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.
Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Preview: CBC Docs POV’s Humboldt: The New Season should not be missed

How can you possibly return to the ice after fellow teammates, coaches and others close to you die? That path is explored through the eyes of Humboldt Broncos players and their families in the heartbreaking and touching “Humboldt: The New Season.”

Debuting as part of CBC Docs POV on Thursday at 9 p.m. on CBC, “Humboldt: The New Season” follows five survivors—Brayden Camrud and Derek Patter as they return to play for the 2018-2019 Humboldt hockey season with a different coaching staff and new teammates and Tyler Smith, Kaleb Dahlgren and Layne Matechuk—as they continue their recovery while pursuing their love of hockey in new ways.

Produced by Chris McIvor and Libby Lea of Frank Digital and Lucas Frison and Elise Beaudry-Ferland of Prairie Cat Productions, “Humboldt: The New Season” recalls the horrific crash between the Broncos bus and a tractor-trailer on that lonely road on April 6, 2018. Sixteen perished and those left behind have been affected physically and mentally for the rest of their lives. Set against a haunting rendition of Tom Cochrane’s “Big League,” while a drone hovers over kids playing hockey on a frozen pond, “Humboldt: The New Season” is a gut-punch from Minute 1.

Banners sit on the ice in a hockey rink.

“I didn’t know if I was going to be able to return after my injuries,” Brayden Camrud says in the opening minutes. “It’s been tough. You have a lot to think about. You think about all those other guys every day. I think about the boys who aren’t here.” Much of the documentary is spent telling the stories of those who were lost, including coach Darcy Haugan, assistant coach Mark Cross and athletic therapist Dayna Brons.

It’s also about healing, whether it’s the players themselves or the small town of Humboldt, whose citizens were thrust onto the world stage because of the accident and who rallied around each other.

The danger of making a project like this is that it can feel invasive, an excuse to get into the faces of those affected and exploit them. But the producers don’t ever do that. The result is a tear-filled story of remembrance and respect that everyone should watch.

“Humboldt: The New Season” airs as part of CBC Docs POV on Thursday at 9 p.m. on CBC.

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Industry News

Super Channel Heart & Home gives Hearties new hope this summer with the debut of When Hope Calls

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From a media release:

Super Channel is pleased to announce that When Hope Calls, a spin-off of Hallmark Channel’s beloved series When Calls the Heart, will premiere on Super Channel Heart & Home with a special two-episode debut on Friday, Aug 30 at 8 p.m. & 9 p.m. ET. Each episode of the ten-episode season will also be available on Super Channel On Demand, the day following its weekly linear broadcast.

To view the trailer for When Hope Calls, click here.

When Hope Calls stars Canadians Morgan Kohan and Jocelyn Hudon, whom Hearties will remember were introduced as Lillian and Grace, in 2018’s When Calls the Heart holiday movie, The Greatest Christmas Blessing. The series follows Lillian (Morgan Kohan) and Grace (Jocelyn Hudon), sisters who were orphaned and raised very differently, as they reunite as adults and open an orphanage in a small Northwest town in the early 1900s. The town and its people are on the cusp of change, transitioning from the simple times of the horse and buggy to the more modern times of cars and technology.

The series is currently in production 20 kilometres outside of North Bay Ontario and features a predominantly Canadian cast which also includes Wendy Crewson (Saving Hope) as Tess Stewart, Ryan-James Hatanaka (Nurses) as Gabriel Clark, Greg Hovanessian (Another Life) as Chuck Stewart, Hanneke Talbot (Star Trek: Discovery) as Maggie Pearson and Jefferson Brown (Good Witch) as Joe Moody.

When Hope Calls is produced by WHC Season 1 Productions Inc. and distributed by All Canadian Entertainment Inc.

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Another Life

Link: Showrunner Aaron Martin talks Netflix’s Another Life

From Heather M. of TV Goodness:

Link: Showrunner Aaron Martin talks Netflix’s Another Life
“Even though [her decisions on the earlier mission] had haunted her forever, she knew she could do that. She’s caught between guilt over the earlier tragedy and guilt over leaving her daughter, but also having a mission to save everybody she loves.” Continue reading.

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Killjoys

Links: Julie Puckrin talks Killjoys “Ship Outta Luck”

From Heather M. of TV Goodness:

Link: Julie Puckrin talks Killjoys “Ship Outta Luck”
“We knew we were going to a space prison this season, and I got lucky enough to write the episode introducing that world. Coming off the emotion and intensity of episode 503, it felt like time to have some fun and adventure. It was a blast to explore all the familiar prison story tropes and turn them on their head, Killjoys-style.” Continue reading.

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Link: Killjoys: Julie Puckrin talks Killjoys “Ship Outta Luck”
“It was so much fun! Obviously, the writing room had big discussions about what the prison was, and what it needed to be to tell the stories we wanted to tell, but as the first episode in, it was cool to run a little wild, and start to establish some of the characters and environments that other writers will build on.” Continue reading.

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Letterkenny

Link: “Letterkenny,” a surreal Canadian comedy to rival “Schitt’s Creek”

By Helen Rosner of the New Yorker:

Link: “Letterkenny,” a surreal Canadian comedy to rival “Schitt’s Creek”
“Letterkenny” is darker at heart, laced with more sex and drugs and physical violence than your standard half-hour comedy—but somehow it’s played lightly and balanced out by a profusion of surreal, almost over-the-top structural devices: strikingly symmetrical shots, characters whose faces are never seen, characters who undergo entire narrative arcs without ever appearing at all. Continue reading. 

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