TV, eh? | What's up in Canadian television | Page 1277
TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television
Mr. D, Schitt's Creek, This Hour Has 22 Minutes

Tonight: Schitt’s Creek, Mr. D, Close up Kings, 22 Minutes

Schitt’s Creek, CBC – “Turkey Shoot”
David goes on a turkey hunt with some townies. Jocelyn takes Moira on a “relaxing” spa day, while Alexis meets the new love of her life, Ted, the town veterinarian.

Mr. D, CBC – “Dating Maya Student”
Gerry’s former pupil, Maya is back at Xavier as a student teacher and Gerry is having difficulty accepting her as an adult. Robert tries too hard to be cool while attempting to connect with a student, and Bobbi works to prove her femininity to Malik amidst a school wide outbreak of lice.

Close up Kings, OLN – “Vancouver”
Close up King Jonny uses the Capilano Suspension Bridge for an epic trick after the Kings leave the USA for the first time and head north to BC. While on the trip, Magick gets a shocking tattoo to make this a trip of a lifetime!

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X Company

Link: CBC spy series X Company awakens Jack Laskey’s senses

From Bill Harris of QMI Agency:

There are fivefold reasons Jack Laskey volunteered for X Company.

In the new eight-episode Canadian World War II-set series, which debuts Wednesday, Feb. 18, on CBC, Laskey plays a young rookie spy named Alfred Graves who has a condition called fivefold synesthesia.

“I’d heard of synesthesia before, but I hadn’t understood it in the way I do now, and had to, as a result of being cast in this beautiful role,” said Laskey, who is from England. Continue reading.

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X Company

Second World War thriller X Company debuts Feb. 18 on CBC

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From a media release:

From the creators of Flashpoint and the producers of Orphan Black comes the CBC original WWII spy drama X COMPANY, premiering Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) on CBC Television. Inspired by remarkable true events, X COMPANY is an emotionally driven character drama set in the thrilling and dangerous world of WWII espionage and covert operations. During World War II, a real life spy training school existed on the shores of Lake Ontario. The new series follows the stories of five highly skilled young recruits torn from their ordinary lives to train as agents at an ultra-secret training facility, Camp X.

In the series premiere, the head of Camp X, Duncan Sinclair (Hugh Dillon), pulls out all the stops to convince his British counterpart that Alfred Graves (Jack Laskey), a fragile young man with a perfect memory, would make a good Allied agent. Meanwhile Sinclair’s first team is already behind enemy lines working to thwart a German plot to slaughter an entire village.

Shot on location in Hungary last summer, the exhilarating new show highlights Canada’s epic role in the war, which has largely remained unseen for many Canadians. The international ensemble cast stars Evelyne Brochu (Orphan Black, Pawn Sacrifice) as Aurora, a half Jewish-German, half French-Canadian, trilingual strategist and undercover specialist; Jack Laskey (Endeavour, Hatfields and McCoys) as Alfred, a gentle soul with synesthesia – a condition that cross-wires one sense with another, giving him near-perfect memory; Warren Brown (Luther, By Any Means) as Neil, an English ex-copper specializing in weapons and combat who lost his family in the Blitz; Dustin Milligan (No Clue, Extract) as Tom, a Madison Avenue advertising wunderkind, intimately familiar with the mechanics of persuasion, propaganda and seduction; and Connor Price (Being Human, Carrie) as Harry, the team’s radio operator, explosives specialist and gadgeteer. Rounding out the cast is Hugh Dillon as Duncan Sinclair, who runs the secret training facility Camp X and Lara Jean Chorostecki as Sinclair’s right-hand woman, Krystina Breeland.

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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Cold Water Cowboys returns to Discovery

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From a media release:

The worst winter that Newfoundland has seen in 30 years sets the stage for the return of Discovery’s hit original series, COLD WATER COWBOYS. Bravery reigns in the second season of the riveting Canadian Screen Award-nominated series, airing Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT beginning March 10, as the captains and their crews attempt to arrive at The Rock’s fishing grounds. The clock doesn’t stop ticking as returning Captain Richard Gillet and fellow fishermen – including newcomers Andre and Michelle Jesso, and Morris Antsey – pit themselves against Mother Nature in the hunt for bragging rights, and a fortune of fish in the hold!

Returning to its timeslot where it outperformed all other Canadian Entertainment Specialty channels*, the epic second season of the megahit series from Paperny Entertainment features new boats and new crews joining last year’s stars – each of them determined to prove they have what it takes to be among the COLD WATER COWBOYS. It’s a season filled with bigger, bolder gambles as fishing vessels become icebreakers, harsh conditions take a toll on vital equipment, and crews  are pushed to the breaking point. Fishing in Newfoundland has always been a family affair, and this season sons, fathers, brothers, husbands, and wives are on deck to join the race for the best catch.

In anticipation of the hit series’ second season, Discovery.ca presents the Cold Water Cowboys: Atlantic Empire simulation game – a combination of both strategy and skill based gameplay, show characters and locations, along with a strong social media component. Players control their own fishing vessels while going for broke as one of the cold water cowboys in the unforgiving North Atlantic using map-based gameplay to  net as much crab, shrimp, turbot, herring, and mackerel to build a fishing dynasty.

 

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Paul Lafrance brings his crazy-cool designs inside for Custom Built

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With Old Man Winter holding much of this country in its sub-zero grip, you can’t help but wonder if Disaster Decks and Decked Out host Paul Lafrance pitched his latest show, Custom Built, to HGTV just so he could ensure he’d stay warm.

The truth is a lot simpler.

“The exterior world is a niche for me, but I’ve been doing interior renovations for the last 20 years,” he explains. “The backyard was a draw for me because it’s such an empty canvas, but I want to connect with more people and tell their stories.”

The man who goes through life with three loves—music, Lego and people—returns to HGTV with his latest creation, debuting Tuesday night. In it, Lafrance and his loyal team of Joey Fletcher, David Kenney and Kate Campbell head indoors to create mind-blowing designs for homeowners. The first episode introduces viewers to Jeff and Allyson, who want their tired 60s-era bathroom updated to match the rest of their gorgeous heritage home. It doesn’t take long for Lafrance’s creative juices to get going after a walk around the couple’s property uncovers barn beams. By the end of the storyline those beams have been transformed into a stunning bathroom counter and a previously hidden antique door and brick work become the focal point of the new shower.

The spiky-haired Tragically Hip fan is quick to mention his co-stars when discussing Custom Built. The word “family” is used several times to describe Fletcher, Kenney and Campbell and part of this new television project spotlights the trio. Each episode heads back to Lafrance’s Southern Ontario workshop where a one-of-a-kind smaller piece is created for a client.

“That’s just showing something that’s been going on for years,” he says. “There has always been a shop. That’s the headquarters, the club house. That’s where creative ideas are birthed and built and fabricated for the renos that we’re doing. Being able to show the mad skill that all three of them have and the individual talents each brings to the table … I love that. There isn’t some leader that has his minions around him. My favourite days are when they come up with something more creative than I did.”

The veteran of HGTV still can’t believe people tune in to watch him tear things down and build them back up again. After all, he’d be doing this job whether camera crews were around him or not. What will those cameras will be capturing over the next several months? More episodes of Custom Built, hopefully more seasons of Disaster Decks or Decked Out. And, perhaps, a series documenting Lafrance building a new home for his family.

“Viewers want to see the real people, not characters,” he says. “I want people to know that if they’re watching me on TV, that’s the real me. If they were seeing my wife and my girls, they’re seeing the same thing.”

Custom Built airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV.

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