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TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television
Industry News

Link: Jon Cassar to Executive Produce Canadian co-pro ‘Rio Heat’

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From Denise Petski of Deadline:

Jon Cassar To Executive Produce Canadian co-pro ‘Rio Heat’
Action comedy series Rio Heat, produced under a co-production treaty between Brazil and Canada, is described as a cross between Hawaii 5-0, Miami Vice, Magnum PI and Moonlighting. Emmy-winning 24 producer/director Jon Cassar will executive produce and direct multiple episodes of the 13-episode series, which will be filmed entirely in Brazil. Rio Heat was co-created by Canadian TV producer Ken Gord and Dean Borenstein. Gord is the writer and executive produces with Borenstein. Antonio de Andrade, Raul Geyer Aguinara, and Eduardo Villela executive produce for Brazilian co-producer Filmes de Serro. Continue reading.

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Industry News

Link: Chris Haddock talks about his return to the CBC with The Romeo Section

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From Ian Bailey of The Globe and Mail:

Chris Haddock talks about his return to the CBC with The Romeo Section
Chris Haddock’s new TV series is about spies, but he is keeping other aspects of what he’s working on top secret. However, the creator of such acclaimed Vancouver-set shows as Da Vinci’s Inquest and Intelligence will declassify one point: He is excited to be back in command of a TV show.

Eight years after CBC cancelled Intelligence, the crime drama that is his most recent series, Mr. Haddock is working toward the October debut of The Romeo Section. Although Mr. Haddock, the show’s creator, executive producer, writer and director, is keeping his secrets about The Romeo Section’s premise, promotional material from the CBC describes it as a “contemporary espionage thriller” about a veteran agent who sets out to recruit a high-value informant. Continue reading.

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19-2, Ascension, Murdoch Mysteries

Tonight: 19-2, Murdoch Mysteries, Ascension

19-2, Bravo – “Orphans”
With the squad in fragments, the true identity of the mole is revealed.

Murdoch Mysteries, CBC – “CrabtreeMania”
Leading his first murder investigation, Crabtree uncovers deception and fraud when a wrestler dies after a match. Guest starring David Chilton.

Ascension, CBC – Episode 6
Christa’s powers create chaos on Ascension and Globus, allowing Krueger and Stokes to escape.

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Children's Programming, Featured

The Next Step hits the dance floor for Season 3

Spoiler alert: not every member of the A-Troupe dancers will last until the end of Season 3 of The Next Step. That shouldn’t really come as much of a surprise for anyone following the tween drama—kids get older and graduate all the time—but this exit will be a bit of a shock nonetheless.

We were on the show’s Scarborough, Ont., set during filming, and watched that pivotal scene from a vantage point just out of camera range. We won’t give it away, but the announcement sends shock waves through the group. How it all happens, and how it affects the crew going into Internationals, rolls out when The Next Step returns to Family Channel on Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT.

To watch filming of an episode of The Next Step is to see television production set at double speed. Unlike most series that take a week to film one episode, The Next Step does it in just over a day and lines are written in a different manner too.

dance2

“Traditionally, you write a script and then you find actors to read the material,” says writer and executive producer Frank van Keeken (The Kids in the Hall, Winging’ It). “We write very involved outlines, and on the day of shooting we talk about the scene and then we just start playing.” The result? A serialized drama that feels very real and authentic.

Returning to The Next Step Dance Studio are, among others, Brittany Raymond as Riley, Victoria Baldesarra as Michelle, Alexandra Beaton as Emily, Trevor Tordjman as James, Lamar Johnson as West, Jennifer Pappas as Chloe, Brennan Clost as Daniel, Zac Vran as Hunter, Bree Wasylenko as Kate, Natalie Krill as Phoebe and So You Think You Can Dance Canada Season 4 winner Jordan Clark as Giselle. Newbies include Ella Gilling, a semifinalist from Season 2 of the UK talent television show Got To Dance. Each one—when they weren’t celebrating the show’s catering or discussing injuries and the bonding element on-set—spoke of how van Keeken is a mentor to them. It’s a label he isn’t comfortable wearing, but understands the sentiment.

“I’ve been doing this a long time, so there are certain skill sets I’ve developed,” he says. “Because they’re green, or were, I had to spend the time just educating them. It’s been a good relationship. After they saw the cuts they realized, ‘He just cuts the bad bits.’ Once you make that transition as an actor then they just go.”

As for who exits the troupe early? You’ll just have to tune in to find out.

The Next Step airs Monday to Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on Family Channel.

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Featured, Motive

Review: The relationship’s the thing on Motive

Taking nothing away from what makes Motive such a compelling show—the crime and the guest stars—but so far it’s been the Season 3 relationship twist that has been entertaining me the most.

Heck yes I was thrilled to see Ally Sheedy and Bonnie Somerville in “Calling the Shots,” battling toe-to-toe over money invested in a Ponzi scheme that led to murder. Did I have a crush on both at points in my life? Why yes I did. (I still miss Somerville’s Kitchen Confidential.) Having Sheedy play Stephanie Carson, an uptight mom who viewed the death of Somerville’s Erica Gray as not only dispatching a rat but also helping further her own daughter’s chances at scoring a gymnastics scholarship? Immensely entertaining.

But it was the relationship between Angie, Lucas, Vega and Betty that had me grinning with pleasure the most. And why not, thanks to back-and-forth conversations like the following?

“The proof is in the pudding,” Vega opined to Angie upon learning a prison inmate was killed over the creamy dessert.

“The plot thickens,” Angie shot right back.

And later, during the murder investigation and subsequent clearing of a virgin who Erica had given the bum’s rush to meet with Stephanie: “Are you ready for this? They had rhubarb pie and watched Doctor Who,” Vega exclaimed to his partner. It’s exactly that witty dialogue that sets Motive apart from other shows in the genre and keeps me tuning in.

The cherry on top of this Sunday night confection is Lucas. It’s only taken the rookie detective six months to go from babbling young cop to confident crime-solver—four solves in four cases—something that has put Angie on her heels. She’s used to being the lead and not having to clear anything with Lucas. But now she has to, and it’s definitely going to be a learning curve. I hope her education continues so that we get more awkward morgue scenes between the four like we did this week.

Motive airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on CTV.

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