Everything about Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary, eh?

Season 2 of honest, unflinching, doc series Push debuts on AMI-tv

Bean Gill is no stranger to AMI-tv. She has been featured in an episode of the network’s runaway hit, You Can’t Ask That, which features members of the disability community answering questions about their lives honestly. The network’s flagship magazine series, AMI This Week, spoke to Bean about her life and business, ReYu Paralysis Recovery Centre. Bean and her friends were the focus of the AMI original documentary Wheel Girl Stories, a community of women in the Edmonton area who talk openly about their experiences as wheelchair users.

Now Bean is back with Season 2 of Push.

Airing Mondays at 8 p.m. Eastern on AMI-tv and available on demand on AMI+, Push is a genuine, unflinching look at life for wheelchair users and friends. From the logistics and stigmas of sex with a fellow wheelchair user, to navigating new motherhood as a “quad mom,” to facing the people and places who knew them pre-injury, Season 2 follows Bean and her friends as they confront their past, facing their demons and supporting new members of the group through the early days of wheelchair life.

We spoke to Bean while she was in Toronto recently.

What has it been like having the chance to meet with the media and talk about you talk your life and talk about Push?
Bean Gill: Honestly, super surreal. I don’t even have the words. I don’t have the words. Mostly I say it’s bonkers. I don’t think I’m anything special. I think I’m just a regular human doing regular things, but having these opportunities to talk to big media outlets, I am just so grateful for it because my goal has been to change the world, and now I get to do it on such a broader scale at a faster rate. So yeah, man, I’m here for it.

How did Push come along and how did it end up going to CBC and AMI?
BG: I’ve been blessed with a lot of opportunities that have come after having my spinal cord injury. And one of the things was I opened ReYu Paralysis Recovery Center in Edmonton. After doing that, I won a couple of awards and when I won Top 40 under 40, Kaitlin [Stewart], our executive producer, was flipping through the magazine and she said when she saw my picture that I jumped off the page to her and she said, ‘This woman has a story to tell.’ So she cold-called, sent me an email, asked me to go for coffee, and I jump at every opportunity. So I was like, ‘Yep, let’s do it.’ We talked and we didn’t really know what this was going to look like at all. And she also brought [executive producer] Sean De Vries into the fold. And then we had a bunch more meetings and Sean just asked me, ‘What do you want out of this?’ And I said, ‘I want a reality TV show.’ I’ve always wanted one for so long. I watched the show Push Girls, and that really inspired me and showed me that, wait a minute, I can be healthy. People will date me. What, you can have a job? Because I just didn’t think of these things. I had a stigma towards people with disabilities even though I was that person.

But one thing Push Girls missed was the transfers. I wanted to know the nitty gritty. Do you have bowel control? Do you have bladder control? Everything about living life with a spinal cord injury. That’s what I wanted to know, and that’s what I needed to know in the beginning. That’s what I really wanted for Push, is to show all those things. Because I’m thinking about somebody who’s newly injured, who’s Googling information and Push comes up and then they watch it and they say, ‘Wow, I can have friends. I can do all these things. I can have a family.’ I wanted to show people that your life can be such a beautiful, successful thing. It’s not the sad, depressed notion of what disability is or what people think is.

One of the most interesting and engaging conversations in Season 2 was about having sex when you are a wheelchair user. It was an honest and funny conversation as well as being educational.
BG: You just push yourself out of this comfort zone. And when you are talking to your friends, you kind of forget about the cameras. That’s just our natural behaviour with each other. We need to teach people. So this is how we get rid of the stigma is through education. So we’re happy to do it.

Are you seeing a big change about representation of the disability community in primetime television?
BG: Yeah, I think we are. It’s at a snail’s pace, but at least it’s happening. Is there room for more? Yes, always. Because there was a show a couple years ago where they had an able-bodied man portraying somebody with a disability. People with disabilities are the biggest minority in the world. There are billions of us, guaranteed. There are actors in the disability community.

Find the people who have the lived experience who want to do these things because they’re out there and not only do they deserve to get paid, they deserve to get paid well, and then also get that recognition and be able to have that kind of social change that we see. A lot of people get their stigmas and stereotypes and what they think disability is from media, and media is using the medical model of disability, which is archaic and nonexistent anymore. That’s not us. We don’t want your sympathy and we don’t want your pity. Let me tell you that very clearly. If you don’t understand me, get a translator. We don’t.

We don’t want it. We want to be treated with respect and dignity. That’s it. We are regular people just like you. And so why should we be treated any differently?

Season 2 of Push airs Mondays at 8 p.m. Eastern on AMI-tv and AMI+.

Image courtesy of AMI.

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Jay Baruchel returns in Season 2 of the Crave original docuseries, We’re All Gonna Die (Even Jay Baruchel)

From a media release:

After more than two years since the series debut, Jay Baruchel is still worrying about humanity’s demise. Crave announced today that Season 2 of its award-winning original docuseries WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE (EVEN JAY BARUCHEL) premieres with all six episodes on Friday, April 19.

In the Canadian Screen Award-winning, half-hour series about the various ways the world could end, Canadian actor, director, and author Jay Baruchel (Blackberry, Goon) is once again joined by top scientists, activists, and experts to explore the global crises that could cause civilization’s demise, all while trying to find the solutions and technological innovations to potentially save the world.

With his trademark wit, relatable discomfort, and deep curiosity, Baruchel continues his journey to dig below the surface of his own anxieties and fears, exploring artificial intelligence, coronal mass ejections, insect die-offs, nanotechnology, the simulation theory, and his own personal fear of death. Episodic synopses for Season 2 are outlined below:

Episode 1 – Jay – I

  • Artificial Intelligence is here. Is it going to take over? Jay finds out how much time remains before society bows down to its robot overlords.

Episode 2 – Scary Space Shit

  • Jay is terrified of outer space. Turns out, he’s right to be afraid. From gamma bursts to coronal mass ejections, space could severely mess things up on Earth.

Episode 3 – Insect Extermination         

  • Jay learns about a terrifying, and growing, problem: insects are dying off and it’s humanity’s fault. What happens if they become extinct? Can humanity survive without bugs?

Episode 4 – Nano Nightmare

  • This tiny technology may help to solve major problems, but Jay learns that it also comes with extraordinary risks to the environment.

Episode 5 – Simulation Schimulation

  • Jay explores the idea that reality is actually a computer simulation. But, if nothing is real, then should anyone even bother trying to save the world?

Episode 6 – The End of Jays

  • In the season finale, Jay confronts the ultimate existential threat: his own doom. Can he learn to accept the uncertainty of his inevitable, but unpredictable, death?

WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE is produced by 90th Parallel Productions in partnership with Bell Media’s Crave. Directed by Jay Baruchel, produced by Stuart Henderson and Javiera Quintana, and written by Stuart Henderson, Emma Kassirer, and Kirk Ramsay. Jay Baruchel, Stuart Henderson, Gordon Henderson, and Victoria Lean are Executive Producers.

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Season 2 of the CTV Life Channel original series Evolving Vegan premieres April 16

From a media release:

The plant-based adventures continue as the CTV Life Channel original series, EVOLVING VEGAN, returns for its second season beginning April 16 with new episodes airing Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CTV Life, CTV.ca, and the CTV app, and also streaming on Crave. Recently nominated for Best Host, Lifestyle for Season 1 of EVOLVING VEGAN at the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards, Mena Massoud (Aladdin) takes viewers to new dynamic destinations, exploring diverse approaches to vegan cuisine in each locale, illustrating how talented chefs and restaurateurs are making plant-based food delicious and accessible.

Over the course of six, all-new hour-long episodes, Massoud explores the vibrant plant-based food scenes of Philadelphia, Montréal, Miami, Las Vegas, New Orleans, and Tokyo. Along the way, Massoud experiences local vegan cuisine with guests and experts, including famed magician and actor Penn Jillette; comedian Maz Jobrani; educator and food historian Zella Palmer; and New York Times best selling cookbook authors Carleigh Bodrug and Radhi Devlukia.

In the premiere episode of EVOLVING VEGAN Season 2 (airing Tuesday, April 16 at 8 p.m. ET on CTV Life, CTV.ca, and the CTV app), Massoud heads to Philadelphia, a city rich in history and hearty food surprises with elevated live-fire cooking, fresh Capalachi Pasta, and an unexpected turn on the classic Philly “Cheesesteak”. Mena also learns to make delectable donuts with funnyman Maz Jobrani, and crushes an absolutely monstrous “meatball” sub.

EVOLVING VEGAN is produced by Bell Media Studios. For Bell Media Studio, Jennifer Couke and Michelle Crespi are Executive Producers. Eva Filomena is Series Producer. Mena Massoud and Ali Mashayekhi are Executive Producers for Press Play Productions.

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Bryan Baeumler hits the open road this spring on HGTV Canada’s Bryan’s All In

From a media release:

Bryan Baeumler takes viewers on a road trip this spring with eight all-new episodes of Bryan’s All In, beginning Sunday, March 31, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV Canada and STACKTV. The fan-favourite HGTV Canada star travels off the beaten path to help struggling entrepreneurs with their dream businesses.

Bryan spends a week guiding budding business owners through a make-or-break point in their renovation. He acts as their coach and mentor, helping them overcome major hurdles, while tackling essential builds in a race to open or revive their business.

Viewers received a sneak peek at this series last fall, with two special preview episodes that followed Baeumler to a distillery in Prince Edward County, Ontario, and a rustic farmstand in Thomasburg, Ontario.

Bryan picks up his journey this Spring in Arnprior, Ontario, where he meets the owners of a local bowling alley who are working against the clock with a big list of renos. With only one year to turn a profit, Bryan works to help them keep the local landmark alive for the sake of their business, and for the community. Additional episodes include a craft brewery in Kenora, Ontario, a fishing resort in Pollard’s Point, Newfoundland, a maple syrup business in Coldwater, Ontario, and more. Fans can catch up on two previously released episodes now, streaming exclusively on STACKTV.

As part of Bryan’s continued partnership with the Royal Bank of Canada, custom RBC creative and integrations are featured throughout Bryan’s All In.

Bryan’s All In is produced by Si Entertainment in association with Corus Studios for HGTV Canada.

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Cash Cab Music hits the road

From a media release:

Buckle up, Canada! The iconic Cash Cab series returns with a musical twist, as Cash Cab Music premieres on GameTV on Monday, March 4 at 8 p.m. ET.

Adam Growe—beloved Canadian personality, comedian, and licensed taxi driver—hosts this thrilling game show, giving unsuspecting passengers the chance to test their music knowledge for cash prizes. As they drive to their destination, Growe asks them a series of increasingly-challenging questions. They’re not entirely alone on their journey, however. If they get stumped, there’s help – they can phone a friend, ask the world on social media, or shout out to a stranger on the street. But only once per game!

Each correct answer puts money in their pocket, while each incorrect answer counts as a strike. Like baseball, it’s three strikes and you’re out! The contestant must immediately exit the vehicle, no matter where they are on their route. Contestants who manage to reach their destination without earning three strikes, will have the opportunity to add to their winnings in the all-new “Cash Cab Karaoke” segment. In this electrifying final round riders can double their money if they can belt out the answer to the final question.

About GameTV
GameTV is a Canadian channel specializing in game-related programming such as game shows, competition-based shows, reality series and movies. The channel is available in over 6+ million homes in digital basic on IPTV, cable and satellite systems throughout the territory. GameTV is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp., a leading global sports media company

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