TV, eh? | What's up in Canadian television | Page 1569
TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television
Featured, Industry News

The Minor Leagues (aka Bell versus The Blogger)

5 Comments

I’ve been working with some new contributors for this site and had an email exchange with one about my philosophy of coverage — probably the first time I’ve put it down so concisely (no, I know, it’s not that concise, and neither is this post) :

I want friendly interviews, not contentious, and honest but fair reviews — but I don’t mind an edge and I love a strong point of view, and I stay away from fangirl/boy gushing. If you hate or love a show you’re reviewing feel free to say so strongly — but make a case for your position either way. My philosophy is that treating shows and the industry like they can’t handle criticism is helping perpetuate the feeling that Canadian shows are the poor cousin of US shows — the “don’t kick the puppy” syndrome.

… [The site is] obviously intended to promote and support the Canadian TV industry so more people will hear about the shows and choose to watch them, but my angle on that is that pretending everything’s wonderful has the opposite effect on the audience.

I wrote something in 2006 on Canadian TV’s puppy syndrome, and as the years go by, my opinion has solidified even more around this sentence I wrote then:

Worse than receiving negative criticism is being considered unworthy of discussion or debate.

But years ago I stopped writing reviews after a few too many angry emails and one instance of continued harassment from people associated with the shows — generated by lukewarm rather than negative reviews, or even entirely positive interviews that didn’t mention someone who thought they should be mentioned.

Compared to the previous writing I’d done about US series, and dealings with US network PR, it felt like I’d been sent to the minors. The amateur hour whispers are still heard from former critics, writers and producers who have since escaped.

Things have changed in my world, either because the industry has matured, people are more used to bloggers and social media, I’m more used to dealing with our homegrown industry, they’re more used to TV, eh?, or, more likely, some combination of those.

The site’s back to doing reviews and with the new contributors I’ve got traction on doing more original features and opinion pieces. I’m having fun with it, which is my main motivation for continuing to run TV, eh? — that and the encouragement from many people who work in the industry.

Engaging with people who express contempt for me is not fun. The continued saga of Bell versus The Blogger won’t be fun for most readers. But I’m making an exception to my “when it stops being fun walk away” rule by writing about it again, because the only rationale I can think of for their communications with me lately is that they want to intimidate me into shutting up.

And Bell Media isn’t a puppy: it’s a big dog in the telecommunications world in Canada. And I am not inclined to be muzzled; their attempt, if that’s what it is, makes me more likely to continue to be the yappy little dog.

I mean, come on: they’re a multi-billion dollar media conglomerate now taking on a hobby blogger at every perceived slight.

They already sent a humourless, off-point response to my challenge that they stop talking about their great PR work at a time when their PR work wasn’t great.

Today, they phoned me to object to a tweet. It’s bush league in the Canadian TV industry again.

A production company enthusiastically tweeted a link to the Agam Darshi interview saying it was arranged by CTV at their upfront presentation yesterday. I retweeted them, happy that they were happy with the interview. I also added the clarification:

Though to be pedantic about that RT, the Agam Darshi interview wasn’t via CTV or the upfront – it was arranged directly with her people.

Not much later, Bell Media (yes, I’m using the impersonal corporate entity since I don’t think it’s fair to single out an individual) called me to object and drip some more contempt my way, and somehow insinuate that calling myself pedantic was an insult to Bell Media. (By the way, Bell, you’re welcome for commissioning a positive interview about your upcoming series without costing you time or effort.)

Would it have been important to me to clarify the credit if it weren’t for Bell’s open hostility toward me? Hard to say, but probably – I am, actually, often pedantic about precision, and Darshi’s “people” deserve to not have their efforts presented to her or to Twitter as a whole as the work of the network.

I get it: I can be harsh — though I try to do it with levity — about what I perceive as failings of the Canadian television industry. And there are a lot of failings if you believe, as I do, that Canadian content should be the core business of a Canadian broadcaster. As it is, our networks are the chronic retweeters of the broadcast industry, taking another country’s content to fill their stream. And that merits discussion and debate.

The people writing the ill-considered response to my post and making ill-considered phone calls are human beings: If I were Bell, I’d probably hate me too. But they’re also PR professionals: If I were Bell, I’d hate me silently.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Amazing Race Canada, Dramas and Comedies, Featured, Industry News, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary, Satisfaction

Industry Update – CTV/Bell Media 2013 Upfront

ctv13-09

CTV/Bell Media’s “Amazing” 2013 upfront was held at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, in Toronto, Ontario. It was the third straight year the upfronts were held there. The press conferences were, as always, held at Bell Media’s home offices at 299 Queen Street West.

CTV expanded the number of press conferences this year, from six to seven. The Canadian originals – The Amazing Race Canada and Satisfaction – came first. CTV’s press conferences are largely a showcase for new imported programs. This year featured ABC’s The Goldbergs, CBS’ Intelligence (this one’s about a microchip-enhanced operative — it looks silly), CBS’ Hostages, and syndicated talk show Bethenny. Fox’s The Following rounded out the bill, as the “returning favourite.”

Bell Media’s upfront presentation was fairly straightforward. It was the longest of the Big Three upfronts, at ninety-plus minutes. For its length, it didn’t have much to say beyond the standard talking points. I assume this was by design. Bell Media formally welcomed Astral Media into its family in 2012, barring “little things” like CRTC regulations…that were actually acted upon. For 2013, Bell showcased what they actually owned.

Bell Media dialed back the hubris, compared to last year. The only hint of the Bell-Astral deal was the announced Bravo GO multi-screen initiative. Mostly, Bell showcased supporting players from its American imports, as well as stars from its Canadian shows.

The clips for Canadian shows were blended with the clips for American shows, so CTV wasn’t shoving its original content into a cultural ghetto. CTV took pride of place in Bell Media’s hierarchy, with CTV Two announcing The Big Bang Theory…in syndicated weekday rerun form. Anger Management and Hot in Cleveland — six nights a week of Hot in Cleveland were also patched into CTV Two, as well as six nights a week of Mike & Molly. It’s obvious CTV Two is the home of shows CTV doesn’t want to lose to CHCH.

Cirque du Soleil topped and tailed the upfront presentation. Castmembers from Saving Hope, The Listener, Orphan Black, The Amazing Race Canada and Motive were on hand for pictures during the afterparty.

There’s a commercial element to this, of course. Bell Media runs a joint venture with Cirque du Soleil. Bell wants The Amazing Race Canada to be a hit for CTV. Motive, The Listener and Saving Hope are hits for CTV. Orphan Black does well on SPACE, and on BBC America.

One thing that bothered me about the 2013 CTV/Bell Media upfront: I was told I couldn’t take pictures of the presentation, the afterparty, or the tweets (including one of mine) that cycled during the upfronts. Come the afterparty, the tweet cycle included pictures of both events. Many of the pictures were of a giant birdcage, with Cirque du Soleil performers inside.

Bell Media showcased afterparty tweets — a few from accredited press members – as part of the afterparty. I’m not criticizing Bell Media; I just found the miscommunication strange. Bell Media announced a relationship with Twitter Canada as part of the upfront. Ad buyers were no doubt going to tweet about the cage, and Jon Montgomery handing CTV Programming and Sports executive Phil King a beer pitcher.

As for The Social, I didn’t find its sales pitch that strong. It came across to me as The View, with social media elements. That’s a thin premise to hang a talk show on. Perhaps The Social will make more sense once it airs. If the chemistry between the four hosts aren’t there, Twitter AMPLIFY content won’t make up the difference.

I didn’t mind the CTV/Bell Media 2013 upfront. Bell Media is still slow to embrace video-on-demand, but it has a better overall grasp of how to handle its Canadian content. Whether it follows through on a statement to make more Canadian content remains to be seen.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, Played

Interview: Agam Darshi of CTV’s upcoming Played

AgamDarshi

TV, eh?’s Adam Langton interviewed Agam Darshi, Canadian-raised actor from shows such as The L Word, Dan for Mayor and Sanctuary. Now, Darshi is filming CTV’s new crime drama Played, where she plays Khali Bhatt, a member of  a unique team of law enforcement officers.

 

Played is billed as a crime drama but of course that doesn’t quite tell the whole story — there’s a twist to this concept that sets Played apart from other police series. Do you want to tell us a bit about that?

Basically it’s about undercover cops, which is something that we don’t get to see too much on TV. So it is a crime drama but it takes things to a more personal level because we have these cops who are using their own lives, pretending to be other people, and they try to catch the bad guys from that angle. So it’s pretty interesting and speaks to a deeper level.

Is that even more interesting to you as an actor, playing a character that also has to act and do these undercover things?

Definitely, yes. In some ways you get to be lots of different people. The really cool thing about this series is that they have kept a level of realism. So we’re not just like suddenly changing ourselves and immediately walking into a situation as someone completely different. There’s an element of ourselves that we have to bring to every situation, which is what undercover officers have to do in real life. But at the same time, we still get to change enough that, say, if you’re an introverted person in real life but you have to play the crazy party-girl, then that’s what you have to do. So it’s fun to be able to change it up every week and to play this part.

That sounds very fun for the viewing audience, as well! So: what can you tell us about your character Khali Bhatt?

Khali is sort of the tech genius; she’s tech support for the group. She’s young, she’s pretty hip and has this side of her where she’s very outgoing. But she was raised in a fairly traditional Indian family. That’s what’s most interesting about Khali: in some ways when she goes back home, she’s undercover–she’s not really herself and she has to play a more traditional role. But when she’s out in the real world with her coworkers she gets to kind of relax, let loose, and be the person that she truly is. A little bit more wild, a little bit more free-spirited.

Also, in the press release, they describe your character as “honest.” That immediately piqued my interest because she’s part of a group of con artists, in a way. How do you reconcile playing an honest character that has this inherently dishonest job?

That’s a very good question. Yes, she’s considered the truth-teller. She’s early twenties and she has this sort of bold way about her where she’s able to kind of be insensitive, whereas other people might find a more diplomatic way of going about saying it or doing it. She’s kind of an “ask before you think” kind of character in some ways. So I see that as where her honesty comes from. That sort of freedom that you have when you’re early twenties, that freedom to do and say what you think without really thinking about it first.

You’re best known to TV fans as the fan-favourite character Kate Freelander on Sanctuary. Although Played is a completely different series from Sanctuary by nature, is there anything that Kate and Khali have in common? Or has this been a complete departure for you?

There are definitely some similarities to them. I think it comes back to that honesty: Kate was a very honest character, despite being also somewhat of a con artist (laughs). She was bold in what she said and the things that she did, that’s true for both characters.

Are those traits something that you yourself have in common with these characters?

I definitely think I’m honest but I don’t know if I’m as bold as they are. I go, probably, the more polite route (laughs). If you know me, the people closest to me would tell you that I can be fairly blunt and bold with the things that I say and do but I’m definitely not as quick to share that part of myself. I’d rather be more polite about it. So I guess in a way, Khali and Kate tend more to a deeper part of myself that I don’t always like to show people, because on the surface I can seem opposite to them, if that makes sense.

And that probably makes it even more fun to play them while you’re on set.

Yeah, for sure!

With Played you’re a part of an ensemble cast of very talented actors. Can you tell us a bit about how the team is coming together, working with the team so far and how it’s going?

It’s definitely raised the bar, because they are so talented. The scripts are amazing and ambitious in the sense that we have a certain amount of time to get everything that we have to fit in an episode and as a result you always have to be on your A-game. You have to know exactly what you need to do as an actor. Sometimes you don’t necessarily have the ability to shoot take after take after take. I’m working with a bunch of total pros. Everybody has been really great, they’ve all been bringing their A-game every day, every episode. They’re all creating characters that I find very interesting. We’re in the fourth episode, that’s where we’re shooting, and we’re really beginning to see this great development of the characters. From the pilot, on the page, they’re wonderfully written but now by this episode we’re starting to see them really come to life and, you know, how they’re sort of shifting and growing. I couldn’t be happier with the group of actors that I’m with. Every single person is so well-cast and brings something so specific and neat to the character, it’s really exciting.

That sounds great. To leave us off: what can you tell us and our readers in order to whet our appetites for Played? What can we look forward to from these episodes that you’re filming?

What’s great about the episodes is that there’s something different in each one. Because we’re working with an ensemble cast, each cast member will appeal to different people and each cast member and each character has their own episode where they really get to shine. You really get to see an arc for each person, where they each come face to face with their deepest, darkest secrets and the thing that most challenges them. Which is really cool, to be able to have that. It lets you kind of dig deeper with each character. So I think audiences will really connect more and more as the season progresses–we’ll get to learn what the characters are going through and we’ll see them in a different light by the end of the season. Does that make sense? (laughs)

Absolutely, you’re saying the show rewards the viewers for tuning in every week, that’s fantastic.

Yes, exactly. You’ll have a favourite character and you’ll get to see the episode where they really get to shine and where they’re face to face with their biggest challenge. So it’s fun because each character really has that opportunity.

That sounds great — I really appreciate you taking the time to chat and I’m sure our readers do too. 

Great, thanks so much.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Dramas and Comedies

The human drama of Blackstone

JohnCassini

From Etan Vlessing of Playback:

Blackstone and the puzzle of Canadian drama authenticity
John Cassini recalls his first day playing a detective in Blackstone, the APTN drama about the darker side of a First Nations reserve. The Vancouver actor, who played cops in earlier Canadian dramas like Intelligence, Shattered and DaVinci’s Inquest, asked on set whether his detective badge should be pinned on, flashed or just left hanging on his belt to let everyone know he’s laying down the law. “They chuckled and then told me a white guy on a reserve and in a suit – everyone knows you’re a cop,” Cassini recalls. Continue reading.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail