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Industry News

CBC greenlights Tallboyz a new comedy from sketch troupe Tallboyz II Men

From a media release:

 CBC today announced it has greenlit new half-hour sketch comedy series TALLBOYZ (8×30) from Accent Entertainment and executive producers Bruce McCulloch (The Kids in the Hall, Young Drunk Punk) and Susan Cavan (The Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town, Young Drunk Punk). Starring the four members of acclaimed Toronto-based sketch comedy troupe TallBoyz II Men – Vance Banzo, Guled Abdi, Franco Nguyen, and Tim Blair – and creatively nurtured and developed by Bruce McCulloch, the series will start production in Toronto in April for broadcast on CBC and the CBC Gem streaming service in fall 2019.

TallBoyz II Men is a group of diverse comedians who explore themes of friendship, race, nostalgia, toxic masculinity and more in their sketches. In 2018, the Boyz won Outstanding Comedy Short at Toronto Sketchfest, Best of the Fest at Montreal SketchFest and Best Comedy at the Toronto Fringe Festival.

McCulloch and his fellow The Kids in the Hall troupe members will receive the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television’s Academy Icon Award at the 2019 Canadian Screen Awards this Sunday, March 31, broadcast on CBC and CBC Gem at 8 p.m. (9 p.m. AT/ 9:30 p.m. NT).

Produced by Accent Entertainment, TALLBOYZ is created by Guled Abdi, Vance Banzo, Tim Blair, and Franco Nguyen with Adam Bovoletis and Luc Mandl. Bruce McCulloch is Executive Producer and Director, and Susan Cavan is Executive Producer. Paula Smith is Supervising Producer, Caitlin Brown is Co-Producer and Jen Goodhue is Consulting Producer. For CBC, Sally Catto is General Manager, Programming; Trish Williams is Executive Director, Scripted Content, Michelle Daly is Senior Director, Comedy, Scripted Content; and Karen Tsang is Executive in Charge of Production.

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Industry News

Link: Vera Good, creator of TVO’s Polka Dot Door, was a master educator

From Valerie Hill of the Waterloo Region Record:

Link: Vera Good, creator of TVO’s Polka Dot Door, was a master educator
In the 1970s, Vera was asked to design a preschool series for the newly launched TVO. One of her most successful programs was Polka Dot Door with its beloved character Polkaroo. She was the show’s original producer. Continue reading.

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Burden of Truth, Coroner, Heartland, Industry News, Kim's Convenience, Murdoch Mysteries

CBC announces first round of renewals for the 2019-20 season

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From a media release:

As Canadian Screen Week kicks off and CBC celebrates 236 nominations at the 2019 Canadian Screen Awards, the national public broadcaster is confirming an initial round of original scripted and unscripted renewals for the upcoming 2019-20 season on CBC and the CBC Gem streaming service. To date, 17 titles across drama, comedy, factual, arts and documentary programming have been confirmed to return, with additional renewals across all genres and content areas to be announced later this spring.

Returning series for 2019-20 confirmed to date are as follows:

  • ANNE WITH AN E (Season 3, 10×60, Northwood Entertainment)*
  • BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW (Season 4, 10×30, Frantic Films)*
  • BURDEN OF TRUTH (Season 3, 8×60, ICF Films, Entertainment One and Eagle Vision)
  • CBC ARTS: EXHIBITIONISTS (Season 5, 26×30, CBC Arts)
  • CBC DOCS POV (Season 5, 18×60)
  • CORONER (Season 2, 8×60, Muse Entertainment, Back Alley Films and Cineflix Studios)
  • THE DETECTIVES (Season 3, 8×60, WAM Media GRP Inc.)
  • DRAGONS’ DEN (Season 14, 10×60, CBC)*
  • FRANKIE DRAKE MYSTERIES (Season 3, 10×60, Shaftesbury)
  • THE GREAT CANADIAN BAKING SHOW (Season 3, 9×60, Proper Television)*
  • HEARTLAND (Season 13, 10×60, Seven24 Films and Dynamo Films)
  • IN THE MAKING (Season 2, 8×30, White Pine Pictures)
  • KIM’S CONVENIENCE (Season 4, 13×30, Thunderbird Entertainment)*
  • MURDOCH MYSTERIES (Season 13, 18×60, Shaftesbury)
  • THE NATURE OF THINGS (Season 59, 18×60)
  • SCHITT’S CREEK (Season 6, final season – 14×30, Not A Real Company Productions Inc.)*
  • STILL STANDING (Season 5, 13×30, Frantic Films)*

*Previously announced as returning

CBC is celebrating 236 nominations at the 2019 Canadian Screen Awards, a new record for the national public broadcaster. ANNE WITH AN E and SCHITT’S CREEK each received 15 nominations – the most for any scripted series this year. THE NATURE OF THINGS was honoured with 21 nominations and CBC DOCS POV received seven. Other returning titles that were nominated include: BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW (5), FRANKIE DRAKE MYSTERIES (5), THE GREAT CANADIAN BAKING SHOW (5), MURDOCH MYSTERIES (5), STILL STANDING (4), IN THE MAKING (3), THE DETECTIVES (2), BURDEN OF TRUTH (1) and DRAGONS’ DEN (1).

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Bad Blood, Industry News, Letterkenny

New Metric Media bolsters original slate with three development deals from critically-acclaimed authors

From a media release:

New Metric Media, the independent production company behind Hulu’s hit series “Letterkenny” and the popular Netflix series “Bad Blood”, has optioned the rights for multiple projects from three renowned authors including bestselling Criminologist Dr. Michael Arntfield (“Murder City: The Untold History of Canada’s Capital of Serial Homicide”), veteran author and Toronto Star’s lead investigative reporter for organized crime Peter Edwards and popular online personality Anne T. Donahue, announced today by Mark Montefiore, President, New Metric Media.

Based on the book by best-selling true-crime author Dr. Michael Arntfield, “Monster City” divulges the true account of the serial killers who terrorized Nashville’s music scene for over three decades in recent history — and the cold-case Murder Squad determined to bring an end to the sadistic killing sprees of ‘The Motel Killer’, ‘The Fast Food Killer’ and ‘The Rest Stop Killer’ among others. An industry-leading consultant on crime trends and emerging forensic methodologies, Arntfield is attached to consult on the project. Monster City is published by Little A, the literary fiction and nonfiction imprint of Amazon Publishing.

New Metric Media is extending its partnership with Peter Edwards, currently serving as an Executive Producer on the hit TV series “Bad Blood” which is based on one of his books. The indie prod-co will develop multiple television series to create the “Peter Edwards Universe”, based on optioning the rights to a selection of his novels. Some of his most notable books under the deal include “Unrepentant: The Strange and (Sometimes) Terrible Life of Lorne Campbell, Satan’s Choice and Hells Angels Biker” and “The Bandido Massacre: A True Story of Bikers, Brotherhood, and Betrayal”, both of which were national bestsellers as well as upcoming titles such as “The Wolfpack” to be published by Penguin Random House this year.

 “Nobody Cares” is a frank, funny personal essay collection by the author of popular newsletter ‘That’s What She Said’ Anne T. Donahue.  The prolific and raw memoir about work, failure, friendship, and the messy business of being alive in your twenties and thirties also deftly tackles the subject of mental health. As she shares her hard-won insights from screwing up, growing up, and trying to find her own path, Anne’s essays offer all the honesty, laughs, and reassurance of a late-night phone call with your best friend. Donahue is attached in the adaptation.  “Nobody Cares” is published by ECW Press.

 Michael Arntfield is repped by Sohrab Merchant at The Characters, Grace Freedson at Grace Freedson’s Publishing Network and Danny Webber at Hall Webber LLP. Peter Edwards is repped by Juliet Forrester from Top Left Entertainment and Premier Artists’ Management. Anne T. Donahue is repped by Addison Duffy at UTA and Carly Watters at PS Literary.

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Industry News, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Discovery investigates the greatest marine mysteries with Disasters at Sea, premiering April 16

From a media release:

When tragedy strikes on the high seas causing ships to sink, the truth of what happened is often lost to the depths of the ocean. In Discovery’s latest original Canadian series, DISASTERS AT SEA, experienced and dedicated marine investigators track down new evidence to solve the mysteries behind some of the most devastating and unexpected real-life marine disasters in recent history. The six-episode, one-hour docudrama premieres in the network’s coveted timeslot, Tuesday, April 16 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, exclusively on Discovery, following the Season 15 premiere of the Emmy®-winning fan-favourite series DEADLIEST CATCH. The series joins the slate of spring premieres announced by the network this morning.

Each episode of DISASTERS AT SEA tells the unimaginable true story of a maritime disaster, combining harrowing re-enactments with expert analysis from marine investigators. Whether it’s survivor testimony about a sudden sound, GPS data about the ship’s speed, or the scatter pattern of wreckage at the bottom of the ocean, each piece of evidence helps investigators build a dramatic picture of the deadly chain of events.

Armed with the newly-discovered facts uncovered by investigators, archival footage is combined with evocative re-enactments, CGI, and special effects to immerse viewers in each story and dramatically convey the catastrophic events. Each episode delivers a suspenseful journey into one of the deadliest jobs on the planet, the working men and women who choose this dangerous life, and the marine investigators who work tirelessly to help make the high seas a safer place.

DISASTERS AT SEA was commissioned by Discovery, in conjunction with Smithsonian Channel in the U.S. and Seven Network in Australia. The series was produced by Discovery’s Exploration Production Inc. (EPI) in a purpose-built studio in Hamilton, Ontario and on-location throughout Canada and the U.S. The production is the biggest and most comprehensive partnership of its kind for EPI.

Through international rights manager Exploration Distribution Inc. (EDI), the series has been sold in more than 110 markets, including the U.K. and Germany. DISASTERS AT SEA is currently in production on a second season in Hamilton, Ontario, and will debut on Discovery next year.

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