Everything about Caught, eh?

CBC announces midseason schedule; plus Workin’ Moms special episode images

From a media release:

CBC, Canada’s public broadcaster and the number-one media brand in Canada,* today announced premiere dates for its winter 2018 season, featuring a uniquely Canadian slate of new and returning original series.

New additions to CBC’s primetime schedule this winter include legal drama BURDEN OF TRUTH (10×60) premiering Wed. Jan. 10, starring Kristin Kreuk as a big city lawyer who returns to her hometown to take on what she thinks is a simple case; THE DETECTIVES (8×60), a true crime series that brings to life the real investigations of Canadian detectives, premiering Wed. Jan. 10; Allan Hawco’s new drama CAUGHT (5×60) premiering Mon. Feb. 26, adapted from Lisa Moore’s acclaimed novel set in 1978 about a convicted drug dealer who attempts one more deal after a daring prison break, also starring Eric Johnson and Paul Gross; and dark comedy LITTLE DOG (7×30) from 2017 Governor General’s Literary Award-winner, musician and actor Joel Thomas Hynes, which tells the story of a super-welterweight Newfoundland boxer and his haphazard quest for redemption, premiering Thurs. Mar. 1.

All episodes of Mike Clattenburg and Mike O’Neill’s dysfunctional family comedy CRAWFORD (12×30), featuring an ensemble cast led by Jill Hennessy, John Carroll Lynch and Kyle Mac, will begin streaming on Groundhog Day, Fri. Feb. 2, for binge-viewing on the CBC TV app and cbc.ca/watch. The series will also broadcast on CBC in summer 2018.

CBC’s popular Tuesday night original comedy lineup continues on Jan. 9, with the return of the Roses as they continue to make the most of life in SCHITT’S CREEK (Season 4, 13×30), from co-creators Eugene Levy and Daniel Levy with Catherine O’Hara, Annie Murphy, Chris Elliott, Jennifer Robertson and Emily Hampshire. Catherine Reitman’s boldly irreverent comedy WORKIN’ MOMS (Season 2, 13×30) is also back for the “terrible twos” on Jan. 9, and a special flashback episode with guest star Jann Arden will air on Tues. Dec. 19 at 9:30 p.m. (10 NT) ahead of the Season 2 premiere, featuring a look back at Kate (Reitman) and her best friend Anne (Dani Kind) before marriage and motherhood.

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HELLO GOODBYE (Season 3, 9×30) returns on Jan. 12 with host Dale Curd, featuring a new season of emotional airport greetings and goodbyes.

CBC will also feature the Canadian broadcast premiere of BAFTA-nominated Irish miniseries THE SECRET (4×60) on Thurs. Jan. 11, based on a true story and centred around the deadly affair between a dentist and a teacher in Northern Ireland, starring James Nesbitt and Genevieve O’Reilly.

From Feb. 9 to 25, CBC will showcase the OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES PYEONGCHANG 2018. In the lead up to the Games, CBC SPORTS will connect Canadians with high-performance athletes from Canada and around the world as ROAD TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES continues each weekend.

CBC’s winter 2018 schedule is as follows.
All series will also be available to stream on the CBC TV app and at cbc.ca/watch.

SUNDAYS
Daytime – Road to the Olympic Games *Season 3 continues each weekend
5 p.m. (6 NT) – The Wonderful World of Disney
7 p.m. (7:30 NT) – Heartland *Season 11 continues Jan. 7
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) – The Nature of Things *Season 57 continues Jan. 7
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) – CBC Docs POV *Season 4 continues Jan. 7
10 p.m. (10:30 NT) – The National (Sunday to Friday)

MONDAYS
2 p.m. (2:30 NT) – The Goods *(Monday to Friday)
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) – Murdoch Mysteries *Season 11 continues Jan. 8
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) – Frankie Drake Mysteries *Debut season continues Jan. 8
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) – Caught *NEW ORIGINAL SERIES premieres Feb. 26

TUESDAYS
8:00 p.m. (9:30 NT) – Rick Mercer Report *Season 15 (final season) continues Jan. 9
8:30 p.m. (9 NT) – This Hour Has 22 Minutes *Season 25 continues Jan. 9, Baroness von Sketch Show’s Meredith MacNeill joins as correspondent
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — Schitt’s Creek *Season 4 premieres Jan. 9
9:30 p.m. (10 NT) – Workin’ Moms *Season 2 premieres Jan. 9

WEDNESDAYS
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) – Burden of Truth *NEW ORIGINAL SERIES premieres Jan. 10
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) – The Detectives *NEW ORIGINAL SERIES premieres Jan. 10

THURSDAYS
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) – Dragons’ Den *Season 12 continues Jan. 11
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) – The Secret *NEW SERIES* premieres Jan .11
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — Little Dog *NEW ORIGINAL SERIES premieres Mar. 1

FRIDAYS
Crawford *NEW ORIGINAL SERIES begins streaming Feb. 2
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) – Marketplace *Season 45 continues Jan. 12
8:30 p.m. (9 NT) – Hello Goodbye *Season 3 premieres Jan. 12
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) – The Fifth Estate *Season 43 continues Jan.12

SATURDAYS
Daytime – Road to the Olympic Games *Season 3 continues each weekend
6:30 p.m. ET – Hockey Night in Canada

 

 

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Production begins on new CBC original drama series Caught starring Allan Hawco and Paul Gross

From a media release:

Take The Shot Productions announced the start of production of the new CBC original drama series CAUGHT, which will premiere in winter 2018 on CBC, as announced at the public broadcaster’s 2017-18 season preview launch last week. Starring Allan Hawco (who will play David Slaney) and Paul Gross (playing Patterson) and produced by Take The Shot Productions, filming kicked off this week in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Executive producers include Allan Hawco, Perry Chafe, John Vatcher, Alex Patrick, Peter Blackie, Rob Blackie and Michael Levine. The series is written by Allan Hawco along with John Krizanc, Adriana Maggs, and Julia Cohen. It will be directed by TJ Scott and John Vatcher. CAUGHT is adapted from Canadian author Lisa Moore’s acclaimed novel of the same name (published by House of Anansi Press), which was shortlisted for the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize and the Scotiabank Giller Prize and selected as an Amazon.ca Best Book and for The Globe 100 Books in 2013.

CAUGHT is a new series set in 1978. Locked up after a drug deal goes wrong, David Slaney (Hawco) makes a daring break from a New Brunswick prison to attempt one more deal with his former partner (Eric Johnson) – all this with a dogmatic police officer, Patterson (Paul Gross), at his heels. It’s Slaney’s last chance at freedom – but in this tale of bravado and betrayal, nothing is what it seems and no one can be trusted.

CAUGHT stars Allan Hawco (Republic of Doyle, Frontier, The Book of Negroes), Paul Gross (Alias Grace, Hyena Road, Passchendaele), Tori Anderson (Open Heart, No Tomorrow), Eric Johnson (Fifty Shades Darker, The Knick), Charlotte Sullivan (Chicago Fire, Disappearance), Greg Bryk (Bitten, Frontier) and Enuka Okuma (Rookie Blue, Battle of Sexes).

ABOUT TAKE THE SHOT PRODUCTIONS
Take The Shot Productions Inc. has developed and produced award winning content which has garnered critical and commercial success, both domestically and globally. Based in St John’s Newfoundland, TTS produces a variety of both scripted and unscripted projects for television. Past productions include award nominated series Republic of Doyle on CBC and Discovery Canada/Netflix Worldwide Original Series Frontier, starring Game of Thrones and Aquaman’s Jason Momoa. Frontier will be returning for Season 2 in 2017. Other projects have included the hot factual series Majumder Manor, Boy on Bridge featuring Great Big Sea frontman Alan Doyle, HBO Canada’s Shaun Majumder, and Every Word is Absolutely True.

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Comments and queries for the week of June 3

From our mailbag:

Cardinal

All these media releases keep saying Cardinal is CTV’s first ever serialized drama – huh?

References to that six-part murder mystery as “CTV’s first-ever original serialized drama” popped up in CTV’s announcement this week about The Disappearance, which they were billing as their second-ever serialized drama. People with long memories cited 1973’s Starlost as likely the first serialized original drama on the network, with later contenders including Would Be Kings, Associates, Whistler, The City (aka Flesh and Blood) and Power Play. After my inquiry, CTV adjusted the media release on their website to say that Cardinal and The Disappearance are the  first- and second-ever limited run original serialized dramas.  Would Be Kings was a two-part miniseries they’re not including in the definition of “limited run”, but I’ve simply deleted the reference in the media release as published on this site.


Caught/The Council 

Just realized CBC didn’t mention “Caught” in their latest press release about the new season. I wonder what’s up? 

As our questioner saw immediately after tweeting us, Allan Hawco, the star and producer, tweeted that the show will be delayed from the winter 2017 time period originally announced. The Council is another show missing from CBC’s recent season media release, and was originally announced as a fall 2016 newcomer. CBC’s Sally Catto explained that Caught was caught in a financing issue, while The Council has been delayed because of climate and location issues — it was being filmed in Iqaluit and Manitoba.

I think the climate excuse is a crock. The north is the north and the show needs to adapt to what they are given.

Sure, but a few points to consider …

  • Sally Catto was candid about financial issues on Caught, though she could have made a generic comment about production delays for both shows.
  • The originally announced time from greenlight to air was fast in Canadian TV terms.
  • The logistics of shipping everything up to a place that doesn’t have a TV industry infrastructure and that has a very short filming window are not exactly easy (for example Arctic Air had its own short-window issues filming in Yellowknife which isn’t as remote as Iqaluit). It’s not hard for me to believe they ran into location scouting, crewing, shipping, etc. issues and didn’t want to rush the show to air to meet a self-imposed deadline.

We may never know if there were other issues involved as well, but I don’t have any problem believing climate and location was a big one. I also think it’s admirable they want to shoot in the place the series is set rather than faking the Arctic around Vancouver.


Sensitive Skin

Who plays David (silver-haired man) in tonight’s episode of Sensitive Skin (season 2 episode 2, May 29, 2016)? Thanks.

Guest starring in that Kim Cattrall series is Hamilton-born, Edmonton-raised Rick Roberts (pictured above), who also has a starring role in CBC’s This Life (which returns for a second season Sundays this fall). He’s had a long and varied career in Canada and the US so he might look familiar from Republic of Doyle, Traders, Jack (the Jack Layton TV movie), Pontypool or a number of other roles — not always with that distinctive silver hair, of course.


Private Eyes

This seems good, but it just reminds me a bit too much of Republic of Doyle, don’t you think? I didn’t know it was inspired by a book though, so it might be just a coincidence, but I don’t know …

I think if you watch the show you’ll see it has a similar tone to Republic of Doyle but it’s far from a carbon copy.  Given the CBC series isn’t coming back, its fans might find this one scratching a similar itch, though. It’s worth noting that wisecracking detective/cop shows are not rare, especially in Canada — no reason to think there’s a copycat situation going on here.


Wipeout Canada

Just curious how to become an applicant for the show Wipeout Canada.

The show had its first and only season in 2011 on the now-defunct TVropolis channel, so the short answer is you can’t. Actually that’s the long answer too, since even the longer-running U.S. version is now off the air.

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The mystery of CBC’s disappearing The Council and Caught

Absent from CBC’s recently announced 2016/17 season were two previously announced series, The Council and Caught.

Playback quoted Sally Catto, general manager of programming at CBC, as saying The Council has been pushed back to fall of 2017 for “location and climate-related reasons” (the series was to be shot in Iqaluit and Manitoba), while Caught is delayed because of a financing issue. While it is still going ahead, she can’t provide a new air date yet.

The Council was originally announced for fall 2016. From showrunner René Balcer (Law & Order: Criminal Intent), the series “is set against the unfolding drama of our changing planet and draws inspiration from the true-to-life fight over the vast and valuable resources of the Arctic. The series traces the journey of two cops who uncover a small-town murder that is at the heart of a global conspiracy.”

Caught is the adaptation of a Lisa Moore novel originally announced for winter 2017, to be co-produced by Republic of Doyle’s Allan Hawco, who will also star. Caught is set in 1978 and follows a young man who was caught smuggling drugs to Newfoundland. After spending five years in prison, he breaks out in order to do one last drug run in a futile attempt to shake off his past and set himself up for life. Slaney embarks on a cross-country adventure filled with fascinating characters and close calls. ”

In response to fan reaction on Twitter, Hawco responded:

 

 

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