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.
Bria Mack Gets a Life

Links: Bria Mack Gets a Life, Season 1

From Bill Brioux of Brioux.tv:

Link: Preview: There’s plenty to love with Bria Mack Gets a Life
Credit creator-director-writer Sasha Leigh Henry with busting down a stereotypical wall or two with Bria Mack. Like her main character, Henry is a Black Canadian who survived a University of Waterloo education. Her credits include a stint as story editor on Workin’ Moms as well as accolades at the Toronto International Film Festival for an earlier incarnation of Bria Mack. Continue reading.

From Sabina Wex of CBC Arts:

Link: Bria Mack Gets a Life turns the awkwardness of young adulthood into comedy gold
“It felt like the female ensemble, female Black comedy lead was missing. I thought we could use that in Canada. I had this idea of a woman who, on her first day on the job, experiences someone trying to touch her hair. Instead of seeing the shitty, poorly handled HR meeting, where nothing really happens, what if we go with her and her brain to where she actually wants to go and how she would want to react? And we get to play that out.” Continue reading.

From Elisabetta Bianchini of Yahoo! News:

Link: ‘Bria Mack Gets A Life’ doesn’t shy away from specifics, and will ‘up the ante’ for comedy
In a world with countless streaming TV shows at our fingertips, a series that actually stands out for being funny, compelling, with a truly entertaining script, is a big deal. For Canadians, that show is Bria Mack Gets A Life on Crave, created by Sasha Leigh Henry, starring Malaika Hennie-Hamadi and Hannan Younis. Continue reading.

From Courtney Small of That Shelf:

Link: Interview: Sasha Leigh Henry on Bria Mack Gets A Life
“It might be cheesy to say, but I don’t think I picked comedy, so much as comedy picked me. The things my family liked to watch when I was growing up, and resonated with, were often comedic.” Continue reading.

From Annemarie Cutruzzola of She Does The City:

Link: Bria Mack Gets a Life: A Chaotic New Comedy from Sasha Leigh Henry
Bria Mack Gets a Life is a show for the burnt-out post-secondary grads, for the cuspies (those straddling the line between Gen Z and Millenial) and for anyone who copes with microaggressions by daydreaming about the ultimate comeback. Continue reading.

From Kevin Bourne of Shifter:

Link: Bria Mack Gets a Life is funny, well-written and pretty much perfect
Since the success of Kim’s Convenience, some have wondered when Caribbean people would get a comedy series of our own. Well, that day is just around the corner with the upcoming Crave Original Series Bria Mack Gets A Life, a coming-of-age comedy about a young Black woman’s transition from college student to adulthood. Continue reading.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Home reno superstars Drew and Jonathan Scott to lead two new series and a fresh season of Celebrity IOU on HGTV Canada

From a media release:

HGTV (Warner Bros. Discovery), in partnership with Corus Entertainment, have greenlit Don’t Hate Your House with the Property Brothers (wt) with home renovation and real estate experts Drew and Jonathan Scott as they find a way to fix problematic homes for frustrated families who desperately want to love their house. The recent greenlight of Backed By The Bros (wt) will also air on HGTV Canada, which will see the Brothers offer their invaluable insight and resources to help inexperienced entrepreneurs find success with their high-stakes investment properties. The two new series and a fresh season of Celebrity IOU will be produced by Scott Brothers Entertainment with Drew and Jonathan serving as executive producers. Don’t Hate Your House with the Property Brothers is co-produced by Scott Brothers Entertainment and Corus Entertainment. All three series are slated to premiere in 2024 on HGTV Canada and STACKTV.

Multi-faceted entrepreneurs and New York Times best-selling authors Drew and Jonathan Scott are co-founders of lifestyle and entertainment company Scott Brothers Global, which includes Scott Brothers Entertainment as well as multi-category home furnishings brands Drew & Jonathan Home and Scott Living. Seasoned real estate experts and renovators, Drew and Jonathan have helped hundreds of families create happy and healthy homes.

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Featured, Run the Burbs

Production underway on Season 3 of CBC original hit comedy Run the Burbs

From a media release:

CBC and Pier 21 Films today announced that production is underway around Toronto, Hamilton and Barrie, ON on the third season of the popular original comedy series RUN THE BURBS (13×30). Created by Andrew Phung and Scott Townend, RUN THE BURBS stars an exciting ensemble of Canadian comedic talent lead by Andrew Phung as Andrew Pham, Rakhee Morzaria as Camille Pham – both of whom were recognized for their work on the show with Best Lead Performer, Comedy nominations at this year’s Canadian Screen Awards – and Zoriah Wong, and Roman Pesino as Khia and Leo Pham, respectively. Series regulars include Ali Hassan (CBC’s Laugh Out Loud), Julie Nolke (Explaining the Pandemic to my Past Self), Jonathan Langdon (Robyn Hood), Chris Locke (Workin’ Moms, Mr. D), Samantha Wan (Second Jen), and Gavin Crawford (Because News). The third season will premiere on CBC and CBC Gem in Winter 2024.

A playful comedy about life in the suburbs, oddball neighbours, and a loving family who always has each other’s backs, RUN THE BURBS season three will see the family expand their horizons and head on all-new adventures, bringing the signature Pham energy to everything they do. Often recognized for its nuanced and thoughtful representation of a bold Indian and Vietnamese family, the third season continues to highlight culturally specific stories, including what has become an annual series hallmark, a Vietnamese Lunar New Year – Tết – episode. Also for the third season in a row, the iconic rapper, DJ, and producer, Kardinal Offishall, returns to the ‘burbs to resume the guest-starring role that earned him a 2023 CSA nomination alongside the nods for Phung and Morzaria.

As previously announced, television veterans Jennica Harper and Nelu Handa have taken over showrunning duties this season. The duo previously collaborated on the series JANN, on which Harper served as showrunner. For Handa, season three is her third with the RUN THE BURBS writer’s room.

A CBC original series, RUN THE BURBS is produced by Pier 21 Films. Executive Producers are Laszlo Barna, Nicole Butler, Karen Tsang, and Vanessa Steinmetz (for Pier 21 Films), Andrew Phung, and Scott Townend. Jennica Harper and Nelu Handa serve as Executive Producers and Showrunners. Jay Vaidya is Co-Executive Producer and Sara Peters is Co-Producer. Jessica Daniel is Producer. Season Three directors include Aleysa Young, Pat Mills, Joyce Wong, Sherren Lee, and Zoe Hopkins.

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Featured, Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent

Casting announced for Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent coming to Citytv Spring 2024

From a media release:

Lark Productions and Cameron Pictures Inc., in association with Citytv, announce casting for the highly-anticipated crime drama Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent. The Canadian iteration of the longest-running scripted drama brand in TV history features an all-Canadian ensemble cast that includes Aden Young (Rectify, Black Robe) as Detective Sergeant Henry Graff, Kathleen Munroe (City on Fire, Patriot) as Detective Sergeant Frankie Bateman, Karen Robinson (Schitt’s Creek, Echoes) as Inspector Vivienne Holness, K.C. Collins (The Cleaning Lady, White Dog) as Deputy Crown Attorney Theo Forrester, Nicola Correia-Damude (Shadowhunters, Resident Alien) as Forensic Pathologist Dr. Lucy Da Silva, and Araya Mengesha (Nobody, Anne with an E) as tech expert Mark Yohannes.

A psychological thriller wrapped in a criminal investigation, the Canadian adaptation follows two elite detectives from the Specialized Criminal Investigations unit as they investigate high-profile crimes and homicides in metro Toronto. Production on the 10 one-hour original episodes is underway in Toronto and is slated to air on Citytv in Spring 2024.

Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, based on the classic series created by Dick Wolf for Universal Television, follows the Criminal Intent format the international brand is known for, showcasing original Canadian stories written, produced by and starring Canadians.

Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent is produced by Lark Productions and Cameron Pictures Inc. in association with Citytv and distributed by Universal Television. Tassie Cameron (Pretty Hard Cases, Mary Kills People, Rookie Blue) is the series Showrunner. Tassie, Erin Haskett, Amy Cameron, David Valleau, Alex Patrick and Holly Dale serve as Executive Producers. Tex Antonucci and Jillian Locke are Co-Executive Producers, Wanda Chaffey is Producer and Caledonia Brown is Co-Producer.

Award-winning filmmaker Holly Dale (Transplant, Mary Kills People, Law & Order SVU) directs the premiere episode, episode 103, and the finale. Additional directors tapped for this season are Peter Stebbings (102), David Wellington (104), Sudz Sutherland (105), Rachel Leiterman (106), Winnifred Jong (107), Sharon Lewis (108), and David Straiton (109).

Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent is produced under the jurisdiction of ACTRA and the WGC in Canada.

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Featured, Sight Unseen

Casting details announced for upcoming new CTV original drama series Sight Unseen

From a media release:

CTV announced today the casting details for new CTV Original drama SIGHT UNSEEN. The 10-episode, one-hour, crime-drama series is created by sisters Karen Troubetzkoy (KILLJOYS, ORPHAN BLACK) and Nikolijne Troubetzkoy (SKYMED, TRANSPLANT), and stars newcomer Dolly Lewis and Agam Darshi (DMZ), alongside Jarod Joseph (THE 100) and Daniel Gillies (VIRGIN RIVER). Production on SIGHT UNSEEN is currently underway in Vancouver, with the series set to premiere in 2024 on CTV in Canada and on The CW in the U.S.

SIGHT UNSEEN follows Tess Avery (Lewis), a top homicide detective who is forced to quit the job she loves after nearly killing her partner and being diagnosed as clinically blind. Reluctant to accept help, Tess uses an assistance app and connects with Sunny Patel (Darshi), a professional seeing-eye guide and an agoraphobe living 3,000 miles away.

After losing her vision, Tess is haunted by the unsolved cases she left behind. Using a hidden camera and earpiece, Sunny remotely steers Tess through life’s obstacles – and crimes – as the two challenge preconceptions about ability, trust, and where to draw the line. Inspired by one of the co-creators’ experiences with sight loss, viewers join Tess and Sunny as they bring a fresh perspective to solving crime.

The series also stars Alice Christina-Corrigan (DOCTORS), and Tony Giroux (MOTHERLAND: FORT SALEM).

To provide an authentic representation of the sight-impaired community, the production teams for SIGHT UNSEEN committed to incorporate equity, diversity, and inclusion principles as a priority both in front of and behind the camera through the guidance of sight-impaired consultants.

In addition to directing several episodes, John Fawcett (ORPHAN BLACK) serves as an Executive Producer alongside co-showrunners Karen Troubetzkoy and Nikolijne Troubetzkoy, Blink49’s John Morayniss, Carolyn Newman, and Virginia Rankin, Front Street Pictures’ Charles Cooper and writer Derek Schreyer as well as Ryan Knighton serving as co-executive producer. For Bell Media, Rachel Goldstein-Couto is Head of Development, Original Programming; Kelsey-Ann Rattansey is Production Executive, Original Programming; Sarah Fowlie is Head of Production, Original Programming; Carlyn Klebuc is General Manager, Original Programming; Pat DiVittorio is Vice-President, CTV and Specialty Programming. Justin Stockman is Vice-President, Content Development & Programming, Bell Media. Karine Moses is Senior Vice-President, Content Development & News, Bell Media and Vice Chair, Québec, Bell.

Produced by Blink49 Studios and Front Street Pictures in association with Sisters Troubetzkoy Productions, SIGHT UNSEEN will be broadcast on both CTV and The CW. SIGHT UNSEEN is produced under the jurisdiction of ACTRA and the WGC in Canada.

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