Everything about Jann, eh?

Jann Arden’s clueless alter ego is back in town for Jann’s second season

Unlike her TV alter ego, Jann Arden is aware of her own good fortune. 

The iconic singer-songwriter and star of CTV’s hit comedy series Jann—returning for its second season on Monday at 8 p.m. ET/PT—has been able to ride out the COVID-19 pandemic from the socially-distanced comfort of her rural Alberta home.

“I’ve got nothing to complain about,” she says during a phone chat from her house. “My nearest neighbour is a half-mile away. I usually work out here anyway, and I’ve done a lot of recording here. I have a big piece of land, a huge garden, and I’m here with a dog. I want for nothing.”

That isn’t to say the coronavirus hasn’t thrown Arden a few curveballs. For instance, her official induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame was scuppered when the JUNO Awards were cancelled in March, and her much-anticipated cross-Canada tour had to be postponed in May. Still, she’s taking it all in stride. 

“It was disappointing, but [COVID-19 has affected] all of my colleagues, everyone on the planet, every person that I know,” she explains. “Good things come out of bad things. I think it has actually taken the façade off of a way that we’ve been living that’s been so empty, and without a lot of merit, and truth, and vulnerability….I, for one, am grateful to have had the opportunity to slow the hell down.” 

As philosophical as Arden is about 2020’s setbacks, it’s safe to say her hilariously narcissistic TV namesake wouldn’t handle things so well.

“Oh, she would have been terrible!” Arden laughs. “Everybody in Jann’s family would have been made miserable, she’d be like, ‘You have no idea what I’m going through!’”

Of course, TV Jann—Arden’s less-successful, much more self-involved doppelganger—doesn’t need a worldwide pandemic to make people miserable. Her lack of self-awareness and desperate attempts to revive her career kept her family cringing—and viewers laughing—throughout Jann’s critically-acclaimed first season. 

Jann’s self-serving antics crescendoed in the finale when she left her mom Nora (Deborah Grover), who had just been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, on the doorstep of her pregnant, bedridden sister Max (Zoie Palmer) so she could go on tour with her on-screen nemesis, Sarah McLachlan.

This naturally caused some hard feelings. 

However, as the second season starts, Jann is sporting a new, family-first attitude. After finding out Max is in labour, she decides to ditch McLachlan’s disaster-prone tour—think food poisoning and exploding musical instruments—to make amends with her family and win back her ex-girlfriend Cynthia (Sharon Taylor). The problem is, no one is particularly happy to see her when she returns, and her knee-jerk selfishness trips her up at every turn.

Exhibit #1: When she finds Max and brother-in-law Dave (Patrick Gilmore) cradling their newborn baby in the opening minutes of the premiere, she indignantly cries, “You couldn’t friggin’ wait for me?”

Things don’t get much better over the next few episodes, as Jann finds out her former manager Todd (Jason Blicker) has signed a hot new talent (Nia Taylor) and her new manager Cale (Elena Juatco) keeps pushing her outside her comfort zone.

“Things really pick up where they left off,” Arden says. “You kind of got to know everyone in the first season, and I love the new situations that the writers have put them in.”

She’s also pleased with Season 2’s stacked guest-star lineup, which includes k.d. lang, Elisha Cuthbert, Keshia Chanté, and in the first episode, McLachlan—who gamely skewers her nice-girl image to settle a score with Jann.

“She’s fantastic, and she’s such a good sport,” Arden says of McLachlan, making it clear that the Jann/Sarah rivalry doesn’t extend to real life. “Half of the stuff you see was her idea.”

As in the first season, Arden’s natural comedic timing and willingness to take the piss out of herself help keep Jann likeable even when she’s at her worst. Meanwhile, Grover’s whimsical and tender handling of Nora’s Alzheimer’s journey continues to provide emotional depth. 

Arden’s real-life mother passed away from Alzheimer’s complications in 2018, just after the first season wrapped. When asked if that loss made shooting Season 2 more difficult, she says it was actually the opposite. 

“You know what? It was a delight,” she says. “I got to live in a world for the five or six weeks when we were shooting where my mom was alive. And Deborah reminds me so much of my mom. My mom was hilarious. She was very intrepid; she wasn’t precious about dying.”

Arden says she’s thrilled that Jann allows her the opportunity to educate the Canadian public about Alzheimer’s and dementia.

I think to be able to see a main character in a contemporary, modern scripted comedy on a major network, to see that in your living room is so accessible, and it’s been really important,” she says.

During Season 3—which has already been ordered and set to go before cameras in January—Arden plans “to keep the pressure up” with Nora’s journey.

“There are so many great things that we can do with the story, and it makes it interesting,” she says. “You have to have pathos to have humour, right?”

Meanwhile, Arden says there are no plans to include COVID-19 stories in future seasons.

“We’re not addressing it, we’re not mentioning it,” she says. “In TV Jann’s world, it never happened.”

For the sake of Jann’s family, that’s probably a good idea.

Jann airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Season 2 of CTV Original comedy JANN premieres Monday, Sept. 21

From a media release:

Following a successful first season run, hit CTV Original Comedy series JANN returns for its second season Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CTV and everywhere CTV content can be found beginning Sept. 21. Featuring co-creator and star Jann Arden, Season 2 consists of eight half-hour episodes – up from its six-episode first season –with special guest star Sarah McLachlan appearing in the premiere episode.

Set and filmed in Calgary, Season 1 of the critically acclaimed comedy is the most-watched new Canadian comedy series of the 2018-19 broadcast season, and garnered three Canadian Screen Awards nominations, including Best Comedy Series and Best Lead Actress, Comedy for Arden, and won Best Comedy Series at the 2020 WGC Screenwriting Awards.

This season, Jann sets out to win her family and ex-girlfriend Cynthia (Sharon Taylor) back, as tensions arise between Jann and her new manager Cale (Elena Juatco), who lines up music gigs that are outside of Jann’s comfort zone. Throughout the season, Jann also faces a number of musical rivals, both old and new.

Guest stars for Season 2 include singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan as herself; Canadian singer-songwriter, k.d. lang as herself; actress Elisha Cuthbert (THE RANCH, HAPPY ENDINGS) as school board parent Liz; singer, host, and actress Keshia Chanté (SOUL, PRIVATE EYES), as up-and-coming singer Nia Taylor; as well as Miguel Rivas (THE BEAVERTON, BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW) as Jann mega-fan Nigel; Cynthia Loyst, co-host of CTV’s THE SOCIAL, as a local talk show host; and more.

Returning cast starring alongside Arden in JANN are Zoie Palmer (PURE, DARK MATTER) as Jann’s sister Max; Deborah Grover (ANNE WITH AN “E”) as Jann’s mom Nora; Patrick Gilmore (TRAVELERS; YOU, ME, HER) as Jann’s brother-in-law Dave; Elena Juatco (OPEN HEART, SCHITT’S CREEK) as Jann’s manager Cale; Jason Blicker (F/X: THE SERIES, STATE OF GRACE) as Jann’s former manager Todd; Sharon Taylor (BAD BLOOD) as Jann’s ex-girlfriend Cynthia; Alexa Rose Steele (DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION) as Jann’s eldest niece Charley; Ceilidh MacDonald as Jann’s niece Sammie; and Keaira Pliva (TIN STAR) as Jann’s niece Frankie.

On the Season 2 premiere of JANN, titled “What Did Jann Do?” (Monday, Sept. 21 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CTV), Jann cuts her Burning Woman Tour short to be there for the birth of her sister Max and brother-in-law Dave’s baby, and is surprised when nobody is happy to see her. She becomes determined to patch things up with her family and her on-again, off-again girlfriend, Cynthia. Meanwhile, a musical rival (guest star Sarah McLachlan) tracks Jann down, and she’s pissed. Episodes of JANN are directed by Ron Murphy (WYNONNA EARP, TRAILER PARK BOYS).

Season 1 of JANN is also available to stream on CTV.ca and the CTV app for fans who want to revisit the inaugural season or catch-up.

JANN was co-developed by Bell Media and Project 10 Productions and is produced by Project 10 Productions and SEVEN24 Films in association with CTV.

JANN is executive produced by Andrew Barnsley and Ben Murray for Project 10 Productions, Tom Cox and Jordy Randall for SEVEN24 Films, and Randy Lennox for Bell Media. Jann Arden, Leah Gauthier, and Jennica Harper created the series and also serve as Executive Producers with Jennica Harper showrunning.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

2020-21 Canadian TV season renewal scorecard

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 Bake 

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 Reno 

History
Vikings (final season)
Rust Valley Restorers  
History Erased 
Salvage Kings 

Netflix
Another Life

Omni
Second Jen
Blood and Water

T+E
Hotel Paranormal
Haunted Hospitals

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Original entertainment productions for Bell Media’s English-language services announced

From a media release:

Bell Media confirmed today the new and returning original prime time entertainment series, documentaries, and specials fueling its English-language services and produced in partnership with independent production partners.

Bell Media’s English-language original programming is some of the most watched and most awarded in the country:

  • THE AMAZING RACE CANADA is not only last year’s #1 Canadian series, but also Canada’s most-watched summer program for seven years straight in the A25-54 demo. The fan-favourite series won six 2020 Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Reality/Competition Program or Series.
  • TRANSPLANT quickly became the most-watched Canadian drama during its first season on CTV, while JANN was the #1 new Canadian comedy of 2018-19, and received three 2020 Canadian Screen Award nominations, including Best Comedy Series.
  • CORNER GAS ANIMATED reigned as the #1 series on CTV Comedy Channel last broadcast year and won three 2020 Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Animated Program or Series.
  • Discovery hit DISASTERS AT SEA was named Best Factual Series at the Canadian Screen Awards, while HEAVY RESCUE: 401 is a Top 5 series for the channel among total viewers across all seasons.

Among today’s announcements:

  • CTV announced today along with NBCUniversal International Studios that a Season 2 renewal is underway for TRANSPLANT, the #1 Canadian drama and Top 20 hit from Sphere Media, hot on the heels of NBC’s earlier acquisition of the series’ first season.
  • As well, hit comedy series JANN, starring Jann Arden, has been renewed for Season 3 ahead of its second season premiere this fall on CTV, announced earlier today.
  • The CTV Originals slate also includes the previously confirmed comedy CHILDREN RUIN EVERYTHING from the producers of LETTERKENNY; new paranormal series THE SURREALTOR from the producers of SPINNING OUT and VAGRANT QUEEN; music documentary series THIS IS POP, recounting the most pivotal moments in pop music history; the newly retitled series HOLMES FAMILY EFFECT; and new seasons of CORNER GAS ANIMATED, THE AMAZING RACE CANADA, and WYNONNA EARP, along with the special all-star edition of MASTERCHEF CANADA: BACK TO WIN.
  • In addition to a strong roster of original documentaries (see below), Crave confirmed today that fan-favourite series LETTERKENNY is returning for Season 9.
  • Discovery Networks adds MUD MOUNTAIN HAULERS (working title) from the producers of returning hits HIGHWAY THRU HELL and HEAVY RESCUE 4O1, as well as two additional new series marking a new partnership between fishing adventurer Cyril Chaquet and Discovery. A new season of DISASTERS AT SEA is also set to return.
  • Plus, Bell Media confirms new documentaries BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE: POWER IN THE BLOOD and HOWIE MANDEL: BUT, ENOUGH ABOUT ME, along with new Crave Original documentaries THE NEW CORPORATION, the unfortunately necessary sequel to 2003’s THE CORPORATION; THE GRIZZLY TRUTH about the former NBA team the Vancouver Grizzlies; and INCONVENIENT INDIAN, based on the stinging bestseller by Thomas King.

Bell Media’s English-language prime time Original Entertainment Productions slate from independent producers includes:

CTV Originals

  • CHILDREN RUIN EVERYTHING – New Series
    As previously announced, CTV’s new, half-hour comedy showcases one couple’s efforts to maintain a piece of their old lives which are continually thwarted by their young children in surprising and absurd ways. But somewhere in the toy-filled, pee-stained wreckage of what they once had, they find a new life that’s pretty good, too. Produced by New Metric Media, CHILDREN RUIN EVERYTHING is created by veteran comedy writer and producer Kurt Smeaton (SCHITT’S CREEK) and executive produced by Chuck Tatham (MODERN FAMILY) and Mark Montefiore (LETTERKENNY). (New Metric Media)
  • CORNER GAS ANIMATED – Season 3
    As previously announced, the Canadian Screen Award-winning series CORNER GAS ANIMATED is back for Season 3, and sees the return of the beloved ensemble cast starring Brent Butt, Gabrielle Miller, Eric Peterson, Fred Ewanuick, Lorne Cardinal, Tara Spencer-Nairn, Nancy Robertson, and Corrine Koslo. Season 3 also features a varied and star-studded list of guest-stars including comedy icon Andrea Martin, Jason Priestley, TSN’s Jay Onrait and Dan O’Toole, Canadian country singer Brett Kissel, Grammy-winning rock band Arcade Fire, and professional wrestlers Lance Storm, Bret “The Hitman” Hart, and Trish Stratus. (Prairie Pantoons, Moving Mountoons, and Smiley Guy Studios)
  • HOLMES FAMILY EFFECT – New Series
    Featuring Canadian TV icon and professional contractor Mike Holmes, along with his daughter Sherry, and son Michael, the brand-new inspirational series follows the Holmes family as they tackle their most ambitious projects to date. Each heart-warming episode focuses on the Holmes family as they transform the working spaces of inspiring organizations dedicated to making a difference in their communities. (Make It Right Productions)
  • JANN – Season 3
    CTV’s hit comedy series JANN returns for a third season. Starring multi-platinum award-winning Canadian singer, songwriter, broadcaster, and author Jann Arden as a fictionalized version of herself, Season 3 will see Jann’s hilarious and self-deprecating, attention-drawing antics continue, as she struggles to balance the demands of her family, career, and love life. Today’s announcement comes ahead of the Season 2 premiere of the series this fall. Season 1 of the critically acclaimed comedy reigns as the most-watched new Canadian comedy series of the 2018-19 broadcast year. (Project 10 Productions and SEVEN24 Films)
  • MASTERCHEF CANADA: BACK TO WIN
    In the all-new, special all-star edition of hit culinary competition series MASTERCHEF CANADA, judges Michael Bonacini (O&B restaurant empire), Alvin Leung (Bo Innovation in Hong Kong), and Claudio Aprile (Xango Toronto), are back for MASTERCHEF CANADA: BACK TO WIN, which offers some of the country’s best competitors from the past six seasons a second chance at winning $100,000 and the life-changing MASTERCHEF CANADA title. (Proper Television)
  • THE AMAZING RACE CANADA – Season 8
    As previously announced, multiple Canadian Screen Award-winning THE AMAZING RACE CANADA returns for an eighth season on CTV. Hosted by Olympic Gold Medallist Jon Montgomery, the adventure continues as an all-new cast of racers head to the starting line to push themselves out of their comfort zones in a non-stop, action-packed race. Season 7 of THE AMAZING RACE CANADA was the most-watched in four years, with a season average of 1.9 million viewers, earning the title of Canada’s most-watched program for a seventh year in-a-row with A25-54. (Insight Productions Inc.)
  • THIS IS POP – New Music Documentary Series
    From the Brill Building to Auto-Tune, from Boyz II Men to ABBA, from Orville Peck to  Shania Twain: the biggest names in music tell the untold stories of the most pivotal moments in pop music history. Each director-driven episode is a documentary film with its own style, voice, and one goal in common: to look at how these game-changing moments unfolded, and why their impact on pop music and culture continues today. (Banger Films)
  • THE STAND-UP SHOW WITH JON DORE – New Series
    Filmed at the 2019 Just For Laughs festival in Montréal, renowned Canadian comic Jon Dore steps up to the mic to thrill audiences and spotlight some of the biggest and up-and-coming names in comedy, including Sasheer Zamata, Kyle Brownrigg, LETTERKENNY’s Mark Forward, and Jackie Pirico. (Just For Laughs)
  • THE SURREALTOR – New Series
    In THE SURREALTOR, realtor Nick Roman and an elite team of specialists handle the cases that no one else can: haunted and possessed houses that literally scare would-be buyers away. Researching, investigating, and “fixing” the things that go bump in the night, the team works to create closure – and closings – even as they struggle with demons of their own. Executive produced by Lance Samuels and Daniel Iron (SPINNING OUT, VAGRANT QUEEN), along with George Olson who will also serve as showrunner. (Blue Ice Pictures)
  • TRANSPLANT – Season 2
    A second season renewal is underway for TRANSPLANT, the most-watched Canadian drama. The series will continue to follow Dr. Bashir “Bash” Hamed (Hamza Haq, THE INDIAN DETECTIVE), a Syrian doctor with battle-tested skills in emergency medicine who made the difficult decision to flee his country with his younger sister Amira. Together they build a new life in Canada, as Bash rebuilds his career in medicine at York Memorial Hospital. The series just wrapped its first season, generating an average audience of 1.4 million viewers. 1.7 million Canadians also watched the season finale.Season 2 will see the return of Hamza Haq, Laurence Leboeuf (19-2), John Hannah (MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.), Jim Watson (MARY KILLS PEOPLE), and Ayisha Issa (Polar). It will be produced by Sphere Media, in association with CTV and NBCUniversal International Studios, a division of Universal Content Group.
  • WYNONNA EARP – Season 4
    This back-by-popular demand cult-hit sees the return of stars Tim Rozon, Dominique Provost-Chalkley, Katherine Barrell, and of course the inimitable Melanie Scrofano as the titular star. In Season 4, the Earp Curse is broken, and witty and wild demon hunter Wynonna Earp would love to be celebrating with cold whisky and hot donuts. Too bad she has to rescue everyone she loves, save the town of Purgatory, and take on her most diabolical, Earp-hating enemy yet – all without her trustworthy gun, Peacemaker. And that’s just Monday. (SEVEN24 Films / Crave)

Crave Originals

  • LETTERKENNY – Season 9
    The multiple award-winning and international sensation Crave Original series, LETTERKENNY, returns for its much-anticipated ninth season. Starring Jared Keeso and produced by New Metric Media, the half-hour, small-town comedy revolves around the dustups Wayne (Keeso) and his buds get into with their small-town rivals. The Hicks, The Skids, and The Hockey Players get at each other about the most mundane things, often ending with someone getting their ass kicked. Keeso is executive producer, co-writer, and creator, Jacob Tierney is executive producer, director, and co-writer, and for New Metric Media are Mark Montefiore as executive producer and Kara Haflidson as producer. (New Metric Media)

Discovery Networks Originals

  • CHASING MONSTERS – New Series
    From giant barracudas to 500lb stingrays, CHASING MONSTERS takes viewers on a high adrenaline quest to seek out the world’s most colossal underwater creatures in remote and dangerous corners of the planet. Hosted by extreme angler and adventurer Cyril Chauquet, this high-stakes series explores the elusive monster fish living in the hidden depths of the oceans, lakes, and rivers. (Untamed Productions)
  • DISASTERS AT SEA – Season 2
    DISASTERS AT SEA from Bell Media Studios’ Exploration Productions Inc. features experienced and dedicated marine investigators tracking down new evidence and solving the mysteries behind some of the most devastating and unexpected real-life marine disasters in recent history. (Exploration Productions Inc.)
  • HEAVY RESCUE: 401 – Season 5
    Smash-hit original series HEAVY RESCUE: 401 returns for Season 5 with new episodes featuring compelling extreme winter wrecks and roadside rescues on Ontario’s notorious 400-series highways – extending from Windsor in the west to the Québec border in the east. The series takes viewers on a riveting ride through tense situations in intense environments. (Great Pacific Media)
  • HIGHWAY THRU HELL – Season 9
    Featuring stories of remarkable strength and fearless dedication, HIGHWAY THRU HELL chronicles the lives of heroic rescue teams who often put their own lives at risk to help keep vital transport highways open and communities safe. Dropping everything to respond, it is their duty to remove the often-dangerous cargo, clean up the twisted metal, clear the road, and get traffic rolling again for thousands of drivers. (Great Pacific Media)
  • MUD MOUNTAIN HAULERS (Working Title) – New Series
    From the producers of HIGHWAY THRU HELL and HEAVY RESCUE: 4O1, MUD MOUNTAIN HAULERS (working title) is a new eight-episode, one-hour docu-series that follows Craig LeBeau and his three-generation LeBeau Bros. family logging business through the steepest, muddiest conditions in North America. The series focuses on brothers Craig and Brent Lebeau, two men willing to go onto the steepest frozen mountains to make a living, supply the world with lumber and paper, and keep the family business alive. They face blizzards, machine breakdowns, mountain-side roll-overs, all while in a race to beat the hellacious mud of spring breakup. The crew must work steeper, higher, and more treacherous terrain than others dare, just to make it through an industry in an epic slump. (Great Pacific Media)

Documentaries and Specials

  • BUFFY SAINTE MARIE: POWER IN THE BLOOD – New CTV Original Documentary
    For more than 50 years, Buffy Sainte-Marie has been a star. Her songs are legendary, her impact undeniable. One of Canada’s most-respected Indigenous leaders, she’s a pioneer of music and activism, and has left an indelible mark on the world. From the producers of the Crave Original Documentary ONCE WERE BROTHERS: ROBBIE ROBERTSON AND THE BAND, BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE: POWER IN THE BLOOD is the dramatic, powerful story of one of the most important personalities of our time. The film is a unique collaboration between the singer and filmmaker Alex Lazarowich that tells Buffy’s incredible story through exclusive access, rare archives, insightful interviews, and great music. BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE: POWER IN THE BLOOD celebrates Buffy’s extraordinary achievements, dispels myths, sets the record straight, and illustrates that in a time of chaos and division, we’ve never needed Buffy more than now. (White Pine Pictures)
  • HOWIE MANDEL: BUT, ENOUGH ABOUT ME – New CTV and Crave Original Documentary
    Directed by Canadian film director and producer Barry Avrich, and featuring Heidi Klum, Simon Cowell, David Dobrik, and more, this new documentary explores Mandel’s rise from Toronto carpet salesman to Hollywood star as viewers get an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the Canadian comedian, actor, and TV host. (Melbar Entertainment Group)
  • FANNY: THE RIGHT TO ROCK – New Crave Original Documentary
    Revealing the untold story of a Filipina American founded garage band that morphed into the ferocious rock group Fanny, the first all-female band to release an LP with a major record label (Warner/Reprise/1970). Despite releasing five critically acclaimed albums and counting David Bowie as one of their biggest fans, Fanny’s groundbreaking impact in music has been lost in the mists of time…until bandmates reunite 50 years later with a new rock record deal and chance to right the wrongs of music history. Also featuring Bonnie Raitt, Joe Elliott, Kate Pierson, John Sebastian, Kathy Valentine, Charles Neville, Cherie Currie, Todd Rundgren, and other music icons. (Director: Bobbi Jo Hart / Adobe Productions International Inc.)
  • INCONVENIENT INDIAN – New Crave Original Documentary
    This feature documentary from Michelle Latimer takes viewers on a journey into the mind of Thomas King: one of the world’s foremost intellectuals, and one of our greatest storytellers. Inspired by his stinging bestseller, this sumptuous film journeys across the continent to explore the ways Indigenous peoples continue to inconvenience colonial states with their existence and their resistance. (Director: Michelle Latimer / 90th Parallel Productions Ltd and the National Film Board of Canada)
  • KINGS OF COKE – New Crave Original Documentary
    This feature documentary film is about the rise and fall of Montréal’s infamous West End Gang and mob lawyer Sidney Leithman’s unsolved murder. Documenting the ascent of the West End Gang, from a rag tag group of thieves to international drug importers. With multiple timelines, searing testimony, and a unique visual approach, KINGS OF COKE will create points of tension, mystery, and suspense by trying to answer the question “Who killed Sidney Leithman?”; a question that can only be answered by examining the bloody rise of the West End Gang over two decades. It’s a tale of a massive criminal conspiracy, corrupt cops, tons of cocaine, and millions of dollars all pointing in one direction – a lawyer’s office in Montréal. (Connect3 and Urbania)
  • THE GRIZZLY TRUTH – New Crave Original Documentary
    From the team behind Finding Big Country and The Carter Effect, THE GRIZZLY TRUTH follows superfan Kat Jayme’s search for truth and redemption for her hometown NBA team, the Vancouver Grizzlies … who mysteriously disappeared after just six seasons. Through Kat’s unwavering devotion, this documentary explores the unique and remarkable story of how Vancouver won an NBA franchise against all odds, only to lose the team in record time. This is the untold story of the gone, but far from forgotten, Vancouver Grizzlies. Full of heart and humour, THE GRIZZLY TRUTH is much more than a sports story; it’s a mystery, a comedy of errors, and an underdog epic. (Director: Kat Jayme / Grizz Films in partnership with Uninterrupted).
  • THE NEW CORPORATION – New Crave Original Documentary
    THE CORPORATION (2003) examined the institution of the corporation and its role within society; THE NEW CORPORATION – an unfortunately necessary sequel – reveals a society now engulfed by that institution, wholly captured and seduced into adopting corporate values, serving corporate interests, and slowly, unwittingly ceding our independence. The documentary looks at how we got here and what can be done to regain, revitalize, and reimagine our democracy. (Directors: Jennifer Abbott and Joel Bakan / Grant Street Productions in association with Screen Siren Pictures Inc.)
Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Coroner and Jann capture WGC Screenwriting Awards

From a media release:

In an awards presentation unlike any other for the Writers Guild of Canada, host Gavin Crawford announced the winners of the 24th annual WGC Screenwriting Awards via the Guild’s YouTube channel this evening. Winners of 2020’s top prizes include Jann Arden & Jennica Harper (JANN), Noelle Carbone (Coroner), Laura Phillips (Sweetness in the Belly) and Nance Ackerman & Ariella Pahlke & Teresa MacInnes (Conviction). Congratulations to 2020’s talented winners and nominees.

WGC special awards were also presented, with the WGC Showrunner Award going to Dennis Heaton, the Sondra Kelly Award to Cynthia Knight, and Nathalie Younglai receiving the Alex Barris Mentorship Award. 

In light of the cancellation of the 2020 physical awards ceremony due to COVID-19, this year’s winners will also be celebrated at the 25th Annual WGC Screenwriting Awards, which are set for April 26, 2021, at Toronto’s Koerner Hall.

2020 WGC SCREENWRITING AWARDS WINNERS 

CHILDREN’S 

Hotel Transylvania: The Series, “Better Know Your Mavis” | Written by Mark Steinberg 

COMEDY SERIES 

JANN, “The Big House” | Story by Jann Arden & Jennica Harper, Teleplay by Jennica Harper 

DOCUMENTARY 

Conviction | Written by Nance Ackerman & Ariella Pahlke & Teresa MacInnes 

DRAMA SERIES 

Coroner, “All’s Well” | Written by Noelle Carbone 

FEATURE FILM 

Sweetness in the Belly | Written by Laura Phillips 

MOW & MINISERIES 

Thicker Than Water | Written by David Elver & Andrea Stevens 

PRESCHOOL 

Dino Dana, “Dino Prints” | Written by J.J. Johnson & Christin Simms & Amish Patel 

SHORTS & WEBSERIES 

Save Me, “Birdie’s End” | Written by Fabrizio Filippo 

TWEENS & TEENS 

Creeped Out, “The Takedown” | Written by Emma Campbell 

SONDRA KELLY AWARD 

Cynthia Knight

ALEX BARRIS MENTORSHIP AWARD 

Nathalie Younglai

WGC SHOWRUNNER AWARD 

Dennis Heaton

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail