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

Baroness Von Sketch Show, Wynonna Earp and Travelers top Rockie Awards noms

CBC’s Baroness Von Sketch Show, Space’s Wynonna Earp and Showcase’s Travelers are among the nominees for this year’s Rockie Awards.

Handed out during the Banff World Media Festival, the Rockie Awards celebrate excellence in television and digital content from around the world, with participation from more than 40 countries.

CBC’s The Secret Path is nominated in the Animation category, Odd Squad: The Movie in Children & Youth Fiction, Black Watch Snipers and Newfoundland at Armageddon in History & Biography and Paw Patrol in Preschool programming. Baroness Von Sketch received kudos in the Comedy Series: English Language category, with Wynonna Earp and Travelers facing off in the Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Action category.

Here’s a list of the nominees with Canadian projects highlighted in blue:

Animation
HARVEY BEAKS
Nickelodeon
United States

OTTO
NPO in association with NTR Television
Netherlands

REVOLTING RHYMES
Magic Light Pictures in association with BBC One
United Kingdom

SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS
Nickelodeon
United States

THE SECRET PATH
Antica Productions in association with Entertainment One and Edgarland Films
Canada

Children & Youth Fiction
HANK ZIPZER
Kindle Entertainment in association with DHX Media, Walker Productions, and support from Screen Yorkshire
United Kingdom

HETTY FEATHER
CBBC/BBC Television
United Kingdom

ODD SQUAD: THE MOVIE
Sinking Ship Entertainment in association with The Fred Rogers Company
Canada/United States

RANGER ROB
Nelvana Limited/Studio Liddell
Canada/United Kingdom

WILD KRATTS
Kratts Brothers Company, 9 Story Media Group Production in association with PBS, TVO and BC Knowledge Network
Canada

Children & Youth Non-Fiction
HAVE A LOOK AT MY WORLD: HAYA – A GIRL IN SAUDI ARABIA
Hanfgarn & Ufer Filmproduktion GbR, Berlin in association with Suedwestrundfunk
Germany/Saudi Arabia

HELLO WORLD!
Discovery Channel in association with Radicalmedia and WWF
United States

HORRIBLE HISTORIES SPECIAL: SENSATIONAL SHAKESPEARE
Lion Television in association with Scholastic UK, CBBC, BBC Television
United Kingdom

SHIMAJIRO: A WORLD OF WOW!
DASH Co. LTD in association with The Answerstudio Co Ltd. and TV Tokyo Corporation
Japan

OCTOPUS NEWS: FIGHTING AIR POLLUTION
HAKKA TV
Taiwan

Comedy Series: English Language
BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW
Frantic Films in association with CBC
Canada

BLACK-ISH
Disney/ABC/ABC Studios
United States

FLEABAG
All3media International in association with Two Brothers and BBC3
United Kingdom

FLOWERS
Kudos Film & TV in association with Seeso
United Kingdom

INSECURE
HBO Entertainment in association with Issa Rae Productions, Prentice Penny Productions and 3 Arts Entertainment
United States

Comedy Series: Foreign Language
BOOMERANG
Encore Television Inc.
Canada

CALLBOYS
Woestijnvis/FBO in association with FBO, VIER
Belgium

FREEFALL
Encore Television Inc.
Canada

GENERATION B
De Mensen in association with Canvas, Gardner & Domm, VAF and Screen Brussels
Belgium

MY 80S TEEN MISADVENTURES
AVANTI CINÉ VIDÉO
Canada

Digital Fiction
#HASHTAG
SVT in association with Zentropa Sweden, Film Väst
Sweden

MY 90-YEAR-OLD ROOMMATE
LoCo Motion Pictures/9578056 Canada Inc. in association with Hawkeye Pictures and CBC
Canada

NOW WE’RE TALKING
go90 in association with an UNINTERRUPTED Original Series Produced by Blue Ribbon Content
United States

PEOPLEWATCHING
Lapaire Productions
Canada

THE 5TH QUARTER
OBB Pictures in association with 3 Arts Entertainment, Kids At Play
United States

Digital Non-Fiction
DECODED
MTV and Kornhaber Brown
United States

LIFE & DEATH ROW: LOVE TRIANGLE
BBC Studios in association with BBC Three
United Kingdom

QB1: BEYOND THE LIGHTS
go90 in association with Rated Red, Complex
United States

WE THE VOTERS: 20 FILMS FOR THE PEOPLE
Vulcan Productions, Show of Force and Warrior Poets
United States

YOUNG GUNS
go90 Rogue Atlas Productions in association with Rated Red, Complex
United States

Drama Series: English Language
AMERICAN CRIME
Disney/ABC, ABC Studios
United States

HAPPY VALLEY
Red Productions in association with BBC
United Kingdom

THE MISSING
New Pictures in association with Two Brothers Pictures
United Kingdom

THE NIGHT MANAGER
The Ink Factory in association with AMC and BBC
United Kingdom/Spain

UNDERGROUND
Sony Pictures Television
United States

Drama Series: Foreign Language
BORDERTOWN
Fisher King Productions, Federation Entertainment in association with YLE Finnish Broadcasting Company
Finland

MIDNIGHT SUN
SVT International in association with Nice Drama, Atlantique Productions
Sweden

RUPTURES
Aetois Productions Inc.
Canada

SR ÁVILA
Lemon Films in association with HBO Latin America Originals
Mexico

THE MENTEN CASE
NPO in association with Omroep MAX
Netherlands

VICTOR
Productions Pixcom Inc. in association with Québecor Contenu
Canada

Environmental & Wildlife
AFRICA’S HUNTERS
Primsoll Productions in association with Blue Ant Media
United Kingdom

BEFORE THE FLOOD
National Geographic presents a RatPac Documentary Films Presentation of an Appian Way Production. In association with Insurgent Docs and Diamond Docs
United States

MIGRATING BIRDS: SCOUTS OF DISTANT WORLDS
colourFIELD in association with ZDF & ARTE
Germany

PLANET EARTH II
BBC Studios – Natural History Unit, in association with ZDF, BBC America, France Television, Tencent
United Kingdom/Germany/United States/France/China

SAVAGE KINGDOM
Icon Films in association with Natural History Film unit Botswana for National Geographic Channels
United States

THE POACHER’S PIPELINE
Al Jazeera Media Network
Qatar

YEARS OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY
National Geographic presents a Roaring Forks production
United States

Francophone
CLAUDE LANZMANN: SPECTRES OF THE SHOAH
Jet Black Iris Corporations in association with Jet Black Iris America, Jet Black Iris Productions United Kingdom
United Kingdom/United States

HYPNO
La Récré
Canada

MIDNIGHT SUN
SVT International in association with Nice Drama, Atlantique Productions
Sweden

RUPTURES
Aetois Productions Inc.
Canada

VICTOR
Productions Pixcom Inc. in association with Québecor Contenu
Canada

VIRTUOSO
Média Qube Télé
Canada

History & Biography
BLACK WATCH SNIPERS
YAP Films in association with Corus Entertainment and Rogers Cable Network Fund
Canada

CLAUDE LANZMANN: SPECTRES OF THE SHOAH
Jet Black Iris Corporations in association with Jet Black Iris America, Jet Black Iris Productions United Kingdom
United Kingdom/United States

NEWFOUNDLAND AT ARMAGEDDON
Galafilm Productions Inc.
Canada

STORYVILLE: THE BLACK PANTHERS
Firelight Media in association with BBC
United Kingdom/United States

THE OLYMPIC DREAM – THE 1936 NAZI GAMES
SPIEGEL TV in association with Westdeutschen Runfunk, ARTE
Germany
Interactive Content

CARDBOARD CRASH
National Film Board of Canada
Canada

HALCYON
Secret Location in association with Corus Entertainment, Entertainment One, Independent Production Fund, NBC Universal, Ontario Media Development Corporation
Canada

LAWREN HARRIS: WHERE THE UNIVERSE SINGS
Secret Location in association with Bell Fund, White Pine Pictures, TVO, YesTV
Canada

TAHRIB – JOURNEY WITHOUT END
UFA LAB
Germany

TRAGICALLY HIP: LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO HAPPEN
CBC
Canada

Interactive Content for Kids & Youth
BACKSTAGE: TOO MUCH KEATON
Secret Location in association with Fresh Interactive, DXH Media, Bell Fund
Canada

DOTOPEDIA
Industrial Brothers in association with The Jim Henson company, Bell Fund, CBC
Canada

NATURE CAT’S GREAT OUTDOORS
Spiffy Pictures in association with REDspace Inc., PBS Kids
Canada/United States

PLAYTIME ISLAND
BBC Childrens Interactive and Childrens Design & Engineering
United Kingdom

ROSA’S CODE
YLE Finnish Broadcasting Company
Finland

WORLD OF PEPPA PIG
Secret Location in association with Entertainment One Family, OMDC
Canada/United Kingdom

CBC

Lifestyle
A CRUEL GIFT
KBS Korean Broadcasting System
South Korea

FOOD HEROES
ThreeSixZero Productions
Singapore

HELLO GOODBYE
FORTE Entertainment in association with Pivotal Media
Canada

MAN VS. CHILD: CHEF SHOWDOWN
Kinetic Content for FYI
United States

SMART CITIES 2.0
Very!
Singapore

Melodrama
30 LIVES
Aetios Productions Inc.
Canada

FROZEN MEMORIES
SP Televiṣo, S.A, in association with SIC РSocicdade Independente de Comunica̤̣o
Portugal

GREY’S ANATOMY
Disney/ABC, ABC Studios
United States

MORE THAN LOVE
SP Televiṣo, S.A, in association with SIC РSocicdade Independente de Comunica̤̣o
Portugal

POLDARK
Mammoth Screen Limited in association with BBC
United Kingdom

Music, Performance, Arts & Variety
IMAGINE…THE TRIUMPHS AND LAMENTS OF WILLIAM KENTRIDGE
Lone Star Productions
United Kingdom

KBS SPECIAL PROGRAM, AFFECTIVE SCIENCE PROJECT
KBS – Korean Broadcasting System
South Korea

SPIRIT UNFORGETTABLE
Little Kingdom Productions Inc, in association with Bell Media
Canada

THE SECRET OF A MASTER PAINTER
PosvideoTV in association with AVROTROS Television and NPO
Netherlands

TRACEY ULLMAN’S SHOW
BBC Studios in association with Allan McKeowan Presents
United Kingdom

Preschool
DOT.
Industrial Brothers in association with The Jim Henson Company and CBC
Canada

OCTONAUTS
Vampire Squid Productions Limited, a Silvergate Media company in association with Brown Bag Films
Ireland

PAW PATROL
Spin Master PAW Productions 3 Inc.
Canada

SESAME STREET
Sesame Workshop in association with HBO
United States

SPACE RACERS
Space Race, LLC
United States

Reality
60 DAYS IN
Lucky8 TV
United States

DEADLIEST CATCH
Original Productions LLC, a FremantleMedia Company for the Discovery Channel
United States

GAME OF LIFE – THE HEIR
SBS
Korea

HIGHWAY THRU HELL
GPM- H2H Productions V Inc., in association with Discovery Channel Canada
Canada

LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH
The Intellectual Property Corporation in association with No Seriously Productions
United States

THE STORY OF GOD WITH MORGAN FREEMAN
Revelations Entertainment in association with National Geographic
United States

Science & Technology
BECOMING SUPERHUMAN
The Feds in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australia

DEATH ON A COMET
Exploration Production Inc., in association with Discovery Channel Canada
Canada/United States

FORCES OF NATURE WITH BRIAN COX
BBC Studios Science Unit. A BBC Studios production with PBS co-produced by France Télévisions
United Kingdom

I GOT RHYTHM: THE SCIENCE OF SONG
Souleado Entertainment in association with CBC
Canada

MARS
Imagine Entertainment & RadicalMedia in association with FreMantle Italy for National Geographic
United States

Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Action
BLUE MOON
Aetios Productions Inc.
Canada

OUTLANDER
Tall Ship Productions, Story Mining & Supply Company, Left Bank Pictures in association with Sony Picutres Television
Scotland

TIMELESS
MiddKid Productions, Kripke Enterprises, Davis Entertainment in association with Sony Pictures Television and Universal Television

TRAVELERS
Peacock Alley Entertainment in association with Showcase and Netflix
Canada

WYNONNA EARP
SEVEN24 Films Inc. in association with IDW Entertainment
Canada

Social & Investigative
EXODUS: OUR JOURNEY TO EUROPE
KEO Films
United Kingdom

FLOORTJE BACK TO SYRIA
BNNVARRA Television in association with NPO
Netherlands

HEAVEN’S BORDER
Chosun Media, Walking Cycle Studios, Platform Art Film in association with TV CHOSUN
South Korea

MABEL
National Film Board of Canada
Canada

TERROR STUDIOS
Al Jazeera Media Network
Qatar

THE POACHER’S PIPELINE
CAPA PRESSE in association with CANAL +
France

Television Miniseries
APPLE TREE YARD
Kudos Film & TV
United Kingdom

KU’DAMM 56 – REBEL WITH A CAUSE
UFA FICTION GmbH
Germany

REDEMPTION ROAD
UFA FICTION in association with MIA Film
Germany

ROOTS
A&E Studios in association with Marc Toberoff + The Wolper Organization
United States

THE NIGHT OF
HBO Entertainment in association with BBC, Bad Wolf Productions and Film Rites
United States

Television Movie
DAMILOLA, OUR LOVED BOY
Minnow Films in association with BBC
United Kingdom

L.M MONTGOMERY’S ANNE OF GREEN GABLES
Breakthrough Entertainment in association with Corus Entertainment
Canada

MANHUNT: ESCAPE TO THE CARPATHIANS
Wiedemann + Berg Television GmbH & Co KG in association with ARD Degeto and the WDR
Germany/Romania

STAGE NAME NINO
cOMPAGNIA Leone Cinematografica in association with RAI FICTION
Italy

THROUGH THEIR EYES
WOWOW/ViViA
Japan

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Featured, What Would Sal Do?

What Would Sal Do? ending after one season on CraveTV

What Would Sal Do? won’t be given a Second Coming on CraveTV. That’s the word from creator Andrew De Angelis, who made the announcement via Facebook on Monday afternoon.

“It is with a heavy heart that I announce the end of What Would Sal Do? Unlike Jesus, our little show will not return,” De Angelis said via his personal page. Season 1 of Sal debuted on CraveTV in March, and that was a miracle in itself. In the summer of 2016, De Angelis’ comic creation was dead in the water. Last June, Allarco Entertainment was granted creditor protection. Allarco owns Super Channel, Sal‘s original home. With creditor protection in place, What Would Sal Do? couldn’t air on the pay channel and was released to its production company to be shopped around. Sal‘s producers, New Metric Media, landed a deal with Bell Media.

“We had a good run,” De Angelis said in his Facebook post. “Well… we had an OK run. Who am I kidding, we had a run. This sucks. There, I said it. But here’s what didn’t suck: getting the chance to make the show I wanted to make—no compromises, no regrets. Here’s another thing that didn’t suck: working with Mark Montefiore, Pat O’Sullivan, Cameron MacClaren and everyone at NewMetric media. This show doesn’t exist without their tireless work, passion and dedication. Their insights not only made Sal a better show, they made me a better writer.” He also shone the spotlight on the entire cast, crew and season writers Kurt Smeaton, Mark Forward, Alex Levine, Mark De Angelis, Steve Dylan, Brandy Hewitt and Karen Moore, and director Samir Rehem.

Sal stars Dylan Taylor (most recently of CBC’s Pure) as the titular character, a foul-mouthed overachiever who has lived a life of laziness and questionable decisions in Sudbury, Ont. That all changes when his mother, Maria (Jennifer Dale) blows his mind with the following info: Sal is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Along for the ride are Sal’s best friend Vince (Ryan McDonald) and Father Luke (Scott Thompson).

Season 1 of What Would Sal Do? can be seen on CraveTV.

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Orphan Black

It’s roll call for the final season of iconic Canadian series Orphan Black, beginning June 10

From a media release:

Space Original Series ORPHAN BLACK makes its highly anticipated return for its climactic final season on Saturday, June 10 at 10 p.m. ET. Produced by Temple Street, Season 5 of ORPHAN BLACK brings Sarah Manning and her sisters to their darkest days, in an effort to win their freedom. Throughout the season, the sisters individually delve into their past to confront personal struggles and emerge stronger through these self-explorations. Space viewers can catch-up on Season 5 of ORPHAN BLACK on Space.ca, Space GO, and via On Demand partners.

Adored by fans and critics alike in more than 170 countries, ORPHAN BLACK has transcended the landscape of Canadian television. Throughout its four-season run, this genre-bending series has introduced viewers to some of the most unconventional characters and storylines on television, championed individuality, personal evolution, and strong and complex female characters. Led by the Emmy®-award winning Tatiana Maslany, the series has amassed a fervent fan base spawning Clone Clubs around the globe. It has received a cavalcade of accolades, including a Peabody Award, as well as multiple Canadian Screen Awards for Best Drama, Writing, and Direction, along with multiple Best Acting wins for Maslany.

This season, after Sarah’s harrowing physical battle with Rachel and unsuccessful attempt to save Cosima on a remote Neoloution-operated island, she awakens to a familiar nightmare – her daughter, Kira, is in Rachel’s care at The Dyad Institute. Nearly all the clone sisters have been brought to heel and Sarah’s next in line. Yet this time, Rachel doesn’t resort to force to break Sarah’s defiant spirit. She wields her newfound power with grace, and dubiously promises an end to the violence if Sarah cooperates. Wary of these new terms, Sarah leans on Mrs. S to teach her a new strategy as they change tactics to pursue a long game. Working together, the sisters uncover the missing pieces of the insidious conspiracy, and finally learn the story behind their origin.

In the season opener, “The Few Who Dare” (Saturday, June 10 at 10 p.m. ET), a wounded Sarah, desperate to rescue Cosima get off the island and reunite with her family, journeys into the island’s interior, only to discover a mysterious village – the beating heart of the Neolution agenda. Meanwhile, a recovering Cosima reunites with Delphine and begins investigating the secrets of the Island under the watchful eye of Rachel who is now firmly in charge at the right-hand of the 170-year-old founder of Neolution, P.T. Westmorland. Back home, Neolution’s hunt for Helena, puts the screws to Alison and Donnie.

Throughout ORPHAN BLACK’s run, INNERSPACE delivers an insider’s look at the events that transpired in Saturday night’s episode in an AFTER THE BLACKsegment every Monday night at 6 p.m. ET. Hosts Teddy Wilson, Morgan Hoffman, and Ajay Fry dive deep into the rabbit hole with interviews, behind-the-scenes features, and viewer questions.

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Slasher

Slasher wrapping production on Season 2

From a media release:

Production will soon wrap on the second chapter of Aaron Martin’s award-winning anthology thriller series Slasher, produced by Shaftesbury, to be called Slasher 2: Guilty Party. Leslie Hope (24, NCIS, Suits) leads a large ensemble cast comprised of returning actors including Paula Brancati (Sadie’s Last Days on Earth, Degrassi: The Next Generation), Jim Watson (The Strain, Between), Christopher Jacot (Rogue, Eureka), Joanne Vannicola (Being Erica), Jefferson Brown (Rookie Blue, Degrassi: The Next Generation), and Dean McDermott (Ecstasy, CSI). New cast members this season include Lovell Adams-Gray (Lost & Found Music Studios, Dead of Summer), Kaitlyn Leeb (Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments, Heartland), Rebecca Liddiard (Houdini & Doyle, MsLabelled), Melinda Shankar (Degrassi: The Next Generation, How to Be Indie), Sebastian Pigott (Rogue, Revenge), Paulino Nunes (Designated Survivor, Brooklyn), Madison Cheeatow (Heartland, Sadie’s Last Days on Earth), Ty Olsson (The 100, Supernatural), and Simu Liu (Kim’s Convenience, Taken).

Aaron Martin (Saving Hope, Being Erica, Degrassi: The Next Generation), recipient of the 2017 WGC Showrunner Award, returns as showrunner. Set in the remote Canadian winter wilderness, the story revolves around a group of former summer camp counsellors who are forced to return to the isolated campground to retrieve evidence of a crime they committed in their youth. Before long the group, and the camp’s latest inhabitants, members of a spiritual retreat with their own secrets to hide, find themselves targeted by someone – or something – out for horrific revenge. Nominated for five Canadian Screen Awards for its first season, Slasher 2: Guilty Party has been filming on location in Orangeville, Ontario and surrounding area since February.

Brought together by a horrific secret they’ve long kept buried, a group of former friends must return in the dead of winter to the now-closed summer camp they worked at five years before. Deep in the snow-covered wilderness, the rundown camp has now become a private and isolated “intentional community” cut-off from civilization by weather, wilderness, and choice. The group’s secretive reason to return causes tension and tempers to flare. Before long, they find themselves gruesomely targeted by someone – or something – out for horrific revenge. The location’s isolation starts to wear on relationships and expose surprising secrets, and as the winter weather worsens, so does the killer’s grisly spree. As blood and secrets spill across the vast and snowy wild surrounding the camp, the mismatched group must try to escape not just the killer’s retribution, but also survive the deadly elements.

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Featured, Sensitive Skin

Sensitive Skin cancelled by HBO Canada

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Sensitive Skin will not return for a third season on HBO Canada. That’s the word from the show’s official Twitter account, which posted the news on Sunday morning.

Bell Media issued a statement to TV, Eh? on Monday afternoon:

“Several months ago, we informed the SENSITIVE SKIN team that we had made the decision not to renew the series for a third season. In our view, Davina’s journey came to a moving and elegant conclusion at the end of Season 2. We are very proud to have been part of this amazing show, which won over audiences and critics around the world. We remain huge fans of the creative team behind SENSITIVE SKIN and hope to work with them again in the future.”

Starring Kim Cattrall and directed by Don McKellar, Sensitive Skin garnered a 2015 International Emmy nomination in the Best Comedy Series category and Season 1 captured four Canadian Screen Awards, including the Bell Media Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Comedic Role (McKellar); Best Direction in a Comedy Program or Series (McKellar); Best Photography in a Comedy Program or Series (Douglas Koch) and Best Picture Editing in a Comedy or Variety Program or Series (Matthew Hannam).

Cattrall played Davina, a fiftysomething Toronto woman who was adjusting to her life as an older woman while married to her neurotic husband, Al (McKellar). Davina was worried she hadn’t done anything of note with her life and set out to change that. In Season 2, Davina was coping with life as a widow and moved to the Toronto Islands and attempted to make new friends. Sensitive Skin co-starred Nicolas Wright, Bob Martin, Colm Feore, Joanna Gleason, Clé Bennett, Elliott Gould and Marc-André Grondin.

Season 1 of Sensitive Skin was written by Bob Martin; Susan Coyne, Rosa Labordé and Lynne Coady wrote Season 2.

Fans were not happy to hear the news and took to Twitter to vent their frustrations.

Consider us in that group too.

How do you feel about Sensitive Skin being cancelled? Let me know in the comments section below.

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