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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Marblemedia goes big with miniatures in new competition series Best in Miniature for CBC and Discovery+

From a media release:

Leading international production company, marblemedia, is excited to announce the start of production on their latest competition series, Best in Miniature (10 x 60) a new original series for CBC, premiering later this year, and discovery+ in the UK and Ireland airing in 2022.

Trailblazing producers of global unscripted hits like Blown Away and Restaurants on the Edge for Netflix, as well as four seasons (and counting) of the award-winning sports competition All-Round Champion, marblemedia is once again breaking the mold with an all-new competition series that will tap into the viral sensation that is #miniatures; a world that has captured over 170 million views on TikTok alone.

Hosted by writer and stand-up comedian, Aba Amuquandoh (CBC’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes), the brand-new series will welcome 11 highly skilled artists from across the world to compete in the ultimate challenge: building their dream home in miniature-form. The competitors will create their houses, in painstaking detail, room by room by shrinking life-size objects to 1:12 scale. While the objects may be small in stature, the stakes could not be higher.

Judged by UK Miniature Expert Emma Waddell, and esteemed Designer Micheal Lambie, precision and design technique will save the competitors from elimination. Week after week, the remaining miniaturists will continue to battle it out to stay in the game until only three remain for the last competition in the grand finale. The winner will receive a cash prize and the coveted title of Best in Miniature!

Best in Miniature is produced by marblemedia in association with CBC and discovery+ UK & Ireland. For marblemedia, Matt Hornburg, Mark Bishop and Diane Rankin are executive producers; Donna Luke and Marike Emery and are co-executive producers, and Jacqui Skeete is series producer and showrunner for the series; and created by development producer, Kelsey Espensen. For CBC, Sally Catto is General Manager, Entertainment, Factual and Sports; Jennifer Dettman is Executive Director, Unscripted Content; Alexandra Lane is Senior Director of Production; and Ann-Marie Redmond is Executive in Charge of Production. Matt Reid is Executive Producer for discovery+ UK. Distribution360 (D360) holds worldwide rights to the format and finished program.

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Amazing Race Canada, Industry News, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Wapanatahk Media, in partnership with Great Pacific Media, announces development deal with the winners of The Amazing Race Canada, Anthony Johnson and Dr. James Makokis

From a media release:

Wapanatahk Media, founded and led by Indigenous producers Tania Koenig-Gauchier and Shirley Mclean, in partnership with Great Pacific Media, is excited to announce a development deal with Anthony Johnson and Dr. James Makokis, Season 7 winners of The Amazing Race Canada.

The couple made television history as the first Two-Spirit Indigenous couple to win the highly popular CTV Series. After receiving a cash prize of $250,000, Johnson and Makokis invested their winnings into their dream property, Nizhoni Acres. A new series featuring the couple and Nizhoni Acres is now in development, as they welcome some lucky Canadians into their home and take them on transformational journeys.

Wapanatahk Media and Great Pacific Media are already in discussion with multiple broadcasters about the series.

In addition to developing and pitching this new series with Johnson and Makokis, Wapanatahk Media is currently in principal photography on their first series this month, Dr. Savannah: Wild Rose Vet. That series has already been sold and will air on APTN and Cottage Life in 2022.

ABOUT WAPANATAHK MEDIA
Wapanatahk Media, in partnership with Great Pacific Media, develops and produces top-quality unscripted, scripted, digital and animated content for broadcasters and streaming platforms, with a focus on telling original and authentic Indigenous stories and providing training and hiring opportunities for BIPOC employees in the television industry. Wapanatahk Media is co-owned and headed by Indigenous producers Tania Koenig-Gauchier and Shirley Mclean, in partnership with Great Pacific Media.

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Industry News, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Saloon Media starts production on History By The Numbers

From a media release:

Saloon Media, a Blue Ant Studios company, has started production on a new 20-part docu-series, History By The Numbers, to be produced in association with US-based Jupiter Entertainment. This upbeat and fast-paced series looks at the world’s collective global history by revealing surprising and unimaginable numerical facts about major historical events. Episodes explore iconic moments in history through a unique context of scale, volume and percentages, offering fresh perspectives of how the world adds up today. History By The Numbers is an original commission for global factual streaming service, CuriosityStream, where it will roll out across the U.S. and select territories internationally, while in Canada, the series will premiere on Blue Ant Media’s Smithsonian Channel Canada. Blue Ant International oversees international licensing for the series outside of the commissioned territories.

History by The Numbers is an energetic, fast-paced series taking an exploratory global dive into the extraordinary and often overlooked numbers that have created our world’s history. Each episode will delve into the numbers and over the top stats behind a different subject – from the massive growth of the global fast food empire to the wealth and bloodshed of the world’s top crime bosses, the herculean numbers behind Mount Everest, the lives of the richest people on earth and so much more.

History By The Numbers is produced by Saloon Media, a Blue Ant Studios company, in association with Jupiter Entertainment. From Saloon Media, Michael Kot serves as Executive Producer and Steve Gamester as Series Producer. Also serving as Executive Producers are Julie Chang, EVP of International Co-Productions, Blue Ant Media and Patrick Reardon and Ben Pagel for Jupiter Entertainment.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Preview: Food Network’s Cheese: A Love Story is a tasty treat

Cheese and I have been involved in our own love story since high school. It was then that I graduated from cheese slices—which I still highly enjoy, by the way—to gooey brie, stinky blue and nutty Swiss. Since then, I’ve enjoyed countless kinds of cheese and I love them all.

Afrim Pristine knows exactly how I—and so, so many others—feel. Heck, he’s made a career out of it. Now Afrim, the world’s youngest Maître Fromager (cheese master) and owner of Toronto’s Cheese Boutique, is delving deep into the world of cheese in Cheese: A Love Story.

Debuting on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on Food Network Canada, the six-part documentary kicks off in Switzerland, where Afrim does a deep dive into how land, animals and their milk create something wonderful. Once there, Afrim meets with chefs, cheesemakers and vendors to learn the fine art of aging. In the area of the world known for Gruyère, raclette, fondue and the famous Swiss Emmental, Afrim discovers how these classic cheeses stand the test of time and discovers the modern approaches the Swiss have innovated in the world of cheesemaking.

Afrim is an affable host, equally at home serving as the viewers’ guide and as the student learning from the masters. He expounds on the history of cheesemaking in Gruyère and offers tips on amping up your mac and cheese or burger (hint: Gruyère). Then it’s on to Verbier, where Afrim gets a crash course in raclette and the strict rules surrounding its aging and sale, and gets his hands dirty milking a cow.

Future episodes follow Afrim on his culinary journey to France and Greece, Toronto, Quebec and British Columbia.

Cheese: A Love Story airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Food Network Canada.

Image courtesy of Food Network Canada.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Preview: Smithsonian’s Searching for Secrets in the world’s iconic cities

When I travel to a new city, I always make sure I head a little off the beaten track and away from the more touristy areas to learn more about it. Now, thanks to a new Smithsonian Channel series, I’ve gleaned more about some of the world’s most iconic cities.

Searching for Secrets, debuting Sunday at 9 p.m. Eastern on the specialty channel, pulls back the curtain on some best-kept secrets and unappreciated history.

The first of six episodes is about New York City, a place I’ve been lucky enough to visit, explore and read some of the history of. But what’s unveiled on Sunday I’d heard nothing about.

Posed as a series of questions, the show reveals all. Visitors are allowed to enter the viewing area in Lady Liberty’s crown, but why not the torch? Timothy White, from New Jersey University, explains that the area—off-limits for more than 100 years—is part of a fascinating story of the First World War, terrorism and an island that no longer exists. By 1916, the U.S. was sending munitions to the Allies. The storage facility for waiting munitions was Black Tom Island, a fact that became known to the Germans and a plot was hatched to blow up the munitions and stop the flow of weapons overseas. Told through well-done recreations and CGI of the events that followed, the incredible story unfurls, the repercussions of which carry on today.

Next up, mixology historian Anthony Caporale visits the 21 Club. A place a who’s-who has visited during its storied past, Caporale heads to the basement to open a two-ton secret door hiding a tale of liquid treasure. The door is the product of Prohibition, that 1920s time when it was illegal to manufacture, sell or transport alcohol. To get around the rules, clubs like the 21 Club served booze illegally in spots advertised by word of mouth: the speakeasy. And, to make sure the police didn’t find the libations, cousins Jack Kriendler and Charlie Berns built a basement storage area for alcohol behind a heavy, hidden door.

Also investigated in Sunday’s excellent debut: a blizzard and Thomas Edison are responsible for the steam that billows from New York City’s manholes, and how huge piles of rock are connected to the city’s grid system and its famous skyline.

Searching for Secrets airs Sundays at 9 p.m. Eastern on Smithsonian Channel.

Image courtesy of Blue Ant Media.

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