Her Internet connection might be spotty, but judge Kyla Kennaley’s connection to the home bakers on The Great Canadian Baking Show isn’t. Kennaley, who is currently overseas in London, recently chatted with us online (via a persnickety connection) to talk about the newest season of CBC’s Sunday night confection.
Returning Sunday at 8 p.m., a new batch of 10 amateur bakers descended on the show’s tent to compete in weekly baking challenges under the gaze of judges Kennaley and Bruno Feldeisen, and new hosts Alan Shane Lewis and Ann Pornel. We dished with Kyla Kennaley on Baking Show, a resurgence of baking during the pandemic and her take on a controversial classic cake.
Before we talk about The Great Canadian Baking Show, what’s it been like to see so many people starting to bake during the pandemic? Kyla Kennaley: I love it. I love that friends that I have kept in touch with loosely on Facebook since high school are sending me direct messages saying, ‘I’m feeding my sourdough starter, what do I do next?’ I love the engagement and that it’s connecting people.
What’s your take on Alan and Ann, the new hosts on the show? KK: In Season 3, I thought I laughed more than I ever had in my life. And this year I learned, ‘No, there is another level.’ My only exercise is laughing and it kept me slim. They are hilarious and so engaged … and Alan is so tall. [Laughs.]
I’m always blown away by what the home bakers can do, and judging by what I’ve seen of Season 4, they are at another level. KK: It’s phenomenal how talented the home bakers are. I had the luxury of a 2,000-square foot production kitchen and everything that I needed and I look at what they are doing in their homes and it blows my mind. The competition was tighter and I think it shows. They are constantly improving.
Do all of the home bakers come in with fully-formed recipes prepared? I assume they do, but that’s never expressly said during the show. KK: Yes, and from what I understand they have to have their own version of the recipes. That’s a very important part of the show because it’s what it’s all about, and so the team can source their ingredients.
So, I think it’s apropos that, in a very difficult time, what it’s like to look around for ingredients. I’ve never, in my life, gone into a grocery store like I have this year and said, ‘Oh my gosh, there is no baking soda!’
Flavour-wise, I’m a lemon girl. Give me a lemon cake any day!
The Great Canadian Baking Show airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on CBC.
CBC today revealed the ten amateur bakers who will compete in the upcoming fourth season of THE GREAT CANADIAN BAKING SHOW, premiering Sunday, February 14 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) on CBC and the free CBC Gem streaming service. Over the course of eight episodes, this group of diverse and talented bakers from across the country will don their aprons and head into the iconic tent to face a number of classic culinary-themed challenges that will test their baking prowess, creativity and skill in an effort to win The Great Canadian Baking Show title.
As previously announced, Season 4 of the fan favourite series will be hosted by comedians, actors, writers and Second City alumni Alan Shane Lewis and Ann Pornel. Esteemed pastry chefs Bruno Feldeisen and Kyla Kennaley return to the judge’s table to sample the bakers’ best offerings. The new season was filmed safely last fall on the grounds of the Canadian Film Centre in Toronto adhering to strict COVID-19 protocols.
Based on the beloved British format, each episode features three rounds including the Signature Bake, the Technical Bake and the Show Stopper – during which the bakers will rely on their personal interests, baking styles and cultural backgrounds to make their delicious dishes stand out to the judges. After the bakes are tested and critiqued, the judges decide who will be the week’s Star Baker and who will be sent home. In the final episode, the remaining three bakers face-off in a bid to be named Canada’s best amateur baker.
Following the pandemic-fuelled home baking craze, Season 4 applications reached record-breaking numbers for the series. The Canada-wide virtual casting sessions were rigorous, but these ten bakers met the challenge and came out on top:
Anjali Helferty, 36, a recent PhD grad from Toronto, ON
Bertie Diaz, 54, a corporate travel agent from Toronto, ON
Larry Harris, 53, a business operations manager from Edmonton, AB
Maggie Frith, 42, a stay-at-home mom and former lawyer from Toronto, ON
Mahathi Mundluru, 24, a business analyst from Markham, ON
Oyaks Airende, 28, a project scheduler and engineer from Calgary, AB
Raufikat Oyawoye, 35, an IT support engineer from Milton, ON
Sheldon Lynn, 25, a software developer from Vancouver, BC
Tanner Davies, 28, a marketing consultant from Winnipeg, MB
Last season, 33-year-old administrative assistant, Natalia Shevchenko, of Edmonton, AB took home the title after competing against semi-finalists Colin Asuncion of Toronto, ON and Jodi Robson of Regina, SK. In the lead up to the Season 4 premiere, fans can satisfy their craving by catching up on seasons 1 -3 on CBC Gem.
THE GREAT CANADIAN BAKING SHOW is produced by Proper Television in association with CBC and Love Productions. The executive producers are Cathie James and Lesia Capone, and the series producer is Marike Emery.
Well, things are just a little bit different this time around. With COVID-19 wreaking havoc on television production around the world, the Canadian networks—like others—have been a little late in announcing their primetime schedules.
But they’re gradually doing that, so we’ve put together a handy list of what will air between the summer of 2020 and the end of spring in 2021.
Check back often to see if your favourites have been renewed; we’ll be updating this list as we get more information.
Renewed
APTN Tribal Tribal Police Files
The Other Side
Tribal
CBC Still Standing Murdoch Mysteries Frankie Drake Mysteries Workin’ Moms Baroness Von Sketch Show (final season) Heartland The Nature of Things Marketplace The Fifth Estate Battle of the Blades Family Feud Canada Just for Laughs: Galas Ha!ifax Comedy Fest You Can’t Ask That Coroner Kim’s Convenience Tallboyz Dragons’ Den 22 Minutes The Great Canadian Baking Show
Diggstown
Burden of Truth
Tallboyz
Citytv Hudson & Rex
CTV Corner Gas Animated JANN (renewed for Season 3) The Amazing Race Canada Transplant MasterChef Canada: Back to Win
Crave Letterkenny
Canada’s Drag Race
Discovery Heavy Rescue: 401 Disasters at Sea Highway Thru Hell
Nurses
Food Network Canada Big Food Bucket List Carnival Eats Wall of Chefs Great Chocolate Showdown Junior Chef Showdown Fire Masters The Big BakeÂ
Global Nurses Private Eyes
Big Brother Canada
Departure
Backyard Builds
HGTV Canada Backyard Builds Island of Bryan Property Brothers: Forever Home Scott’s Vacation House Rules  Save My RenoÂ
History Vikings (final season) Rust Valley Restorers  History Erased Salvage KingsÂ
[Editor’s Note: Fridge Wars, Diggstown and Burden of Truth are on hold at the moment given COVID-19 production delays. The Detectives has not been renewed.]
At CBC’s 2020 virtual upfront presentation today, Canada’s public broadcaster revealed its 2020-21 slate of original programming, led by a strong fall schedule featuring 1,300 new hours for television spanning 22 new and returning series across all genres.
FALL 2020
ENSLAVED (6×60 Documentary, Associated Producers/A CBC Gem and documentary channel co-production with Epix in the United States) is a blue-chip documentary series led by Samuel Jackson and directed by Canadian filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici (The Naked Archaeologist) that charts the history of slavery through underwater archaeology. The series coincides with the 400-year anniversary of the first African brought to the New World as a slave, and will retrace the harrowing sea voyage that brought millions to a life of slavery. ENSLAVED is produced by Felix Golubev and Ric Bienstock and executive produced by Samuel L. Jackson, LaTanya Jackson, Eli Selden, Rob Lee, Simcha Jacobovici and Yaron Niski. International distribution by Fremantle.
ORANGEVILLE PREP (6×30 Factual, Orangeville Hoops Inc.) is a character-driven factual series that offers an inside look at the competitive, high-pressure world of basketball’s most successful preparatory program. Tucked away on farmland in Orangeville, Ontario lies the sport’s best kept secret – The Athlete Institute (AI). This high school basketball program has produced more Division 1 College and NBA players in the last five years than any other program in the world.
The Sounds
THE SOUNDS (8×60 Drama, Canada/New Zealand co-production, Shaftesbury and South Pacific Pictures) is a striking take on the relationship-driven thriller. Welcome to Pelorus Sounds, New Zealand – the sleepy settlement where nothing, including the visiting Cabbotts, is quite what it seems. Grieving wives, cheating husbands, epic embezzlement and historic crime all collide to weave a complicated web stretching through the Sounds’ hidden valleys and deep waters. Created by New Zealand-based author Sarah-Kate Lynch and directed by Peter Stebbings (Frankie Drake Mysteries, The Disappearance), the series stars Rachelle Lefevre (Mary Kills People, Under the Dome) as Maggie Cabbott and Matt Whelan (Narcos, The Luminaries) as Tom Cabbott.
TRICKSTER (6×60 Drama, Streel Films and Sienna Films) is based on the best-selling novel Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson, with CBC confirming today that it has been renewed for a second season. Starring newcomer Joel Oulette, this unique series is created by award-winning filmmaker Michelle Latimer (RISE, Nuuca) and Tony Elliott (Orphan Black), and directed by Latimer. Oulette plays Jared, an Indigenous teen struggling to keep his dysfunctional family above water, holding down an after-school job and selling ecstasy to support his partying mom, Maggie (Crystle Lightning), who self-medicates an undiagnosed mental illness, and his unemployable dad, Phil (Craig Lauzon) and his new girlfriend. But when Jared starts seeing strange things — talking ravens, doppelgängers, skin monsters— his already chaotic life is turned upside down. Additional cast includes Kalani Queypo (Jamestown), Anna Lambe (The Grizzlies), Joel Thomas Hynes (Little Dog), Gail Maurice (Cardinal) and Georgina Lightning (Blackstone).
SERIES RETURNING THIS FALL
BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW (Season 5, Frantic Films) – Finale Season
BATTLE OF THE BLADES (Season 6, Insight Productions) Following its remergence on the ice last year that reached over 1.5 million Canadians each episode, the factual hit will return this fall.**
DRAGONS’ DEN (Season 15, CBC)
FAMILY FEUD CANADA (Season 2, Zone 3/Fremantle) Following its inaugural season that reached 2.6 million viewers each week with a nightly average audience of over half a million including 30 percent in the key 25-54 demo, the hit series hosted by Gerry Dee is confirmed to return four nights per week this fall with 104 new episodes as a nationwide virtual search for new Canadian families now begins.***
HA!IFAX COMEDY FEST (Season 24, Pilot Light Productions)
JUST FOR LAUGHS: GALAS (Just For Laughs TV)
MARKETPLACE (Season 48, CBC News)
THE NATIONAL (CBC News, ongoing)
THE NATURE OF THINGS (Season 60) The landmark 60th season of THE NATURE OF THINGS will kick off with STATE OF THE PLANET, a unique documentary featuring a one-on-one conversation between David Suzuki and Sir David Attenborough that takes the pulse of our planet and asks whether humans can change their ways in time.
PURE (Season 2, Two East Productions/Cineflix)
ROAD TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES (Season 6, CBC Sports)
STILL STANDING (Season 6, Frantic Films)
THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES (Season 28, Wildbrain)
YOU CAN’T ASK THAT (Season 2, Pixcom)
Trickster
WINTER NEW SERIES
LADY DICKS (10×60 Drama, Cameron Pictures) is a fun and honest portrayal of two radically different female detectives in their early 40s. The buddy cop drama series follows Guns and Gangs detective, Samantha (Meredith MacNeill, Baroness von Sketch Show) and Drug Squad detective, Kelly (Adrienne C. Moore, Orange is the New Black), who by day are true action heroes in their own particular way: skilled, tough, determined, and ruthless. But by night, they’re both grappling with loneliness, dysfunctional families, screwed-up love lives, and a sense that their professional ambitions may not be totally in line with their personal needs. Their friendship could help to balance each other out, if only they didn’t drive one another utterly insane. LADY DICKS is co-created by Tassie Cameron (Mary Kills People, Ten Days in the Valley, Rookie Blue, The Robber Bride) and Sherry White (Little Dog, Frontier, Ten Days in the Valley, Rookie Blue).
ARCTIC VETS (10×30 Factual, eOne) takes viewers up close with the remarkable wildlife that inhabits Canada’s frozen north and the team of veterinarians that works tirelessly to keep them safe. With around 40 patients per week, no two days are the same for the team at Assiniboine Park Arctic Animal Hospital in Manitoba. From muskox to seals, wolverines to reindeer, treating Arctic animals is often dangerous, but always rewarding. Whether they’re performing life-saving surgery on a polar bear, or tending to a snowy owl with a broken wing, the mission of the vet team is the same – save the lives of sick and injured Arctic species.
SERIES SET TO RETURN THIS WINTER
CORONER (Season 3, Muse Entertainment, Back Alley Films and Cineflix Studios)
FAMILY FEUD CANADA (Season 2 continues, Zone 3, Fremantle)
THE FIFTH ESTATE (Season 46)
FRANKIE DRAKE MYSTERIES (Season 4, Shaftesbury)
THE GREAT CANADIAN BAKING SHOW (Season 4, Proper Television)
HA!IFAX COMEDY FEST (Season 24 continues, Pilot Light Productions)
HEARTLAND (Season 14, Seven24 Films and Dynamo Films)
KIM’S CONVENIENCE (Season 5, Thunderbird Entertainment) – also renewed for Season 6
MARKETPLACE (Season 48 continues)
MURDOCH MYSTERIES (Season 14, Shaftesbury)
THE NATURE OF THINGS (Season 60 continues)
ROAD TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES (Season 6 continues)
TALLBOYZ (Season 2, Accent Entertainment)
THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES (Season 28 continues, Wildbrain)
WORKIN’ MOMS (Season 5, Wolf & Rabbit Entertainment)
KIDS PROGRAMMING
New original series for kids on CBC Kids and CBC Gem this upcoming year include:
REMY & BOO (Industrial Brothers/Boat Rocker, in association with Radio-Canada, 52×11 – Fall 2020), an animated preschool series about a unique friendship between an adventurous little girl and a squishy pink robot called Boo.
DINO RANCH (Industrial Brothers/Boat Rocker, 52×11 – 2021), an action-packed animated preschool series that follows the Cassidy family as they tackle life in a fantastical “pre-westoric†setting where dinosaurs still roam.
GARY’S MAGIC FORT (CBC Kids, 13×11 – Spring 2021), a welcoming enchanted pillow fort where CBC Kids’ host Gary the Unicorn plays with his friends.
Enslaved
CBC FALL SCHEDULE
CBC’s Fall 2020 broadcast and streaming schedule on CBC TV and CBC Gem is as follows:
(For Newfoundland and Labrador, please add one half-hour for all times)
MONDAYS
7:30 PM – FAMILY FEUD CANADA *Season 2*
8 PM – THE SOUNDS *New Drama Series*
9 PM – PURE *Season 2*
10 PM – THE NATIONAL
TUESDAYS
7:30 PM – FAMILY FEUD CANADA *Season 2*
8 PM – STILL STANDING *Season 6*/ JUST FOR LAUGHS
8:30 PM – THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES *Season 28*/ JUST FOR LAUGHS
9 PM – BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW *Season 5 – Finale Season*
9:30 PM – CATASTROPHE *Seasons 3 and 4*/ HA!IFAX COMEDY FEST
10 PM – THE NATIONAL
WEDNESDAYS
7:30 PM – FAMILY FEUD CANADA *Season 2*
8 PM – WAR OF THE WORLDS *Exclusive Canadian Premiere*
9 PM – TRICKSTER *New Drama Series*
10 PM – THE NATIONAL
THURSDAYS
7:30 PM – FAMILY FEUD CANADA *Season 2*
8 PM – BATTLE OF THE BLADES *Season 6*
9 PM – DRAGONS’ DEN *Season 15*
10 PM – THE NATIONAL
FRIDAYS
8 PM – MARKETPLACE *Season 48*
8:30 PM – YOU CAN’T ASK THAT *Season 2* / ORANGEVILLE PREP *New Factual Series*
9 PM – THE NATURE OF THINGS *Season 60*
10 PM – THE NATIONAL
SATURDAYS
Afternoon – ROAD TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES *Season 6*
SUNDAYS
Afternoon – ROAD TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES *Season 6*
8 PM – THE GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW *Season 10*
9 PM – ENSLAVED *New Documentary Series*
10 PM – THE NATIONAL
There are three big changes viewers will notice when they tune in to The Great Canadian Baking Show on CBC this Wednesday night.
Gone is judge Rochelle Adonis, replaced by Kyla Kennaley. And co-hosts Dan Levy and Julia Chan have been swapped out in favour of Aurora Browne and Carolyn Taylor. Browne and Taylor are also, as legions of fans already know, the writers, stars and executive producers of Baroness von Sketch Show, which returns this Tuesday night to CBC.
And while I will miss Levy and Chan’s roles on Baking Show, I was immediately smitten by Browne and Taylor’s witty cold opening and their natural rapport with the 10 new contestants.
We spoke to Browne ahead of both programs’ debut.
How did yourself and Carolyn Taylor end up hosting The Great Canadian Baking Show in the first place?
Aurora Browne: The Great Canadian Baking Show approached us, at the beginning of this year. Carolyn and I have known each other for a very long time, obviously. Long before Baroness, even. It worked out in our schedule to be able to do it with only minimal overlap. Why not? It’s such a fun show. It’s fun and lovely and to be honest, being paid to taste things is like a dream come true. I don’t think that was difficult for either of us.
We actually spoofed it on Baroness. There’s a scene in the third season with Jen and Meredith. The patient is talking about her existential angst and how she can’t let go of any of her anxiety. The psychiatrist advises her to watch a gentle British baking show. We had a little, 10-second insert. Of course, it takes two hours to film, so Carolyn was like the Mary Berry character and I was a contestant. On the day that we were doing that, we were saying, ‘Oh gosh, I could do that all day,’ just talking about food and looking at food.
Was what you did as hosts scripted?
AB: They do have a very talented writer Elvira Kurt who has been our friend for a long time. She has actually worked on Baroness as well. A bit of the show is scripted. We don’t come up with all those puns on our own, that’s the job of a talented person. We were doing the cold opens of the show. That kind of stuff is scripted. Also sometimes, to be totally honest, there is so much technical stuff for some of the baking things, especially the French patisserie, I really needed that in the script. It’s like texty sci-fi shows you are remembering all these things. Thank goodness for the script on those parts, but the rest of it is just us interacting with the bakers. I think the best training that Carolyn and I could have had for the show is just attending a bunch of parties because it’s a party in a way.
Starting off with 10 people and then fewer as weeks progress you just have to be comfortable going in and chatting to them, it’s just like that part in the party where you wander into the kitchen and the host is trying to get something done or trying to get something in the oven and you ask them questions. Except here on the show they must answer our questions.
They were very easy to get to know, they were just such lovely, lovely people. They are in the middle of this very stressful situation with cameras in their faces and we were just there to encourage them and Carolyn and I didn’t find it hard at all. We were just encouraging them to do what they loved and to sometimes have a good laugh with them, and occasionally commiserate with them if they were having a stressful moment, which of course happens.
Let’s switch things up and let’s talk about season four of Baroness von Sketch Show. What was it like having Jennifer Whalen as the showrunner this season?
AB: Jen Whalen is exceptional. I mean it’s a massive job because you’re the one person who goes between all the departments. All four of us worked very closely on the creative and talking with each other about everything. Jen Whalen, I see her being the CEO of something, before very long. But we also have been doing this for several years now, so we have how we handle the editing and that’s in place, how we work out the sketches that are in place. I’m always just like thankful and in awe of Carolyn and Jennifer being showrunners and how willing they are to just always take those calls and emails. I personally need a little bit of time at the end of the day where I just won’t pick up the phone. I need to not answer emails. I’m always very grateful that those two have been willing to helm such a busy, busy show because we are all so involved.
But they are both fantastic at it and I hope someday that Jen Whalen is captaining the starship and I get to be her XO, I would happily be her second in command for anything.
There are some great sketches in the first episode. Binge-watching television and translating that into kids’ years. Tony Nappo in the sketch where he uses his kind words to make women smile. The blood pressure cuff. All great relatable stuff. The end credits featured a large group of writers and story editors.
AB: We have a structure that really allows us to welcome in voices and ideas even for a short amount of time because we have a core group of four of us are always there. Then we have some staff writers who are with us all the way through. For Season 4 we had Jen Goodhue who has been with us for every season. We had Monica Heisey in and then Allison Hogg, who had also written for us before. Then with the other people sometimes they will only come in for say three days or four days. That fresh set of eyes is really invaluable and it makes for a really fun room. I don’t think there was one person that came in that one of us didn’t know already.
It’s a pretty joyous thing. Even though it’s a large group it was manageable and it just means that you have these really funny, really talented people who are really thoughtful and interested in the world and are really ready to sit and roll around an idea to get at what’s the essence of this, what’s the funniest take we can take on it. And we were so happy always to be able to offer a paycheque at the very least to our talented colleagues who live and work in this city and the country.
We are very happy to be able to make this show where we live, and other people can too.
Baroness von Sketch Show airs Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. on CBC.
The Great Canadian Baking Show airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on CBC.
