Everything about Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary, eh?

New ZoomerMedia TV series Your Nation’s Table celebrates seafood from the West Coast of Canada

From a media release:

A new television series airing nationwide this fall is poised to make waves. ZoomerMedia’s Your Nation’s Table debuts Monday, November 14 with a season dedicated to six amazing BC seafood stories.

Over a year in the making, the series takes viewers on a voyage through communities across BC alongside hosts Carmen Ruiz y Laza and Chef Robert Clark. Each 30-minute episode focuses on a popular BC seafood and its journey from sea to table.

Your Nation’s Table provides a fascinating insight into the harvest of wild seafood along the rugged BC coastline, and the colourful characters who are responsible for catching, processing, and preparing it. Viewers will be inspired by their stories which illustrate how, by delivering the finest seafood to domestic and global markets, they are playing a vital role in the Canadian food economy.

As a decorated chef, member of the Order of Canada, and one of the founders of the sustainable seafood movement, Chef Robert Clark was delighted to co-host Your Nation’s Table. “What an honour, thrill, and amazing opportunity it is to introduce the producers of our food, supporters of our communities, and defenders of our food sovereignty into so many Canadian homes,” says Chef Clark.

With over two decades of television and film experience in production and hosting, Television Host Carmen Ruiz y Laza was excited to bring Your Nation’s Table to life.

“Your Nation’s Table was born out of my experience shopping for sustainable local seafood. At my neighbourhood grocery store, the fishmonger told me they didn’t have locally-caught wild BC salmon, but had only imported and farmed fish. At that moment, I decided to do something about it,” says Ruiz y Laza. “By advocating for, and giving a voice to our BC seafood producers, the aim of Your Nation’s Table is to raise the profile of a valuable and often underappreciated domestic food production system and steer consumers towards better tasting, more nutritional, and environmentally-friendly alternatives.”

The season’s six episodes, filmed in remote destinations across the BC coast, highlight how BC spot prawns, salmon, crab, geoduck, sablefish and tuna are harvested. Viewers will also be treated to tips by top chefs on how to shop for, and prepare these products, and which BC wines to pair them with.

The series is made possible by the generous support of its sponsors: Buy BC, Pacific Prawn Fishermen’s Association, BC Salmon Marketing Council, Underwater Harvesters Association, BC Tuna Fishermen’s Association, Canadian Sablefish Association, BC Crab Fishermen’s Association, Grundéns Fishing Apparel, Pacific Net & Twine, Mission Hill Family Estate, Liquidity Wines, CedarCreek Estate Winery, and Ocean Regenerative Aquaculture.

Broadcasted through the ZoomerMedia network, Your Nation’s Table will reach viewers across Canada. The series will air on JoyTV BC starting Monday, November 14, and FaithTV starting Saturday, November 26. Tune in on Mondays and Fridays at 5pm (PST) on JoyTV, or catch the show on Saturdays at 10:30am (PST) on FaithTV.

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Captivating Canadian original series reign supreme on Discovery this fall including debut of The Mightiest

From a media release:

This fall, Discovery delivers series with astounding stories of human strength, savvy, and adventurous spirit including the debut of the all-new Discovery Original THE MIGHTIEST. Premiering Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 8 p.m. ET, the six-episode, one-hour docu-series follows veteran adventure hosts Aliya Jasmine and Teddy Wilson as they take to the field to witness the mightiest of machines take on new missions. From re-engineered Chinook helitankers fighting wildfires 24/7 in Southern California, to a train that helps sustain life and connect communities, the series reveals the innovation and science that enable these machines to conquer nearly impossible challenges. Shot across Canada, Europe, and the U.S. in 2022, THE MIGHTIEST is produced in partnership with Bell Media Studios and Exploration Productions.

Leading up to the launch of THE MIGHTIEST is the highly anticipated Season 2 premiere of Discovery Original docu-series MUD MOUNTAIN HAULERS, Monday, Oct. 31 at 10 p.m. ET. Then, Season 2 of extreme adventure series LAST OF THE GIANTS kicks off on Thursday, Nov. 24 at 9 p.m. ET, and the two-part special event AFTER THE STORM, which features stories of last year’s widespread flooding in the Pacific Northwest, premieres on Thursday, Dec. 15 at 10 p.m. ET. Meanwhile, new episodes of beloved Discovery Original series HIGHWAY THRU HELL air Mondays at 9 p.m. ET throughout the year.

Discovery Canadian Original Series Premieres:

MUD MOUNTAIN HAULERS – Season 2

Mondays at 10 p.m. ET, beginning Oct. 31

In the new season of MUD MOUNTAIN HAULERS, brothers Craig and Brent Lebeau, third-generation loggers hoping for a successful logging season, and brothers Shane and Chad Glover, second-generation loggers based in the Kootenay region of B.C., along with their father Gary Glover, battle treacherous terrain, unpredictable weather, and complex machinery to get their logs to the mill.

In the season premiere “Let’s Get This Party Started,” Craig LeBeau and his crew set up camp in a remote part of the Shuswap Highlands, on the steepest, baddest block any of them has ever seen: Gollen. Things start out well, until bad weather and a stuck truck derail the entire operation. Meanwhile, Brent’s clearing a snowmobile trail for a local ski resort but, with so many jobs on the go, a mechanical oversight and impending snowfall may cost him the entire job.

MUD MOUNTAIN HAULERS is produced by Great Pacific Media.

THE MIGHTIESTSeries Premiere

Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET, beginning Nov. 23

THE MIGHTIEST takes to the field to witness mega machines take on all-new mighty missions, giving viewers an all-access pass to every aspect of the vessel and the people around it as it embarks on a new and dangerous journey.

In the series premiere “Launch Day,” host Teddy Wilson is aboard the U.S. Navy’s newest and largest aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to document final training and tensions rising as the crew prepares for its long awaited first mission. The episode also looks at the massive Airbus A-380’s first landing into a major North American hub, the re-launch of a flying telescope after being grounded for months, and final touches on a cruise ship three times bigger than the Titanic.

LAST OF THE GIANTS – Season 2

Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET, beginning Nov. 24

After their action-packed adventures in North America and the Amazon, Cyril and the team are back with more high-adrenaline missions in Argentina, Nicaragua and the Marquesas Islands in the South Pacific.

In Argentina, searching for swamp-dwelling, deadly stingray, Cyril and the team venture into dangerous, uncharted rivers. Trekking through Nicaragua, the team skillfully evade deadly predators as they seek out the prehistoric giant Tarpon and the Goliath Grouper. Finally, journeying to the most remote islands in the South Pacific, Cyril leads a scuba dive through swarms of sharks and moray eels to find a giant trevally, an ocean predator capable of explosive attacks and even snatching birds from the sky.

LAST OF THE GIANTS is produced by Untamed Productions.

AFTER THE STORMTwo-Part Special Event

Thursday, Dec. 15 and 22 at 10 p.m. ET

In November 2021 an unprecedented storm slams into the Pacific Northwest, pummeling the region with a month’s worth of rain in just 48 hours. As rivers break their banks and landslides erupt from the coastal mountains,15,000 people flee their homes via crumbling highways and collapsing bridges. Many of those homes – and the land they sit on – are soon swept away.

AFTER THE STORM follows the events firsthand with the people who fought through this historic flood – from the first signs of trouble brewing over the ocean through the days of impact, with experts explaining the forces behind the disaster. In the aftermath engineers and towns race to rebuild vital infrastructure and roads connecting the coast to the rest of the country. Even when the trucks and trains are rolling again, the ongoing question is about the future: how to build back better in the face of more unpredictable weather – and more unforgiving storms to come.

Part 1 – “A River In The Sky” – Thursday, Dec. 15 at 10 p.m. ET

When the storm of the century hits the west coast, smashing rainfall records, no one is fully prepared. As the storm takes hold, landslides batter highways, trapping hundreds of drivers. Chelsey Hughes is heading home from a weekend getaway when a wall of debris slams into her car, throwing her into a river of mud and into a fight for survival. In the nearby Sumas region, community heroes like Gary Baars jump into action when rising water overwhelms the system of dikes and pumps that protects their land. Local farmers mount daring rescues of stranded workers and drowning livestock. As defenses collapse, one group of locals works through the night to save the pump station – their community’s last safeguard. In the storm’s aftermath workers race to rebuild dikes and reconnect important roads. Beyond the rush to fix what’s broken, experts explore new ways to manage life in vulnerable flood plains and adapt to the intensifying forces of nature.

Part 2 – “Hell or High Water” – Thursday, Dec. 22 at 10 p.m. ET

On the heels of the summer heat dome, which sparked catastrophic wildfires across southern B.C., November’s atmospheric river brings record-breaking rainfall. In the province’s desert-like interior, firefighter Dylan Bullock is still recovering from severe burns that he suffered in the wildfires. When parched mountains can’t absorb the rainfall, it pours into the rivers and into the city of Merritt. As floodwater submerges the nearby wastewater treatment plant, 7000 residents must evacuate – just as collapsing highways and bridges cut off escape routes. In small, isolated communities the raging Nicola River devours land and houses, stranding locals and triggering dramatic rescues. In the weeks that follow the storm, crews work tirelessly to fix the water plant and improvise repairs to let traffic and supplies start flowing, and engineers analyze what other countries are doing to mitigate flood damage and build more resilient infrastructure.

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OUTtv renews Face to Face with David for fifth season; acquires second series from David Oulton

From a media release:

OUTtv has renewed David Oulton’s syndicated talk show for a fifth season to air in 2023. The network has also acquired a second series, Who’s There?, which is a round table style talk show, with Oulton as host.

Filmed at The Rimrock Resort Hotel in Banff, Alberta, Face to Face with David has become one of the most aired daytime television shows in Canada. Beginning as a small independent project during the Covid lockdowns, the series is now co-produced and airs on OUTtv, as well as airing daily in Canada on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, Slice, Showcase, Movietime and streams on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV and several other broadcasters. The series is also available in the US, UK, Australia, South Africa and multiple other territories.

The fifth season will consist of 13 episodes and air in 2023. The guest list is yet to be confirmed, however previous notable guests have included Raven Symone, Vanessa Williams, Natasha Henstridge, Corbin Bernsen, Miriam Margolyes and many others. Oulton has become infamous for interviewing his guests in a Versace bathrobe while drinking red wine. Face to Face with David is directed by Candace Schmidt and produced by L&C Style Productions.

OUTtv has also acquired a second series from Oulton, Who’s There? The series is a roundtable-style talk show filmed live in person, which each episode featuring Oulton as host and a panel of guests comprised of an artist, business leader, and regular everyday viewer. The six-episode series was filmed at the Paradox Hotel in downtown Vancouver, and features notable guests such as Emmanuelle Vaugier (Two and a Half Men, Saw), Mackenzie Gray (Riverdale, Nancy Drew) and Tammy Gillis (Siren, Van Helsing).

Who’s There? is a topical-focused series where the panel of guests discussing a wide-ranging variety of issues and topics, rather than being interviewed directly. The initial season is comprised of six episodes to air on OUTtv. The series is also produced by L&C Style Productions.

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David Suzuki announces retirement as host of CBC’s The Nature of Things

From a media release:

World-renowned environmentalist and science broadcaster David Suzuki will retire next spring after 43 years as host of CBC’s THE NATURE OF THINGS, which he has hosted since October 24, 1979. Suzuki announced his decision tonight during an interview with Ian Hanomansing on The National, discussing his legacy, meaningful moments and hopes for the future. TV’s longest-running science series, The Nature of Things’ 62nd season will launch on Friday, January 6, 2023, with Suzuki’s final episode set to air in the spring. New hosting plans for the series after Suzuki’s departure will be confirmed in the coming weeks.

“I have been fortunate to have been endowed with good health which has enabled me to remain the host of the series long after my ‘best before date’,” said Suzuki. “Aging is a natural biological process that creates opportunity for fresher, more imaginative input from younger people and for years, I have warned that to ensure the continuation of The Nature of Things, we must prepare for the transition when I leave. That moment is now.”

“I am so grateful to Canadians who have kept us on air and to the CBC for sticking with me,” added Suzuki. “The Nature of Things is a unique series that stems from an ecocentric rather than anthropocentric perspective, a critical understanding of how we got into the mess we are in and how to move out of it.”

“David has made science more accessible to countless viewers in Canada and around the world, finding new ways to demystify our complex world and illustrate how the future of humanity and the natural world cannot be separated — long before climate change became a hot topic, “ said Barbara Williams, Executive Vice President, CBC. “We thank David for challenging and inspiring so many of us to look at ourselves and our planet in new ways, and look forward to celebrating his indelible legacy and final season next year.”

Before his life as a broadcaster, Suzuki was a distinguished professor and geneticist. He has authored more than 50 books, received several honorary degrees and awards, and has been recognized by the UN for his environmental leadership. Suzuki is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a Companion of the Order of Canada. He also founded the non-profit David Suzuki Foundation.

THE NATURE OF THINGS presents dramatic and insightful stories that are driven by a scientific understanding of the world. THE NATURE OF THINGS continues to inspire and entertain audiences by engaging with the people and personalities behind the science and phenomena that shape our world. From the search for other life in the universe to the psychology of babies, and from the furry animals that invade our backyards to the consequences of human progress, THE NATURE OF THINGS throws open the door to the wonder and accomplishments of science, making it accessible to viewers of all ages.

The 62nd season of THE NATURE OF THINGS will broadcast Friday nights at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) starting January 6 on CBC TV and CBC Gem. More information about the lineup of documentaries this coming season will be available here closer to the premiere.

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Making It Home’s Kenny Brain is feeling at home on HGTV Canada

The COVID-19 pandemic caused chaos in the film and television industry. When productions weren’t completely shut down, contact between cast and crew was deeply restricted. For Kenny Brain, it meant he wasn’t able to really get to know his co-star, Kortney Wilson until cameras were rolling on Season 1 of Making It Home with Kortney and Kenny.

“The first time Kortney and I met face-to-face was about an hour before they yelled, ‘Action!'” he says with a laugh. “We did some online stuff but nothing in-person until we showed up to film.

“My legs were shaking when I walked in,” he recalls. “I’m thinking, ‘How did I end up here? Did I make the right decision?'”

Those worries were for naught. As viewers see when they tune in, there is a connection, chemistry and repartee between the duo. That’s even more pronounced in Season 3 of Making It Home with Kortney and Kenny. Currently airing Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV Canada, each instalment follows Wilson and Brain as they visit properties in dire need of a makeover. With her spunk and design know-how and his consummate contracting skills, it’s a wild, funny and tear-filled ride.

It’s been quite the journey for Brain. The Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland, native first made waves on Canadian TV when he appeared on Season 2 of Global’s Big Brother Canada. Once his stint on reality TV came to an end, Brain didn’t plan on returning to the small screen.

“I thought Big Brother Canada would be a one-off,” Brain says. “A really cool, massive experience, but I never dreamed I would end up where I am today.” Brain was quite comfortable transforming properties across the country, something he fell in love with in his 20s when he helped friends renovate their home and cabin. Putting the time and energy into something with his own hands that provided a tangible result had great allure. It quickly turned into his every day.

Now Brain finds himself standing among some of the biggest names in Canadian DIY, mentioned alongside Bryan Baeumler, Scott McGillivray, Sarah Richardson, Jonathan and Drew Scott, Mike Holmes, Sarah Keenleyside and Sebastian Clovis. It’s not something he takes for granted.

“HGTV Canada is such a staple in people’s homes,” he says. “To be a part of that family and to feel supported, I have to pinch myself because I never imagined my life being where it is right now.”

Making It Home with Kortney and Kenny airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV Canada.

Image courtesy of Corus Media.

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