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, Degrassi

It’s not over! Degrassi: Next Class debuts on Family Channel in January 2016

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From a media release:

Whatever it takes. That’s what Family Channel is willing to do for fans and the network proves it by announcing Degrassi: Next Class, the newest version of the popular global franchise, will debut on Family in January 2016. After Thursday’s news sent shockwaves through the Internet, fans and media showed an outpouring of love for the highly celebrated Canadian teen series. Reassuring fans that Degrassi as they know it is alive and well, DHX Media’s Epitome Pictures will create 20 x 30-minute episodes of the series for Family.

Degrassi: Next Class is a pull-no-punches dramatic series that tackles the real-life issues of high school students. Telling the stories of “Generation Z,” the series focuses on a group of teens as they begin their journey into adulthood. Pushing their own limits and testing the bonds of family and friends, the students each find their own way to deal with a range of issues: from homophobia, racism, substance abuse and violence to burgeoning sexuality, body issues, heartbreak and the complications of dating in the social media age. The series strives to entertain its post-millennial audience while always reinforcing its core principle: You are not alone.

Keeping true to the spirit of Degrassi that generations have known and loved since 1980, Degrassi: Next Classtakes the 485 episode franchise into its next iteration and remains the longest running dramatic television series in Canadian history. The new installment will see popular cast members reprise their roles including: Amanda Arcuri as Lola Pacini; Reiya Downs as Shay Powers; Ana Golja as Zoe Rivas; Nikki Gould as Grace Cardinal; Ricardo Hoyos as Zig Novak; Ehren Kassam as Jonah Haak; Andre Kim as Winston Chu; Lyle Lettau as Tristan Milligan; Spencer Macpherson as Hunter Hollingsworth; Eric Osborne as Miles Hollingsworth III; Olivia Scrivenas Maya Matlin; Sara Waisglass as Frankie Hollingsworth; and Richard Walters as Deon “Tiny” Bell.

The Degrassi franchise is currently celebrating the 35th anniversary. Degrassi: Next Class is produced by DHX Media’s Epitome Pictures, in association with Family Channel and Netflix. The series was co-created by Linda Schuyler who is also Executive Producer with Stephen Stohn, Sarah Glinski and Matt Huether.

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Orphan Black

Link: Orphan Black: Is Cosima going to die in the finale?

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From Natalie Abrams of Entertainment Weekly:

Orphan Black: Is Cosima going to die in the finale?
Orphan Black fans may want to start preparing themselves, because there could be a very real possibility that Cosima (Tatiana Maslany) might not survive another season finale of the BBC America drama.

Cosima has been living on borrowed time since season 1 after coming down with the same respiratory illness that now-dead clones Katja and Jennifer had. After Cosima’s near-death experience in the season 2 finale, it feels increasingly likely that the dreadlocked clone may not make it out of another finale alive. Continue reading.

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Featured

He Said/She Said: Reaction to Rogers/Shaw/Bell Media’s fall lineup

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Join Greg and Diane every Monday as we debate what’s on our minds. This week: Our thoughts regarding Rogers, Shaw and Bell Media’s 2015-16 broadcast schedules.

He Said:

Make sure you take a peek at Diane’s fall announcement scorecard for her grade on the networks when it comes to Cancon and our thoughts on CBC’s fall schedule.

Overall, I’m frustrated with the amount of Canadian content that Rogers and Shaw have lined up for City and Global. A measly 60 minutes are devoted to homegrown series on City thanks to a second window of Mr. D and original episodes of Sunnyside. That’s it. Mr. D has gotten the short end of the stick in this formula, leading off the night on Thursdays in November and into unproven U.S. import Life in Pieces. Sunnyside has a cushy spot between Bob’s Burgers and Brooklyn Nine-Nine on Sundays in a night of back-to-back sitcoms that Global and Fox have made famous.

Over it Global it’s even more dire because they have exactly zero minutes of Cancon lined up for the fall. Shaw boss Christine Shipton played up the midseason return of Big Brother Canada and newbies The Code and Houdini and Doyle which, again, is just three hours of original stuff amid all of the acquired programs from south of the border. Adding to my frustration, of course, is the fact that Shaw cancelled Remedy only to trumpet U.S. medical drama Heartbreaker. (Two days after Shaw jetted star Melissa George to their upfront, NBC bumped Heartbreaker to mideason.)

Granted, Shaw has loaded up on Canadian content on its specialty channels with unscripted fare like Curse of the Frozen Gold, Battle Factory, Klondike Trappers, Unusually Thicke, The House that HGTV Built, Leave It to Bryan, Chef in Your Ear, Chopped Canada Teen Tournament, Food Network’s Great Canadian Cookbook, First Dates and scripted work in Vikings. That’s certainly more than what Rogers offers on OLN, FXX and FX Canada.

Bell Media comes off like a saviour thanks to putting Saving Hope in the prime Thursday night 9 p.m. slot on CTV, a move that shows confidence in the series. Motive and MasterChef Canada will both be back at midseason on CTV while CTV Two packs Saturday nights with repeats of The Listener, Flashpoint and Motive. On the other hand, Bell Media is playing it safe by sticking with what works on CTV and CTV Two; I wish the upcoming Letterkenny was given a chance to shine on the main networks rather than on The Comedy Network and CraveTV.

She Said:

How depressing is it that the highest praise we can bestow on the major private networks this season is “yay, one of them is giving one of their own shows a decent fall timeslot”? Canadian TV: the home of lowered expectations.

Fall is a rough time for homegrown programs, though, amid the saturation of US shows’ big budgets and big marketing campaigns. It seems we’ve learned time and again that new series have a better chance of a successful launch in winter rather than fall.

Which doesn’t explain why there’s not much to say about the “16” part of their 2015-16 schedules. Motive and MasterChef Canada are coming up this winter and … no, never mind, there’s no “and.”

Global and City still have announced nothing original scheduled for post-Christmas. Only Global used the 2015-16 season announcements as an opportunity to talk about new upcoming shows – The Code and Houdini and Doyle, not yet in production and with no air dates attached, so don’t expect to see them before spring — and that appeared to be a case of misdirection in the hopes people wouldn’t notice they had butkus actually scheduled for 2015-16 in their scheduling announcements so far. The specialty networks are where Shaw has shows, but the mothership network? Nada. 

I expect more development/in production announcements soon-ish, given how thin things are looking like right now and rumours of shows in their last seasons. I also expect Canadian shows may be slotted in ad hoc as US cancellations force a hole in the precious simsub schedules. But when putting on a show for advertisers through upfronts and high season schedules, the private networks are still all about that U.S. product with little to no room for original productions.

There’s a persistent rumour that Canadian productions don’t bring in the Canadian advertising like a U.S. show does. Chicken? Egg? If the networks don’t value them as much, it becomes hard to argue that advertisers and audiences should.

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Industry News

Speech: Jean-Pierre Blais at the Banff World Media Festival

From a media release:

The new television age
Content is abundant in today’s television age. It’s available from countless sources, on countless devices, at any time of the day or night. Now more than ever, viewers control and customize their television experiences. Choice is the reality of this age. But that reality is not without challenges. The players in the traditional television system must adapt if they are to survive. Broadcasters and creators must find new ways to bring content to viewers as they move away from appointment-based viewing and toward on-demand consumption.

We at the CRTC were mindful of such changes, the pace with which they unfolded and the challenges they created. We’re not blind to the industry—despite what some occasionally say. It’s why, even as far back as the summer of 2013—at this very festival, no less—I told you a few truths about the broadcasting industry. Continue reading.

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Industry News

Movie Central’s Script to Screen call for submissions now open

From a media release:

Corus Entertainment’s Movie Central, along with the National Screen Institute – Canada (NSI), announces the call for submissions for the fourth year of Script to Screen. Script to Screen is a writer-oriented, feature script development program funded by Movie Central and delivered by NSI. The program selects gifted writers and helps shape their ideas from the early stages of development through to a polished, production-ready script with market appeal.

The call for submissions is now open to the first 200 complete applications. Up to five selected writers will receive a development advance of up to $50,000.

Interested applicants can apply now. Submissions are open to the first 200 complete applications. Visit http://www.nsi-canada.ca/courses/script-to-screen/ for more information.

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