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

Comments and queries for the week of August 3

You threw historical accuracy of the 40s out the window [in Just in Time for Dinner]. Such a totally askew picture of the 40s kitchen, the product of a mother/actress that obviously can’t cook … period. Comments like, “it took me half the day to just grind the meat,” left me more irritated than amused. By the way, cooks today still use manual meat grinders because they do a better job and one can grind up a whole cow in 30 minutes. Those of us who can remember our grandmothers in their 40s kitchens recall a time when variety was not a problem, particularly with homemade bread, pastries and yes, even meat dishes. Your program falsely suggested everyone went vegetarian in the 40s. Let me point out that in Ottawa alone, just outside the city, farmers regularly supplied the city with beef, poultry and pork at the local markets. There was NO shortage. In addition, you conveniently forgot that cottages were very big in the 40s and whole families spent every weekend boating and fishing … and oh yes, having outdoor barbecues. Freshwater rivers and streams at this time were plentiful with pickerel, catfish, sunfish, rock bass, perch, etc. It’s clear the producers of this program didn’t have a clue about this decade at all. —Garry

Good challenges with fun with theatre and chocolate and even the paddling river was calm. Funny seeing the guys knock over the clue box in the boat and fans helping them get in the end. Good mix of physical, detail and navigation in the Leg. Funny Oshawa mistake but its impact is null with the dawn equalizer. Math with 11 legs and 10 teams means two more episodes like this though I suppose a Keep on Racing gives them an excuse to do two episodes in the same province. A non-Blind Double U-Turn should be good. Thanks for the behind-the-curtain tidbits. A decent episode with good tasks but so much sameness. It’s enjoyable but not as exciting as the first few years with all the repetitiveness. Much of the TAR fandom is feeling it. —DanAmazing

Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? Email greg.david@tv-eh.com or via Twitter @tv_eh.

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Big Brother Canada

Casting for Season 7 of Global’s Big Brother Canada opens

From a media release:

Calling all #BBCAN houseguest wannabees! Big personalities, competition beasts, and strategic planners are all welcome as the Top 10* smash hit series Big Brother Canada is casting for Season 7. Following last season’s successful run which grew audiences year-over-year, most notably with a 21% increase in the coveted A18-34 demo**, the series returns to Global in 2019.

Starting today, Canadians can apply online at BigBrotherCanada.ca for a chance to compete in the explosive new season. Those who think they have what it takes to make it in the Big Brother Canada house are asked to submit a photo and short video explaining why they are the ideal candidate. Applicants must be 19 years of age by February 1, 2019, and the online submission deadline is Saturday, November 17. More information, including a complete list of rules and eligibility, can be found at BigBrotherCanada.ca.

Additional details about the national casting tour, including cities, dates, and venues, will be announced later this summer. For updates, please visit BigBrotherCanada.ca.

Airing exclusively on Global in the 2019 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, the houseguests battle in a series of challenges each week that empower or punish them, voting each other out until the fate of the final two is decided by a jury of fellow houseguests.

Season 20 of Big Brother is currently airing Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/PT, Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT, and Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Global. Viewers who miss any of the dramatic moments can catch up following the broadcast the next day on GlobalTV.com, Global GO (available on Apple TV and Google Chromecast), and on demand.

Commissioned by Corus Entertainment, Season 7 of Big Brother Canada is produced by Insight Productions in association with Corus Entertainment and Endemol Shine. Executive producers are John Brunton and Erin Brock.

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Industry News

B.C. production sector and Netflix unveil new initiative for local screenwriters

From a media release:

Today organizations and leaders from across BC’s media production sector announced the launch of the Pacific Screenwriting Program. The Program is billed as an intensive training ground that will provide support and career-advancement opportunities for active and aspiring screenwriters from across BC. The initiative is the result of generous support from Netflix, Creative BC, and the Canadian Media Producers Association, as well as strategic guidance from the Writers Guild of Canada.

Launching today alongside the Pacific Screenwriting Program is its flagship training initiative, the Scripted Series Lab. Beginning in January 2019, the full-time professional development opportunity will train up to six BC-based, entry-level writers, helping them to hone their craft, strengthen their collaboration and presentation skills, and obtain a deeper understanding of the global scripted content industry. Applications for the Scripted Series Lab are now being accepted. An info night is being held on August 8th. For more information check www.pacificscreenwriting.com.

The Scripted Series Lab is the Program’s first training course, combining real-world story-room experience with one-on-one mentorship to equip writers with the skills, experience, and connections necessary to build a successful screenwriting career. The Program’s longer term strategic planning envisions a range of offerings for screenwriters with varied levels of practical experience.

For details about how to apply for the inaugural Scripted Series Lab and more information about the Pacific Screenwriting Program individuals are encouraged to visit www.pacificscreenwriting.com/APPLY.ca

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Killjoys

Link: Kelly McCormack talks Zeph’s badass evolution in Killjoys Season 4

From Heather M. of TV Goodness:

Link: Kelly McCormack talks Zeph’s badass evolution in Killjoys Season 4
“This role is quite simply a dream come true. Constantly and constantly. Every time I read an episode. I read an episode last week where I started crying. How am I so lucky? This is crazy. These writers get my voice really well. When you’re in it and you’re acting and you’re doing it, you don’t really know what’s being captured and you don’t really appreciate that everyone is then watching the dailies and the network is watching.” Continue reading.

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Featured, Killjoys, Second Jen, Young Drunk Punk

Killjoys: Atticus Mitchell talks Pippin’s heroics

Pippin Foster has been on quite the ride during his short time on Killjoys. First introduced last season as a young man with a mouth who can get anything you need from the black market, Pippin has of late become somewhat of a hero. And perhaps even a romantic one at that, if you take into account the goo-goo eyes he and Zeph have been sharing.

Now Pip is a fulltime member of Team Awesome Force and we couldn’t be happier. Neither can Atticus Mitchell, the actor who plays Pip with aplomb. We spoke to Mitchell—who has most recently starred in Young Drunk Punk and Second Jen—during a break in filming Season 4 to talk about the character and his music career, which you can follow on Spotify.

What’s it been like being part of Killjoys?
Atticus Mitchell: It’s been a breeze. There are always trials and tribulations with any project but for me, this has been a very strange, really easy go. I literally live 10 minutes away [from set] so my commute is set. I wake up 15 minutes before I have to be here. Everybody is fantastic, the scripts are always tight. We move fast and as long as we know everything it’s all hunky dory.

Pippin made an immediate impact on Dutch, Johnny and D’avin. He’s loud, brash and memorable. How did you get the role?
AM: I auditioned and got it. [Laughs.] Pretty much everybody in my age range went for it. With a show like this they’re introducing characters almost daily, so you have friends going out for the same show all the time. This was my first-ever audition for Killjoys and it happened to work out. It was just a guest-star role and then it turned into more.

At what point did they pull you aside and tell you this role would be expanded?
AM: If it says ‘guest star’ on the audition, that’s what you plan for. There were maybe two weeks of my life that I was dedicated to the series. They wrote another episode that I was in and I was like, ‘Great to be back!’ Then they wrote me into two scenes in the last episode of Season 3, which then turned into—on the morning of my last day—’Hey, are you free the rest of the day?’ I said, ‘Why?’ And they said, ‘Well, we have this ship sequence with a whole bunch of people looking over a monitor and deciding what to do. We’d like you to be in all those scenes.’ I was like, ‘OK, cool, yeah, I’m background.’ ‘No, we’ve written your lines.’ And here we are in Season 4.

Do you view Pippin as a hero?
AM: I think I saw him as not necessarily a hero, but a good guy. The good guy in their own story. He’s been raised privileged and runs around with a lot of bad people and enjoys his life. Then he got swept up into something that is about way more than him. That has transitioned him into this kind of hero role. If he thinks he’s the good guy in the story then he’s the good guy in the story.

What’s it like being part of the Killjoys family?
AM: It’s tough coming into a new show as a guest star and trying to find a place where you feel comfortable. It’s rare that a group will open their arms like this group has which is really nice. I’ve been on shows where new people come and go and you don’t really have time to get to know them. Here it’s necessary for everyone to feel welcome.

What are you doing when you’re not acting?
AM: I’m actually a composer. I make music on my piano.

For television and film or just for yourself?
AM: That could be a step I take but I’ve literally just started last year. I put out my first album of just seven songs of me playing the piano. That’s what I’m able to focus on outside of this.

Killjoys airs Fridays at 10 p.m. ET on Space.

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