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Young Drunk Punk

Link: Young Drunk Punk: An Interview with Arnold Pinnock

From Janelle Tyme of ByBlacks.com:

Young Drunk Punk: An Interview with Arnold Pinnock
“One of the things that I really do like about it, is the fact that it really does challenge you as an artist. When you first read it, you grasp the basics, then when you read it again you see the multiple layers and situations that set up something two episodes ahead or brings back something from three episodes back. That, to me, is really good writing and a really good showrunner.” Continue reading.

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Young Drunk Punk Bruce McCulloch grows up

Originally published in Reel West Magazine winter 2014

Bruce McCulloch is an accidental marketing genius. His stage show Young Drunk Punk was touring the country while he promoted the book it spawned, Let’s Start a Riot: How A Young Drunk Punk Became a Hollywood Dad, and the TV series it inspired, Young Drunk Punk, which aired on City in the spring and is rerunning on CBC this fall.

“They’re very different but it’s the same kind of comedic and emotional material,” says McCulloch, whose last TV production was the Kids in the Hall mini-series Death Comes to Town for CBC. “People trying to find their place in the world, a young guy who doesn’t fucking know anything and thinks he knows everything.”

Young Drunk Punk the TV series stars Tim Carlson and Atticus Mitchell as teenagers Ian and Shinky in 1980s Calgary, “somewhere in the lost years between high school and ‘what’s next.’”

McCulloch calls it “more comedically and thematically autobiographical than literal,” but the series does film in the townhouse community he grew up in. “Literally the same place. So where I walked around having gobbled acid as a 15 year old we’re now shooting.”

Adding to the surreality is that McCulloch and his real-life wife Tracy Ryan play Ian’s parents. No nepotism there though: “Oh yeah, of course I auditioned her,” he says. “I auditioned her once for Superstar and she didn’t get the part. I’m a tough mofo.”

He didn’t write a part for himself, either, and it’s probably fair to say he didn’t audition for it. “I never act unless someone asks me to, I never audition. I don’t think of myself as an actor first. Even when I wrote this it didn’t occur to me to play this character. Other people were saying ‘you’re the dad, right?’”

While the stage show and book delve into some poignant territory amid the laughs, he describes the series humour as mostly silly. In the pilot, the boys are chased after trying to steal a stereo from a crowded party. But he’s also aiming for likeable and maybe more importantly, relatable characters.

“We’re all lost. Even the people who seem like they’re not are lost. The guidance counsellor is lost. You just keep going forward,” he says. “At 50 I feel like a punk maybe even more than I did then. I feel like I’m different from everyone else. Yes, but we all are. The guys in the TV show are years away from understanding that.”

McCulloch found his band of fellow outsiders in the other members of Kids in the Hall, a bond that continues 30-something years later. They’ve done shows this year in Toronto and the United States and McCulloch says they plan to work together again when the stars and schedules align. But he’s not yet looking for the next big thing, any more than he did back in the early days of his career.

“I thought I’d like to make a living writing, and figured we should get on TV. But I had no plan, I just wanted to make stuff,” he says. “My own personal journey in this world is to enjoy what I’m doing and not be on the next thing.”

The current thing is working within the big machine that is television production, adjusting as he goes to capitalize on what the actors bring to the part and what material lands the way he wanted it to. In the editing room in Toronto, McCulloch says he can now start to wonder about Young Drunk Punk “is this the coolest show ever or is it just really weird?”

“We have a lot of Canadian shows trying to be like American shows, to look like, talk like American shows. I have pride in this being Calgary in 1980s. We talk about the Flames and Oilmen. I thought Less Than Kind was wonderful for much the same reason – it felt like I was there.”

Does he worry about the show’s reception, given the scrutiny Canadian comedies are under lately?

“Never hope or you’ll get your heart broken,” he says before adding “I feel pressure with everything I do.”

“We don’t do many TV shows here, so I want this to do well for me but for the young actors, the executives, the fans, for everyone who wants to do TV shows.” He pauses. “Thanks, you’ve just heightened my sense of failure and doom.”

The first season of Young Drunk Punk re-airs on CBC starting Tuesday, October 6. 

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WCG podcasts: Writers Talking TV

From the Writers Guild of Canada:

Writers Talking TV
Our screenwriting-focussed podcasts are recorded at WGC events in front of live audiences and are moderated by WGC members. The podcasts offer an opportunity to learn about the art and craft of screenwriting, as WGC screenwriters discuss their work.

To listen, click on the link and your player should automatically launch. To download the file to your Windows computer, right click on the link and click on the “save target as” option. Then browse to the location where you want to save the file and click save. Each file is between 20 MB and 40 MB in size. Continue to the podcasts.

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CBC unveils fall debut and return dates

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From a media release:

CBC-TV’s Fall schedule will launch over the coming weeks, highlighted by new series, returning hits, thought-provoking news and investigative content, documentaries, and engaging arts programming. In all, the CBC-TV schedule features 11 new titles, and 12 established returning programs this Fall.

New CBC-TV titles include the family drama THIS LIFE, espionage thriller THE ROMEO SECTION, factual series KEEPING CANADA ALIVE, comedies RAISED BY WOLVES and YOUNG DRUNK PUNK, arts series CRASH GALLERY, EXHIBITIONISTS and INTERRUPT THIS PROGRAM, and documentary strand FIRSTHAND. In addition, CBC-TV’s daytime programming will also welcome two new titles this fall, with GRAND DESIGNS and BONDI VET. These new series will join the programming lineup alongside returning favourites including:  DRAGONS’ DEN, CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON, HEARTLAND, MURDOCH MYSTERIES, CORONATION STREET, RICK MERCER REPORT, THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES, THE NATURE OF THINGS, MARKETPLACE, and the fifth estate. CBC News’ flagship program, THE NATIONAL, continues nightly with special coverage leading up to the federal election, as well as reporting on the news of the day from around the world.

New for Fall 2015:

  • CRASH GALLERY – Fri, Oct. 2 at 8:30 p.m./9 p.m. NT
    Hosted by Sean O’Neill, associate director of adult programming and partnerships at the Art Gallery of Ontario, CRASH GALLERY is a high-energy and immersive series that brings art to life through the thrill of competition. Three talented artists compete against each other in a real-time creative arena, giving the audience a front-row seat to the creative process. The challenges cover everything from traditional paint and canvas to graffiti art, sculpture and any and all creative endeavors in between.
  • EXHIBITIONISTS – Sun, Oct. 4 at 4:30 p.m./5 p.m. NT
    This vibrant series pulls back the curtain on people who create art and why they do it. Every week, EXHIBITIONISTS features Canadian artists, both emerging and established, as they reshape our country’s artistic landscape. Topical, innovative and entertaining, the show explores the most exciting cultural happenings across Canada through a passionate lens. The show’s approach centres on a digital-first strategy to commission original video content from filmmakers across the country, and packaged in a visually exciting and fast-paced format for TV viewers. Encompassing media old and new, from opera to Instagram, EXHIBITIONISTS is for everyone who is curious about the arts.
  • KEEPING CANADA ALIVE – Sun, Oct. 4 at 9 p.m./9:30 p.m. NT
    Narrated by Emmy® Award-winning Canadian actor Kiefer Sutherland, KEEPING CANADA ALIVE is an epic groundbreaking six-part factual series that gives viewers a powerful snapshot of Canada’s health care system as filmed over a 24-hour period in May 2015. More than 60 cameras descended on health and home care locations in 24 Canadian cities to capture incredibly moving and highly intimate stories as shared by the patient as well as the health care provider. The cameras rolled as people sought treatment – and medical professionals did everything they could to provide it. In addition, the companion online experience, which can be found at cbc.ca/keepingcanadaalive, is one of the most ambitious to date and features more than 40 hours of extended breakout footage, original content, and more, as well as an online 24-hour stream of raw footage which will go live September 21.
  • THIS LIFE – Mon, Oct. 5 at 9 p.m./9:30 p.m. NT
    Set in contemporary Montreal, THIS LIFE is a funny, honest, heartfelt series about a regular family whose world turns upside down overnight. Like its French-language counterpart, Nouvelle adresse, this 10-part series is a family saga focusing on Natalie Lawson, a lifestyle columnist and single mother in her early forties whose terminal cancer diagnosis sends her on a quest to help her three teenage children get ready for the future, while trying her best to live in the now. To get through all this Natalie leans on her two brothers, her sister and her parents, a close-knit, charmingly imperfect clan who each have their own unpredictable personal and professional hills to climb.
  • YOUNG DRUNK PUNK – Tues, Oct. 6 at 9 p.m./9:30 p.m. NT
    From the clever and caustic mind of Bruce McCulloch, YOUNG DRUNK PUNK is an original single-camera comedy about the trials and tragedy of growing up on the fringes of society. It’s a rough and hilarious look back at simpler times and a complicated age – and at two young rebels determined to stay true to themselves, and fight against the scratchy caftan of conformity.
  • RAISED BY WOLVES – Tues, Oct. 6 at 9:30 p.m./10 p.m. NT
    Loosely based on the Wolverhampton childhoods of outspoken U.K. writer and social media darling Caitlin Moran and her sister Caroline Moran, RAISED BY WOLVES follows six socially-isolated, home-schooled siblings and their acerbic, highly-capable mother.  Caitlin Moran is a British broadcaster, TV critic, and columnist who has been recognized with numerous awards for her work, including British Press Awards for Columnist of the Year, Critic of the Year, and Interviewer of the Year, among many others.
  • THE ROMEO SECTION – Wed, Oct. 14 at 9 p.m./9:30 p.m. NT
    From acclaimed showrunner Chris Haddock (Da Vinci’s Inquest, Intelligence), comes the hour-long serialized espionage drama THE ROMEO SECTION. Set in Vancouver, the series centres on spymaster Professor Wolfgang McGee, an academic who secretly manages a roster of espionage assets. These assets, referred to as Romeo or Juliet spies, are informants engaged in intimate relations with intelligence targets, as they use their powers of seduction to extract secrets and classified intel.
  • FIRSTHAND – Thurs, Oct. 15 at 9 p.m./9:30 p.m. NT
    CBC-TV’s new documentary strand, FIRSTHAND will introduce Canadians to content from some of the country’s most talented documentary filmmakers. The films showcase unforgettable characters and their untold stories — making viewers think, feel, and see the world in a new way.
  • INTERRUPT THIS PROGRAM – Fri, Nov. 6 at 8:30 p.m./9 p.m. NT
    Documenting art with a very sharp purpose: as political protest, as a means of survival, as an agent of change, as a display of courage and delight. Featuring cities like Beirut, Medellin, Athens, Port-au-Prince, and Kiev, each episode will showcase four young locals including one Canadian ex-pat — DJs, street artists, writers, musicians, city bloggers, filmmakers — as they take viewers on an immersive journey into their world, giving Canadians a portrait of their lives, their art and how it contributes to these distinct cultures we know little about.

New to CBC’s daytime lineup:

  • GRAND DESIGNS – Mon, Sept. 21 at 3 p.m./3:30 p.m. NT
    Designer and writer Kevin McCloud guides viewers through the trials and tribulations – physical, financial and emotional – of those aspiring to create a unique place to live, often over many months, even years. The series features a dramatic modernist villa perched atop a crumbling cliff in Snowdonia; a Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired bachelor pad made out of four shipping containers in the Northern Irish countryside; and the UK’s first amphibious house on a floodplain of the Thames in Buckinghamshire.
  • BONDI VET – Mon, Sept. 21 at 4 and 4:30 p.m./4:30 and 5 p.m. NT
    A touching look at the bond between man and animal; heartwarming and heartbreaking stories that families will love. From the drama of a critically injured family dog rushed to the clinic after a hit-and-run, to the tear-jerking tale of a kangaroo joey abandoned at birth, BONDI VET follows the lives of veterinary surgeon Chris Brown and emergency veterinarian Lisa Chimes.

Returning for Fall 2015:

  • HEARTLAND – Sun, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m./7:30 p.m. NT
    This fall, HEARTLAND continues the saga of a Western family as they chase big dreams and manage life’s setbacks, while holding on to what matters most: courage, love, family, and a home you can always come back to. Season nine is a brave new world for everyone in the Bartlett and Fleming families. It’s another chapter in their lives as they each undergo a sea of change.
  • CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON -  Sun, Oct. 4 at 8 p.m./8:30 p.m. NT
    Hosted by Jessi Cruickshank, CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON is an original competition series that inspires and entertains Canadians. Each week, four participants go head-to-head in a series of mind-bending challenges based on the Theory of Multiple Intelligence, which explores six areas of “smarts” including linguistic, physical, musical, visual, social and logical. Canadians can put themselves to the test by downloading the complementary Canada’s Smartest Person App and challenge their friends and family during the week as well as play along with the show each Sunday night.
  • MURDOCH MYSTERIES – Mon, Oct. 5 at 8 p.m./8:30 p.m. NT
    From within the walls of a maximum-security prison to the outer atmosphere of the earth, Season nine of MURDOCH MYSTERIES explores new worlds and mystifying cases. 1903 begins with Detective Murdoch, Dr. Julia Ogden, Inspector Brackenreid, and Dr. Emily Grace, still reeling over the arrest of Constable George Crabtree. This season, the series will include a two-hour holiday special which will air in December.
  • RICK MERCER REPORT – Tues, Oct. 6 at 8 p.m./8:30 p.m. NT
    Rick Mercer, Canada’s number-one political satirist, returns with the RICK MERCER REPORT for a 13th season kicking off CBC’s Tuesday night comedy block. Rick’s weekly helping of topical satire, funny takes on the week’s top stories, and Canada-wide adventures have made him a long-running audience favourite.
  • THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES – Tues, Oct. 6 at 8:30 p.m./9 p.m. NT
    An award-winning and record-breaking Canadian comedy institution, THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES features cast members Mark Critch, Cathy Jones, Shaun Majumder and Susan Kent as they savagely satirize Canadian politics and world events. Politicians and celebrities frequently make guest appearances — some willingly, others not! No story is off-limits and no personality too big.
  • DRAGONS’ DEN – Wed, Oct. 7 at 8 p.m./8:30 p.m. NT
    A Canadian success story in its own right, DRAGONS’ DEN, returns for a momentous 10th season on CBC. It’s a show where good ideas get rewarded and bad ideas get burned, and Canadian entrepreneurs and audiences have a front-row seat to the country’s top business leaders and risk-takers who provide viewers with insights, knowledge and guidance each week. This season, three new dragons join the Den: Joe Mimran, founder of Joe Fresh; Michele Romanow, co-founder of buytopia.ca, one of Canada’s top daily-deal sites; and Manjit Minhas, co-founder and co-owner of Minhas Breweries and Distillery.
  • THE NATURE OF THINGS – Thurs, Oct. 15 at 8 p.m./8:30 p.m. NT
    One of the most successful series in the history of Canadian television, THE NATURE OF THINGS is hosted by world-renowned scientist, author and environmentalist David Suzuki. Each week, this influential program presents documentaries driven by a scientific understanding of the world, with stories ranging from wildlife to health and medicine, and from the environment to the latest technology.
  • MARKETPLACE – Fri, Oct. 23 at 8 p.m./8:30 p.m. NT
    MARKETPLACE, Canada`s consumer watchdog, reveals what Canadians need to know to protect themselves, their families and money from slick scams and misleading marketing claims. Host Erica Johnson and a team of experienced investigative journalists put the products and services Canadians use every day to the test and hold companies and government to account. Innovative, insightful and irreverent – MARKETPLACE gets the goods and fights for change – viewers can’t afford to miss it. This season, MARKETPLACE reveals how the double double is causing trouble, what’s really inside the bottle when it comes to top-selling supplements and why Canadians may not want to trust those “best before” dates.
  • THE FIFTH ESTATE – Fri, Oct. 23 at 9 p.m./9:30 p.m. NT
    For four decades THE FIFTH ESTATE has been Canada’s premier investigative documentary program. Hosts Bob McKeown, Gillian Findlay and Mark Kelley continue the tradition of provocative and fearless journalism which began with Adrienne Clarkson, Warner Troyer and Peter Reilly in 1975. Each week brings in-depth investigations about issues that matter to Canadians, delivering a dazzling parade of controversial characters and ordinary people whose lives were touched by triumph or tragedy. In the season premiere, THE FIFTH ESTATE is in Iraq on the frontlines of the war against ISIS. Bob McKeown explores the real consequences of Canada’s ‘top secret’ military campaign. Viewers will meet soldiers, Good Samaritans, and a young man who is ready to risk everything to tell his story about life in a town occupied by ISIS. Closer to home is the poignant story of a mother who lost one son and is now feverishly trying to save another. Mark Kelley has the story of a young couple who must make a fateful decision about the baby that was taken away from them.
  • THE NATIONAL – Nightly on CBC-TV and CBC News Network
    CBC News’ flagship program with Chief Correspondent Peter Mansbridge and his team reporting on the stories that matter to Canadians with added context from across the country and around the world. THE NATIONAL delivers exclusive interviews and stories that define the news program and separate it from the rest, bringing Canadians the real story.
  • CORONATION STREET – Continues nightly from Mon-Fri at 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. NT
    Set in the fictional town of Weatherfield, CORONATION STREET – the longest-running British soap opera in television history – portrays the everyday life of a working-class British community. This season features a special two-part taped live episode airing over two nights. Viewers can catch “Nowhere to Run” on Oct. 13 and 14 at 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. NT.
  • CBC SPORTS – Weekly on CBC-TV and cbcsports.ca, beginning Sat, Oct. 24
    A new season of high-performance amateur athletics coverage will kick off on Saturday, Oct. 24 on CBC-TV, cbcsports.ca and through the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices. With host Scott Russell, Canadians will see top athletes compete on the national and international levels and hear their stories, ensuring viewers never meet an athlete for the first time on the podium. The first event on the 2015-16 schedule will be Skate America ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating on Oct. 24 and 25.
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CBC announces 2015-16 schedule

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From a media release:

CBC today announced the details of its 2015-16 schedule, highlighting a slate of new series, returning favourites, thought-provoking news and investigative content and marquee cultural events.

Included are 11 bold original productions, along with the renewal of 14 series. The schedule to date offers new premium dramas (THE ROMEO SECTION, THIS LIFE), compelling comedies (FOOL CANADA with Will Sasso, Bruce McCulloch’s YOUNG DRUNK PUNK), factual programming (KEEPING CANADA ALIVE, HELLO GOODBYE and STILL STANDING with Jonny Harris), and perennial hits. CBC will also bring Canadians acclaimed titles from abroad, including WHEN CALLS THE HEART; BANISHED; LOVE CHILD; PLEASE LIKE ME; RAISED BY WOLVES and JEKYLL AND HYDE.

CBC is excited to launch an innovative, cross-platform approach to covering the arts, CBC ARTS, which is set to launch this summer. This hub for the arts will be all-encompassing, bringing together content from across the network, with new material appearing on multiple platforms, including CANADA IN THE FRAME, THE RE-EDUCATION OF EDDY ROGO and THE COLLECTIVE, as well as TV series EXHIBITIONISTS and INTERRUPT THIS PROGRAM.

CBC is Canada’s Olympic Network and with its award-winning tradition of compelling storytelling in live sports broadcasting, Canadians will continue to enjoy a front row seat on our athletes’ journey in 2015-16 with comprehensive coverage of big events including the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games, Rio 2016 Olympic Games and much more both on TV and through the soon to be released CBC Sports App.

NEW THIS SEASON — DRAMA

WHEN CALLS THE HEART – Premieres Sunday, June 28, 2015 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT)
This is a family series based on the bestselling novel by Janette Oke following the story of young schoolteacher Elizabeth Thatcher (Erin Krakow), who has just arrived in a 19th century coal mining town in the Western Frontier, worlds away from the wealthy, high-society life she grew up with. Elizabeth arrives in the aftermath of a mine explosion that claimed the lives of most of Coal Valley’s men, leaving behind their widows — including kind-hearted Abigail Stanton (Lori Loughlin) who befriends Mountie Bill Avery (Jack Wagner), a forensic specialist who has been called to the town to help investigate the mining explosion.  As Elizabeth adapts to the frontier lifestyle, she also warms up to handsome Constable Jack Thornton (Daniel Lissing).

BANISHED – Premieres Monday, July 27, 2015 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT)
BAFTA-winning writer Jimmy McGovern (creator of Cracker) brings us this period drama set in 1787 when Britain banished its unwanted citizens — orphans, petty thieves, prostitutes and highwaymen — to Sydney, Australia. Among the first convicts to be exiled are close friends Elizabeth Quinn (MyAnna Buring), Tommy Barrett (Julian Rihind-Tutt) and James Freeman (Russell Tovey). In this combustible society, relationships between convicts are illicit, but that doesn’t stop Elizabeth and Tommy from becoming entangled in a romance together. When their relationship is revealed to the soldiers in charge, it sets in motion a series of events that forces the pragmatic, idealistic Governor Phillip (David Wenham) into further opposition with his nemesis, Major Ross, a man who thinks the only chance of survival is to rule with an iron fist.

LOVE CHILD – Premieres Saturday, August 8, 2015 at 10 p.m. (10:30 NT)
It’s set in a Sydney boarding house and hospital in the 1960s, where young, unwed mothers are sent to live for the duration of their pregnancy. The series, written by award-winning writer Sarah Lambert, follows maverick midwife Joan Millar (Jessica Marais), who comes from London to work for the hospital during the throes of a cultural revolution. As rock-and-roll blasts through the streets, hemlines rise and social mores undergo radical change, viewers will follow the optimistic and hedonistic beautiful young things who drove the world out of the dark ages and into the psychedelic new frontier, where anything was possible.

THIS LIFE – Premieres Monday, October 5, 2015 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT)
Based on the original Radio-Canada hit, Nouvelle adresse, is set to begin production in Montreal in summer 2015. Set in contemporary Montreal, This Life is a family saga focusing on Natalie Lawson (Torri Higginson), an accomplished columnist and single mother in her early forties whose terminal cancer diagnosis sends her on a quest to prepare her teenage children for life without her. Her tight-knit family – sister (Lauren Lee Smith), two brothers (Rick Roberts, Kristopher Turner) and parents (Peter MacNeill, Janet Laine Green), do the best they can to help her, while coping with their own responses to this revelation. Produced by Sphere Media and showrun by Joseph Kay, with the involvement of Richard Blaimert, THIS LIFE is a funny, honest, heartfelt series about a regular family whose world turns upside down overnight.

THE ROMEO SECTION – Premieres Wednesday, October 14, 2015 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT)
From acclaimed showrunner Chris Haddock (Da Vinci’s Inquest, Intelligence), the series is an hour-long serialized espionage drama set in Vancouver. It follows spymaster Professor Wolfgang McGee, an academic who secretly manages a roster of espionage assets. These assets, referred to as Romeo or Juliet spies, are informants engaged in intimate relations with intelligence targets. Wolfgang himself is a semi-retired Romeo operator, having worked his way up in an officially deniable “service” under the umbrella of Canada’s Intelligence Community.  They operate in a seemingly serene cosmopolitan city whose underside acts as a haven for drug barons, fugitives and covert financiers. The series has Haddock reunited with fellow executive producer Laura Lightbown; director Stephen Surjik; producer Arvi Liimatainen; and writer/co-executive producer Jesse McKeown.

JEKYLL AND HYDE – Premieres winter 2016
Robert Jekyll is a naive, sensitive young man finding his place in the world in London in the 1930’s and moving away from the protection of his loving foster parents. As he begins to feel himself coming under the power of a darkness he cannot control, he realises that all his life his parents were protecting him from his true self. Jekyll has inherited the curse of his grandfather, and when angered or in danger he undertakes a graphic and twisted transformation to become Hyde, a shadowy, brooding figure of incredible strength and agility, confident and fearless. The series stars Tom Bateman (Da Vinci’s Demons), Richard E. Grant (Doctor Who, Downton Abbey) and Natalie Gumede (Doctor Who, Coronation Street).

NEW THIS SEASON — COMEDY

FOOL CANADA – Premieres Tuesday, June 23, 2015 at 8:30 p.m. (9 NT)
This series is a fun and witty social experiment that puts Canadians’ notorious politeness to the test. Armed with hidden cameras, Will Sasso (MADtv) and a team of comedians travel across Canada toying with real people on subjects that divide and unite us, and poke fun at what it means to be Canadian. The series works to irreverently poke fun at what it means to be Canadian, stretching our famous sense of humour to new limits, from our propensity for politeness to our acceptance of a multitude of taxes. Produced by Shaftsbury Films, FOOL CANADA showcases a colourful band of characters and comedians who will set out to shock, surprise, and shine a light on the comedic state of the nation.

PLEASE LIKE ME – Premieres Friday, July 31, 2015 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT)
This comedy is stars, and is written by, critically-acclaimed, young Australian comedian Josh Thomas, who has been likened to Lena Dunham and Louis CK. This uniquely honest dramatic comedy follows Josh as he approaches his birthday and his life finally seems to be coming together. The events of one day throw his world into chaos. He’s dumped by his girlfriend, Claire (Caitlin Stasey), and introduced to a decidedly odd but very attractive man, Geoffrey (Wade Briggs) —which leads him to realize he may be gay. And when his divorced mum, Rose (Debra Lawrance), overdoses on pain killers, Josh is forced to move back into the family home to keep an eye on her. If that’s not enough, he has to deal with his dad Alan’s (David Roberts) guilt over his ex-wife, and clumsy attempts to hide his new, younger girlfriend. It’s all a bit more than Josh had planned for.

YOUNG DRUNK PUNK – Premieres Tuesday, October 6, 2015 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT)
A single-camera comedy about the trials and tragedy of growing up on the fringes of society, from the clever and caustic mind of Bruce McCulloch (who also stars), it’s a rough and hilarious look back at simpler times and a complicated age— and at two young rebels determined to stay true to themselves, and fight against conformity.Tim Carlson (Gracepoint) and Atticus Mitchell (Fargo) co-star as two recent high school graduates searching for their destinies in the back alleys of Calgary, circa 1980.

RAISED BY WOLVES – Premieres Tuesday, October 6, 2015 at 9:30 p.m. (10 NT)
Loosely based on the Wolverhampton childhood of outspoken U.K. writer and social media darling, Caitlin Moran, the series follows six socially isolated, home-schooled siblings and their acerbic, highly capable mother Della Garry (Rebekah Staton). The Garry siblings, include eldest Germaine (Helen Monks), an eccentric,distressingly oversharing and love-struck teen; Aretha (Alexa Davies), an introverted, sarcastic George Orwell admirer who just wants to be left alone; Yoko (Molly Risker), a dreamy, aspiring paleontologist; and ”the babbies,” Wyatt (Caden Ellis Wall), Mariah (Erin Freeman) and toddler Cher (Violet and Daisy Maple). They also share their small house with Della’s feckless, acid-casualty dad, Grampy (Philip Jackson), who frequently seeks refugee from his ongoing bad romance with ‘Shit Nan’.

DIGITAL PRODUCTIONS – COMEDY


BODY BUDS – Premieres Monday June 1, 2015 on cbc.ca/punchline
The webseries features two former fitness personalities who previously hosted Canada’s most popular 90-second health and fitness segment on TV. They encouraged Canadians to eat sensibly, exercise mildly and occasionally eat doughnuts. Then, the fitness world shifted, it got faster, harder and crazier and Body Buds faded in obscurity.  Now, Tyler and Taylor are back and they have only one goal: to reclaim their number one spot and make Body Buds the most popular fitness segment on TV. Lead actors Adam Cawley and Rob Baker are creators of the series and Canadian Comedy Award winners.

RIFTWORLD: CHRONICLES – Premieres summer 2015 on cbc.ca/punchline
This webseries is based on the multiple-award-winning short film The Portal. The series is a unique blend of the sci-fi/fantasy/drama genres, focusing on a dimension travelling wizard who teams up with a struggling journalist in the big city. Hunted by a fantastical foe, they try to solve the mystery of what binds their worlds – and their fates – together. It stars Erin Karpluk (Being Erica) and Tahmoh Penikett (Battlestar Galactica and Supernatural), and Munro Chambers (Degrassi: The Next Generation).

NEW THIS SEASON — FACTUAL

STILL STANDING – Premieres Tuesday, June 23, 2015 at 9:30 p.m. (10 NT)
The show follows comedian Jonny Harris on a hilarious and heart-warming journey across Canada as he ventures to small towns on the ropes and immerses himself in the lives of the locals – all while mining enough material to put on an original stand-up comedy routine for the residents about their community.  The series is a quirky and affectionate adventure into small-town Canada, and a celebration of the people who proudly choose to call those towns home and learns what makes these places special.

KEEPING CANADA ALIVE – Premieres Sunday, October 4, 2015 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT)
A high-profile, six-part series profiling the Canadian health care system, filmed in the spring of 2015 and shot over the course of one 24-hour period, 60 camera crews descended on hospitals, clinics, and trauma centres from coast to coast to coast, capturing intimate stories of patients and health care providers for a bold, breathtaking and dramatic look at a day in the life of health care in Canada. In a unique blend of medical mystery and real-life drama, capturing powerful and poignant moments, the cameras rolled as people sought treatment, and medical professionals did everything they could to provide it.

HELLO GOODBYE – Premieres winter 2016
Hosted by Dale Curd the series draws out touching stories from people in Canada’s busiest airport: Toronto Pearson International Airport. It reveals themes of love, family, bonds, friendships, immigration, grief and joyful reunion, and presents a window into our most emotional moments.

NEW THIS SEASON – DOCS

FIRST HAND – Premieres Thursday, October 1, 2015 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT)
CBC-TV’s new docs strand, will introduce Canadians to content from some of Canada’s most talented documentary filmmakers. The films showcase unforgettable characters and their untold stories — making viewers think, feel, and see the world in a new way.

NEW THIS SEASON – CBC ARTS

CRASH GALLERY – Premieres Friday, October 2, 2015 at 8:30 p.m. (9 NT)
A high-energy, gritty and immersive television series from Lark Productions that brings art to life through the thrill of competition, as four talented artists will compete against each other in a real-time creative arena, giving the audience a front-row seat to the creative process as it unfolds. The challenges cover everything from traditional paint and canvas to graffiti art, sculpture and any and all creative endeavors in between. The host must manage a boisterous and participatory crowd that gets the responsibility of choosing a winner. This is not an elimination show but a fun, fresh celebration of artists and creativity.

EXHIBITIONISTS – Premieres Sunday, October 4, 2015
A weekly, visually compelling, hosted 30-minute series about people who create and what motivates them to do it.  It will feature Canadian artists, from the emerging to the established, and sometimes the most unexpected — everyday citizens making art in surprising places. Each week EXHIBITIONISTS will bring you people, art and images that seek to inspire, provoke and delight the audience.

INTERRUPT THIS PROGRAM – Premieres Friday, November 6, 2015 at 8:30 p.m. (9 NT)
This series reveals the surprisingly vital cultural underbellies of global cities that have seen war and political unrest. It documents art with a very sharp purpose: as political protest, as a means of survival, as an agent of change, as a display of courage. Featuring cities like Beirut, Sarajevo, Tunis, Port-au-Prince, Kiev and the artists are  DJs,  street artists, writers, musicians, city bloggers, filmmakers — some of them practicing their art undercover.  In every episode, four young locals — and one Canadian ex-pat — take us on an immersive journey into their world, giving us a portrait of their lives, their art and how it contributes to the distinct culture of these less explored parts of the world.

DIGITAL PRODUCTIONS – CBC ARTS

CANADA IN THE FRAME – Premieres fall 2015
This webseries brings viewers inside a pop-up art gallery experience as attendees provide their candid, spontaneous reactions to a wide variety of Canadian art, while being filmed with hidden cameras. This fall Canadians are invited to eavesdrop on this original, surprising social experiment.

THE COLLECTIVE – Premieres fall 2015
CBC teamed up with Emmy® Award winning interactive agency Secret Location to commission videos from artists’ collectives from across the country — from dance to street art to writing — and put the production of the videos in the hands of the artists themselves.

THE RE-EDUCATION OF EDDY ROGO – Premieres fall 2015
The webseries follows successful auctioneer and art collector Eddy Rogo, as he ventures outside his comfort zone – which is currently filled with well-to-do art collector clients – and into the studios of the artists themselves. Taken outside of his comfort zone and immersed in the work of emerging artists, Eddy will meet eight Canadian visual artists, from a sculptor who makes grenade art with a twist, to a taxidermist who makes art out of road kill, to an artist who uses coffee as her paint of choice.

NEW THIS SEASON — SPORTS

TORONTO 2015 PAN AM / PARAPAN AM GAMES – Airing Friday, July 10 to 26, 2015 (PAN AM) and Friday, August 7 to 15, 2015 (PARAPAN AM)
CBC/Radio-Canada is the official broadcaster for the largest multi-sport event ever hosted in Canada. Canadians will have access to more coverage of the Pan/Parapan Am Games than ever before, across multiple platforms, including daily TV coverage in English and French and more than 650 hours of live streaming coverage at cbc.ca/panam, ici.radio-canada.ca/panam and via the CBC Sports app.

In the coming season, CBC Sports continues to connect Canadians to the athletes who represent Canada on the national stage, with coverage of the Calgary Stampede, Spruce Meadows, the IAAF World Track and Field Championships, ISU Figure Skating and Championship Speed Skating, FIS Alpine Skiing, among other sports.

RETURNING HITS

CBC-TV’s primetime lineup is also stacked with new seasons of fan-favourite series. DRAGONS’ DEN shakes things up for its tenth season with three new Dragons joining its panel of multi-millionaire investors: beer baroness Manjit Minhas, brand builder and fashion mogul Joe Mimran and the youngest woman in the history of the den, tech titan Michele Romanow. Jessi Cruickshank is back to help lead the exciting search for CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON when it returns this fall.

CORONATION STREET is back in a multi-year deal with ITV studios, continuing to provide fans with gossip and intrigue and HEARTLAND heads into new terrain now that the two leading characters are married and about to start a new life together. Beloved period drama MURDOCH MYSTERIES returns for an all-new ninth season with a guest star appearance by William Shatner and a special two-hour holiday special.

This winter, instant hit SCHITT’S CREEK will bring Canadians an entertaining look at how the Rose family is coping with life in their new hometown; viewers will be back in the classroom for the fifth season of MR. D; and X COMPANY will transport the audience back in time to the high-stakes world of WWII espionage. With their lifeline to Camp X cut off, the spies of X Company must fight the clock to prepare for an allied invasion.

Canada’s pre-eminent political satirist is back, with an all-new season of the award-winning RICK MERCER REPORT. THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES continues to push boundaries and parody Canadian politics, and JUST FOR LAUGHS comedy specials will also feature on the schedule, along with the WINNIPEG COMEDY FESTIVAL and HA!IFAX COMEDY FEST.

CBC News has a strong tradition of provocative, investigative journalism, bringing the public up to speed on current events and exposing important issues. Canada’s premier investigative documentary program, the fifth estate, marches into its 41st season, hosted by Gillian Findlay, Mark Kelley and Bob McKeown. MARKETPLACE, hosted by Erica Johnson, continues as Canada’s number-one investigative consumer show.

Led by CBC Chief News Correspondent Peter Mansbridge, THE NATIONAL continues to deliver exclusive interviews and stories that define the nightly news program, shedding light on important issues, engaging Canadians where and when they want it.

Hosted by David Suzuki, THE NATURE OF THINGS launches its 55th season in the fall of 2015.

As a facilitator of Canadian culture, CBC brings some of the nation’s premier live cultural events to its audiences, including the SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE, CANADA READS, the CANADIAN SCREEN AWARDS and the CANADIAN COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS.

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