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.
Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Casting now open for CTV summer tentpole series, Holmes Family Rescue

From a media release:

As announced during the #CTVUpfront in June, Canadian TV icon and professional contractor Mike Holmes and his children – Mike Jr. and Sherry – have teamed up to create their biggest and most ambitious project yet, the MADE® in Canada series HOLMES FAMILY RESCUE. Casting is now open for the inspirational and life-changing series, set to headline CTV’s Summer 2020 lineup. Featuring the Holmes family as they transform lives, HOLMES FAMILY RESCUE is now looking for change-makers who also want to subscribe to Holmes’ “Make It Right®” mantra and be part of this series.

Production for HOLMES FAMILY RESCUE begins this October. For all casting details, including instructions on how to apply and other FAQs, applicants can visit CTV.ca/MikeHolmesCasting.

HOLMES FAMILY RESCUE is looking for inspiring Canadians from all corners of the country who are striving to make a difference. Applicants can nominate an individual, group, or an organization in need of a life-altering renovation that will forever change a life or the lives of their group or community. The series is especially interested in hearing from young applicants who have an important cause and are looking for an opportunity to make a positive impact with the Holmes family’s help. Anyone who is trying to make a positive change in Canada and who has a renovation project that can help their cause, can apply.  

HOLMES FAMILY RESCUE is produced by Make It Right Productions in association with CTV. Mike Holmes is Executive Producer. Grant Greschuk is Series Producer. Paul McConvey is Supervising Producer.

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Big Brother Canada

Big Brother is calling! Global opens casting for Season 8 of Big Brother Canada

From a media release:

Casting is now open! Big Brother Canada is embarking on its 8th cross-country mission to select a new group of houseguests to star in Season 8 of Global’s smash hit reality series.

Starting today, Canadians can apply online at BigBrotherCanada.ca for a chance to become a #BBCAN houseguest and battle it out in the jaw-dropping new season returning to Global in 2020. Those who think they have what it takes to make it in the Big Brother Canada house can visit the official casting site to submit a photo and short video explaining why they are the ideal candidate. To qualify, potential future houseguests must be 19 years of age by February 1, 2020 and submit their applications by November 15, 2019. For more information, including a full list of rules and eligibility, head to BigBrotherCanada.ca

Stay tuned for additional details about the national casting tour, including cities, dates, and venues, available later this summer. Stay in the know and visit BigBrotherCanada.ca for all the exciting updates.

In the meantime, viewers looking for a dose of drama or competitive gameplay can watch Season 21 of Big Brother currently airing Sundays and Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT, and Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Global. Viewers can also sign in with their TV service provider credentials to watch live on GlobalTV.com or the Global TV app (now available on Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, and Roku) or stream it later. And catch more live footage, online or on the app, straight from the Big Brother house with Big Brother After Dark available Monday through Friday.

Airing exclusively on Global in the 2020 broadcast season, Big Brother Canada plucks a group of hand-picked strangers from their homes, sequesters them from the outside world, and places them inside a house outfitted wall-to-wall with cameras and microphones that capture their every move. Competing for a grand cash prize, each week the houseguests battle in a series of challenges that give them power or punishment, voting each other out until the fate of the final two is decided by a jury of fellow houseguests.

Global is a Corus Entertainment Network and is available through all major TV distributors, including: Shaw, Shaw Direct, Rogers, Bell, Videotron, Telus, Cogeco, Eastlink, SaskTel and the new STACKTV, streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime Video Channels.

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Industry News

CBC announces first-ever podcast to TV development slate

From a media release:

CBC, Canada’s public broadcaster, today announced its first-ever development slate of podcast-to-television series that will see five popular, original CBC Podcasts adapted for the screen. These initial projects include: David Ridgen’s SOMEONE KNOWS SOMETHING (First Generation Films, scripted); UNCOVER: THE VILLAGE (Noble Entertainment, documentary); PERSONAL BEST (3Arts Entertainment, unscripted); TAI ASKS WHY (Irwin Entertainment, unscripted); and, ALONE: A LOVE STORY (Sienna Films, scripted). The announcement was made at Podcast Movement 2019 in Orlando, Florida, the largest podcast gathering in the world.

CBC’s first foray into the adaptation of podcasts for television includes five acclaimed podcast titles with wide ranging subject matter, from drama and true crime, to humour and life’s greatest questions:

SOMEONE KNOWS SOMETHING

● In development for a scripted series with First Generation Films. CBC’s most-downloaded original title, SOMEONE KNOWS SOMETHING with host David Ridgen examines unsolved cases of missing or murdered individuals, in hopes of uncovering new information, while also exploring how the cases have affected the families and communities involved.

UNCOVER: THE VILLAGE

● In development for an unscripted, documentary series with Noble Television. The true crime podcast, the third in the Uncover series, explores two waves of unsolved murders in Toronto’s Gay Village, 40 years apart, following the arrest of Bruce McArthur in January 2018.

PERSONAL BEST

● In development with 3Arts Entertainment for an unscripted series. The humorous, internationally acclaimed podcast helps ordinary people work through the little things they’d never bring to a life coach and celebrates small ambitions, half-wins, and getting less bad at things. From kicking a snooze button addiction to being less awkward around cashiers, Personal Best aims to be a self-improvement sidekick.

TAI ASKS WHY

● In development with Irwin Entertainment for an unscripted series. The award-winning podcast looks for answers to life’s biggest questions from the perspective of an exceptional 12-year-old through conversations with everyone from NASA experts to his own little brother in order to expand the minds of the audience and touch their hearts.

ALONE: A LOVE STORY

● In development with Sienna Films for a scripted series. This acclaimed podcast is a memoir about love, marriage and life after betrayal, telling raw truths about life post-divorce, dating and the maddening uncertainties of life and love.

CBC is Canada’s Public Podcaster, reaching more Canadians than any other podcast publisher. With more than 20 series in genres including investigative reporting and true crime, comedy, human interest and audio fiction, CBC podcasts are downloaded millions of times per month.

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Industry News

AMI-tv announces its fall 2019 programming schedule

From a media release:

Today, Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) unveiled its AMI-tv schedule for the 2019 fall broadcast season, with a lineup of compelling new and returning AMI originals, exciting programs available in described video and perennial favourites.

For the first time in AMI-tv history, all original programming will air in the coveted 8 p.m. timeslot from Monday to Friday.

AMI This Week kicks it all off on September 9 at 8 p.m. ET. Season eight of the weekly magazine show—featuring host Victoria Nolan and Bureau Reporters Grant Hardy (Vancouver), Beth Deer (Edmonton), Alex Smyth (Toronto) and Laura Bain (Halifax)—continues its distinct community focus, sharing events and interesting stories from coast to coast.

AMI original productions are the centrepiece of the schedule. Season three of the award-winning series Employable Me returns, following a new group of Canadian job seekers. In Season one of Double Tap TV, Steven Scott and Marc Aflalo lead cutting-edge discussions on everything tech with news, reviews and interviews, all with an eye on accessibility. Season three of Eyes for the Job follows handyman Chris Judge, who is blind, and Alex Haider as they take on their biggest do-it-yourself projects yet.

New local original documentaries in the Our Community series include the journey of two communities building barrier-free baseball diamonds, and a pilot who flies children of all abilities in his four-seater airplane.

AMI-tv’s newest acquired series in described video is Frankie Drake Mysteries. Lauren Lee Smith stars as Frankie Drake, who—along with the female-only members of Drake Private Detectives—solves crimes in 1920s Toronto. Returning favourites include Murdoch Mysteries, Elementary, Monk, Blue Bloods, Rescue Me, Suits, The Shield, Breaking Bad, Drug Wars, Schitt’s Creek and Kim’s Convenience.

In keeping with AMI’s mandate of making accessible media for all Canadians, AMI’s original series and documentaries utilize Integrated Described Video (IDV) so they are accessible to individuals who are blind or partially sighted.

All dates subject to change. Additional fall programming will be announced in the coming weeks. Stream past episodes of AMI original programming on demand post-broadcast at AMI.ca or via the AMI-tv App on iOS and tvOS.

AMI-tv’s fall premieres (all times Eastern)

Monday, Sept. 9
8 p.m. – AMI This Week
8:30 p.m. – AMI originals repeats
9 p.m. – Murdoch Mysteries (Mon.-Thur.)
10 p.m. – Elementary

Tuesday, Sept. 10
8 p.m. – Eyes for the Job
8:30 p.m. – Double Tap TV
10 p.m. – Blue Bloods

Wednesday, Sept. 11
8 p.m. – Employable Me
8:30 p.m. – Employable Me
10 p.m. – Rescue Me

Thursday, Sept. 12
8 p.m. – Our Community
8:30 p.m. – AMI This Week repeats
10 p.m. – Frankie Drake Mysteries

Friday, Sept. 13
8 p.m. – AMI originals repeats
9 p.m. – The Shield
10 p.m. – Breaking Bad
11 p.m. – Drug Wars

Saturday, Sept. 14
7 p.m. – AMI originals repeats
8 p.m. – Kim’s Convenience
8:30 p.m. – Schitt’s Creek
9 p.m. – Saturday Night Movie

Sunday, Sept. 15
7 p.m. – Frankie Drake Mysteries
8 p.m. – Murdoch Mysteries
9 p.m. – Monk
10 p.m. – Suits

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