From Bill Harris of QMI Agency:
From Scott Stinson of the National Post:
From Scott Stinson of the National Post:
From a media release:
BOMB GIRLS SEASON TWO ADDS POWERFUL AMMUNITION TO GLOBAL’S WINTER LINEUP
Last winter’s #1 new Canadian series is back! Global is proud to announce the highly anticipated return of Bomb Girls season two premiering on Wednesday, January 2 – 8pm ET/PT.
The critically acclaimed original miniseries was an instant hit from coast to coast when it debuted earlier this year, averaging 1.3 million viewers per episode on Global and becoming the highest rated drama in the country for its timeslot.
“We knew we had a success on our hands when 1.6 million viewers tuned into the premiere of Bomb Girls,” said Barb Williams, SVP, Content, Shaw Media. “Fans immediately embraced and connected with the little known story of these incredible Canadian women who worked in the munitions factories during World War II. The powerful drama has a lot more in store, and this is the perfect series to kick off the New Year on Global.”
Bomb Girls season two draws us into 1942, the crux of the war, and all of its vibrancy – with its music, fashion, romance and the thrill of being alive in dangerous times. For the first time, everyone at Victory Munitions must come face-to-face with the war as wounded soldiers return home, and there are casualties, foreigners, and hidden foes among them. There’s rationing, unholy alliances, and the ever-present danger of explosives. While each of the characters go through their own personal trials, they also know that the steadfast friendships forged on the frontlines of Victory Munitions means that someone will always have their back.
Academy Award®-nominee Meg Tilly (Agnes of God, The Big Chill) returns as the no-nonsense shift matron, Lorna Corbett; Jodi Balfour (The Sinking of the Laconia) as the spirited socialite-turned-bomb girl, Gladys Witham; Ali Liebert (Hellcats) as the tough yet vulnerable, Betty McRae and Charlotte Hegele (Murdoch Mysteries) as her best friend, Kate Andrews, who is still struggling to exist in this new world while fighting the demons from her past life. Anastasia Phillips (Skins) portrays Vera Burr, who is learning to live a life where her beauty is no longer the most outstanding asset and Antonio Cupo (American Mary) is back as the honourable Marco Moretti who continues to face the challenges of his Italian heritage at a time when Canada is at war with Italy.
Plus, Gemini Award-winner Michael Seater (Life with Derek) joins the cast this season as Ivan, a gregarious factory worker and the object of interest of the girls working the assembly line at Victory Munitions.
Season two will return with double the number of episodes. Currently in production in Toronto until December 11, the season boasts a slew of special guest appearances including Rosie O’Donnell, ET Canada’s Cheryl Hickey, George Stroumboulopoulos and soulful performances from JUNO-nominated artists, Royal Wood and Jill Barber.
An encore presentation of Bomb Girls season one currently airs Fridays at 9pm ET/PT on Global. The finale is scheduled for December 7 and will feature an exclusive sneak peek of the upcoming season two.
Bomb Girls is produced by Muse Entertainment and Back Alley Film Productions Limited in association with Shaw Media. The executive producers are Janis Lundman, Adrienne Mitchell, Michael Prupas and Michael MacLennan. Mitchell is director on the first two episodes and is co-showrunner of the series along with Michael MacLennan who is also head writer. The show is distributed worldwide by Muse Distribution International.
By Diane Wild of TV, eh?
Now that CBC has announced its winter season and other networks’ January premieres are starting to trickle in, it seems like a good time to look back at the hits and misses of Canadian television this fall. I’m picking three of each – feel free to add your own in the comments.
Flashpoint
It’s rare for a show to end on its own terms before microscopic viewing levels force cancellation, but Flashpoint’s producers decided to walk away after a long, successful five-year run, and the final season has been its most successful yet in terms of ratings. CTV is giving the much-loved series a big send-off with a two-part finale December 6 and 13, a screening in Toronto, an online chat and live after-show, and the opportunity for fans to win memorabilia. (P.S. watch for a special Flashpoint fundraising auction by the creators coming soon here, too.)
Murdoch Mysteries
One of the best feel-good news stories in Canadian TV this year – breaking a string of dismal news on cancellation after cancellation – was CBC reviving Murdoch Mysteries after its Citytv death. A surprising sequel to that happy news is the ratings season five has earned for CBC this fall – a season that had just completed a summer run on Citytv, yet in its replay is getting even more viewers. New episodes start on January 7, and my ratings expectations are high.
Citytv
I know, I know, they cancelled Murdoch Mysteries while the ratings were still good, but they did give it a five-season run, and after parent company Rogers launched FX Canada, Murdoch didn’t fit the brand anymore (“brand†in this case meaning shows that can be rerun in perpetuity across all of a company’s channels to begrudgingly fulfill Canadian content requirements.) And yes, Citytv inflicted The Bachelor Canada on us this fall. But they deserve some credit for having more scripted shows in the works than we’ve seen in a long time — Seed and Package Deal — and keeping that news coming over the fall. Yes, I’m giving them kudos for having two scripted series coming up. At least two is more than one.
Global
It’s hard to really argue with this strategy, but the network doesn’t even pretend it will send Canadian shows into battle with US fall premieres. Rookie Blue ended its season just in time to scoot out of the way. In this fall’s Friday Death Timeslots, with nothing else to simulcast, Global has been airing the scarcely promoted newsmagazine series 16×9 plus Bomb Girls reruns. Let’s hope in the future they will build on the success of Bomb Girls with more of their own content to spread thinly across all of parent company Shaw’s networks.
Strombo at 7
It seemed like a good idea at the time: move Canada’s Boyfriend earlier in the day where more viewers could date him. But 7 pm isn’t quite primetime either, and it turns out Strombo isn’t quite news-like or Coronation Street-like enough to thrive in that timeslot sandwich, and some of the show tweaks didn’t quite work for me, including the panel trying to be funny about random subjects. Ratings took a nosedive from the former Jeopardy/Wheel of Fortune heights … but at least Strombo is undeniably Canadian.
Over the Rainbow
Judging by my Twitter stream, the people who watched enjoyed the show. Judging by the ratings, not enough people watched. It’s the kind of show that shouldn’t be too expensive to produce so maybe it satisfied CBC’s expectations, but it was yet another reality show and no Battle of the Blades ratings-wise. Then again, how can you beat hockey players and figure skaters on Canadian television? The Dorothys didn’t do it.
So … what were your hits and misses in Canadian TV this fall?
