Everything about Big Brother Canada, eh?

Big Brother Canada

Big Brother Canada opens Season 3 casting

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BigBrotherCA Logo on White

From a media release:

Following a record-breaking sophomore season, Big Brother Canada is gearing up for its national casting call for season three, airing on Global in 2015. Canadians 19 years of age and older can apply online at BigBrotherCanada.ca beginning today, and in person this fall at open casting calls across Canada. The online submission deadline is November 24, 2014.

“Our Canadian edition of the beloved Big Brother franchise has quickly become one of the most acclaimed productions in the world and with its move to Global this year, Big Brother Canada’s third installment is looking for the biggest, boldest personalities in Canada to entertain our audiences three nights a week on-air and 24/7 online,” said Barbara Williams, Senior Vice President of Content, Shaw Media.

Big Brother Canada is looking for Canucks from all corners of the country; from superfans and strategists to drama kings and queens. As part of Endemol’s worldwide hit franchise, Big Brother Canada’s secret recipe for raucous reality is in its eclectic crew of houseguests. They boldly compete for a grand cash prize through a gruelling series of weekly challenges that test both brain and brawn.

“Big Brother Canada season two was a blockbuster for the franchise with a perfect storm of personalities pitted against each other inside the Big Brother house and cut off from the outside world,” said John Brunton, Chairman & CEO, Insight Production Company Ltd. “The bar has once again been raised and we know our BBCAN Superfans will bring their A-Game to the casting calls this year.”

Those interested in applying can either apply online at BigBrotherCanada.ca with a short video about why they would make the perfect houseguest, or in person at open casting calls throughout October and November. Applicants must be 19 years of age by March 1, 2015. Additional information about the casting calls in select cities will be released in the coming months.

Open casting calls will be held in the following cities:

Vancouver, British Columbia – Sunday, October 19

Calgary, Alberta – Sunday, October 19

Regina, Saskatchewan – Friday, October 24

Halifax, Nova Scotia – Friday, October 24

St. John’s, Newfoundland – Wednesday, October 29

Montréal, Québec – Thursday, October 30

Toronto, Ontario – Sunday, November 23

Coming exclusively to Global in spring 2015, Big Brother Canada season three plucks a group of hand-picked strangers from their homes, sequesters them from the outside world, and places them inside a house outfitted wall-to-wall with cameras and microphones that capture their every move. Each week the houseguests compete in a series of challenges that give the houseguests power or punishment, voting each other out until the fate of the final two is decided by a jury of fellow houseguests.

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Big Brother Canada

Big Brother Canada announces casting call

From a media release:

CALLING ALL FANS: BIG BROTHER CANADA SEASON TWO NATIONAL CASTING CALL NOW OPEN

  • Returns Winter 2014 on Slice

Hot on the heels of the epic first season of Big Brother Canada, the country’s biggest specialty reality series of the year, Shaw Media and Insight Productions announced today that the national casting call for season two is now open. Canadians 19 years and older are invited to apply online at www.bigbrothercanada.ca and this fall in person at open casting calls in select cities across Canada. The submission deadline is October 25, 2013.

Big Brother Canada is looking for all interested Canadians – strategists, wall flowers, drama queens, nerds and dreamers and schemers alike are all encouraged to apply. For all those keen to live in a house stacked with big personalities, big competition and hundreds of cameras and microphones catching your every move, Big Brother Canada wants to hear from you.

Applicants can either apply online at www.bigbrothercanada.ca with the option to include a short video expressing why they should be chosen to live in the Big Brother Canada house, in person at open casting calls throughout September and October, or can opt to do both. Additional information about the casting calls in select cities will be released in the coming months.

Open casting calls will be held in the following cities:

Vancouver, British Columbia – September 8 at Metropolis at Metrotown

Edmonton, Alberta – September 14 at West Edmonton Mall

Halifax, Nova Scotia – September 20 at Halifax Shopping Centre

St. John’s, Newfoundland – September 21 at Sheraton Hotel Newfoundland

Montreal, Quebec – September 27 at Le Centre Montreal Sheraton

Toronto, Ontario – October 19 at John Bassett Theatre

Coming exclusively to Slice in winter 2014, Big Brother Canada Season Two will hand pick a diverse group of houseguests to live in the Big Brother Canada house outfitted wall to wall with cameras and microphones to capture all the action. Each week the houseguests will compete in a series of challenges and vote each other out until one claims victory and takes home the grand prize.

Fans can catch Big Brother 15 Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays on Global and Big Brother After Dark seven days a week from 4-6am ET on Slice.

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Big Brother Canada, Featured, Top Chef Canada

The trend: Reality Show X Canada

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BBC

By Graeme Stewart

Shaw Media’s 2013/14 slates includes a robust line-up of both new and original Canadian series for the upcoming broadcast year. What’s become abundantly clear over the last few years is that Canadian television is embracing reality content in a big way. Obvious renewals for shows like Big Brother Canada and Top Chef Canada rounded out a list that also included several auction shows and some new scripted series. Bell has ordered Masterchef Canada. While it’s great to see a healthy amount of Canadian shows getting the green light, I can’t help feeling a little underwhelmed by the orders.

The slew of reality television set to hit Canadian airwaves this year is understandable – the selected shows are low-cost, high-reward concepts that can easily translate across international borders. The problem, however, is that this focus takes us away from where we should be as a country that prides itself on our culture. Furthermore, it compounds the Canadian television industry’s reputation as significantly risk-averse.

The merits of reality television have been debated in the North American media since Survivor, itself a Swedish import, debuted in 1997 on CBS. I can’t argue against the economic choice to develop a higher reality slate. Import or otherwise these programs have a proven ability to draw in audiences, advertising, and are cheaply produced. I can also see the narrative value inherent in a cross country collection of characters of ranging absurdity. It can be a pleasure to step out of your respective province and watch a young Montreal chef competing against the best of the country in Top Chef Canada, or a Calgary cowboy playing Godfather against a Nova Scotian schoolteacher and Toronto drag-queen in Big Brother Canada. The entertainment value is high, and we’ve proven that Canadian reality TV can be just as exciting and engaging as the content produced by our Southern neighbours.

These shows have proven themselves as guaranteed hits time and time again across all borders. The problem, then, lies in the lack of new ideas and concepts we see from our Canadian broadcasters. With international co-productions like Orphan Black and Vikings adding a heightened level of production value, writing, and acting to Canadian line-ups, is there anyone seriously asking for Storage Wars Canada?

Every show can’t be a hit. The bottled lightning combination of Orphan Black‘s international success, high-concept creativity, and critical acclaim, for instance, is rare and difficult to match. Shows like this should inspire confidence and the willingness to pursue a raised bar. They should stand in stark defiance of the easy to produce reality imports that are, at their worst, now serving as crutches to round out Canadian content.

The Golden Age of Television has largely bypassed the Canadian market, but unnecessarily so. I hope that with next year’s network slates the bar is raised a little higher than a collection of low-concept reality shows, and that the original content we can look forward to is slightly elevated beyond hospital, legal, and cop procedurals. It’s time we take ownership of the storytelling potential our nation holds in great reserves, and to translate that potential into shows that demand attention and can join the upper echelon of television production.

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Big Brother Canada, Continuum, Top Chef Canada

Shaw announces renewals including Continuum, Big Brother Canada, Top Chef Canada

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From a media release:

Record-Breaking Original Series Big Brother Canada, Vikings, Continuum, Top Chef Canada and Yukon Gold Return with New Seasons

  • Over 600 Hours of Canadian Original Specialty Programming

Following a record breaking season on one of Canada’s hottest entertainment destinations, Slice has renewed Big Brother Canada, the number one specialty reality series of the year, for a second season.

From Lost and Sold, the unclaimed goods auction series, to tapping into the fascinating world of collecting in Extreme Collectors, Slice brings viewers a range of new original series chock-full of drama, comedy and the deliciously unexpected.

Showcase is excited to announce that the channel’s number one original series Continuum has been greenlit for a third season.

As well, the Canadian original crime drama Copper returns with a powerhouse lineup of guest stars, including Emmy® and Golden Globe®-winning actress Alfre Woodward, Billy Baldwin and Donal Logue.

Viewers can also look forward to new seasons of Showcase’s top-rated original series Lost Girl, Beauty and the Beast and Haven.

In a year that saw it claim eight of the top 20 specialty entertainment programs2, HISTORY® upheld its position as Canada’s number one specialty entertainment channel. This fall, Canadian Restorers introduces viewers to another group of larger-than-life Canadian characters: the employees of The Guild. HISTORY recognizes the 20th anniversary of Canada’s mission to Sarajevo with the insider documentary Sector Sarajevo. Returning in 2014 are Vikings, this year’s number one specialty entertainment drama, and Yukon Gold, HISTORY’s number one Canadian documentary series this year.

On the heels of another successful season of Top Chef Canada, Food Network Canada has announced the return of its number one series of all time for a fourth season4. Chopped Canada makes its highly anticipated debut to the network in 2014, bringing the hugely popular US format to Canada with host Dean McDermott (winner of Rachael vs. Guy’s Celebrity Cook-Off season two). Coming this fall are brand-new series Cutthroat Kitchen, taking the average cooking competition further than it’s ever gone before, and Guy & Rachael’s Kids Cook-Off, starring Guy Fieri, Rachael Ray and the most adorable competitors ever!

HGTV Canada’s biggest celebrities are packing the schedule this fall with new seasons of Holmes Makes It Right with Mike Holmes, Leave It To Bryan with Bryan Baeumler, Income Property with Scott McGillivray, and also brand-new series Real Potential with Sarah Richardson and Undercover Overhaul with the Cousins starring the hugely popular Anthony Carrino and John Colaneri. The channel’s number one series two years running, Canada’s Handyman Challenge, returns with judges Bryan Baeumler, Scott McGillivray and Paul Lafrance.

Experiencing a year of incredible growth, National Geographic Canada landed as a top 15 specialty channel, achieving an all-time audience high and its best season ever1. This fall, Canadians can play along with Brain Games host Jason Silva as he delves deep into the human brain.

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Big Brother Canada, Ratings, Vikings

Vikings and Big Brother Canada among top specialty programs

From a media release:

SHAW MEDIA SPECIALTY CHANNELS REIGN OVER THE COMPETITION

  • Home of Canada’s top 5 specialty entertainment programs of the broadcast year including VIKINGS
  • Shaw Media owns dominant share of top 10/20 ranked specialty channels

Shaw Media’s specialty channels are experiencing a record season, outperforming the competition in multiple demos and dominating the country’s television landscape. With an industry leading growth of 9% (vs Fall 2012**), Shaw Media owns four of the Top 10 and eight of the Top 20 specialty channels and has a complete lock on the top five specialty entertainment programs. In addition, National Geographic Canada, Slice™, Food Network Canada and Action, each achieved all-time audience highs in their best seasons ever (A25-54*).

Shaw Media owned the three biggest premieres of the year, with viewers flocking to HISTORY for The Bible and VIKINGS, and to Sliceâ„¢ for Big Brother Canada. The series dominate the top five entertainment specialty programs for the year across Adults 25-54 and Women 25-54****. VIKINGS currently reigns as the number one specialty drama of the broadcast year and Big Brother Canada comes in as the number one reality series of the year across specialty****.

*–Source: BBM Canada Meter data, Total Canada, 12/31/12 – 4/21/13 (some data unconfirmed)
**–Source: All data is based on English Specialty stations, Total Canada audiences, M-Su 2a-2a, BBM Canada PPM Data. Dates = Spr’12 (Jan2-May27/12), Fall’12 (Aug27-Dec30/12), Spr’13 (Dec31/12-Apr22/13)
***–Source: BBM Canada, PPM data 4/15/13
**** Source: BBM Canada PPM data, 8/27/12-4/21/13

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