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New CTV original comedy Mark McKinney Needs a Hobby premieres October 2

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From a media release:

Good laughs and great adventures are in store, as the previously announced inaugural season of CTV Original comedy docuseries MARK MCKINNEY NEEDS A HOBBY airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT, beginning Oct. 2 on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app. Filmed across Canada and the United States, Season 1 consists of 10, half-hour, episodes.

The series follows actor, comedian, and writer Mark McKinney (SUPERSTORE, THE KIDS IN THE HALL) as he embarks on an epic quest to answer one of the most pressing questions of the 2020’s – who are we when we are not working? MARK MCKINNEY NEEDS A HOBBY is produced by Sphere Media in association with CTV, and created by Kim Bondi, Mark McKinney, Rob Sheridan (2 BROKE GIRLS, CORNER GAS), and directed by Nick McKinney (INSOMNIAC, THE DAILY SHOW).

This season, McKinney travels throughout North America meeting the most impassioned everyday hobbyists and the communities of like-minded obsessives who nurture them, all in a quest to find the one true hobby he can claim for himself. The inaugural season also features special guests, including comedians Margaret Cho and Deb DiGiovanni, Canadian singing legend Billy Newton-Davis, SUPERSTORE’s Ben Feldman, Maria Vacratsis of the My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Mama Mia! franchises, CANADA’S DRAG RACE regular and choreographer Hollywood Jade, noted columnist and food critic James Chatto, and professional Muppet puppeteer Trish Leeper (FRAGGLE ROCK, SESAME STREET).

On the series premiere of MARK MCKINNEY NEEDS A HOBBY, “Birding” (Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app), McKinney travels to the Canadian shores of Lake Erie to learn everything there is to know about birding and birdwatching. Over the course of his visit, he embarks on a journey to the Long Point Nature Preserve, tags and releases birds at a Birds Canada outpost, and accompanies his host to a tattoo parlor where birding memories aren’t just made, but painfully memorialized.

Each episode of MARK MCKINNEY NEEDS A HOBBY is also available to stream on Crave every Thursday, beginning Oct. 3. This season, viewers follow McKinney as he explores hobbies such as historical re-enactment, barbershop quartet singing, puppetry, watersports, robots, collecting memorabilia, fly fishing, dancing, and cooking.

About Mark McKinney
Mark McKinney has performed in, written, and produced some of the most beloved comedy television in North America. As co-creator, writer, and ensemble cast member of THE KIDS IN THE HALL, he was nominated for three Emmy® Awards and multiple Gemini Awards, including Best Writing and Best Performance. McKinney followed the success of his series with three seasons as both a principal cast member and staff writer on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, and, most recently, starred, and directed on the hit sitcom, SUPERSTORE.

MARK MCKINNEY NEEDS A HOBBY is produced by Sphere Media in association with CTV. Mark McKinney, Bruno Dubé, Marlo Miazga, Kim Bondi, Rob Sheridan, and Corinna Lehr are Executive Producers. Kim Creelman is Series Producer, and Nick McKinney is Creative Producer.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Todd Talbot debuts new series, Todd Talbot Builds: The Passive House Project, premiering October 8 exclusively on Cottage Life

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From a media release:

Love It or List It Vancouver real estate expert and TV star, Todd Talbot joins Cottage Life with the debut of his new documentary series, Todd Talbot Builds: The Passive House Project (8×30’). The eight-part series provides an intimate look into the highs and lows of Talbot’s construction journey as he and his wife, actor Rabecca Talbot, set out to build a net-zero, passive house A-frame on British Columbia’s picturesque Okanagan Lake just outside Kelowna. The Canadian broadcast premiere of Todd Talbot Builds: The Passive House Project airs Tuesday, October 8 at 8p.m. ET/PT, exclusively on Cottage Life.

In the series, Talbot takes off his Love It or List It realtor hat and reveals to viewers his in-depth knowledge of the construction industry. Talbot takes on the roles of project manager, financier, associate designer, estimator and head of the construction team building this cabin. Architects, engineers and environmental experts join Talbot to build his future home. The series showcases cutting-edge, sustainable building techniques and the science behind constructing homes with a minimal ecological footprint.

Talbot’s passive house made international headlines in the summer of 2023, B.C.’s worst wildfire season on record. The fires forced Todd, Rabecca and their kids to evacuate and halt production of the series. Nearly all the passive house elements were completed, with the exception of the stone wool insulation and non combustible cladding on the underbelly of the structure. When Todd and Rabecca were allowed back to the site a month later to survey the damage, the pile of insulation was the only thing that was not destroyed. From its inspiring inception to its tragic conclusion, the series documents Talbot’s ambitious home project, including how he discovered via CNN that his family’s passive house was lost to the blaze.

“My wife Rabecca and I spent over four years documenting the construction of our family’s A-frame passive house, sharing our insights on sustainable and resilient building practices,” says Todd Talbot. “Our project’s devastating ending inspired us to keep filming so we could emphasize the powerful impact of B.C.’s wildfires. We’re now finally ready to share the ups and downs of our journey with Cottage Life viewers.”

Passive house buildings are widely hailed as the future of home construction, celebrated for their health benefits and energy efficiency. Yet, a lesser-known advantage is their heightened resilience to wildfires. Todd Talbot’s passive house project underscores the urgent need to build sustainable, resilient homes to combat the devastating effects of the climate crisis.

Todd Talbot Builds: The Passive House Project is produced by Infinity Films. Shel Piercy and Todd Talbot serve as Producers, with Piercy directing. Theresa Piercy is the Series Producer, with a team of cinematographers documenting the incredible build over its three-year filming process. Judd Bakken and Robert Lawrenson are the Editors, with original music by Jeff Griffiths and Chris King.

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Métis/Cree filmmaker Barbara Todd Hager to adapt award-winning book “On Savage Shores” by UK author Caroline Dodds Pennock

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From a media release:

Indigenous-owned production company Acimow Media has optioned the award-winning book On Savage Shores (Knopf) by the UK author and historian Caroline Dodds Pennock (pictured above right).

In On Savage Shores, Pennock brings to light the stories of countless Indigenous people from the Americas—Aztec, Maya, Totonacs, Inuit, Iroquois, and others—who were taken to Europe against their will as slaves, household servants, performers, translators, and religious converts following the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492 and continuing until the early 20th century. Many of the abducted Indigenous people died in Europe, while some survived but were permanently removed from their families, communities, and cultural traditions. In some rare cases, Indigenous abductees would marry in Europe and become powerful members of their new communities.

Acimow Media is developing Pennock’s book into a three-part docu-drama series called On Distant Shores, which will focus on the stories of three explorers and the Indigenous people they abducted: Christopher Columbus and Diego; Jacque Cartier and Taignoagny and Domagaya; and Sir Walter Raleigh and Wanchese and Manteo. Each episode of the series will focus on the histories that took place in these European countries—Spain, France, and England.

“I am thrilled to be working with Barbara Hager to bring these important and often overlooked Indigenous histories to a wider audience,” said Pennock. “The lives of Native travellers—diplomats, explorers, ‘curiosities’, enslaved people and many others—so rarely form part of the popular imagination. Acimow Media, an Indigenous-owned and focused production company, is the perfect partner to change that, and to communicate how and why these histories matter.”

In addition to her writing career, Pennock is also a senior lecturer in international history at the University of Sheffield. She has appeared on history series for the BBC, Netflix, and the Science Channel, and has written for BBC History Magazine, History Today, and Scientific American.

“When I first read Caroline Dodds Pennock’s book that recounts dozens of real-life stories of Indigenous people who were taken to Europe after 1492, I knew I wanted to make a documentary series about this important post-contact history,” said Hager (pictured above left). “Dr. Pennock’s brilliant book brings to life the harrowing and heartbreaking experiences of Indigenous people from every part of the Americas who were taken from their families and communities, against their will, by such celebrated explorers as Christopher Columbus, Walter Raliegh, Jacques Cartier, and others.”

Métis/Cree producer Barbara Todd Hager is a Canadian filmmaker who has directed four documentary series and five one-off documentaries to her credit, including the award-winning docu-drama series, 1491: The Untold Story of the Americas Before Columbus (APTN, ZDFE) based on the best-selling book 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

T+E’s new original documentary series, My Haunted Hometown, takes viewers inside North America’s most terrifying locations

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From a media release:

What happens when the place you call home… wants you to leave? T+E’s all-new original documentary series My Haunted Hometown (8×60’; HD) offers an unsettling and immersive look inside homes, bars, stores and other eerie locations across Canada and the U.S. plagued by vengeful spirits. The series goes beyond typical ghost stories by taking viewers inside real-life haunted venues, with its residents serving as the tour guides. Room-by-room, residents share their vivid and harrowing encounters with the paranormal. From unexplained noises and apparitions to shapeshifters and poltergeist activity, terrifying supernatural forces reside in their four walls. Despite living in fear, they refuse to leave, showcasing their unbreakable bond to their community even as their dark tales expose the grim histories and chilling supernatural activity of their hometowns. My Haunted Hometown reveals how living in a small town can open another dimension. My Haunted Hometown premieres during T+E’s nationwide free preview event, running from September 2 to November 3, 2024, with new episodes airing every Friday leading up to October and T+E’s highly-anticipated ‘Creep Week’ event.

By day, these small towns bask in their quaint, tight-knit charm. By night, however, their sinister histories come alive, casting a dark shadow over the lives of their residents. Each episode features three true stories from three different towns, offering an intimate and immersive experience that brings these dark tales of the paranormal to life. My Haunted Hometown also incorporates dramatic recreations to vividly depict the harrowing experiences of these residents.

My Haunted Hometown is produced by Blue Ant Studios. Matthew Hornburg, Mark J.W. Bishop and Donna Luke serve as Executive Producers. The series is produced by Shannon McKinnon and directed by Ryan Marley. Overseen by Sam Linton, VP, Production and Development, Global Media on behalf of Blue Ant Media. Blue Ant Studios handles global distribution.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Friday Night Thunder revs up for final season on APTN

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From a media release:

Big Soul Productions is pleased and saddened to announce the final season premiere of Indigenous racing docuseries Friday Night Thunder on Friday, September 6 at 8:30PM ET on APTN. Shot entirely at Ohsweken Speedway on the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory, this is the only series to follow the stories of Indigenous drivers in the Sprint Car class, arguably one of the most dangerous forms of racing in motorsports.

Created and Produced by Anishinaabe Producer Laura Milliken (Moccasin Flats), the 13x30min series amplifies the challenging world of grassroots dirt track racing for 10 Indigenous drivers who demonstrate varying degrees of passion, seriousness and skill on and off the track. From budget shortfalls to motor issues and car wrecks to rookie mistakes, all of the drivers wrestle with the challenges of this costly and sometimes deadly sport.

“It’s been a wild and crazy ride filming Friday Night Thunder at Ohsweken Speedway. I have seen young drivers become family men, watched kids growing up, witnessed some of the best racing you’ll see anywhere and had the most fun I may ever have working on a television series,” said Laura Milliken. “I’ll truly miss this show. But I’m a forever racing fan so I’m sure I’ll be back with some more Indigenous racing content soon.”

Friday Night Thunder, the first-ever documentary series about the exhilarating and dangerous world of sprint car racing, ends its run in its fourth season for a total of 52 half-hour episodes. Seasons 1-3 can be watched on APTN’s streaming platform APTN LUMI. The Season 4 television premiere will be across all APTN channels on Friday, September 6 at 8:30PM.

“Audiences keep coming back to Friday Night Thunder because the drivers’ passion for what they do is infectious,” said Adam Garnet Jones, director of TV content and special events at APTN. “With fast cars, big characters and high stakes at Ohsweken Speedway, the show is all grit, grease and heart. We are sad to see it go but it will have a long life on our streaming platform.”

Friday Night Thunder was made possible by the generous support of Canadian Motorsport Hall of Famer and Ohsweken Speedway founder Glenn Styres and Tina Styres, GForceTV and Clinton Geoffrey.

ABOUT BIG SOUL PRODUCTIONS
Big Soul Productions Inc. is a pioneering Toronto-based production company founded in 1999 by Anishinaabe producer/entrepreneur Laura J. Milliken. With their Gemini nominated series “Moccasin Flats,” Big Soul became the first Aboriginal-owned production company to earn a Best Dramatic Series nomination. Other notable credits include the primetime animated comedy “By the Rapids,” and the critically acclaimed festival films “Fire Song” and “Run Woman Run,” a sleeper box office hit. Big Soul is dedicated to creating, developing, and producing films and television series representing the Indigenous voice and perspective while generating much needed capacity for Indigenous talent in the film and television industries. 

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