Everything about Still Standing, eh?

CBC announces winter 2023 slate

From a media release:

Today at the industry event CBC Live at Massey Hall, CBC previewed its winter programming and made a series of announcements focused on reaching new audiences in Canada with more relevant and engaging news and entertainment on all platforms, including the launch of free streaming channel CBC NEWS EXPLORE. CBC’s winter storytelling includes over 40 original series, podcasts, specials and documentaries from Canadian creators, producers and storytellers across all genres, reflecting more people, perspectives and lived experiences across the country.

NEW PROGRAMMING ANNOUNCED TODAY

CBC NEWS EXPLORE

PUSH (8×30, Fenix Film & Television and Small Army Entertainment)
Starring Benveet “Bean” Gill, PUSH is a new original unscripted series that takes audiences into the inner world of the “Wheelie Peeps,” an unlikely group of friends and wheelchair users, bonded by their shared experience of navigating life on wheels. They are self-proclaimed rednecks, former exotic dancers, mothers, concert pianists and more. Whether it’s growing a family, fighting social stigma, or jumping back into the dating pool, this determined group of friends is working together to prove that even though their mobility may be limited, their lives and dreams are most certainly not.

“This show is what I needed when I was first paralyzed,” said Gill. “To see that having a disability doesn’t define you. We’re regular people, striving like everyone else to live our kickass lives to the fullest. But Push is not simply a show about lives. It’s about really seeing and hearing us as people, just as we are.”

PUSH premieres Friday, February 24 at 8:30 p.m. (9 NT) on CBC TV and CBC Gem. Shot in summer and fall 2022 in Edmonton, Alberta, PUSH is executive produced by Sean De Vries and produced by Kaitlan Stewart, with consulting producer Gill.

CBC KIDS

New original live-action preschool series MITTENS AND PANTS, featuring best friends Mittens the kitten and Pants the puppy as they embark on adventures in the all-animal town of Kibble Corners, launches Monday, February 6 on CBC Gem and Monday, February 13 on CBC TV. Episodes of new preschool animated series GISELE’S MASHUP ADVENTURES launch Wednesday, February 1 on CBC Gem and Monday, February 6 on CBC TV, inspired by the creative ideas of children ages six to nine from across Canada which are turned into hilarious adventures for animated versions of each child and host Gisele.

CBC SPORTS

CBC SPORTS will continue to keep Canadians connected to the world of high-performance sport through its weekend broadcasts CBC SPORTS PRESENTS, hosted by Scott Russell and Andi Petrillo and available on CBC TV and CBC Gem, as well as live streams of key competitions on cbcsports.ca and the CBC Sports app. Upcoming events include: FIS World Alpine Ski Championships (February 8 – 19), FIS Freestyle Skiing World Championships (February 19 – March 4) and FIS Nordic World Ski Championships (February 23 – 26).

CBC’s winter broadcast and streaming schedule launches Monday, January 2 on CBC TV and the free CBC Gem streaming service.

*All following times local with the exception of Newfoundland, please add half an hour to all times.

MONDAYS:

7:30 PM – FAMILY FEUD CANADA with host Gerry Dee continues Mondays to Thursdays, kicking off the new year with celebrity episodes on January 2 and 3, featuring the PRETTY HARD CASES detectives vs. the legal team from DIGGSTOWN, and the BOLLYWED Singh family vs. the sporty CANADA’S ULTIMATE CHALLENGE group. For more information on the “Celebrity Special” episodes, click here.

8 PM – MURDOCH MYSTERIES Season 16 continues January 2.

9 PM – The new adaptation of Jules Verne’s classic novel, AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, starring David Tennant, debuts January 2. Adapted from the popular French-language series, time travel drama PLAN B premieres February 27.

10 PM – THE NATIONAL CBC News’ flagship program with Chief Correspondent Adrienne Arsenault continues Sunday to Friday each week.

TUESDAYS:

8 PM – THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES 30th anniversary season continues January 3.

8:30 PM – The most-watched original Canadian comedy during its first season,* SON OF A CRITCH returns for Season 2 on January 3.

9 PM – WORKIN’ MOMS returns for its seventh and final season on January 3, as the women explore lasting friendships, ambitious careers, raising families, and growing up.

9:30 PM – Season 4 of comedy CATASTROPHE, written by and starring Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan, debuts January 3. Season 1 of CASUAL, starring Michaela Watkins and Tommy Dewey as a sister and brother who coach each other through the crazy world of dating while raising her teenage daughter, premieres February 14.

WEDNESDAYS:

8 PM – STILL STANDING lands Season 8 on January 4, starring host Jonny Harris as he visits a new set of towns across Canada from Ucluelet and Gibsons, B.C. to Wabush, Newfoundland, and everywhere in between.

8:30 PM – RUN THE BURBS Season 2 premieres January 4, with new cast member Sharjil Rasool and an array of guest stars including Dakota Ray Hebert, The Great Canadian Baking Show’s Ann Pornel, and multi-award-winning comic and actor Gavin Crawford.

9 PM – PRETTY HARD CASES returns for Season 3 on January 4, with a miserably demoted Samantha Wazowski (Meredith MacNeill) and a deeply undercover Kelly Duff (Adrienne C. Moore) reuniting to win their way back into the OCE after eight long months apart. Award-winning actor Wendy Crewson joins the cast as the new and exacting Unit Commander. The WINNIPEG COMEDY FESTIVAL, featuring some of the most dynamic performers on today’s comedy circuit, brings the laughs beginning March 15.

THURSDAYS:

8 PM – BOLLYWED debuts January 12, introducing Canada to the Singh family, who have been operating Chandan Fashion in Toronto’s Little India for the last 37 years. New competition reality format CANADA’S ULTIMATE CHALLENGE turns the nation into a cross-country obstacle course on February 16, featuring Canadians mentored by superstar coaches Donovan Bailey, Waneek Horn-Miller, Clara Hughes, Gilmore Junio, Jen Kish and Luke Willson.

9 PM – CBC News’ award-winning investigative series THE FIFTH ESTATE continues January 5. British drama-thriller TRIGGER POINT debuts February 16. THE JUST FOR LAUGHS GALAS headlined by Ronnie Chieng, Hannah Gadsby and Marc Maron begin March 30.

FRIDAYS:

8 PM – Canada’s award-winning consumer watchdog MARKETPLACE continues its 50th anniversary season on January 6.

8:30 PM – ABC/CBC co-production STUFF THE BRITISH STOLE, based on award-winning journalist Marc Fennell’s chart-topping podcast, debuts January 6. New original factual series PUSH, exploring the lives of a group of friends “the Wheelie Peeps” in Edmonton, begins February 24.

9 PM – THE NATURE OF THINGS Season 62 premieres on January 6 for David Suzuki’s final season with fascinating science and nature documentaries each week. The season launches with Last of the Right Whales, telling the story of the magnificent North Atlantic Right Whale and the passionate people trying to save this intelligent and social animal from extinction.

SUNDAYS:

7 PM – Season 16 of HEARTLAND continues on January 8. BEST IN MINIATURE, hosted by Aba Amuquandoh, returns for Season 2 on February 19.

8 PM – CBC Docs will spotlight compelling feature-length documentaries, from Canada and around the world, beginning January 8 with the following Canadian originals:

THE CASE AGAINST COSBY (directed by Karen Wookey, 2022) premieres January 8

DOUG AND THE SLUGS AND ME (directed by Teresa Alfeld, 2022) premieres January 15

OFFSIDE: THE HAROLD BALLARD STORY (directed by Jason Priestley, 2022) premieres January 22

UNLOVED: HURONIA’S FORGOTTEN CHILDREN (directed by Barri Cohen, 2022) premieres January 29

DEAR JACKIE (director Henri Pardo, 2022) premieres February 5

9 PM – Limited series ESSEX COUNTY, based on Jeff Lemire’s graphic novel, premieres March 19.

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Still Standing returns for Season 7 on CBC

I’ve been waiting for years to have Still Standing film in a small town close to me. And then, when it finally did, I missed the whole thing.

I’ll blame COVID-19 for that, as Season 7 of Jonny Harris’ cross country standup series had to adjust to changing audience numbers and community health recommendations on the fly. Returning on Wednesday at 8 p.m. on CBC, Harris and his crew drop in on Hope, B.C., where they divulge the history and people of that small Canadian community.

And, like hundreds of other television productions, the pandemic delayed everything and put the heart of the show—Harris’ live performances in front of the communities he was in—in jeopardy.

“At first, we were just grounded,” Harris says. “And then we were going to do shows, but the capacity was going to be greatly reduced, like 30 people in the audience. I was devastated. I thought, ‘It won’t feel like the show.’ And then, I turned on the TV, and there was Jimmy Fallon telling jokes, basically, in front of The Tonight Show crew. And I realized everyone had to eat some crow during the pandemic.”

Despite crowd restrictions and wildly fluctuating social distancing rules from province to province, Still Standing still looks great. Thanks to creative camera angles and editing, you really can’t tell how many people are in each audience. Those outside, community shots and interviews are still intact, weaving personal and business stories around small communities struggling to make ends meet.

As for the episode filmed in my area, the Wakefield, QC, instalment (just a 10-minute drive from my home) airs on January 19 and finds Harris traipsing around a community embracing its railway past to drive tourism to the area.

“It’s such a gorgeous area, and close enough to Gatineau and Ottawa that it’s accessible but far enough away that’s it’s never going to be a suburb.”

Still Standing airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on CBC and CBC Gem.

Images courtesy of CBC.

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CBC announces winter premiere dates

From a media release:

CBC today announced broadcast and streaming premiere dates for its winter 2022 slate of programming, including over 20 new and returning original series from Canadian creators, producers and storytellers across all genres. The new winter primetime schedule launches Sunday, January 2 on CBC TV and the free CBC Gem streaming service.

WINTER 2022 SCHEDULE – CBC TV & CBC GEM:

All following times local with the exception of Newfoundland, please add half an hour to all times.

MONDAYS
7:30PM – FAMILY FEUD CANADA

8PM – MURDOCH MYSTERIES; Season 15 continues January 3

9PM – THE PORTER premieres February 21

TUESDAYS
8PM – THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES; Season 29 continues January 4

8:30PM – SON OF A CRITCH premieres January 4

9PM – WORKIN’ MOMS returns for Season 6 on January 4

9:30PM – The TALLBOYZ are back for a third season on January 25,

WEDNESDAYS
8PM – STILL STANDING returns for Season 7 on January 5

8:30PM – RUN THE BURBS premieres January 5

9PM – PRETTY HARD CASES returns for Season 2 on January 5

THURSDAYS
8PM – CORONER Season 4 premieres January 6

9PM – THE FIFTH ESTATE continues January 6

FRIDAYS
8PM – MARKETPLACE continues on January 7

8:30PM – ARCTIC VETS returns for a second season on January 7

9PM – THE NATURE OF THINGS continues on January 7

CBC GEM ORIGINAL SERIES:

Hosted by Madison Tevlin, WHO DO YOU THINK I AM? begins streaming Friday, January 7, featuring Maddie as she chats with guests one-on-one and connects with people who, like herself, are often misinterpreted and misperceived.

TRUE DATING STORIES returns with Season 3 on Friday, January 28. Whether it’s true romance or a night gone horribly wrong, this series offers the greatest real dating stories ever told, reenacted by performers with all the drama, romance and comedy they deserve.

BEST IN MINIATURE is a unique competition series premiering Friday, February 11. Hosted by Aba Amuquandoh (This Hour Has 22 Minutes), the show follows 11 competitors from around the world as they build their dream homes in miniature form.

CBC SPORTS:

As Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic Network, CBC will provide the compelling coverage and award-winning storytelling that audiences have come to expect, leading up to, during and after the OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES BEIJING 2022 (February 4 – 20) and PARALYMPIC WINTER GAMES (March 4 – 13). In addition to Olympic coverage, CBC SPORTS will continue to keep Canadians connected to the world of high-performance sport through weekly staple ROAD TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES, available on CBC TV and CBC Gem, as well as live streams of key competitions on cbcsports.ca and the CBC Sports app. Upcoming events include: The Alpine Skiing World Cup, kicking off this weekend in Lake Louise; and the Canadian National Figure Skating Championships in January where Canada’s Olympic Team will be determined.

CBC KIDS:

Hosted by musician Melanie Doane and premiering Saturday, January 8, new original series UKULELE U encourages young viewers at home to sing, move, and learn along with a cast of kids known as the UKE TROUPE.

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Still Standing, Schitt’s Creek and Trickster top 2021 WGC Screenwriting Awards

From a media release:

In a funny, engaging and lively virtual ceremony, held this evening, host Emma Hunter announced the winners of the 25th-annual Writers Guild of Canada Screenwriting Awards.

Some winners of 2021’s top prizes include Daniel Levy (Schitt’s Creek), Tracey Deer & Meredith Vuchnich (Beans), Penny Gummerson (Trickster), and Jonny Harris, Fraser Young, Graham Chittenden and Steve Dylan (Still Standing).

Special Awards were also presented to Kate Hewlett, winner of the Sondra Kelly Award, and Travis McDonald, who was awarded the Jim Burt Screenwriting Prize. Morwyn Brebner, creator and showrunner of hit CBC series Coroner, received the night’s final prize, the WGC Showrunner Award.

The 26th Annual WGC Screenwriting Awards are set for April 25, 2022 at Toronto’s Koerner Hall, where the WGC will also celebrate the 25th anniversary milestone. In the meantime, 2021’s presentation will be posted to the WGC YouTube Channel.

CHILDREN’S
Odd Squad Mobile Unit, “Slow Your Roll” I Written by Mark De Angelis

COMEDY SERIES
Schitt’s Creek, “Happy Ending” I Written by Daniel Levy

DOCUMENTARY
Still Standing, “Rankin Inlet” I Written by Jonny Harris, Fraser Young, Graham Chittenden, Steve Dylan

DRAMA SERIES
Trickster, “Episode 105” I Story by Michelle Latimer and Tony Elliott and Penny Gummerson, Teleplay by Penny Gummerson

FEATURE FILM
Beans I Story by Tracey Deer, Screenplay by Tracey Deer and Meredith Vuchnich

MOW & MINISERIES
Gourmet Detective: Roux the Day I Written by Becky Southwell & Dylan Neal

PRESCHOOL
Dino Dana, “The Sound of Dinosaurs” I Written by J.J. Johnson

SHORTS & WEBSERIES
Try to Fly I Written by Simone Swan & The Affolter Brothers

TWEENS & TEENS
Utopia Falls, “The World is Yours” I Written by Joseph Mallozzi & R.T. Thorne

SONDRA KELLY AWARD
Kate Hewlett

JIM BURT SCREENWRITING PRIZE
Magnificent I Written by Travis McDonald

SHOWRUNNER AWARD
Morwyn Brebner

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2020-21 Canadian TV season renewal scorecard

Well, things are just a little bit different this time around. With COVID-19 wreaking havoc on television production around the world, the Canadian networks—like others—have been a little late in announcing their primetime schedules.

But they’re gradually doing that, so we’ve put together a handy list of what will air between the summer of 2020 and the end of spring in 2021.

Check back often to see if your favourites have been renewed; we’ll be updating this list as we get more information.

Renewed

APTN
Tribal
Tribal Police Files
The Other Side

Tribal

CBC
Still Standing
Murdoch Mysteries
Frankie Drake Mysteries
Workin’ Moms
Baroness Von Sketch Show (final season)
Heartland
The Nature of Things
Marketplace
The Fifth Estate
Battle of the Blades
Family Feud Canada
Just for Laughs: Galas
Ha!ifax Comedy Fest
You Can’t Ask That
Coroner
Kim’s Convenience
Tallboyz
Dragons’ Den
22 Minutes
The Great Canadian Baking Show
Diggstown
Burden of Truth

Tallboyz

Citytv
Hudson & Rex

CTV
Corner Gas Animated
JANN (renewed for Season 3)
The Amazing Race Canada
Transplant
MasterChef Canada: Back to Win

Crave
Letterkenny
Canada’s Drag Race

Discovery
Heavy Rescue: 401
Disasters at Sea
Highway Thru Hell

Nurses

Food Network Canada
Big Food Bucket List
Carnival Eats
Wall of Chefs
Great Chocolate Showdown 
Junior Chef Showdown 
Fire Masters
The Big Bake 

Global
Nurses 
Private Eyes
Big Brother Canada
Departure

Backyard Builds

HGTV Canada
Backyard Builds 
Island of Bryan 
Property Brothers: Forever Home 
Scott’s Vacation House Rules  
Save My Reno 

History
Vikings (final season)
Rust Valley Restorers  
History Erased 
Salvage Kings 

Netflix
Another Life

Omni
Second Jen
Blood and Water

T+E
Hotel Paranormal
Haunted HospitalsFacebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail