From Alex Strachan of Postmedia:
CTV’s The Listener will end with Aug. 18 finale
“CTV’s decision to cancel the homegrown drama after five seasons is part of the natural order of TV today. A proliferation of cable channels and industry-wide trend toward series with shorter runs has changed the old model of TV viewing.” Continue reading.
From Amber Dowling of The TV Junkies:
What’s next after Rookie Blue finale bombs?
“There was more than enough beat-boxing to go around on Wednesday night’s Rookie Blue finale, but we’re feeling a little bit like it was our hearts that were in a brawl after those cliffhanger endings. Holly’s taking a job in San Francisco? Dov can’t forgive Chloe? Marlo is pregnant?! It was so much to handle that we knew we had to turn to Rookie Blue showrunner Tassie Cameron for answers. Here she explains ultrasounds, the lack of Golly time in Season 5, Nick’s new romance and more. Bombs away!” Continue reading.
I have been asked to write about regulatory activity for the TV, eh? audience. You might ask yourself – “why should I care about regulations – I am a fan/creator/broadcaster/distributor and I just want to know about Canadian TV”?
Without government policies, in their infinite and constantly evolving complexity, there would be no Canadian media. None. In particular, the Broadcasting Act and its stewards the CRTC ensure that we have a Canadian-owned broadcasting system and that each element of the system (primarily broadcasters and cable and satellite companies) contributes to the creation and presentation of Canadian programming.
Without these rules and regulations we would all be watching Masterchef and Under the Dome and other US shows on a US network. Well, we are anyway … but we have the choice to watch Canadian programming that reflects our world, our stories and how we see ourselves.
Nurtured, our talent pool has created terrific programming that has been extremely popular with audiences – Amazing Race Canada was the top show in Canada last week and during this summer season Rookie Blue and The Listener are both averaging over a million viewers each episode.
We also have the choice to watch high quality documentaries, children’s programming and Canadian feature films because of the regulatory support of the Broadcasting Act and policies and funding through Heritage Canada.
It is, however, an imperfect system. The CRTC is always trying to tweak the balance between consumers, creators and citizens and between broadcasters, cable companies and producers. The media world is constantly evolving with new technologies, new business models, new consumption patterns and new players. The system is constantly in tension and sometimes, often, you — the lover or creator of Canadian television — is forgotten.
My job here will be to translate regulatory activity (mostly CRTC but also changes in funding at Canada Media Fund or the independent funds or changes in policies at Canadian Heritage) and explain the impact on Canadian programming. Will there be more or less, what kind, should I be upset or excited about it?
Acronyms will unfortunately creep in. I have a decoder on my personal blog.
Coming up:Â The big regulatory news is the TalkTV hearing which will take place September 8 – 19th, 2014. We could expect a decision on that hearing possibly before the end of the calendar year and then the following year we will likely have a number of follow up hearings on specific issues.
From a media release:
Production begins Friday, August 15 on W Network’s new series, Pressure Cooker, a primetime culinary competition show. The series, previously announced at Banff World Media Festival, based on an original concept created by Jamie Oliver’s Fresh One Productons, is produced by Bristow Global Media (BGM), The 10, one-hour episode series illustrates the real-life pressures of cooking at home when time is tight and ingredients are scarce. An original Canadian format developed with an international team, Pressure Cooker is set to premiere in October on W Network.
Season one will feature renowned columnist and British restaurant critic, Giles Coren (The F-Word, Million Dollar Critic), as the tasting expert alongside host Anne-Marie Withenshaw; an award-winning entertainment and live event TV personality. Each episode will feature two guest chefs who will serve as coaches for the competitors, including Graham Elliot (Masterchef judge), Nadia Giosia (Nadia G’s Bitchin’ Kitchen) and DJ BBQ, to name a few.
On Pressure Cooker, home cooks are faced with the eternal dilemma – what do you cook when you have only a few random ingredients in the kitchen and not a lot of time to prepare them? In each episode, guest celebrity chefs are paired with skilled home cooks in a culinary contest combining great cooking and mischievous game show mechanics with a twist – home cooks must select their ingredients from a specially designed conveyor belt that kicks in at timed intervals. Any ingredients taken must be used in the home cooks’ final plate: but if they get stumped, they have a chance to use a “Recipe Rescueâ€.
Judging the food is the tasting expert Giles Coren who crowns a winner at the end of each episode. The series will feature integration partners, whose products will be a key part of the action on Pressure Cooker.
With lead broadcast and grocery sponsor Walmart Canada, the series will present food staples and offer fresh and accessible meal ideas available for Canadians to use in their own kitchens. ESKA Water has also signed on as the official water supplier for the season.
Pressure Cooker is produced by Bristow Global Media (BGM), in association with W Network.
From a media release:
When it comes to wicked weather and wild wrecks, there’s only one other highway system that rivals B.C.’s Coquihalla. As HIGHWAY THRU HELL returns to Discovery for Season 3, premiering Tuesday, September 2 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, Jamie Davis Heavy Rescue moves into Alberta to tackle Highways 881 and 63, basing a second operation out of Lac La Biche – while maintaining Davis’ decade-old business in Hope, B.C. Two provinces, two teams, new crew, old rivals, more trust, more friction, and vastly different types of weather and crash conditions – this hellish third season of the original Canadian hit series from Vancouver’s Great Pacific TV is the most epic season yet.
Back with 13 new episodes, HIGHWAY THRU HELL travels some of the most economically vital – and most inhospitable – trucking routes in North America. Plagued by winter storms, truckers spin out and smash up, and heavy rescue teams hustle to clear the highway carnage and get the road open again. These highway heroes are a hit with viewers –Season 2 of HIGHWAY THRU HELL was #1 in its timeslot on Canadian entertainment specialty television among all key adult and male demos, and was the #3 Canadian entertainment specialty program among Adults 25-54 and 18-49 overall. The 2012 debut still ranks as the #1 series premiere in Discovery’s history*.
Changes and challenges mark every moment of Season 3. Last season, Jamie Davis Heavy Rescue lost a significant amount of business when a new competitor has scooped up half the recoveries, forcing Davis to seek new opportunities to off-set these restrictions. Gambling big, Davis rolls into northern Alberta’s booming oil patch to stake a new claim on another road worthy of the title “highway thru hell.â€
Highway 881 runs north 300 kilometers through remote forest, muskeg, and tundra between Lac La Biche and Fort McMurray. But it’s the only route into newly-discovered oil and gas fields, worth billions of dollars. On a route supplying more energy to the U.S. than Saudi Arabia, hundreds of millions of dollars of heavy equipment must be moved daily on this narrow, two-lane highway. Almost 60,000 shift workers are in camps serviced by Highway 881, and on shift-change day, thousands of workers need to get home. Davis sends his best drivers and trucks to the Alberta oil patch; he tasks Adam Gazzola to manage the new Alberta startup. His crew includes Colin McLean, a city driver fresh from Vancouver who has to earn Gazzola’s respect. Deep snow, bitter cold, and big recoveries that dwarf most loads in B.C. push Gazzola’s team to the limit.
Back in B.C., Davis faces more challenges. During the heaviest snowfall and worst avalanche conditions in decades, he’s left with a skeleton crew of new hires and old trucks in his battle to keep the Coquihalla Highway open. New drivers include Howie Irwin, a highly-skilled heavy recovery vet who used to work the Coq for Davis and his brother before buying his own truck and moving to the city; and Don Starr, a 20-year mountain veteran with MacGyver-like ingenuity. But Davis isn’t the only guy on the road. With Davis’ team stretched across two provinces, rival rescue operator Al Quiring steps into the void. For years, Davis and Quiring have gone “tow to tow†for the title of “King of the Coqâ€. And like Davis has done with this stepson Brandon, Quiring is teaching the family trade to the next generation, his son Cary by his side. These young bucks have a lot to prove. Brandon is setting his sights on the Alberta operation, but must first show Davis that he has what it takes at home in B.C. Brandon attends a “wreckmaster heavy rescue bootcamp,†and this season Davis offers Brandon the chance to patrol in the quick response truck, aimed at securing accident scenes for heavy rescue… before the competition.
Highlights from the first episodes of HIGHWAY THRU HELL, Season 3, include:
HIGHWAY THRU HELL: “New Hell Old Hellâ€
Tuesday, September 2 at 10 p.m. ET/PT
A new winter season starts with Jamie Davis Heavy Rescue split in two… Adam Gazzola has taken half the fleet north to Alberta’s rich and dangerous oil fields while Jamie Davis stays back to fight and keep the Coq open all by himself.
HIGHWAY THRU HELL: “New Hopeâ€
Tuesday, September 9 at 10 p.m. ET/PT
Jamie Davis realizes he can’t do it all alone in B.C. and hires a new driver. But the newest addition ends up needing rescuing himself after he crashes Bruce Hardy’s legendary blue truck. Davis’ stepson Brandon is forced to prove himself after his plans to join the Alberta team are put on hold. And rookie operator, Colin McLean, learns just how tough his new boss Adam Gazzola can be… when a seemingly simple job goes sideways.
When “closure is not an option,†Davis’ teams struggle to make a go of it as the season continues. In Alberta, the crew must sleep in their trucks when they can’t find homes to rent, face the bitter cold of an Alberta winter, and endure the pain and heartache of leaving family behind. In B.C., 300 centimetres of snow falls in February, creating the worst avalanche conditions on the Coq in its 27-year history, which Davis must tackle with his newest crew and oldest trucks. At the end of the season, Davis faces the ultimate decision: should he throw all his resources into his new Alberta business, or rebuild his B.C. operations and wage a renewed battle on the Coq?
