TV, eh? | What's up in Canadian television | Page 1454
TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television
Featured

The Social gals get chatting for Season 2

1 Comment

They’re back and they’ve got a lot more to say. Yup, those Social gals–news anchor Melissa Grelo, relationship expert and life coach Cynthia Loyst, gossip maven Lainey Lui and entertainment reporter Traci Melchor–return for Season 2 this week and they’re raring to go.

No topic is out of bounds for the quartet; they feel equally at home discussing the latest fashion trends, current news making headlines or spilling the dirt on the most recent celebrity breakup. And the foursome say they felt a chemistry between them from the get-go.

“The first time that they put us all together for auditions I said to myself, ‘This is it,'” Melchor explains. “None of the other formations felt as good as us.” It hasn’t been all smooth sailing on-air. As Loyst tells it, they’ve all become great friends but have argued on more than one occasion on the show. Of course, she explains, that not only makes for great TV but cements they are real people with differing opinions on subjects.

“We still get along, we’re like a weird sisterhood,” Loyst says with a laugh. “You fight, you make up and then you move on.”

They admit the hardest part of being the hosts of a daytime talk show has been pulling back the curtain on their personal lives and sharing them on-air with each other and the audience. For Grelo, that meant a shift in thinking and departing from the typical news anchor mentality of reporting without injecting any personal opinion.

At the other end of the scale is Lui: co-hosting The Social has just confirmed what she already knew.

“I already knew that I had no shame,” she admits. “I have talked about my bowel movements to the point that our viewers know my favourite thing to talk about is poo, and my sex life to the point that everyone knows who I would have casual sex with if I wasn’t married.” Revealing those intimate secrets–and bodily functions–has led to a connection with viewers none of the hosts anticipated. Sure, they knew fans would have opinions and feedback but they were still surprised. Loyst points to her Season 1 blog about breastfeeding as an example of a topic that stirred plenty of discussion.

“That is what makes this show so unique,” she says. “There is this constant conversation happening with our audience. Viewers have watched my son grow from three months to 15 months. People definitely feel and intimacy or kinship with me because they know my family.” Expect more of the same in Season 2, teases Grelo. This past year has been the ladies’ introduction to viewers. Any nervousness they had about connecting with an audience is gone; fans know who they are as broadcasters and people.

“I think people will be watching in an even more engaged way,” Grelo says. “There will be thoughtful discussion about interesting topics that are going to affect you in the bedroom, the boardroom, your living room and we’ll continue to engage with our viewers via social media and amazing celebrity interviews.”

Season 2 of The Social airs weekdays at 1 p.m. ET on CTV.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Uncategorized

Omni greenlights Season 2 of Bollywood Star

628_bollywoodstar

From a media release:

Bollywood boot camp is back in session, as OMNI Television and Makan Media greenlight production on Season 2 of the dynamic original reality series Bollywood Star. Equal parts talent search and documentary, the six-part, half-hour series follows Canadian would-be Bollywood stars on their quest for the opportunity of a lifetime: a role in a Bollywood film, and a chance to become the next Bollywood sensation. Canadians can submit their auditions online at OMNITV.ca/BollywoodStar beginning today. Additional production and broadcast details will be announced at a later date.

“It was clear from last season that Canada boasts an immense wealth of talent across all cultures and communities,” said Paritosh Mehta, Director of Independent Production Development for OMNI Television Ontario, Rogers Media. “OMNI Television has always celebrated the Bollywood film industry, and we look forward to once again offering viewers this life-changing opportunity and delivering a fresh new season of this captivating series.”

OMNI Television’s nationwide search is open to all talented Canadian hopefuls over the age of majority. Beginning today, applicants can visit OMNITV.ca/BollywoodStar for more information on how to submit their application form and video audition.

“We are very excited to produce another season of Bollywood Star and to share the real-life experiences of Canadians trying to make it in biggest movie industry in the world,” said Shaam Makan, Executive Producer, Makan Media. “This season, our Bollywood hopefuls will not only experience the glamorous sights and sounds of India, but they’ll also tackle some of the hard-hitting issues that affect Indian society today.”

Surrey, B.C.’s 25-year-old Simran Sidhu was crowned Bollywood Star’s Season 1 winner in April. Beating out talented hopefuls from all over the country, Sidhu’s stunning performances during the competition’s Indian leg dazzled industry experts and led her to the ultimate prize: a role in an upcoming Bollywood film.

Bollywood Star follows the format of the successful Bollywood Star Australia and United Kingdom. The series is commissioned by OMNI Television’s original content team and produced by Makan Media Inc, with Shaam Makan (Restaurant Makeover, The Next Star, Bollywood Star) serving as executive producer. Paritosh Mehta is Director of Independent Production Development for OMNI Television Ontario, Rogers Media.

 

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured

Rick Campanelli celebrates 10 years of ET Canada

Has it been a decade already? It seems like just yesterday that Rick Campanelli, Cheryl Hickey and Roz Weston burst onto the scene in Entertainment Tonight Canada. The spinoff of the hugely successful U.S. newsmagazine show celebrates its 10th anniversary this week in grand style, with specials that include the most memorable celebrity interviews, bloopers, and “Star Evolutions” spotlighting the humble beginnings of Hollywood’s biggest names.

We asked Campanelli to look back on the last 10 years of ETC.

My favourite interview subject has been…
Rick Campanelli: Wow this is a tough one for me. I’m going to narrow it down to my Top 3, in no particular order of course. Michael Bublé because he is a great interview. He is super-talented and super-nice. Michael also has fun during the interview–hejokes around and makes you laugh. He also opens up and tells you things you never knew about him. I met Michael many years ago when he was singing at a Toronto stage show called Forever Swing. With all his fame and success he is still the same lovable Canadian I met all those years ago.

George Clooney because for someone of his stature in Hollywood, he has to be the most down-to-earth celebrities I have ever met. I’ve interviewed George a few times and he is truly genuine. He even gets up out of his seat to introduce himself to you in a junket setting. The guy really does have it all and you’ll feel like he could be one of your good friends after spending just five minutes with him.

Cher. Yes, I said Cher! The woman is an icon. She has been entertaining us since I’ve been in diapers and she is not about to slow down … or put more appropriate clothes on. I’ve done a couple full-length sit-down interviews with her and she just opens up and tells it like it is. She’s not afraid to speak her mind. She made me laugh out loud when she said one of her and Sonny’s first purchases was a toaster oven.

I was most nervous to interview…
Two people come to mind. The first time I ever interviewed Tommy Lee Jones. This man is an icon, he has been acting for longer than I’ve been alive and he is damn good at it! But it was the reputation he has during an interview setting that had me a little frightened/nervous about the outcome of my five minutes with him. Trust me, I was sweating but I was also prepared and knew a lot about this Hollywood legend. It turned out to be a pretty good interview and I even made him laugh which is always a good thing.

The other celebrity I was pretty nervous to interview was Jennifer Aniston. She’s gorgeous, she’s fun, she’s super-talented she’s gorgeous and the whole world knows her. Did I mention she’s gorgeous?

My most memorable on-air moment on ET Canada so far was…
My most memorable on-air moment for ET Canada was when we travelled to the Bahamas with Sharkwater director Rob Stewart to actually go dive with sharks. Yes, it took me a while to build up the courage but I finally took the plunge and hung out with 30 or so sharks down 30 meters in the ocean. I’m always up for a challenge and when my executive producer asked me if I would even consider doing it, I jumped at the opportunity. The day was gorgeous, the water was warm and the sharks were hungry. It is another world down there and I am so grateful all the underwater creatures welcomed me that day! Also, to hang out with Rob Stewart, one of Canada’s most passionate and dedicated documentary directors, was a total honour for me and we even became good friends.

My most memorable behind-the-scenes moment so far was…
My most memorable behind the scenes moment has to be going on the set of Vikings in Ireland. We hung out with the cast both in and out of their wardrobe/make-up, got an exclusive tour of the set where all the action goes down and even got made up as a pillaging Viking to see what it’s all about. I have been on so many sets and I will never forget this trip to Ireland because of the excitement and generosity that everyone showed us. From the make-up department, to the director and even the extras involved–they were all so happy to working on this project and it made my job that much easier to get so many amazing moments. The even better news is that we are going back on-set of Vikings soon, so stay tuned!

The best junket I have been on has been…
Hands down, the best junket I have been on was for Skyfall in New York City. We even included a trip to London, England, to tour all the famous James Bond spots. Got fitted by 007’s tailor, drank the classic Vesper martini, which Ian Fleming used to drink at Duke’s hotel bar and even sat in his Aston Martin! I’ve been a huge fan of James Bond for many years now and my obsession began back in the 1970’s when Roger Moore played the British secret agent. Although this is the new generation of 007 with Daniel Craig taking over the role; in my mind he’s the most rugged and real James Bond since the franchise began making movies back in the early 1960’s. He is the one that I sat across from at the Crosby St. hotel in NYC and who talked in great depth about one of my favourite big screen characters of all time.

The member of the ETC on-air team that pulls the most pranks is…
The member of the ETC on-air team that pulls the most pranks would probably be me … followed by Sangita, who takes a close second. I’ve loved pulling pranks for as long as I can remember. As you could probably imagine, I don’t like to be too serious. I have to be honest I had a bit more of the “prankster” in me earlier in my career … streaking, mooning, etc., but I had to slow down a bit over the years! I just like to make people laugh and smile – it lightens up the mood. Of course I can’t list all the pranks but I can say one of my favourites was when I did an up close and personal interview straight into the camera and when we were done and the camera pulled out, I was sitting in my boxer briefs…

I’m honoured to be a member of the ET Canada team because…
I’m honoured to be a member of the ET Canada team because we are part of an entertainment brand that has been around for 34 years. This entertainment franchise is an institution that has built a foundation for entertainment content to thrive. Entertainment Tonight is known throughout the world as THE No. 1 reliable source for all things entertainment and we here at ET Canada are proud to be able to share that same attribute with our Canadian viewers. I am also so proud of the team I work with every day. They are the best in the business at what they do. It’s such an amazing feeling to go home at the end of each day, sit back and take in what we created … and do it all over again day after day! Here’s to another 10 seasons!

Season 10 of Entertainment Tonight Canada airs weeknights at 7:30 p.m. ET on Global.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured

Highway Thru Hell slides into Season 3

It takes a special kind of person to want to drive tractor trailer loads of supplies along the notoriously dangerous Coquihalla Highway during the winter around Hope, B.C. But it takes an even more special kind of person (some may say “nuts”) to pull crashed tractor trailers out of the ditches along the Coq. Meet Jamie Davis, whose company, Jamie Davis Heavy Rescue, has been doing it for over a decade.

Davis and his motley assortment of drivers, mechanics and staff are back behind the wheel for Season 3 of Highway Thru Hell–returning to Discovery with 13 new episodes tonight–and the stress and danger has been doubled for the grizzled road veteran. A drop in business in B.C. meant Davis needed to explore other options, leading to an opportunity for his company to patrol Alberta’s Highway 881 and 63, the former the only lifeline between Lac La Biche and Fort McMurray in the newly discovered oil fields.

“We had to take a gamble and move to Alberta,” Davis says. “It was do or die. We moved to Fort McMurray, as well as having locations closer to Lac La Biche and now we’re in Edmonton. Long-term employees have stuck through me through thick and thin and they have the gumption to just do it.” Doing it is a tough, long slog. Hours are spent pulling shattered rigs upright and coordinating with law enforcement and firefighters to re-open the mountain or tundra thoroughfares as quickly and safely as possible. Davis teases viewers will see how stressed even longtime staffers get during the course of Season 3.

The road to Fort McMurray presented a particular challenge for everyone because of its remoteness–a closed highway means no groceries or fuel make it there not to mention the heavy equipment needed at the oil fields–but the conditions are harsher with winter temperatures plunging to minus-46, wreaking havoc on both man and machines.

Davis is still amazed over the popularity he and his crew have gotten over the last two seasons of Highway Thru Hell. The whole TV thing started innocently: driver Adam Gazzola was helping a guy whose truck broke down and they compared jobs. Gazzola told the dude, who revealed he worked in the television industry, that he drove a heavy rescue truck for a living and that driving the Coq in the winter was a gong show. The TV guy’s boss? Mark Miller, the man whose Great Pacific TV production company is behind such shows as Air Dogs, Untold Stories of the ER and Daily Planet. A series was born.

And despite Highway Thru Hell‘s success–the 2012 debut is still the No. 1 series premiere in Discovery’s history–fame isn’t their goal.

“That isn’t our business,” he says. “Our business is towing.”

Highway Thru Hell airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Discovery.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, Industry News

Dear CRTC: Less talking, more listening

28 Comments

Do you prefer to listen to Canadian music on Wednesdays or Fridays? Do you want to read Canadian books in the fall or spring?

Imagine if a government agency asked you that kind of question to form the basis of their regulations. Wait … one did.

My answer is you’re asking the wrong question.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission makes sure the objectives of the Broadcasting Act are met. According to the CRTC itself, “Canadian content, its development and availability to Canadians, is the underlying principle of the policy.”

But only from 10-2?

The main purpose of the Broadcasting Act and the CRTC is to ensure Canadians have access to Canadian programming. Canadian content is the given.

tv_guy_ENow the CRTC is opening up their TalkTV discussion for the public again in advance of the public hearings from September 8–19, hearings that will help them redesign the television framework in Canada.  And by public they mean anyone with a secret CRTC decoder ring.  

Eliminating Canadian content regulations is not on the table. What is? From their public discussion document: 

  • Maximizing choice and flexibility (pick and pay)
  • Relationships between broadcasting distribution undertakings and programmers
  • Ways to foster local programming, including a regulatory model for conventional television
  • Ways to foster compelling Canadian programming, including program production, promotion, exhibition and Canadian programming expenditures

I understand about half of that but I do know that the CRTC’s job is to foster Canadian content and our choices are about ways to foster. Not to rationalize why it should exist or to create a time ghetto to place it. And by the way, CRTC, we already know when people watch TV. There’s a reason primetime is not called not-primetime. 

So quit asking me when I want Canadian programming or why I value it. I value it because I am Canadian and that means something to me beyond a beer commercial. It means I believe we are a distinct country from the United States, with a different culture. There’s some Venn diagram overlap for sure, but without our own industries – cultural and otherwise – we might as well be the United States with funny money. 

But there are few members of the public  who could give the CRTC an informed, practical solution for how to change the industry in order to get what we want out of it. I want variety and fair pricing, and to know existing regulations are being upheld, otherwise what’s the point anyway? New regulations that won’t be upheld? 

I think Canadian networks broadcasting more original content, not duplicating what we can get on the US stations, is a solution. Eliminating simultaneous substitution might help. Not counting the same show toward fulfilling a CanCon requirement on multiple channels owned by the same network. Don’t allow for giant conglomerates who own every piece of the telecommunications and broadcast industry. 

But I don’t have the information to know whether networks are currently even meeting their CanCon requirements, or what revenues they make from Canadian shows, so how can I come up with a plan to increase the amount or quality of Canadian programming without introducing some industry-killing idea?

The CRTC is asking the public questions like: 

Who outside the industry knows what “high-priority programming” means to the CRTC? If I’m happy with the availability of kids shows on Netflix is that a no or a yes?

The Canadian government has a plain language policy in any communications to the public. That CRTC discussion document for their public hearings has a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of 13.9. That’s a lot of grade levels for a public document.

Oh they do try to simplify. They explain the benefit of eliminating simultaneous substitution as:

Canadians would be able to watch all non-Canadian programs, such as the Super Bowl, with American advertisements.

The language isn’t the problem, it’s that they’ve simplified the point right out of the debate. We have to read the Globe and Mail to see what the real benefits might be.

I’ve been an interested observer in Canadian content regulations for about a decade and I don’t understand the benefits and drawbacks of most of the decisions they are asking us to make. Thank goodness for people like TV, eh?’s Kelly Lynne Ashton, the Globe and Mail’s Kate Taylor and John Doyle, and Greg O’Brien at Cartt to explain and help spark thought and discussion.

If only the CRTC was listening:

I’ve been part of the conversation for a decade, first on other sites and then through this site. We did a series of TalkTV podcasts last year with people talking pick and pay, cordcutting and CanCon.

Welcome to the party, CRTC, but the community you’re trying to create with your desperate questions already exists and doesn’t trust you to listen. Because you haven’t been listening. And now you’re all “but guys, the party’s over HERE now. Let me explain how to get here with these incomprehensible directions.”

You want to ask me a relevant question, CRTC? Ask me what I expect from a government agency charged with ensuring Canadian airwaves are used in Canadians’ best interests.

I want a CRTC that acts in the public interest and can prove it. I want to see in clear terms what the rules are for a network’s Canadian content and the evidence that they are fulfilling their obligations. I want you to be transparent in what you’re doing about networks that don’t comply.

I want you to actively listen to the continuing conversations happening around you and I want YOU to do the work of translating our English to CRTC-speak instead of expecting us to learn how and when to talk to you. I want you to not tell me “it’s your last chance to have your say!” when you should be listening to your citizens always.

I want a CRTC who knows what questions to ask to get a meaningful response. But if you really, really want to know when I want to watch Canadian programming? Whenever I want, because I am Canadian.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail