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Jade Fever strikes in Season 2

Watching a series like Jade Fever—returning Tuesday to Discovery—you can’t help but ask one question: why? Why do folks like Claudia and Robin Bunce trek 120 kilometres from their home in Jade City, B.C., to hunt for jade every summer?

The ride to their camp—named Wolverine—is a mud, water and rock-filled trail heavy diggers and trucks must traverse at a snail’s pace. We’re talking a days-long expedition. Equipment breaks down, biting bugs are a constant, and mud and cold envelop all. Again, why do they do it? One word: jade. Seventy-five per cent of the world’s nephrite jade is in the area and countries like China are willing to pay big for it.

Back for Season 2 on Bell Media’s specialty network, the Bunce’s and their crew—including hot-headed son Josh—are constantly on the hunt for what they call “the million-dollar” rock; the chunk of jade that will be a windfall for the company. Unlike gold, which must be mined, jade is found near the surface, deposited by glaciers millions of years ago. Still, finding the stuff—especially the deep, green gem prized most—is a crapshoot. Unlike the rookie season debut that introduced everyone and got digging right away, Tuesday’s back-to-back instalments hop into the cabs alongside everyone and documents the slow, methodical trip to Wolverine. It takes just one kilometre into the ride for warning beeps to halt the conga line, and just a little bit more before an overheated engine stops everything.

Over in China, meanwhile, company CEO Alan Qiao meets with investors, putting the final signatures on a $500,000 budget. Those investors lost money last year and threaten to pull out if the Bunces don’t produce more jade.

Episode 2 is plagued by a faulty rock truck, but some quick-thinking—and some luck—things eventually take a turn for the better. A nail-biting crossing of the Turnagain River and some expletive-filled track bolt adjustments and the squad is, as Claudia says, “cooking with corn flakes.” Well, most of them, anyway.

A quick teaser hints at the drama to come: rolled over vehicles, injured folks being flown out via helicopter, staff stranded in the bush and endless boulders with nothing inside. Yup, it’s going to be a long season. Luckily, the payoff is worth it.

Jade Fever airs Tuesdays at 10 and 10:30 p.m. ET on Discovery.

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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Cold Water Cowboys push it to the limit in Season 3

From a media release:

The captains and crews of COLD WATER COWBOYS return to the waters of the Atlantic, more determined than ever to ride the massive rolling sea and wrangle their big hauls! Anchoring Discovery’s most-watched night of the week, the third season of the original Canadian series COLD WATER COWBOYS airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT beginning March 8 on Discovery and Discovery GO. Joining COLD WATER COWBOYS on Discovery’s must-see Tuesdays is the 16-time Emmy® Award-winning series DEADLIEST CATCH, returning to the Bering Sea March 29 at 9 p.m. ET.

From Paperny Entertainment, COLD WATER COWBOYS follows seven captains and their crews aboard fishing boats off the coast of Newfoundland. Eager to fight the unforgiving waves to reach their weekly tallies and cash them in are returning fishermen Captain Richard Gillett aboard the Midnight Shadow; Conway and Rick Caines aboard the Seadoo; Andre and Michelle Jesso aboard the Wave on Wave; Morris Anstey aboard the Sebastian Sails; Paul Tiller aboard the Atlantic Bandit; and newcomer Rick Crane aboard his new boat, Crane’s Legacy. Throughout Season 3, the fishermen face big challenges and risks, putting it all on the line for their passions and pay days.

Last season, Discovery was the #1 entertainment specialty network during COLD WATER COWBOYS’ Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET timeslot among total viewers, adults 25-54, and adults 18-49. Viewers can revisit all eight episodes of the salty second season of COLD WATER COWBOYS on Discovery GO.

For fans looking to complement their television experience and build their very own fishing dynasty, the Cold Water Cowboys: Atlantic Empire simulation game is back and refreshed for Season 3 at Discovery.ca. Combining strategy and skill based gameplay, show characters and locations, along with a strong social media component, players control their own fishing vessels while going for broke as one of the cold water cowboys in the unforgiving North Atlantic.

About COLD WATER COWBOYS Season 3:
There’s a new skipper in town for Season 3 – Captain Rick Crane. With every cent sunk into his new boat just Southwest in Cox’s Cove, he’s putting everything on the line to prove himself in the big leagues. Back for another season on the water, Morris Anstey is just as determined as ever, pushing his crew to their limits in Iceberg Alley before fishing the most dangerous bays on The Rock. The kings of crab and turbot, Paul Tiller and his crew attempt to give seining another shot. When winter sets in, the crew of the Atlantic Bandit fishes for urchin in the freezing North Atlantic.
On the West Coast, Conway Caines and his dad Rick start their season fishing 200 miles out to sea. Andre Jesso, his First Mate (and wife) Michelle, and their crew of greenhorns hope to make up for last year’s dismal season. Last but not least, Captain Richard Gillett is back, racing to make up ground after health issues last spring. Richard’s determined to hook his biggest score yet – two and a half million pounds of herring.

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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

20 Stars, 20 Room Renovations: Home to Win debuts April 24 on HGTV

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From a media release:

This April, HGTV Canada launches Home to Win – its biggest, most interactive, multiplatform series yet. For the first time in the network’s history, 20 HGTV Canada stars including Mike Holmes, Bryan Baeumler, Scott McGillivray and Sarah Richardson come together under one roof to buy an average home and renovate it from top to bottom for one lucky Canadian. Starting today, Canadians can visit HomeToWin.ca to audition to be one of three Canadians who will compete to win this ultimate property. Throughout the series the house is revealed on-air and online, with HomeToWin.ca hosting a closer look after every episode. Hosted by ET Canada’s Sangita Patel, Home to Win premieres April 24 at 10pm ET/PT on HGTV Canada.

In the series premiere, HGTV Canada stars hunt for the ideal property to buy and renovate for one Canadian to call their own. In each episode, fan-favourite builders and designers work together to renovate and revamp the home room-by-room. With 20 major renovations to complete, there’s no shortage of work for this powerhouse cast and the results are extraordinary. Once the house is complete, three Canadians compete in heart-pounding challenges to see who will be victorious and claim the keys to the house.

By visiting HomeToWin.ca, Canadians can now submit an audition video for the chance to compete for the ultimate home, which will be awarded during the Home to Win finale on June 26. To participate in casting, Canadians must enter their email address on the site by June 5 at 11:59pm ET and follow the directions emailed to their inbox. The application is as easy as submitting a video, up to one minute in length, introducing themselves and answering the question, “what makes a house a home?”

Leading up to series launch, HomeToWin.ca transforms into a fully immersive digital experience where fans can explore design content, photo galleries and the interactive Design a Room feature. The Design a Room tool puts the audience in the driver’s seat as they design six different rooms inspired by the Home to Win house. Throughout the series, as the house is renovated on-air, Canadians get an in-depth look at every stunning detail through a captivating virtual tour with hotspots allowing them to shop the look. Canadians also get a taste of life on set through behind-the-scenes videos and can watch full episodes after they air.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Debbie Travis finds the sweet life in OWN’s La Dolce Debbie

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Debbie Travis wasn’t looking to get back into television. The DIY star of shows like Debbie Travis’ Painted House, two seasons of From the Ground Up and All For One was burnt out by the medium. But a flippant remark at a speaking engagement in Vancouver almost seven years ago changed all that … and her life.

“I made this stupid story up where I said, ‘I have a villa in Tuscany and I’m going to invite everybody out to stay with me,'” she recalls. “And I didn’t have one. But within a short time, I had women signing up to take part.” She rented a retreat and gave it a shot. It was such a success, Travis decided to buy a property and renovate it so she could offer the experience annually.

That multi-year journey from flippant remark to reality is documented in OWN Canada’s La Dolce Debbie, where she, husband Hans Rosenstein and an army of construction dudes turn a 13th century farmhouse and property into an idyll for themselves and—for part of the year—a week-long haven for women looking to be recharged and inspired. Debuting Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET, La Dolce Debbie revisits the exhaustive search to find the perfect property, a trek that took Travis and Rosenstein all over Italy. But discovering a tumbledown farmhouse was just the beginning. It took two years of paperwork and planning before a shovel turned the soil.

The six-episode program isn’t only about transforming a farmhouse into a 14-bedroom oasis. It’s as much a relationship tale about a young model who fell in love with a young man she met in France and the life they built in Canada. Travis commented on more than one occasion that Rosenstein wasn’t supposed to appear in La Dolce Debbie, but I’m glad he does, providing levity and patience when things go wrong and Travis becomes frustrated by bureaucracy and blips in construction.

It’s also, as Travis says, a series about next chapters. Upcoming episodes spotlight several of the women who attend the Tuscan getaways she offers where, as she says, you can “put your handbag under the bed” and everything is included. With responsibilities on hold, real contemplation begins via yoga, hikes, swimming, eating drinking, talking and laughing.

“I wanted to create a space where women can come and empty their minds,” she says. “Women today are looking for that next step in their lives and I want them to come and be spoiled with the best of everything, declutter their minds and think about what’s next.”

And, in the process, find their own dolce vita like Travis did.

La Dolce Debbie airs Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. ET on OWN Canada.

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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

All-New Episodes of Love It or List It Vancouver Set to Air on W Network

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From a media release:

Big Coat Productions is excited to announce that all-new episodes of Love It or List It Vancouver Season 3 are back and will start airing Monday, February 8 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on W Network. The hit TV series, hosted by designer Jillian Harris and real estate expert Todd Talbot, returns with 13 all-new episodes, showcasing Vancouver homeowners faced with one of the biggest decisions of their life, can they stay in their existing home and learn to love it or should they pack it in and list it? Production on Season 4 is currently underway and is set to premiere in Fall of 2016 on W Network.

Every episode of Love It or List It Vancouver takes viewers on an emotional roller-coaster as homeowners across the lower mainland welcome the charismatic co-hosts into their homes to battle it out for bragging rights while the family decides whether to “love it” or “list it.” Jillian must catch the homeowners’ wandering eyes with a show-stopping renovation and Todd must woo them away into a dreamy house on the market in BC’s largest metropolitan city.

Love It or List It Vancouver is produced by Big Coat Productions in association with W Network.

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