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.
Degrassi

Link: Degrassi’s enduring popularity proves teenagers will never get tired of their honest reflection

From David Berry of The National Post:

Degrassi’s enduring popularity proves teenagers will never get tired of their honest reflection
A quarter-century later, though, it’s hard not to see that as its best feature. Where 90210 has been lost in a sea of both fictional and “reality” descendants, each one grasping at ever-more histrionic reveals, Degrassi continues to plug away. The latest iteration, Degrassi: Next Class, debuts this Friday on Netflix, where, if history is any guide, it’s likely to stick around for a long time. The beauty of Degrassi is that it keeps getting older, but teen problems stay the same age. Continue reading.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Saving Hope

Link: Saving Hope writers preview an important test for Alex and Charlie

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Saving Hope writers preview an important test for Alex and Charlie
“We were writing Season 4 as if it were the last season. When we found out we were renewed, we cracked some celebratory beers and then immediately got to work completely overhauling the last few episodes of Season 4. Luckily for us, our fearless leader [showrunner] Adam Pettle is quick on his feet and cooked up a new killer ending that’s even better than the one we had. You guys are going to love it.” Continue reading.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
The Nature of Things

Link: Myth Buster: A Possible New Series

1 Comment

From Jim Bawden:

Myth Buster: A Possible New Series
It’s simply time for CBC-TV to order a full season of Myth Or Science. The fourth in this irregular series on The Nature Of Things comes up Thursday night at 8 on CBC. And once again the photogenic Dr. Jennifer Gardy is in total command as she tackles all the myths we’ve ever heard about the weather.

Like its three predecessors this hour is jam packed with great visuals and Gardy’s fantastic TV presence –she has the scientific credentials but is also aware of what she has to do on TV to keep us interested. Continue reading.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Four Senses nails winning recipe in Season 3

Carl Heinrich and Christine Ha are cooking up good stuff on Four Senses. Heinrich, the Season 2 winner of Top Chef Canada, and Ha, who took the Season 3 title in MasterChef, are back for Season 3 of AMI-tv’s culinary series sharing recipes with each other and celebrities while traipsing the country meeting with the folks that put food on our tables.

The two chefs—and the Four Senses crew—have hit a real groove in Season 3, returning Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET. The most obvious thing I noticed during a set visit last fall was the confidence the two have in the TV process. Gone are the jitters I saw in the first season, replaced with an understanding of what Four Senses is, and their roles in it. Yes, the program features embedded description for those who are blind or partially sighted and closed captioning for those with hearing loss, but at its heart Four Senses is a cooking show—and a darned entertaining one.

“Christine has had a lot of experience with very big productions,” says executive producer Anne Marie Varner. “This is a little more relaxed and she gets to hone her skills in terms of describing what she’s doing in the kitchen. She’s been very good at being able to point out to our guests and Carl what the challenges are when you’re blind or visually impaired in the kitchen. Carl has really grown in his confidence working in TV and it shows in his performance. You’re seeing a completely different person.”

Celebrity guests in the kitchen include Thursday’s visitor, Chef Corbin Tomaszeski, followed in the coming weeks by CHFI’s Erin Davis, French Chef at Home‘s Laura Calder, Chatelaine‘s Claire Tansey and BreakfastTelevision Toronto’s Frank Ferragine. As for the locations Heinrich and Ha will be visiting, Prince Edward Island, rural Ontario and Kelowna, B.C., beckon for features on lobsters and oysters, butter tarts and goat milk. Varner notes Four Senses is a national program, and she wanted their location segments to reflect that. A Season 3 addition that helped elevate Four Senses is new director Arlene Hazzan Green; the Emmy and Genie award winner is pushing the cooking process to the back burner in favour of stirring the pot through conversation about cooking and accessibility.

“We needed more conversation. ‘Who are you and why are you interested in this?'” Varner says. “She’s really focusing on the performance and learning about the twist that makes Four Senses unique.”

Four Senses airs Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. ET on AMI-tv.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Between

Principal photography begins on Season 2 of City’s Between

From a media release:

Today, City announced the start of production on the second season of Between, the original survivalist thriller series created by award-winning writer/director Michael McGowan (Still Mine, One Week, Saint Ralph) and starring Jennette McCurdy (iCarly) and Jesse Carere (Skins). The second season of Between, featuring six, one-hour episodes, will premiere on City, followed by shomi, in Canada. Additional broadcast details will be announced at a later date. The series begins principal photography today.

In season one, a virulent disease swept through the idyllic town of Pretty Lake, leaving everyone over the age of 21 dead in its wake and the town quarantined. Season two will continue Wiley (Jennette McCurdy) and Adam’s (Jesse Carere) journey into discovering the cause of the deadly virus as the battle for survival is toughened by a diminishing food supply, harsh winter, and lawlessness among peers.

Returning cast for Between’s second season include Justin Kelly as Chuck, Kyle Mac as Ronnie, Ryan Allen as Gord, and Shailyn Pierre Dixon as Franny. Joining the cast this season are Steven Grayhm (The Family Tree, The Five People You Meet in Heaven) as Liam Cullen, a mysterious visitor who claims to have the answer to the epidemic that has ravaged the small town, and Mercedes Morris (Forest Fairies) as Renée, the powerful leader of an off-the-grid cult located on the edge of Pretty Lake.

Between is an original series produced by Don Carmody Television (DCTV) and Mulmur Feed Co. Executive Producers are Don Carmody (Pompeii, Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Goon, Chicago), David Cormican (The Tall Man, Faces in the Crowd), Michael McGowan, and Naveen Prasad of Elevation Pictures. Sam Egan (The Listener, Continuum) joins as Showrunner. McGowan and Supervising Producer Rick Bota (Haven, Damaged, Beauty and the Beast) will each direct three episodes. From Rogers Media, Nataline Rodrigues is Director of Original Programming, Hayden Mindell is Vice President of Television Programming & Content, and Colette Watson is Vice President of Television and Broadcast Operations.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail