From a media release:

• Production underway with story of three way partnership between
  Bigstone Cree Nation, Bronco Energy and Bronco Drilling

OLN together with Edmonton based Anaid Productions announced today that principal photography has started on season 2 of the original OLN series “The Rig: Oil Sands.” In the new season, travel to the Athabasca oil sands belt on Bigstone Cree Nation land in the Wabasca/Desmarais area of Alberta where hundreds of young people struggle to hit pay dirt in the greatest blue-collar cash haul since the gold rush. This season, the series goes in a new direction, following the unprecedented partnership between Alberta’s Bigstone Cree Nation, Bronco Energy and Bronco Drilling. “The Rig: Oil Sands” will also feature Rig Manager Donny Macphee, the fiery leader of the rig crew featured in season one.

Continue reading OLN Original Series The Rig Begins Production on Second Season →

Hoor Javed of the Canadian Press interviews the people behind Total Drama Island:

• New animated reality show
  “Teletoon’s new tween cartoon “Total Drama Island,” set in a northern Ontario summer camp, is being billed as a reality show, even though the characters aren’t exactly real.”

John Doyle of the Globe and Mail talks to Damian Kindler, creator of the online series Sanctuary:

• Slick new West Coast sci-fi only online
  “One reason why Sanctuary might well succeed as a rare example of pay-to-see content on the Internet (outside of pornography) is its roots in the sci-fi genre. Kindler spent years working as a writer and producer on the Stargate series, which is made in Vancouver. ‘You have this very loyal fan base with a series like Stargate,’ he says. ‘If you pay attention to what the fans are saying, you realize that people spend far more time discussing it online than actually watching it on TV. This is an audience that is ready and willing to accept TV on the Internet and invest in it to the point of paying to see it. Why not deliver the content to where they already are – on the Internet?'”

From Global:

From The Ground Up Season 2
Thursdays – 9pm ET/PT
July 5: “The Kitchens” – It’s a tizzy of a task as Debbie throws everything but the kitchen sink at her protegés. Forced to take creative control, the protegés are given the task of redesigning a kitchen for a client they’ve never met. Debbie enlists the help of the mystery client, ultimately proving that sometimes “mother knows best”.

July 12: “The Sono-Tubes” – Taking a break from right-angles, Debbie has her protegés create a complete furniture collection out of sono-tubes. Debbie and one lucky protegé have everything riding on this one as the winning design will be featured in one of the hottest design magazines!

July 19: “The Living tableau” – Debbie forces her protegés to think in a completely new direction about the job as her Chief Designer; market the Debbie Travis Brand into a living ad that will be unveiled to the public audience. During this final stretch of the race, one solid designer will crack under the pressure and break Debbie’s heart in the process.

July 26: “The Super Bowl of Design Parties” – An impossible feat: plan and design a high-end industry party in less than two days! The protegés get off to a rocky start causing Debbie’s stress and anxiety to mount. With RSVPs pouring in and deadlines looming over her head, Debbie is forced to bring in an event planner to help her protegés pull off the party.

Jesse Kohl and Terry Poulton from Playback compile the list of new and returning shows – a few Canadian:

• Alliance Atlantis channels annouce fall lineups
  “The net’s big show is the much-hyped 26-part original series Home Heist, which puts Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan (How Not To Decorate) to work spreading their gospel of “decorative beautification” in Canada. The show premieres on October 2.”