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TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television

Production begins on The Best Laid Plans

From a media release:

PDM ENTERTAINMENT BEGINS PRODUCTION ON UPCOMING CBC-TV SERIES, THE BEST LAID PLANS

PDM Entertainment in association with CBC-TV is pleased to announce production of the six-part limited series THE BEST LAID PLANS, shooting in various locations in Ottawa, ON. From award-winning producers Phyllis Platt, Brian Dennis and Peter Moss the series is based on the critically acclaimed political satire novel of the same name by Terry Fallis (Stephen Leacock Prize for Humour 2008, CBC Radio Canada Reads 2011). THE BEST LAID PLANS launches in winter 2014 on CBC-TV.

The ensemble cast stars Jonas Chernick (My Awkward Sexual Adventure, The Border), Kenneth Welsh (The Day After Tomorrow), Jodi Balfour (Bomb Girls), Sarah Allen (Being Human), Mark McKinney (The Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town), Peter Keleghan (Murdoch Mysteries), Eric Peterson (Corner Gas), Leah Pinsent (Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town), Sonja Smits (Cybergeddon, Traders), and Barbara Gordon (Little Mosque on the Prairie).

“We are honoured and privileged to be filming in Canada’s capital. Our goal is to tell Terry Fallis’ brilliant comedic story while presenting the extraordinary architecture and environs of Canada’s capital city in a whole new light,” says PDM partner Phyllis Platt.

“It’s a thrill to see what started as words on a page, come to life on the screen,” says novelist Terry Fallis. “These fine actors have taken the characters that only existed in my mind and made them real. It’s surreal and wonderful.”

Parliament is a secret and esoteric world with its own culture, customs and language. THE BEST LAID PLANS is a rollicking journey into this cosseted world. Our guide is the earnest, hopeful, English PhD, Daniel Addison (Jonas Chernick), head speech writer for the Leader of the Opposition. When Daniel catches his girlfriend and her boss in flagrante delicto he decides to return to academia as assistant professor of English at the University of Ottawa. But you don’t just walk away from the Opposition Party — freedom has a price and in this case it’s finding a candidate in a riding 50 kilometers away and managing the campaign in the next election, scheduled in approximately eight weeks. The catch: the riding in question has voted solidly for the Government Party since Confederation and the incumbent is Eric Cameron (Peter Keleghan), the extremely popular finance minister whose plurality in the last election was over 90%.

THE BEST LAID PLANS series is written by veteran screenwriters Susan Coyne (Slings and Arrows) and Jason Sherman (The Listener) and directed by Peter Moss (Booky and the Secret Santa) and Jim Allodi (Call Me Fitz).

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Grojband premieres September 5 on Teletoon

From a media release:

Grojband Rocks the TELETOON Lineup this Fall

  • Canadian premiere of this TELETOON Original Series airs Thursday, September 5 at 7 p.m. ET/PT

What do you get when you combine wicked tunes, over-the-top teen angst and epic sibling rivalry? Grojband, a brand new TELETOON Original Series premiering on Thursday, September 5 at 7 p.m. ET/PT, during the Can’t Miss Thursdays programming block.

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In this half-hour series, 12-year-old Corey Riffin starts a garage band with his three best friends and quickly realizes that their band sucks – like, a lot. It’s not their music or ever-changing image that’s the problem. It’s Corey’s lack of lyrics. He just can’t think of anything cool to write about, until Core finds his older sister Trina’s diary, which is full of teen angst. Corey and the band “secretly” use her latest diary entry as lyrics to their new tune and the result is pure awesomeness. The only problem is that Trina’s a total witch and can’t stand the thought of her little brother’s garbage band becoming more popular than her. But luckily Corey always knows just what to do to drive Trina to her diary and give the band the one thing they’re missing … words.

Produced for TELETOON by Fresh TV Inc., in association with FremantleMedia Kids and Family Entertainment, Grojband is created by Todd Kauffman and Mark Thornton. Executive Producers are Tom McGillis, Jennifer Pertsch, George Elliott and Brian Irving. Executive Producers for FremantleMedia Kids and Family Entertainment are Bob Higgins and Sander Schwartz.

New episodes of Grojband will continue to air every Thursday at 7 p.m. ET/PT throughout the fall as part of TELETOON’s Can’t Miss Thursdays programming block.

Viewers nationwide can tune in to Grojband during TELETOON’s free preview from August 15 to September 30, 2013. For more information on the free preview please visit teletoon.com or contact your television service provider.

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TV, eh? podcast episode 147 – “The Don’t Kick The Puppy Routine”

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It’s the dog days of summer so Anthony and Diane ponder the bitch of a Canadian TV industry:

Episode 147: Listen or download

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