From Jude Dry of Indiewire:
Link: ‘Baroness Von Sketch Show’ Is the Best Sketch Show on American TV, and It Was Made by Four Canadian Women Over Forty
By covering topics they cared about and drawing on years of experience writing and performing comedy, the “Baroness†crew created a hilarious and fresh perspective that spoke to enough people to land them a deal with IFC. Continue reading.Â
I’ve been covering Canadian renovation programming for a long time. How do I know this? Because the folks I’ve interviewed in the past are creating forever homes for themselves and their families.
HGTV Canada’s Sarah Richardson is the latest to follow the trend. Like the network did with Bryan Baeumler and Scott McGillivray, Sarah and her husband, Alex, do the same with Sarah Off the Grid—debuting Sunday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV Canada—as cameras capture the couple’s attempt to construct an abode off the grid for themselves and their children. I’m not much of a handyman and have a horrible eye for design, but you don’t have to be either to watch someone like Sarah. Yes, she oozes skill but she’s also funny as hell as well as relatable. Sarah Off the Grid really showcases her personality and what her family life is like, something fans of longtime hosts like Sarah are hungry for.
Husband Alex and daughters Robin and Fiona jump in with both feet alongside Sarah and collaborator Tommy Smythe in Sunday’s debut, laying the groundwork for a 5,000 square-foot home in Creemore, Ont., to be built from scratch and employing off the grid necessities like solar power, wood burning fireplaces and energy efficient materials. The catch? Sarah and Alex will be their own general contractors; a tall task, especially within the eight-month window Sarah has set. Things begin at a fast clip—the location is chosen, permits are procured and clearing the last commences—and before you know it the concrete foundation is being poured into styrofoam forms that help cut down costs and make hanging drywall easier.
Fellow HGTV Canada superstar Mike Holmes makes the trek out to the site in Episode 1, and he’s got opinions. Mike questions Alex and Sarah’s decision to do be the bosses, building a large home off the power grid, stresses the need for a backup sump pump and perhaps most important of all: advises more solar panels. This, of course, throws the couple for a loop and has them rethinking their plans.
Like her series before, Sarah Off the Grid is educational and entertaining. She’s charming and Tommy is hilarious. The secret weapon in Off the Grid is Alex, who is a natural in front of the camera. Sarah’s husband is charming, knows what he’s talking about and—above all—is positive the job will get done despite the challenges they come across. His upbeat personality is infectious; you just know they’ll be successful in their quest.
Sarah Off the Grid airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET/PTÂ on HGTV Canada.
Image courtesy of Corus.
I’m so disappointed in Syfy’s decision to cancel Dark Matter!! How can they not see how great this show is?!? Unbelievable. I’m hopeful the outrage from the otherwise quiet and polite fan base can cause them to rethink their decision or perhaps garner some interest from Netflix. —Brian
I’m angry, disappointed and sad. There are few sci-fi series being produced as it is. Fantastic shows with great ratings get cancelled but crappy shows are renewed. It doesn’t make sense at all. I hate that they take Dark Matter away from us, just like I did when Continuum was cancelled. I hope they change their mind … it has happened before. Or else I hope Netflix takes over. —Katrina
Simply, it sucks!! I don’t understand how decisions are made at Syfy. A great show like Dark Matter they cancel and mediocre programming they keep. Netflix, please pickup Dark Matter and allow the Raza Crew a platform to find their true fate. Thanks. —Tony
Some are hoping for streaming networks like Netflix to pick it up or hoping Syfy changes its mind entirely. I am ticked. I remember them cancelling Farscape, Stargate Universe after it got really good too as Dark Matter was doing: climbing in the adventure department. Then. Abrupt cut-off! Boo. What made them renew Killjoys for two seasons? I am curious. I was certain DM was doing even better than KJ. —Maria
Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? Email greg.david@tv-eh.com or Twitter via @tv_eh.
When it came to finding a critic for his new series, Mysticons, creator Sean Jara didn’t have to go far. He turned to his young daughter.
“She is definitely a fan,” he says with a laugh. “We started watching the animated storyboards and she’s seen every iteration of them … she’s getting a crash course in animation school.” Jara, whose resumé includes writing for Degrassi: The Next Generation, Falcon Beach, Naturally, Sadie and Johnny Test has made a splash with the high-profile animated fantasy program Mysticons, about a quartet of fierce girls who become legendary heroes and battle a dangerous foe.
Airing Sundays at 11 a.m. ET/PT on YTV, Mysticons comes from Corus Entertainment’s legendary Nelvana and promotes strong, confident, smart and funny girls. The 40-episode series boasts the voices of Alyson Court as Arkayna Goodfey, Drake City’s princess who just wants to be a regular teen; Nicki Burke as Zarya Moonwolf, a street-smart gal with charm (and a pet foz named Choko); Evany Rosen as Emerald Goldenbraid, an engineer and Arkayna’s best friend; and Ana Sani as Piper Willowbrook, an optimistic street kid who is best buds with Zarya.
And while Mysticons is aimed at young girls, the project didn’t originally start out that way. At its inception, the project was boy-centric to focus on a male audience.
“I was hired because I’m one of the go-to people when it comes to boy’s action, but after a few years of development Nelvana saw an opportunity to develop a more girl-centric show,” Jara explains. “We talked about it, made the decision and went full-steam ahead with this new point of view.” Jara says his original idea—based on the game Dungeons & Dragons—was scrapped and he thought, “What would my daughter watch?” The result is something that became much more special and awesome.
“It was about giving girls a really good adventure show,” he says. “And then we focused on the friendship between the heroes. You don’t often have that in a hero group; you usually have four or five guys and one girl.” Jara also overhauled his writing room once the gender shift happened, hiring on scribes like Shelley Scarrow, Amanda Spagnolo, Sandra Kasturi and Elise Morgan to get key insight into female friendships and break thrilling stories.
There is a lot jammed into Mysticons‘ first episode. We quickly establish the futuristic world of Drake City and are introduced to our quartet of future warriors. Turns out there was once a group of Mysticons who fought evil but they’re no longer around. That’s when evil descends on Drake City in the form of Baron Dreadbane (voiced by Mac Heywood) and an army of skeletons bent on taking over. Arkayna, Zarya, Em and Piper—after getting their hands on the fabled Dragon Disk—are transformed into a new team of Mysticons who defend their fair city and its citizens.
“It’s a fast-moving pilot and I’m really proud of it,” Jara says. “There is an A and a B story running simultaneously … I’m really happy with the way it came out.”
Mysticons airs Sundays at 11 a.m. ET/PT on YTV.
Images courtesy of Corus.
From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:
Link: Wynonna Earp’s Katherine Barrell on a possible darker past for Nicole
“The world is moving so fast, and there are so many real dangers, that the baby puts a lot of stuff in perspective. When you have this innocent child to take care of, it clears the bullshit really quickly. For Waverly and Nicole, having that baby and taking her to that helicopter, I thought it was a really great metaphor for the fact that nothing else really matters besides family.” Continue reading.
