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.
Awards, Featured

Motive, Blood and Water and This Life top Leo Award nominees

CTV’s Motive, Omni’s Blood and Water and CBC’s This Life are among the top vote-getters for the upcoming Leo Awards. The program salutes television and film projects filming in British Columbia.

Motive is up for several awards, including Best Program, Direction, Screenwriting for Dennis Heaton, Sarah Dodd and Julie Puckrin, and Lead Performance Female for star Kristin Lehman. Blood and Water is nominated for Supporting Performance Male for BC Lee and Supporting Performance Female for Elfina Luk. This Life gets the nod in Screenwriting for Rachel Langer and Supporting Performance Female for Lauren Lee Smith.

In the Music, Comedy or Variety Program or Series, Letterkenny receives three nominations for Program and Performance, Kim’s Convenience for Screenwriting and Performance, Crash Gallery for Program and The Beaverton for Performance.

The winners will be announced during a three-day event and gala in Vancouver on May 27 and June 3 and 4.

The full list of nominees is available here.

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Industry News

Just For Laughs ComedyPRO and CBC Comedy team-up for CBC comedy originals pitch program

From a media release:

Just For Laughs and CBC Comedy are looking for the funniest new voices in Canadian comedy with the announcement of the CBC Comedy Originals Pitch Program — an open-forum pitch event which takes place Thursday, July 27th during the leading industry event of the comedy business – Just For Laughs ComedyPRO.

The CBC Comedy Originals Pitch Program will offer five selected Canadian creator and producer teams the opportunity to pitch their original web or TV concepts to a panel of senior development executives and key creatives from CBC Comedy.

The event is open to Canadians, 18 years of age and over. Deadline for submissions is May 15, 2017. For details and guidelines visit: http://comedypro.hahaha.com/submissions/.

Series that have originated from Just For Laughs ComedyPRO include hit CBC digital original comedies My 90-Year-Old-Roommate and Newborn Moms.

All interested applicants will be considered for both the CBC Comedy Originals Pitch as well as the relevant short or long-form Stand Up & Pitch pitch programs. The deadline for Stand Up & Pitch has been extended to May 15 to accommodate the new program. Guidelines are posted at http://comedypro.hahaha.com/submissions/.

The CBC will also host ‘CBC Comedy Funny Lunch’ where delegates can meet Canadian comics, creators and representatives from CBC Comedy.

Just For Laughs ComedyPRO runs from July 26 – 29, 2017 at the Hyatt Regency Montreal, part of the 35th annual Just for Laughs Festival, which takes place from July 12 – 31st, 2017.

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The Detail

Production begins on The Detail, CTV’s new fast-paced detective series

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From a media release:

CTV announced today, in association with Ilana Frank’s ICF Films and Entertainment One (eOne), that production has begun on THE DETAIL, the network’s new, one-hour, detective series. The 10-episode ensemble drama centers on three fiercely talented female homicide investigators who work tirelessly to solve crimes while navigating the complicated demands of their personal lives.

The new series stars the award-winning Wendy Crewson (SAVING HOPE, Room), along with Shenae Grimes-Beech (90210, DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION), and U.K. talent Angela Griffin (CORONATION STREET, BRIEF ENCOUNTERS).

From the producing and writing team behind the hit TV series SAVING HOPE, THE DETAIL is set to premiere as part of CTV’s 2017/2018 schedule and will continue to shoot in and around Toronto until July 25, 2017. The series has also been picked up by ION Television for broadcast in the U.S.

Shenae Grimes-Beech stars as street-smart Detective Jacqueline ‘Jack’ Cooper, with keen investigative skills, but a messy personal life. Angela Griffin stars as Detective Stevie Hall, a sharp quick-witted interrogator who is Jack’s mentor – even while she balances the demands of work and her complicated family life. Wendy Crewson plays Staff Inspector Fiona Currie, the homicide unit’s formidable boss, who works overtime to secure justice, no matter what the cost.

Also announced today, all-star supporting cast members joining the series include David Cubitt (MEDIUM, VAN HELSING) as Detective Kyle Price, Stevie’s (Griffin) old flame and new co-worker at the division; David Ferry (LEGION) as Harry Barker, Stevie’s (Griffin) step-father and retired cop; Matthew Edison (THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE) as Stevie’s (Griffin) husband Jono Hall; Ben Bass (ROOKIE BLUE) as Marc Savage, Jack’s (Grimes-Beech) silver-tongued boyfriend; Al Mukadam (SPUN OUT) as the well-connected Detective Aaron Finch; and Matt Gordon (Room, ROOKIE BLUE) as Detective Donnie Sullivan, the surly yet lovable lug of homicide.

THE DETAIL is produced by Ilana Frank of ICF Films with global independent studio eOne in association with CTV, with the participation of the Canada Media Fund, the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, and the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit. All distribution rights are handled by eOne.

The series was developed by Ley Lukins (SAVING HOPE, LOST GIRL) who serves as Co-Showrunner and Executive Producer with Adam Pettle (SAVING HOPE, KING). Executive Producers are Ilana Frank (SAVING HOPE, ROOKIE BLUE), John Morayniss (BITTEN, RANSOM), and Linda Pope (SAVING HOPE, ROOKIE BLUE), with co-executive producers Jocelyn Hamilton (CARDINAL), Sonia Hosko (SAVING HOPE, ROOKIE BLUE), and Gregory Smith (ROOKIE BLUE).

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Awards, Wynonna Earp

Link: And the 2017 AMPIA Rosies film and television winners are …

From Fish Griwkowsky of the Edmonton Journal:

Link: And the 2017 AMPIA Rosies film and television winners are …
The 2017 Rosie finalists are in and Edmonton prizewinners include three nods for Niobe Thompson and Rosvita Dransfeld’s organ-transplant documentary Memento Mori, three for NFB short documentary 19 Days about refugee families, and the gender binary best performance categories being taken by locals Carlee Tyski in On the Rocks and Jesse Lipscombe for his role in It’s Not My Fault and I Don’t Care Anyway. Continue reading.

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