixen:

Link: Previewing Moonshine’s Season 1 finale and a chat with Peter MacNeill
“Everything was so strict and you felt a bit boxed in, but thank God on Moonshine, we had a big enough family. So we could get a little bit of relief from the aloneness and the hiding out from COVID.” Continue reading.

From Victoria Ahearn of the Canadian Press:

Link: Moonshine creator Sheri Elwood mines Nova Scotia family roots for CBC dramedy
Driving onto the set of her new Nova Scotia series “Moonshine,” creator Sheri Elwood can see her mother’s house and her family’s campground. Sometimes her dad zips by in a golf cart. Continue reading.

From Stephen Cooke of Saltwire:

Link: Don’t get on the bad side of Moonshine’s family in Hubbards-shot CBC comedy
If it looks like the cast members of the new CBC comedy Moonshine are having a blast topping each other with one outrageous deed after another, that’s because they really are. Continue reading.

From Melissa Hank of Postmedia:

Link: New CBC comedy Moonshine keeps it all in the dysfunctional family
You can’t pick your family, but you can certainly use them as creative fodder for television shows. Sheri Elwood knows this well. Continue reading.

From Heather M. of The Televixen:

Link: Previewing Moonshine with Sheri Elwood
“This place is just imbued with classic rock. You turn on any radio station in Nova Scotia, and it’s the same 30 songs. That sounds like a bad thing, but for me, it’s not.” Continue reading.

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Featured, Kim's Convenience, Strays

Nicole Power stars in Kim’s Convenience companion piece Strays

I admit it. I’m going to miss Kim’s Convenience. Certainly the saddest part about its demise is what happened behind the scenes. I won’t go into that here, search on the site for stories about it, but perhaps the best news to come out of that bad situation was Strays.

Bowing Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. on CBC, Strays follows Shannon Ross’ Kim’s Convenience‘s Handy car rental manager as she heads west to become the new executive director of the Hamilton East Animal Shelter. My initial thought surrounding Strays was that it quickly came together as Kim’s Convenience was falling apart. Not so, says star Nicole Power, who reprises Shannon on Strays and serves as consulting producer too.

“At the end of Season 3, I was approached with the opportunity to start developing an idea for a show that would be a companion piece to Kim’s Convenience,” Power says during a conference call. “It would be an expansion of the universe and explore a different side of Shannon and Shannon exploring something new.”

That “something new” is Hamilton, where she is surrounded by new people, clients and fur babies. The new humans in Shannon’s life include her cousin Nikki (Nikki Duval), animal care manager Kristian (Frank Cox-O’Connell), office manager Joy (Tina Jung), landlord Liam (Kevin Vidal) and maintenance guy Paul (Tony Nappo). Nappo, in particular, is a joy to watch on screen, his trademark gruff exterior buffed by Shannon’s cheery countenance.

When Shannon arrives at Hamilton East Animal Shelter, things are in disarray. Nikki is foisted on Shannon, building budgets have been cut and a birthday party for an elderly cat goes horribly awry. But where most would curl up in a corner, Shannon soldiers on, using her unique word choices to get her and others through trying times.

“Shannon always wants to make the best out of a situation and people-please,” Power says, with a laugh. “She is always trying to manage that everyone else is good, so what you’ll see in Strays is just an extension of Shannon’s desire to have the best of the situation be the reality.”

Strays airs Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. on CBC.

Images courtesy of CBC.

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Pretty Hard Cases

Link: Why ‘Orange Is the New Black’s’ Adrienne C. Moore Traded Prison Scrubs for a Badge in ‘Pretty Hard Cases’

From Danielle Turchiano of Variety:

Link: Why ‘Orange Is the New Black’s’ Adrienne C. Moore Traded Prison Scrubs for a Badge in ‘Pretty Hard Cases’
For seven seasons, Adrienne C. Moore played an inmate nicknamed Black Cindy on Netflix’s dark comedy “Orange Is the New Black,” set in a women’s prison Litchfield Penitentiary. With her new Canadian television series, “Pretty Hard Cases,” Moore is now on the other side of the law as Kelly Duff, a no-nonsense drug squad detective. But, she has found some important similarities between the two shows that helped make her professional transition an easy one. Continue reading.

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Featured, Feudal, Moonshine

Moonshine’s Sheri Elwood: “What a gift to be able to write for women in their 30s and 40s”

I became a fan of Sheri Elwood when Call Me Fitz, starring Jason Priestley, exploded onto the scene in 2010. Since then, she’s produced, executive-produced and written on U.S. shows like Lucifer and Whiskey Cavalier. Now Elwood is back north of the border with a project that’s very close to her heart.

Moonshine, debuting Tuesday at 9 p.m. on CBC, tells the story of the Finley-Cullens, a group of adult half-siblings battling for control of the ancestral business, The Moonshine, a run-down summer resort in rural Nova Scotia. The cast is a who’s-who of talent, including Jennifer Finnegan as Lidia, Anastasia Phillips as Rhian, Emma Hunter as Nora, Tom Stevens as Ryan, Corrine Koslo as Bea and Peter MacNeil as Ken. All shine in the debut episode and set up the Season 1 journey to come.

We spoke to Sheri Elwood about how Moonshine came about and its killer cast.

How did Moonshine come about, and how did you end up back in Canada making it?
Sheri Elwood: I got a call a couple of years ago from a producer, Charles Bishop, and I was a fan of his and he said, ‘How would you feel about coming home to do a show?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, oh my God, that would be great.’

I had been trying to get back to Nova Scotia, for personal reasons. Also, my family is still here. He said, ‘Let me get a little more specific and said, how about a family drama?’ I said, ‘I have one.’ I actually have been noodling on this idea for a while now. He presented it to CBC and we had a show. It happened fairly quickly.

How close was the noodling to what Moonshine ended up being when it hits the air in the fall? 
SE: The noodling is almost exactly what it ended up being. There’s this funny autobiographical element to the story, but my family runs a summer resort and on the social of Nova Scotia and I come from a big blended family of half-siblings. The characters are a huge departure from what we’re really like, but, but that core idea of coming home, I stayed fairly true to that idea. This takes place in a part of Nova Scotia that hasn’t really been seen on TV all that much. It’s a little less manicured, it’s a little more dysfunctional, both geographically and emotionally.  

Anybody that’s ever been to a summer camp, or spent some time at a cottage, can relate to that setting and that relaxation that’s supposed to take place when you’re not arguing with your family about something. 
SE: We were really trying to capture that yearning of summers past, which that is that, that timeless, timeless quality of your wet towels and sand on the floor and turning on the radio and it’s the same 20 pieces of classic rock, but they somehow sound fresh every single time. We’re really trying to capture that time and a place, summers with the family and at the beach, which I think is pretty universal. 

You have a pretty large ensemble cast. Was that a bit of a challenge working with so many moving parts? 
SE: This is a very large cast, but everyone feels like they’re the star of their own show. It was really easy to write for each and every one of them, and that’s a testament to the cast as well.

It’s like Christmas every single day because they’re so fantastic. I had to cast them all via Zoom because of COVID. All the chemistry reads, everything was done by Zoom, which is terrifying. I was blown away by this treasure trove of a cast, especially the women. Holy smokes, what a gift to be able to write for women in their 30s and 40s. 

The tone of your shows is always great, and the conversations between the characters always seem so natural. Is that something you have to work at?
SE: That’s really the nicest compliment I’ve ever received about my writing. I’m so happy that it feels natural. I just really always try to write from character. I just really try to make sure that there are emotional cues to everything. 

Moonshine premieres on Tuesday at 9 p.m. on CBC.

Images courtesy of CBC.

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