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TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television
19-2, Industry News

Links: Jared Keeso to create comedy for CraveTV

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From Cassandra Szklarski of The Canadian Press:

Jared Keeso to create comedy for CraveTV
The crass musings of a country boy named Wayne are leaping from YouTube to CraveTV.

Bell Media says its on-demand streaming service has commissioned its first original Canadian series: a six-part, half-hour comedy called Letterkenny that will star 19-2 actor Jared Keeso.

Keeso just won Best Actor in a Drama Series at the Canadian Screen Awards. Continue reading.

From Marty Thompson of BlackburnNews:

Listowel’s Jared Keeso Awarded ‘Letterkenny’ TV Show
Just days after winning a Canadian Screen Award for his work on the television show 19-2, Listowel’s Jared Keeso has seen one of his projects turn into a TV show.

Bell announced on Thursday that Keeso will star in the comedy ‘Letterkenny’ which, in partnership with The Comedy Network, will air on their new digital TV service, Crave TV.

The six-part half-hour comedy will be based off of the wildly successful web series called Letterkenny Problems, which Keeso says came from his upbringing in Listowel. Continue reading.

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Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays

Link: The welcome, if perplexing, resurrection of Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays

From Scott Stinson of the National Post:

The welcome, if perplexing, resurrection of Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays
First reaction upon hearing that CBC is bringing back Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays: Yes! Second reaction, almost immediately thereafter: Wait, what? The first reaction is because I loved this show the first time around. The second is because I was, to judge by the ratings, in a small minority of viewers. Beyond that, the first time around was almost four years ago. What kind of network cancels a show after one season, waits three more seasons, and then renews it? You crazy, CBC. Continue reading.

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Vikings

Tonight: Vikings, The Nature of Things

Vikings, History – “Warrior’s Fate”
King Ecbert visits the developing Viking settlement as the first harvest is sown and rebuffs criticism from his leading nobles. The Wessex/Viking forces charge into battle with Mercia. In Kattegat, Harbard arrives in to the Great Hall and his mysterious aura fascinates Aslaug and Helga but Siggy remains suspicious. There are strange and tragic happenings in Kattegat and Siggy suspects Harbard is the cause.

The Nature of Things, CBC – “The Antibiotic Hunters”
What do sloths, alligators and Komodo dragons have to do with antibiotics? The Antibiotic Hunters follows drug researchers as they become jungle hunters, deep-sea divers, and cave explorers – all in an urgent search for the building blocks of new antibiotics. Many of our current antibacterial drugs have lost their effectiveness due to overuse, so now scientists have to hunt in remote and unexplored places for new bacteria with unique toxins that could be lethal to human germs. Without new antibiotics, experts are predicting a “post-antibiotic era”, in which the simplest of infections could turn deadly because they’re impossible to treat. Already, up to 12,000 Canadians are dying each year from antibiotic-resistant infections. It’s been called the most pressing global health problem of our time. And now, the solution could lie in the slimy fur of jungle sloths or the saliva of Komodo dragons.

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Featured, X Company

Review: X Company explores both sides of the story

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When I’d first heard that X Company—then called Camp X—was being developed by the CBC, I was excited. A history buff, I was champing at the bit to learn about Canada’s super-secret role during the Second World War.

And while I’ve certainly been educated in that all-important task, I’m even more impressed with the story surrounding the German soldiers and Nazis. Almost every program or film I’ve seen centred on the Allies, but X Company is delving deeper into who we’re taught are the villains. It’s easy to put the Nazis into a box and label them as murderers, but the reality is not everyone felt that way. That was certainly driven home during Wednesday’s “Kiss of Death,” where The Bleeder was unmasked—and dispatched, literally—by a poison pill kiss from Aurora.

The Bleeder’s affect on some of his fellow officers was very interesting. The man who so wanted to sleep with Celeste and had to settle for Aurora at first came off as a cruel, unfeeling jerk who was only interested in sex. Minutes later, he was shaking and afraid, confessing to Aurora that he was gay and therefore a target of The Bleeder, who wanted to stamp out homosexuality and other “deviant” sexual behaviour. The scene started out dripping with tension but ended with tenderness as Aurora promised to keep the weeping officer’s secret safe. It instantly put a human face to the enemy for both viewers and Aurora, and left me pondering my longtime thoughts.

I felt even more deeply about that when Oberführer Faber hid his son from view of the other SS officers. Anyone with a disability—in the child’s case, Down’s syndrome—was viewed as a fly in the ointment of the perfect race and would not have survived either.

I was, of course, touched by what was happening with Aurora and the team—Alfred’s combat training saved his butt and the atomic scientist extraction mission was a success—but the German side of the story really struck me this week. And has made it harder for me to cheer against them.

Notes and quotes

  • Brilliant move giving Alfred earplugs to wear so that loud noises don’t phase him. I hate it when he, you know, freezes up in a life or death situation.
  • It was great to see Maryam D’Abo back on the small screen as Madame Sournis.
  • I need to learn Morse code so that I understand what’s being transmitted in the opening credits. Is it SOS?
  • Am I to assume the blue-tinged prison cell Alfred is trapped in represents his mind? Can someone help a symbolism-stunted fellow out?
  • Is it weird that one of the most compelling characters for me is Harry? He’s got the innocent face but is able to be a cool killer too.

X Company airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on CBC.

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Industry News

Pitter Patter, Let’s Get At’er: Internet Sensation Letterkenny Becomes First Original Series Ordered by CraveTV

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From a media release:

− Based on the internet hit with more than 8 million views, half-hour comedy becomes first Canadian series commissioned for a Canadian SVOD service –
− Created, starring, and executive produced by 19-2’s Jared Keeso –

It’s a great day for hay, eh? Bell Media announced today from Prime Time in Ottawa that CraveTVTM, in partnership with The Comedy Network, has commissioned its first original Canadian series. The six-part, half-hour comedy LETTERKENNY becomes the first original series commissioned for a Canadian SVOD service. In development at Bell Media since November 2013, LETTERKENNY is based on the internet sensation Letterkenny Problems, a five-part series of shorts which have garnered more than 8 million views and earned a Canadian Screen Award nomination in 2014 for Best Web Series. Click here to see the original Letterkenny Problems shorts.

LETTERKENNY is created by Listowel, Ontario native Jared Keeso, co-star of Bravo’s critically-acclaimed, original drama series 19-2. Hot off the heels of a Canadian Screen Award win for Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role, Keeso will star in LETTERKENNY, and also acts as executive producer and co-writer. Nathan Dales (KING & MAXWELL) stars as Wayne’s quick-tongued sidekick, Daryl. Produced by New Metric Media in partnership with DHX Media and in association with Four Peaks Media Group, Jacob Tierney (The Trotsky) is executive producer, director, and co-writer. Patrick O’Sullivan and Mark Montefiore are executive producers for New Metric Media. Production begins in Northern Ontario this summer.

LETTERKENNY is about Wayne (Keeso), a good-ol’ country boy in Letterkenny, Ontario trying to protect his homegrown way of life on the farm, against a world that is constantly evolving around him. The residents of Letterkenny belong to one of three groups: Hicks, Skids, and Hockey Players. The three groups are constantly feuding with each other over seemingly trivial matters; often ending with someone getting their @ss kicked.

LETTERKENNY is produced by New Metric Media, in partnership with DHX Media and in association with Four Peaks Media Group, in association with Bell Media, with the participation of Canadian Media Fund, OMDC Tax Credits and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit. Sarah Fowlie is Director, Independent Production, Comedy, Bell Media. Executives for Bell Media are Kara Haflidson and Bill Lundy. Corrie Coe is Senior Vice-President, Independent Production, Bell Media. Tracey Pearce is Senior Vice-President, Specialty and Pay, Bell Media. Phil King is President, CTV, Sports, and Entertainment Programming.

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