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Bachelor Canada, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Former Major League Baseball player Chris Leroux stars on The Bachelor Canada

From a media release:

Get ready to fall in love, Canada! Our country’s bachelor is looking for someone to steal his bases – and his heart. A recently retired Major League Baseball player from Mississauga, ON, Chris Leroux searches for true love when 20 beautiful bachelorettes vie for his heart on W Network’s The Bachelor Canada debuting this fall. Canadian Screen Award nominated television personality and actor Noah Cappe (Carnival Eats, Good Witch) returns as trusted confidant and host of the series. Following each episode, The Bachelor Canada After Show will dish out all the details with returning host and Q107 personality Jennifer Valentyne.

Thirty-three-year-old Leroux grew up with strong family values and an ingrained passion for sports. Introduced to baseball at a young age, Leroux’s hard work and perseverance paid off when he fulfilled his dream of playing Major League Baseball. Throughout his career he has played for the New York Yankees, Florida Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates. Leroux’s success is matched by his kindness, loyalty and sense of humour, and now he’s looking for someone to share his laidback lifestyle and adventurous spirit with as he enters the next chapter of his life.

In the Canadian version of this smash-hit, romance reality series, Canada’s most eligible bachelor is in search of the woman of his dreams – and hopefully his bride-to-be. The Canadian bachelor will search for love as 20 women do whatever it takes to win his heart. The women compete for the bachelor’s affection via individual and group dates involving romantic encounters and exciting adventures. As the bachelor narrows the field and the number of women dwindles, romance and tensions will rise. Ultimately, he will choose the one woman with whom he wants to spend the rest of his life.

The Bachelor Canada is produced by Good Human Productions Inc.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

AMI-tv digs into DIY with debut of Eyes for the Job

It makes total sense for the folks at AMI-tv to follow up their cooking series Four Senses with Eyes for the Job. Aside from cooking, home renovations take up a lot of our time so why not launch a do-it-yourself series?

Debuting Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET on AMI-tv, Eyes for the Job is designed for viewers who are blind or low vision by having hosts Chris Judge and Rebekah Higgs describe what they’re doing while it’s being done. That’s evident in Episode 1 as the pair turn an old piano into a showstopper bar and tile the kitchen at Higgs’ home; they give a step-by-step description of exactly what they’re doing as they do it.

Shot and produced in Halifax by Clerisy Entertainment, the 13-episodes spotlight the skills of Higgs—an accomplished singer, songwriter and do-it-yourself mom—and Judge, who was born blind. That didn’t stop him from catching the DIY bug from his father.

“My father wasn’t trained carpenter, but he did it all of his life,” Judge says on the phone from Halifax. “As a kid, I was always getting in his way. I was out in his workshop putting my hands all over everything and asking him more questions than I’m sure he cared to answer.” Judge honed his skills in junior high by taking industrial arts, first embracing woodworking and then, as an adult, turning towards handyman jobs. Judge has always had an uncanny knack for being able to dismantle and rebuild things; he once shocked friends by putting together a barbecue grill just from feel.

Still, there were parts of Eyes for the Job that him pause: painting. As Judge, an assistive technology trainer at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind recalls, he wasn’t sure how a blind person could successfully paint walls to the standard a sighted person could. But with Higgs’ help, he not only learned how to do it but do it well.

Eyes for the Job isn’t just an excellent DIY series for its intended audience, it’s a fantastic renovation series period, something producer Dale Stevens strived for.

“What a great bar to set on this project, if we can make this not only for the audience at AMI but for anybody on any network,” Stevens says on the line from Dartmouth, NS. “I think we’ve created something that—regardless of what visual state you are—you’re going to watch this show and you’re going to like it.”

 

 

 

Eyes for the Job airs Fridays at 8:30 p.m. ET on AMI-tv.

Image courtesy of AMI.

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Industry News, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

W Network lifts the veil on Jillian Harris’ life in Canadian original Jillian & Justin

From a media release:

For years, fans have followed notable interior designer and host of Love It Or List It Vancouver Jillian Harris’ personal and professional journey on television and social media. W Network now brings audiences a raw, insider’s look into her and partner Justin Pasutto’s biggest life challenges with the four-part docu-series Jillian & Justin, premiering June 21 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The Canadian original program follows the couple as they tackle the challenges of first-time parenthood and building their forever home, while meeting the demands of their careers and relationship.

Jillian & Justin provides an authentic and revealing look at the couple and their dramatic new life in Kelowna, B.C. As Jillian juggles her jam-packed schedule and Justin tries to launch a new career to support their growing family, they’re also in the midst of a major home renovation and adjusting to life with a newborn. The special docu-series also unveils many firsts for Jillian, including the birth of her first child, buying and rebuilding a teardown home, and starting new business ventures on top of her already-busy television career.

In the series premiere, the couple prepare themselves for the arrival of their first child together and their new roles as parents. Between doctor’s appointments, an over-the-top surprise baby shower, preparing their house for a newborn, and continuing to work right up until her due date, Jillian attempts to do it all. Meanwhile, Justin ends up in a frightening accident and then receives some shocking news as he prepares their new home for a massive renovation, throwing their lives into complete chaos.

Jillian & Justin is created and produced by Big Coat Media in association with HGTV Canada.

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Industry News, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Blue Ant Media greenlights new original series for Makeful TV

From a media release:

Save the date! Blue Ant Media is starting production on Love By Lynzie (working title), a brand new series featuring the most beautiful, original and unexpected weddings viewers have ever seen for its lifestyle TV channel, Makeful. The 10 x 30-minute series follows the wedding planning business of Lynzie Kent, an indie event planner and stylist who steers clear of typical wedding-industry clichés and creates truly unique, bespoke celebrations that borrow from contemporary, real-world trends in fashion, art and decor.

Each episode will feature the execution of one amazing wedding in which Lynzie meets with a couple and then works with her team of talented and resourceful DIYers on a gamut of creative projects—such as creating mood boards, baking custom desserts, building on-site installations or crafting floral garlands—to set the stage. Finally, the wedding day will reveal how all the elements of the stunning event have come together and offer a touching glimpse of the couple’s surprise and delight as they take in an unforgettable celebration, reflective of their own love story.

Love By Lynzie is set to air on the Makeful channel in Spring 2018. The series is executive produced by Sam Linton, Vice President of Original Content, Blue Ant Media.

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Featured, Industry News, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Chopped Canada cancelled by Food Network Canada

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Chopped Canada has been chopped. After four seasons, a first-ever teen tournament and handful of specials, Food Network Canada’s spinoff of the Chopped franchise is no more.

“After four extraordinary seasons, Chopped Canada has been cancelled,” the show’s producers, EOne, announced via Facebook on Wednesday night. “To all of our competitors and the culinary community across Canada, THANK YOU for supporting us through 96 episodes of nail-biting culinary competition.

“We loved sharing your stories, helping you realize your dreams, and most of all we loved watching you cook!” the post continued. “To our viewers, THANKS for watching, sharing, and caring each and every week. Your loyalty and passion for the show was heartfelt. We had a great run and as the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Keep on cookin’ Canada! Love + Respect from the Chopped Canada Team!”

Launched in 2014 with Dean McDermott as its host, Chopped Canada featured four homegrown chefs opening baskets of mystery items they had to use while making appetizers, mains and desserts. After being judged by celebrity chefs, the competitors were pared down until one winner per episode was named and given $10,000. McDermott left Chopped Canada after two seasons and was replaced by Brad Smith. The program boasted a whos-who of culinary experts as judges, including Susur Lee, Michael Smith, Massimo Capra, Lynn Crawford, Eden Grinshpan, Mark McEwan, Anne Yarymowich, Vikram Vij, Antonio Park, Roger Mooking, Chuck Hughes and John Higgins.

A teen tournament and specials pitting junior cooks, grandmothers, firefighters and the program’s own judges against one another were the focus of recent specials.

Chopped Canada received a 2015 Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Picture Editing in a Reality/Competition Program or Series.

Are you upset that Chopped Canada has been cancelled? Let me know in the comments below.

Related: Which Canadian TV shows have been renewed or cancelled for the 2017-18 broadcast season?

Image courtesy of Corus.

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