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Island of Bryan premieres April 7 on HGTV Canada

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From a media release:

Starting Sunday, April 7 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, HGTV Canada gives viewers an in depth, personal look at the Baeumler’s struggle to transform their beachfront resort in the new Canadian original series Island of Bryan (13×60). Taking on their biggest challenge yet, Bryan and Sarah Baeumler move to the Bahamas with their four children to overhaul a run-down resort into a booming business. Despite the stunning backdrop of Bahamas’ white beaches and crystal blue water, they quickly discover that this is no vacation. Faced with daily hurdles and unforeseen challenges from construction delays and design limitations, Bryan and Sarah must work together to turn their embattled piece of paradise into the stunning dream of the Caerula Mar Club.

After a successful second season of Bryan Inc. – the #1 program on HGTV Canada last spring* – fans will experience the Baeumler’s bold and risky adventure first hand, seeing the step-by-step progress of the resort as it is transformed – from the hotel block and the private villas, to the poolside and the main club house. The final result is a beautiful boutique hotel that marries Sarah’s distinctive style with modern Caribbean design concepts and Bryan’s high level construction standards.

Island of Bryan is produced by Si Entertainment in association with Corus Entertainment’s HGTV Canada. New episodes will be available On Demand and at HGTV.ca each week after broadcast. Viewers can travel behind-the-scenes with exclusive Island of Bryan content at HGTV.ca, including tours of the Baeumler’s favourite rooms and spots around the island, fun videos of their four active kids (a.k.athe “B Team”), Q&A with Bryan and Sarah, and more.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Preview: Makeful’s Blown Away celebrates gorgeous glass creations

There are a plethora of competition shows on television. Some involve folks racing around Canada, while others feature people cooking intricate recipes. Even more spotlight everyday Canadians making clothing or living together in the same abode for weeks on end. I thought I had seen everything the competition genre had to offer.

And then came Blown Away.

Debuting Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Makeful—during the specialty network’s free preview—Blown Away pits 10 professional glass blowers against one another. The grand prize? A residency at the world-renowned Corning Museum of Glass in upstate New York. It’s one heck of an interesting twist on the reality genre and, from the get-go, a lot of fun to watch.

According to Blown Away‘s host, YouTube star Nick Uhas, glass blowing dates back to Roman times. Not a lot has changed since then: a furnace is heated to thousands of degrees and a gob of molten glass is attached to a tube. Once affixed, air is blown into the blob, which expands. But Blown Away isn’t about who makes the roundest sphere of glass. It’s about intricacy and creativity. The set—called “The Hot Shop”—is expansive and there are obvious safety issues here. High temperatures and working with glass means there is always a chance someone could get hurt. I imagine the producers, marblemedia, had cartons and Band-Aids and pump bottles of Polysporin at the ready.

The 10 competitors vying for the title, and $60,000 US, are a mixture of glass artists, visual artists, sculptural artists and people who worked in the medium in their pasts. Aside from the competition itself, Blown Away is an education into the glass blowing industry for a newbie like me. The job of different tools, punties, annealers and—ahem—personal glory holes are all explained along the way, as is the science and timing involved in adding colour to glass and the myriad ways to shape it. Gravity, heat and cold all play important parts too.

In Wednesdays debut, the competitors are tasked with using six hours to create something that is a snapshot of who they are. For 22-year-old Edgar, that means showing how small we really are in this world. For Kevin, it’s recreating a surfing experience and the calm he feels doing that. For Momo, it’s thanking those who have helped her on her life journey with a classic glass piece. With renowned glass blower Katherine Gray as the show’s resident judge, alongside guest judge Chris Taylor, executive director at Pilchuck Glass School, the 10 present their creations.

The direction, camera work and cinematography is top-notch on Blown Away. Glowing furnaces and dancing sparks are contrasted by the inner glow of molten glass, and the gleam of a sweaty arm or a finished piece of art. It’s a truly visual, educational and inspiring series I can’t wait to see more of.

Blown Away airs Wednesdays t 9 p.m. ET/PT on Makeful.

Images courtesy of Blue Ant Media.

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Industry News, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Blue Ant Media greenlights Life Below Zero: Canada

From a media release:

Blue Ant Media, an international producer, distributor and channel operator, announced today that it has entered into an agreement with BBC Studios to be the first to license the series format rights for the international hit Life Below Zero. In the U.S., the series recently celebrated its 100th episode on the National Geographic Channel, being one the most-watched programs, where it takes up the largest portion of the channel’s programming lineup. BBC Studios production arm in Los Angeles first launched the series in 2013.

Blue Ant Media’s newly acquired Saloon Media is starting production this month on Life Below Zero: Canada (8 x 60 minutes). The new documentary series is being shot on location in Canada with a focus on Canadian people and stories and is set to air on the Cottage Life channel in 2020. A special 30-minute, sneak peek documentary episode will premiere on the channel this April.

Based on BBC’s successful format, Life Below Zero: Canada is an observational documentary series about people who live off the grid in remote regions of northern Canada. The series follows a diverse group of people from different backgrounds, including first nations, giving viewers an unfiltered glimpse into their rugged day-to-day activities that range from makeshift problem solving to traditional survival practices. From long, dark, frozen winters, to sweltering, bug-infested summers, these Canadians grapple with deadly weather and limited resources to find food, water, and shelter.

Blue Ant Media is a privately held, international content producer, distributor and channel operator. From our production houses around the world, we create content for multiple genres including factual, factual entertainment, short-form digital series and kids programming.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Preview: Spaceman delves into Granger Taylor’s strange disappearance

It could be the A-story in an episode of The X-Files. The tale of a man who, in 1980, announced to his friends and loved ones that he was leaving Earth aboard a UFO and would return in a few months and then disappeared. But rather than being the stuff of “Duane Barry,” the Season 2 episode of Fox’s sci-fi drama, this story really happened. At least, two-thirds of it.

“Spaceman,” debuting as part of CBC Docs POV on Friday at 9 p.m. on CBC, is the strange tale of Granger Taylor, a young man who climbed into his truck in Duncan, B.C., and was never seen again. He left the following note for his family:

Dear Mother & Father,
I have gone away to walk aboard an alien spaceship as recurring dreams assured a 42-month interstellar voyage to explore the vast universe, then return. I am leaving behind all my possessions to you as I will no longer require the use of any. Please use the instructions in my will as a guide to help.
Love, Granger

Now, almost 40 years later, Alibi Entertainment—the folks behind shows like Carnival Eats and Sarah Off the Grid—sit down with Granger’s family and friends to look back at his life and reflect on the rumours and reports surrounding his whereabouts.

“One of the things that became really obvious right from the beginning that made this stand out from your average story that might not be true was just how current a topic this still is on Vancouver Island,” says executive producer Jennifer Horvath. “It’s been this unanswered question in a smaller community and has stayed in people’s minds.” What isn’t disputed is that Granger was a technical genius. From disassembling cars to building an airplane and steam engine, Granger’s social skills were lacking but his ability to build things wasn’t.

Through interviews with Granger’s sister, Grace Anne Young Reynolds, and close friends Robert Keller and Darrin Manns, viewers learn the details of his life and untangle the theories behind his disappearance. A journalist, Tyler Hooper, digs into the official record to separate fact from fiction. Among the things unearthed by Horvath and her team are Granger’s mental health—something simply not discussed in the 80s—and drug abuse.

But before making the mistake—like I did—and assuming the case of this missing man was simply one to do with his state of mind, “Spaceman” delivers two earth-shattering revelations you’ll shake your head at.

“At the beginning, I would have said, ‘Absolutely not. [Granger leaving on a UFO] is ridiculous,'” Horvath says. “But meeting people who were so whole-heartedly convinced … it leaves the question open.”

“Spaceman” airs as part of CBC Docs POV on Friday at 9 p.m. on CBC and CBC Gem.

Images courtesy of Alibi Entertainment.

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Industry News, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Makeful heats up with Blown Away, a new original competition series that pushes glass blowers to their creative limits

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From a media release:

The competition is heating up on Makeful’s newest original series Blown Away as ten extraordinary glass blowers compete to win bragging rights, a residency at the world-renowned Corning Museum of Glass in New York, and other prizes valued at over $60,000 USD. YouTube star Nick Uhas (Nickipedia; Big Brother Season 15; America’s Got Talent Season 12) hosts the series. Renowned glass blower Katherine Gray acts as resident judge, while a cast of all-star guest evaluators rotate through each episode. A Makeful Original production, Blown Away airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT starting February 20, during Makeful’s nationwide free preview, available in over 10 million homes across Canada.

In each episode, contestants have only four hours to design, create and present a piece of glass art that adheres to the creative challenge outlined by the judges. Each week, the contestant that fails to blow away the judges will be eliminated. The glass blowers are encouraged to push their creative limits in the largest glass blowing studio ever built in North America. Designed specifically for the scope and scale of the competition, the space allows 10 artists to work simultaneously, utilizing two large glass-melting furnaces, 10 reheating furnaces and 10 individual work stations.

Host Nick Uhas brings an upbeat and youthful energy to the series. Well-known for his popular science show Nickipedia that has over 14 million views on YouTube, Nick Uhas is also a former contestant on Season 12 of America’s Got Talent and Season 15 of Big Brother. Each week, Nick is joined by resident judge, professor and glass-master, Katherine Gray who offers her sharp eye and many years of experience in each round of evaluations.

The Corning Museum of Glass in New York, which houses the world’s most comprehensive collection of glass, the library of record on glass, and one of the top glassmaking schools in the world, is a key consulting partner on the series. Blown Away is a co-production between Blue Ant Media and Netflix. The series was created and produced by marblemedia.

Makeful is a Blue Ant Media lifestyle specialty channel celebrating the creativity that exists within us all. Makeful’s programming combines food, design, style and DIY series, featuring passionate personalities who share their ideas and inspire audiences to bring imagination into every aspect of their lives. Makeful also unites the creative at heart with fresh and contemporary content through its digital and social platforms.

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