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.
Mary Kills People

Link: It’s time to start watching Mary Kills People

From Jordan Crucchiola of Vulture.com:

Link: It’s time to start watching Mary Kills People
While she wouldn’t call herself a murderer, Mary is certainly a serial assisted-killer under the eyes of the law, and the consensual executions that happen in each episode serve as a story engine (like the nonconsensual ones in Dexter). Law enforcement comes to view her as “the angel of death,” and while her motives are mostly virtuous, Mary is also compelled by a darker desire to help people end their lives. Continue reading. 

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Alias Grace

CBC announces Alias Grace world premiere date; plus sneak peek

From a media release:

CBC today announced the world premiere of ALIAS GRACE (6 x 60) on Monday, September 25 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) on CBC. A first look at the highly anticipated miniseries from Halfire Entertainment is now available at cbc.ca/aliasgrace. ALIAS GRACE will stream globally outside of Canada on Netflix in fall 2017 following the CBC premiere.

Based on the award-winning novel by Margaret Atwood and inspired by true events, ALIAS GRACE is written and produced by Sarah Polley (Take This Waltz, Away from Her) and directed by Mary Harron (American Psycho, I Shot Andy Warhol). The six-hour miniseries tells the story of Grace Marks (Sarah Gadon), a young, poor Irish immigrant and domestic servant in Upper Canada who — along with stable hand James McDermott (Kerr Logan) — finds herself accused and convicted of the infamous 1843 murders of her employer, wealthy farmer Thomas Kinnear (Paul Gross), and his housekeeper, Nancy Montgomery (Anna Paquin).

ALIAS GRACE stars Sarah Gadon (Indignation, 11.22.63); Edward Holcroft (Kingsman: The Secret Service, Wolf Hall); Anna Paquin (True Blood, Bellevue); Paul Gross (Hyena Road, Due South); Rebecca Liddiard (Houdini & Doyle); Kerr Logan (Game of Thrones, London Irish); Zachary Levi (Chuck, Tangled); and David Cronenberg.

A CBC and Netflix original production, ALIAS GRACE is produced by Halfire Entertainment and written by Sarah Polley. The executive producers are Sarah Polley, Mary Harron and Noreen Halpern. Producing alongside Polley is D.J. Carson.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, Industry News, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Chopped Canada cancelled by Food Network Canada

3 Comments

Chopped Canada has been chopped. After four seasons, a first-ever teen tournament and handful of specials, Food Network Canada’s spinoff of the Chopped franchise is no more.

“After four extraordinary seasons, Chopped Canada has been cancelled,” the show’s producers, EOne, announced via Facebook on Wednesday night. “To all of our competitors and the culinary community across Canada, THANK YOU for supporting us through 96 episodes of nail-biting culinary competition.

“We loved sharing your stories, helping you realize your dreams, and most of all we loved watching you cook!” the post continued. “To our viewers, THANKS for watching, sharing, and caring each and every week. Your loyalty and passion for the show was heartfelt. We had a great run and as the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Keep on cookin’ Canada! Love + Respect from the Chopped Canada Team!”

Launched in 2014 with Dean McDermott as its host, Chopped Canada featured four homegrown chefs opening baskets of mystery items they had to use while making appetizers, mains and desserts. After being judged by celebrity chefs, the competitors were pared down until one winner per episode was named and given $10,000. McDermott left Chopped Canada after two seasons and was replaced by Brad Smith. The program boasted a whos-who of culinary experts as judges, including Susur Lee, Michael Smith, Massimo Capra, Lynn Crawford, Eden Grinshpan, Mark McEwan, Anne Yarymowich, Vikram Vij, Antonio Park, Roger Mooking, Chuck Hughes and John Higgins.

A teen tournament and specials pitting junior cooks, grandmothers, firefighters and the program’s own judges against one another were the focus of recent specials.

Chopped Canada received a 2015 Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Picture Editing in a Reality/Competition Program or Series.

Are you upset that Chopped Canada has been cancelled? Let me know in the comments below.

Related: Which Canadian TV shows have been renewed or cancelled for the 2017-18 broadcast season?

Image courtesy of Corus.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Industry News

Viceland to explore fringe science with Director X’s Mister Tachyon

From a media release:

VICE Studio Canada and Rogers Media today announced the start of production on Mister Tachyon, an original, 10-part documentary series for VICELAND, created by renowned Toronto-born director, Director X. The series is currently filming across Canada, with additional broadcast details to be announced at a later date.

The series follows fictional character Mister Tachyon, born invisible due to his scientist father’s experiments. In a quest to reverse his invisibility, Mister Tachyon studies the fringes of science searching for a cure. From examining whether the earth’s magnetic field is secretly shaping our lives, to explorations around the power of thoughts to change the biology of people, Mister Tachyon tackles a range of questions by conducting real experiments with real people to determine if there’s any truth to the strangest and most controversial topics in science today.

One of the most prolific music video directors working today, Director X has created innovative, career-defining videos for such artists as Drake (including the massive “Hotline Bling,” “Started from the Bottom,” and the award-winning “Worst Behavior”), Rihanna (namely her 2016 smash-hit “Work” ), Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z, Justin Bieber, Alicia Keys, Aaliyah, Nelly Furtado, and Sean Paul. Last year marked Director X’s feature directorial debut with Across the Line, a drama about a young black hockey player navigating racial divides in small-town Nova Scotia. Mister Tachyon will be Director X’s first original television series.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, Frontier, Podcast

TV Eh B Cs podcast 65 — Exploring the Frontier with Lisa Rose Snow

Image by Brent McCombs

Lisa Rose Snow is an award-winning filmmaker and performer who was raised by the ocean and now resides in Toronto. Since graduating from the Canadian Film Centre’s Writers’ Lab and participating in the Reykjavik Film Festival’s Talent Lab, she has been busy working in television writing rooms on Frontier (Netflix), Ten Days in the Valley (ABC) and Little Dog (CBC). Snow is currently co-writing an episode of The Stone Diaries which is in development with HalFire Entertainment, and working on developing two of her own series – Tongues and Over Easy.

In 2013, Snow won a Wave Award during WIFT Atlantic’s ‘Women Making Waves Conference’, the first time this award has ever been given to an emerging artist. She’s passionate about championing women and underrepresented voices on screen, and has been honoured to mentor under Sherry White, Tassie Cameron, Michelle Lovretta and Thom Fitzgerald.

Note: ABC announced Ten Days in the Valley will air Sunday nights this fall. Check out the trailer.

Listen or download below, or subscribe via iTunes or any other podcast catcher with the TV, eh? podcast feed.

Want to support TV, eh?’s work? Become a Patreon!

SUPPORT

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail