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.
Children's Programming, Industry News

Lost & Found Music Studios debuts Jan. 8 on Family

This winter, Family Channel raises its voice with the premiere of Lost & Found Music Studios, an all-new original series from Temple Street Productions and creator Frank van Keeken, the forces behind The Next Step. Debuting Friday, January 8 at 6 p.m. ET/PT, the pitch perfect drama follows a group of aspiring musicians who are part of a unique music program, run by a musician-turned-producer. From pop to rock and hip-hop to R&B, the series showcases some of the best young voices Canada has to offer with original songs and stellar performances featured in each episode. For music aficionados who want to get in the studio earlier, Family’s got a special presentation of the series this Friday, December 11 at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT, immediately following the epic season three finale of The Next Step beginning at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

A live music venue, recording studio and jam space, Lost & Found is an amazing place where young musicians go to become great. Members immerse themselves in music, write songs record tracks and form bands in hopes of turning their passion into a profession. But, if making it in the music industry wasn’t hard enough, these aspiring artists also have to deal with the many issues teens face including first crushes, peer pressure, difficult home lives and trying to fit in. Following the series premiere, new episodes of Lost & Found Music Studios will air regularly Fridays at 6 p.m. ET/PT. Episodes will also be offered on Family OnDemand as they become available weekly beginning January 9.

On Friday, December 11, Family gets into the holiday spirit, gifting viewers with a special presentation of Lost & Found Music Studios at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT. In the series preview, titled “Lost and Found,” the musicians prepare a goodbye party for graduates of the studio. Audiences are introduced to overachiever Leia, who hopes to write and perform a song with her crush, Luke; band member John, who’s having a hard time expressing his feelings for dancer, Michelle; and talented but shy singer-songwriter Eva, who is eager to break out of her shell. The exciting episode is ushered in by the season three finale of The Next Step at 7 p.m. ET/PT which sees the A-Troupe dancers lay it all on the line as they compete for the title of “International Champions.”

Lost & Found Music Studios stars include Shane Harte as Luke; Keara Graves as Leia; Alex Zaichkowski as John; Sarah Carmosino as Rachel; Deshaun Clarke as Jude; Ella Jonas Farlinger as Eva; Levi Randall as Theo; Maranda Thomas as Mary; Alyssa Baker as Maggie; Rakim Kelly as Isaac; Olivia Solo as Annabelle; Jeni Ross as Clara; Katrina Hachey as Hannah; and Matthew Bacik as Nate. Michael Torontow and Ali Milner play Mr. T and Parker who oversee the music program. A companion to The Next Step, the series also features familiar faces from the popular dance drama including Trevor Tordjman as James; Victoria Baldesarra as Michelle; Jordan Clark as Giselle; and Brittany Raymond as Riley. Fans of both series can see select cast members perform live in venues across the country this winter, as they embark on the international The Next Step Wild Rhythm Tour. Tickets are currently available at Family.ca.

Lost & Found Music Studios is produced by Temple Street Productions in association with Family Channel and is executive produced by creator Frank van Keeken (The Next Step, Wingin’ It), Ivan Schneeberg and David Fortier (The Next Step, Orphan Black) and Laura Harbin (The Next Step, Wingin’ It). Temple Street controls the distribution rights internationally, and has secured deals with CBBC and Netflix. Lost & Found Music Studios is also produced with the financial assistance from The Shaw Rocket Fund and the Canada Media Fund.

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Industry News, Orphan Black, Rookie Blue, Saving Hope

Link: Women Behind Canadian TV: Sherry White

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Women Behind Canadian TV: Sherry White
“I have mentored a fair number of younger women and I really believe in fresh, young voices. I know I’m not the only woman or writer that feels that way. One thing people can do is find somebody who is willing to mentor them, or work as an assistant because any kind of foot in the door is the best way to get in there. Many of our great, fantastic writers–Ley Lukins, Noelle Carbone, Katrina Saville–all began as assistants and worked their way up. I have worked with this woman Lisa Rose Snow who is my assistant, and she’s someone who would do everything from edit my scripts to run my errands, but I, over time, have really invested in her voice and she’s somebody I want to hire and want to work with. So taking those jobs that might not be an immediate start as a writer, I think still pay off if you can do a good job at them.” Continue reading.

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Featured, Heartland

Heartland’s tense midseason finale

Talk about a nail-biter of a midseason finale. Sunday’s newest episode of Heartland, the final one of 2015, was unlike any I’ve seen since I started watching the show. Gone were the feel-good, happy endings we’re used to getting, replaced by scary scenes and poisoned animals.

The focus of “A Matter of Trust” was Georgie and Lou’s deteriorating relationship. Heartland hasn’t shied away from portraying the struggles associated with a family ravaged by divorce, but Sunday took another step, first by having mother and daughter wage war over lies, trust and responsibility and then with Georgie running away to Vancouver and leaving her cell phone behind at the ranch. Yes, Georgie is maturing and moving past that awkward phase and taking her first tentative steps into being a woman. She’s not there yet, but she sure wants to hang with and be accepted by the older girls. Everyone can relate to a storyline like that, and Georgie’s feelings. This being Heartland, I’m assuming Georgie will make it to Peter’s door unscathed, but that knowledge certainly didn’t take the edge off that final scene of her alone in the dark and wandering down the street. (As an aside, I hope Michelle Morgan receives a Canadian Screen Award nomination for her work this season; she deserves it.)

Meanwhile, an environmental disaster threatens the life of Phoenix. It’s been awhile since Heartland dealt with that angle, and having Rusty and then Phoenix succumb to poisoned water was tough to watch. Rusty has been treated and is on the road to recovery, but Phoenix may not be so lucky. Georgie’s disappearance means he’s not getting any attention and he needs someone to notice he’s not doing well. Fingers crossed Amy or Ty head back to the barn and discover the horse is in bad shape.

Heartland returns Sunday, January 10, at 7 p.m. on CBC.

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Industry News

Link: CRTC should listen to TV critics, just like everyone else

From John Doyle of The Globe and Mail:

CRTC should listen to TV critics, just like everyone else
It seems to me that this – the so-called discoverability issue – is a circumstance in which new media can learn from old media. Critics matter. A third-party, independent assessment and recommendation drives viewers to a TV show. Some of the most popular columns written by yours truly are lists of shows to try on Netflix. Continue reading.

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Featured

Comments and queries for the week of December 4

Your Favourite Canadian TV Shows of 2015

Heartland is such a wonderful family show! We’ve enjoyed every episode together since it started, and it’s by far MY all-time favourite. —Rachel

When Calls the Heart is a refreshing change from many of the shows. The actors, directors and crew are extremely talented and provide so much employment to our local economy. Would live to see this series picked up on our local station in Vancouver. The new show The Romeo Section is great too. Love the actors that were in Intelligence. —Wendy

Heartland is the current No. 1 show. Touched by an Angel is probably my all-time favourite, but I guess it’s not Canadian. —Terry

TORNADO HUNTERS! (: —Paige

Heartland is the only show that has ever been able to hook me. Usually, shows are take it or leave it with me, but I love, love, love Heartland. =) —DJ

No question about it, Tornado Hunters is my No. 1 choice as the best 2015 Canadian TV show. I’ll give The Fifth Estate a close second place, and for options 3, 4, and 5, I will list The Rick Mercer Report, Dark Matter and This Life, accordingly. —Trina

Love Blackstone. Then my reality shows Amazing Race Canada, Big Brother Canada, Chopped Canada and Masterchef Canada. —Pamela

The Road to Discoverability

With me, word of mouth or I’ll glance through everything when it’s time for a new crop of pilots be it fall or midseason. An ad alone isn’t enough to get me to check out something usually. I’m a big Orphan Black fan but didn’t even know it existed in its first season. How’d I catch on? Commenters going crazy over it on several of the sites I visit, not just the reviewers themselves, and luckily CTV itself was running the same ad about 50 times a day for the Season 1 repeats. (They really overdo it though, the same ad over and over again actually irritates the viewer and could turn them against seeing a show, Comedy Network is especially bad for this).

Same thing happened this year with Mr. Robot. TVLine, The AV Club, Entertainment Weekly, Hitflix, IGN etc. and their readers wouldn’t stop praising it. It took Showcase until the end of the U.S. run to air here but it was great. They need to simulcast it next year for it to be worth anything. A day late equals a dollar short in the new digital world. I don’t usually watch crime shows but everyone is talking about Fargo, Season 2 so I might actually catch up when the season is over.

In terms of Kelly’s point about binge watching and then being a season behind, part of this is the networks themselves. They usually don’t have the current season up for streaming until the next year, and only the last five or so episodes on demand. You finished The Flash, Season 1? Too bad, CTV only has episodes 6-8 online and even then you have to sign in with a cable provider if you want to see them.

They are getting a bit better though. Syfy is premiering a show with a huge buzz and Canadian crew in the middle of December about a week before Christmas. That sounds like a way to kill a show, but they released the first episode online last month, and Space did it at the same time for Canadians with access to YouTube. I watched it because of word of mouth buzz and now fully plan to record both episodes on December 14th & 15th, and the 22nd.

Will TV itself and the broadcasters completely die out? No. This abundance of choice and “golden age of TV” is because of consumer appetite. Can the telecoms act like consumers are restricted to them in the same way we often are for cell phones and internet? No. The broadcasters themselves aren’t who I look to guide me to stuff, other viewers are. They can try and filter shows between them but trying to limit viewers to only what they have when conversations about TV are happening globally is impossible especially as the Internet generations get more buying power. They aren’t competing with just two or three Canadian rivals anymore, they’re competing with everyone.

The Big Four U.S. networks have been in a ratings decline for years now. They’ve only officially canceled one show so far this year (Wicked City) and just let the other weak ones show what they have already made. They know launching a new show in a failed timeslot right away is pointless. Streaming has changed the game and both the U.S. and Canadian broadcasters are going to scramble for a while before catching up. —DanAmazing

For me there is only one answer: word of mouth. In 2015, I don’t see ads really. I listen to podcasts (generally from public broadcasters), I watch Netflix, I PVR, I iTunes, I turn my adblocker off for sites I visit frequently but honestly I hardly notice the ads anyway. The only way I find out about new shows/movies is from sites like this one and from recommendations by people I talk to. Fortunately, my Twitter and Facebook feeds are crowded with actors, directors, producers and writers so I get a lot of recommendations.

Still, there are about 25 shows on my list (yes, I have an actual list) that I try to keep up with. The other problem—equally as large in my opinion—is quality. With so many options, shows have to be consistently excellent to stay on the list. They also have to be reasonable original and not formulaic or repetitive. —Justin

Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? greg@tv-eh.com or @tv_eh.

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