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.
Featured, Polls

Poll: Which new Canadian TV shows will you watch this season?

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Now that the Canadian Upfronts are wrapped, we’ve got a complete list of the new homegrown series set to debut during the 2016-17 television season. Some will be on the air this fall, while others will debut during midseason.

What we want to know is, which five have got you the most interested in checking out this season? If you’ve got more than five you’re planning to watch, put them in the comments at the bottom of the page. Can’t quite remember the synopses behind each? We’ve got you covered there too: a one-line description for each is listed below the poll.

Which five new Canadian TV shows are you planning to watch this coming season?

  • Mary Kills People, Global (15%, 84 Votes)
  • Kim's Convenience, CBC (15%, 82 Votes)
  • Russell Peters is the Indian Detective, CraveTV (8%, 45 Votes)
  • Cardinal, CTV (8%, 44 Votes)
  • Shoot the Messenger, CBC (7%, 37 Votes)
  • The Beaverton, The Comedy Network (6%, 34 Votes)
  • Pure, CBC (5%, 30 Votes)
  • Frontier, Discovery (5%, 29 Votes)
  • Travelers, Showcase (5%, 28 Votes)
  • Ransom, Global (4%, 21 Votes)
  • The Disappearance, CTV (3%, 19 Votes)
  • True North Calling, CBC (3%, 17 Votes)
  • Bad Blood: The Vito Rizzuto Story, City (3%, 17 Votes)
  • Real Housewives of Toronto, Slice (2%, 11 Votes)
  • Holmes and Holmes, HGTV Canada (2%, 11 Votes)
  • Workin’ Moms, CBC (2%, 11 Votes)
  • Second Jen, City (2%, 10 Votes)
  • Bryan, Inc., HGTV Canada (2%, 9 Votes)
  • This is High School, CBC (1%, 8 Votes)
  • Heavy Rescue: 401, Discovery (1%, 7 Votes)
  • Moving the McGillivrays, HGTV Canada (1%, 6 Votes)

Total Voters: 217

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Bad Blood: The Vito Rizzuto Story, City
Limited event drama telling the real-life story of underworld figure Vito Rizzuto.

Bryan, Inc., HGTV Canada
A behind-the-scenes peek at Bryan and Sarah Baeumler’s workdays at the office.

Cardinal, CTV
Based on the book Forty Words for Sorrow by Giles Blunt, a small-town cop chases a serial killer.

Frontier, Discovery
Historical drama telling the story of Canada’s growing fur trade.

Heavy Rescue: 401, Discovery
Highway Thru Hell spinoff about the police, firefighters and tow trucks who keep Ontario’s busiest highways safe.

Holmes and Holmes, HGTV Canada
Mike Sr. and Jr. renovate the latter’s bachelor bungalow into a two-storey home.

Kim’s Convenience, CBC
Television adaptation of Ins Choi, about a Korean-Canadian family who run a convenience store.

Mary Kills People, Global
An emergency room doctor helps the terminally ill end their lives.

Moving the McGillivrays, HGTV Canada
Cameras follow Scott and his family as they build and prepare to move into a new home.

Pure, CBC
A newly-elected Mennonite pastor finds himself drawn into the drug trade.

Ransom, Global
Hostage drama based on the life of negotiator Laurent Combalbert.

Real Housewives of Toronto, Slice
Reality cameras follow socialites around Canada’s biggest city.

Russell Peters is the Indian Detective, CraveTV
A Toronto cop of Indian heritage becomes embroiled in a local case when he visits his father in Mumbai.

Second Jen, City
A coming-of-age comedy about two second-generation Chinese and Filipino-Canadian millennials.

Shoot the Messenger, CBC
A young journalist is caught in a web of urban gangs, the political class and the police while working her first murder case.

The Beaverton, The Comedy Network
A spoof of TV news shows.

The Disappearance, CTV
A family is devastated when their son goes missing during a treasure hunt.

This is High School, CBC
Documentary series capturing the education system at a British Columbia high school.

Travelers, Showcase
Future humans go back in time to save the world from a horrible fate.

True North Calling, CBC
Documentary series following the lives of Canadians who call the North home.

Workin’ Moms, CBC
In this comedy, four urban moms juggle love, careers and parenthood.

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Baroness von Sketch Show

Link: New series Baroness von Sketch Show refreshingly fun, but not frantic

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From Bill Harris of Postmedia Network:

Link: New series Baroness von Sketch Show refreshingly fun, but not frantic
It’s a sketch show, but it’s not too sketchy, if you know what I mean.

Besides the fact that it made me laugh, there were a couple of specific elements that I truly appreciated about Baroness von Sketch Show, a new series starring Meredith MacNeill, Carolyn Taylor, Aurora Browne and Jennifer Whalen that debuts Tuesday, June 14, on CBC. Continue reading.

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Wynonna Earp

Link: Wynonna Earp: Emily Andras talks “Landslide”

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Link: Wynonna Earp: Emily Andras talks “Landslide”
“He’s in so much trouble. He’s in a LOT of trouble and I’m worried about his hat getting left behind. I can’t picture Doc Holliday without his hat — even if he’s in the grave he needs his hat. I’m not saying he’s in the grave, but if he is, he’ll need that hat.” Continue reading.

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19-2, Featured

Photo gallery: 19-2 Season 3 premiere images revealed

We’re mere days away from the Season 3 return of 19-2 to Bravo (with Season 4 already ordered), and the Canadian specialty network has released a synopsis and images for the first episode:

In the season premiere episode “Burn Pile” (Monday, June 20 at 10 p.m. ET), the squad waits for findings from a task force into Sergeant Houle’s case. Nick and Ben find themselves at the centre of the fractured squad, the only partnership that has endured. On the job, the squad face a horrific accident that puts multiple lives in danger.

As previously announced, new characters this season include Juliette Gosselin as foster child Martine, who claims to have information on Kaz’s death; Krista Bridges as Inspector Elise Roberge, stationed at 19 to wrap up the investigation of Sergeant Houle; and Joe Pingue as Charlie Figo, an old-school mobster who goads Nick into uncharted territory.

Check out images from the instalment and the teaser trailer to get you set for June 20. Are you as pumped as we are? Let us know in the comments below and keep an eye out for our interviews with stars Maxim Roy and Alexandra Ordolis in the coming days.

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19-2 returns Monday, June 20, at 10 p.m. ET on Bravo.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

The Messenger paints a bleak picture for future of songbirds

Spring is here, and that means songbirds waking you up from your morning slumber or flitting overhead when you’re outside. Unfortunately, the number of songbirds is dropping, and folks are scrambling to figure out why.

After airing on The Nature of Things as “SongbirdSOS,” The Messenger flies to Documentary Channel on Tuesday with expanded footage and more stunning visuals. Throughout history, man has viewed birds both as mythical beings and as harbingers of changing weather and seasons. Now, their diminishing song is hinting at something catastrophic.

Beautifully shot, with cameras capturing clouds of birds swirling in unison with thunderclouds in the background, Bill Evans’ hearing aid microphone contraption proves smaller songbirds migrate at night when predators can’t see them (something radar proves with blooming imagery spreading across the United States as the sun sets), chirping to avoid mid-air collisions.

As York University’s Dr. Bridget Stutchbury notes, species of birds still exist, but their numbers are way down. The question is, why?

The Messenger suggests sobering answers. Mankind’s creation of artificial light has messed with the birds’ ability to migrate during the night, disorienting them and causing midair collisions. And, of course, we’ve constructed huge skyscrapers that songbirds fly into, a point driven home by FLAP (Fatal Light Awareness Program) Canada when they lay out the bodies of hundreds of dead birds on a plain white sheet for all to see.

Lost breeding and wintering habitats in rain forests, wetlands and boreal forests, oil pipelines and farm pesticides are contributing to declining song bird numbers, as well as house cats.

On the positive side, there are steps being taken to halt the dropping populations, including allowing birds to feast on hurtful insects in Costa Rican coffee fields and mandating building owners to switch off the lights at night. Hopefully enough changes will come in time to save the songbirds before their tunes cease.

The Messenger airs Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET on Documentary Channel.

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