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Dramas and Comedies

The weird world of Kids in the Hall

From Sean O’Neal of AV Club:

10 episodes that take you inside the weird world of The Kids In The Hall
When The Kids In The Hall first premièred on HBO in 1989, it carried with it the pedigree—and the onus—of Saturday Night Live’s Lorne Michaels. His executive-producer stamp on the Canadian comedy troupe’s introduction to America, combined with the sense of lawlessness granted by ad-free cable, set the expectation that Kids would be SNL’s more rambunctious cousin, the Toronto farm team that played a bit rougher than the broadcast big leagues. But audiences who tuned in expecting a slightly dirtier SNL—a skewering of the zeitgeist with more swears and nudity—were probably baffled to find a surrealist sketch series unlike anything U.S. viewers were then used to, particularly if they’d never caught Monty Python’s Flying Circus reruns on PBS. Continue reading.

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Dramas and Comedies

Ruby Skye PI webseries picked up by CBC

10-ruby-skye

From a media release:

AWARD-WINNING DIGITAL SERIES, RUBY SKYE P.I. ENTERS MULTI-PLATFORM DEAL WITH CBC FOR WINTER 2014 BROADCAST AND DIGITAL PREMIERE

Series Eyes U.S. Expansion

Digital media producer Story 2.OH inks an exclusive multi- platform deal with CBC for the broadcast and digital premiere of multi-award-winning teen/tween detective mystery series, RUBY SKYE P.I. for winter 2014. From creator, Jill Golick and her Toronto- based production shingle Story 2.OH the new digital series eyes international expansion into the U.S, led by Seiffert Media Advisors, as the show enters production of its’ third season this fall.

Fast-paced and funny mystery series RUBY SKYE P.I. follows smart, stubborn, and quick-thinking, teenage detective Ruby Skye (Madison Cheeatow), as she finds her way into the middle of the most baffling mysteries. With reluctant help from tech-savvy sister Hailey (Marlee Maslove), Ruby often lands in hot water before finding herself en route to a magnificent solution.

“CBC is quickly emerging as a front-runner in digital innovation,” says Kim Wilson, Creative Head of Children’s and Youth Programming. “We’re proud to be contributing to innovative new multi-platform initiatives with the incorporation of web-based series Ruby Skye P.I. to Kids’ CBC.”

The entire series will premiere online at Kids’ CBC in winter 2014, followed by broadcasts on CBC-TV. Between episodes, the audience can participate online through a host of activities, allowing viewers to solve the mystery along with trusted sleuth Ruby. The CBC multi-platform deal acts as a catalyst for the series overarching strategy to build RUBY SKYE P.I. into a valuable international cross-platform franchise.

“The sky is the limit for Ruby,” says Jill Golick, creator of Ruby Skye P.I. “We are thrilled to be partnering with CBC, and with a robust audience including over 2.5 million views and thousands of fans, Ruby is ready to go international, across multiple digital platforms.”

“Ruby Skye represents premium video content at its best,” said Alan Seiffert, President of Seiffert Media Advisors. “Teens and parents demand authentic, smart, and fun stories, and they want to access them across all media platforms. Ruby Skye P.I. delivers on all counts, and we are excited about bringing this ground-breaking series to U.S. television and digital screens next year.”

Ruby Skye P.I. is produced by Story 2.OH and was created by interactive storyteller, Jill Golick. Janice Dawe, Swing Media, joins the series in Season 3 as an Executive Producer. The series is produced with the participation of The Independent Production Fund (IPF) and made possible with the support of The Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC). Ruby Skye P.I. is the recipient of numerous awards, including a Banff “Rockie;” a Parent’s Choice Silver Honour; Youth Media Alliance Award of Excellence; Writers Guild of Canada Screenwriting Award; the New York Television Festival’s Best Family Pilot and the 2013 LAWebFest’s Grand Jury Prize.

Get more Ruby Skye P.I. online at:

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Amazing Race Canada, Dramas and Comedies, Featured, Industry News, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary, Satisfaction

Industry Update – CTV/Bell Media 2013 Upfront

ctv13-09

CTV/Bell Media’s “Amazing” 2013 upfront was held at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, in Toronto, Ontario. It was the third straight year the upfronts were held there. The press conferences were, as always, held at Bell Media’s home offices at 299 Queen Street West.

CTV expanded the number of press conferences this year, from six to seven. The Canadian originals – The Amazing Race Canada and Satisfaction – came first. CTV’s press conferences are largely a showcase for new imported programs. This year featured ABC’s The Goldbergs, CBS’ Intelligence (this one’s about a microchip-enhanced operative — it looks silly), CBS’ Hostages, and syndicated talk show Bethenny. Fox’s The Following rounded out the bill, as the “returning favourite.”

Bell Media’s upfront presentation was fairly straightforward. It was the longest of the Big Three upfronts, at ninety-plus minutes. For its length, it didn’t have much to say beyond the standard talking points. I assume this was by design. Bell Media formally welcomed Astral Media into its family in 2012, barring “little things” like CRTC regulations…that were actually acted upon. For 2013, Bell showcased what they actually owned.

Bell Media dialed back the hubris, compared to last year. The only hint of the Bell-Astral deal was the announced Bravo GO multi-screen initiative. Mostly, Bell showcased supporting players from its American imports, as well as stars from its Canadian shows.

The clips for Canadian shows were blended with the clips for American shows, so CTV wasn’t shoving its original content into a cultural ghetto. CTV took pride of place in Bell Media’s hierarchy, with CTV Two announcing The Big Bang Theory…in syndicated weekday rerun form. Anger Management and Hot in Cleveland — six nights a week of Hot in Cleveland were also patched into CTV Two, as well as six nights a week of Mike & Molly. It’s obvious CTV Two is the home of shows CTV doesn’t want to lose to CHCH.

Cirque du Soleil topped and tailed the upfront presentation. Castmembers from Saving Hope, The Listener, Orphan Black, The Amazing Race Canada and Motive were on hand for pictures during the afterparty.

There’s a commercial element to this, of course. Bell Media runs a joint venture with Cirque du Soleil. Bell wants The Amazing Race Canada to be a hit for CTV. Motive, The Listener and Saving Hope are hits for CTV. Orphan Black does well on SPACE, and on BBC America.

One thing that bothered me about the 2013 CTV/Bell Media upfront: I was told I couldn’t take pictures of the presentation, the afterparty, or the tweets (including one of mine) that cycled during the upfronts. Come the afterparty, the tweet cycle included pictures of both events. Many of the pictures were of a giant birdcage, with Cirque du Soleil performers inside.

Bell Media showcased afterparty tweets — a few from accredited press members – as part of the afterparty. I’m not criticizing Bell Media; I just found the miscommunication strange. Bell Media announced a relationship with Twitter Canada as part of the upfront. Ad buyers were no doubt going to tweet about the cage, and Jon Montgomery handing CTV Programming and Sports executive Phil King a beer pitcher.

As for The Social, I didn’t find its sales pitch that strong. It came across to me as The View, with social media elements. That’s a thin premise to hang a talk show on. Perhaps The Social will make more sense once it airs. If the chemistry between the four hosts aren’t there, Twitter AMPLIFY content won’t make up the difference.

I didn’t mind the CTV/Bell Media 2013 upfront. Bell Media is still slow to embrace video-on-demand, but it has a better overall grasp of how to handle its Canadian content. Whether it follows through on a statement to make more Canadian content remains to be seen.

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Dramas and Comedies

The human drama of Blackstone

JohnCassini

From Etan Vlessing of Playback:

Blackstone and the puzzle of Canadian drama authenticity
John Cassini recalls his first day playing a detective in Blackstone, the APTN drama about the darker side of a First Nations reserve. The Vancouver actor, who played cops in earlier Canadian dramas like Intelligence, Shattered and DaVinci’s Inquest, asked on set whether his detective badge should be pinned on, flashed or just left hanging on his belt to let everyone know he’s laying down the law. “They chuckled and then told me a white guy on a reserve and in a suit – everyone knows you’re a cop,” Cassini recalls. Continue reading.

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Dramas and Comedies, Featured, Industry News, Package Deal, Seed

Industry Update – Rogers Media/City 2013 Upfront

MotherUp

Rogers Media’s 2013 upfront was held June 4, 2013, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Before the upfront, Rogers announced the renewal of Seed, as well as the rescheduling of Package Deal to fall 2013. This stuff you already know, so I won’t waste time typing about it.

The interviews started shortly after 2:30 PM ET. Surprisingly, five of the seven interview segments focused on Canadian shows. Seed and Package Deal featured cast interviews, though a majority of Seed‘s questions were answered by executive producer Mark Farrell and star Adam Korson. Eva Longoria was on hand for Mother Up! Also interviewed were the cast of OLN/City’s Storage Wars Canada, and Ray Zahab from OLN/City’s The Project: Guatemala. Rounding out the bill were James Wolk from The Crazy Ones, and Lauren Ash from Super Fun Night.

The Score, which joined the Sportsnet family as soon as the CRTC approved Rogers’ takeover of the channel, will become Sportsnet 360 on July 1. This doesn’t mean The Score is dead – the website and mobile businesses Score Digital owns still carry The Score’s lineage, and name.

Rogers promised Sportsnet 360 would retain The Score’s personality, and I hope Sportsnet 360 makes the cut. I just hope it doesn’t become a clearinghouse for Sportsnet 590 The Fan simulcasts. It’s nice Tim Micallef and Sid Seixeiro are back on The Score/Sportsnet 360, but the Tim and Sid simulcast is there for three hours of easy weekday CanCon.

The Rogers upfront presentation was typical of its kind: a rundown of Rogers’ properties, with a visible countdown displaying the number of minutes until free bar access. The most genuine surprise was two performances by Tegan and Sara, in service of City obtaining Canadian broadcast rights to the Grammy Awards. Professional wrestler Ron Killings (d/b/a WWE’s R-Truth) and IZOD IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe shepherded The Score into the Sportsnet family.

Rogers was especially interested in Mother Up!, showing unfinished and behind-the-scenes clips of the show during the upfront presentation. The clips were rough – backgrounds weren’t cleaned up and painted in. It struck me as odd to showcase Mother Up! in beta mode, yet it’s obvious Rogers has high hopes for it. Package Deal clips were also screened, while Breakfast Television formally announced a Montreal edition with a “surprising” host.

One notable thing about City’s 2013-14 fall schedule is the return of Great Canadian Movies, which will air Saturday at 9:00 PM ET, after an “encore presentation” of The Project: Guatemala. The Canadian movie block was temporarily retired in 2012-13, in favour of The Bachelor Canada, Less Than Kind and Murdoch Mysteries “encores”.

The Rogers upfront promoted OMNI’s Bollywood Star. Mohawk Girls, an APTN/OMNI series, wasn’t mentioned. It was a curious omission. CityNews Channel’s immediate termination last week was also ignored. Granted, upfronts deal in “happy news” moments, and don’t focus on the failures. I would have liked to see Rogers mention CityNews Channel; it was an integral part of Rogers’ 2011 upfront.

To promote Storage Wars Canada during the free bar, advertisers were handed “Rogers Cash”. The completion of activities – e.g., having a caricature drawn at the Mother Up! booth, playing a racing simulation and/or meeting R-Truth at the Sportsnet 360 booth, getting a Cityline beauty makeover – allowed participants to earn more “Rogers Cash”. It was a departure from standard protocol – Canadian television upfronts don’t usually have a gaming element. This was mainly for the advertisers’ amusement, but it was effective enough promotion.

In the end, Rogers Media had a relatively modest 2013 upfront, even though it was more lavish than the 2012 upfront. While not much actual news was offered, at least Rogers didn’t oversell itself. The countdown-to-free-bar display was a bit much, though.

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