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TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television
Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Over the Rainbow reveals judging panel

LOUISE PITRE PHOTO

From a media release:

CBC’S OVER THE RAINBOW REVEALS ITS JUDGING PANEL OF THEATRICAL LUMINARIES

  • Arlene Phillips, Thom Allison and Louise Pitre (pictured) will help guide Canada to choose a Dorothy to star in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new Canadian production of The Wizard of Oz

Who’s off to see the Wizard? Arlene Phillips, Thom Allison and Louise Pitre are, as CBC Television reveals its panel of renowned judges for its exciting new series, OVER THE RAINBOW. The talented trio will help Canada decide the fate of 10 Dorothy Gales, with Canada ultimately picking one to star in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new Canadian stage production of The Wizard of Oz. It opens at the Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto this December.

Dance choreographer and director Arlene Phillips is one of the UK’s most recognizable TV judges. Her celebrated career includes being a member of the original panel for Strictly Come Dancing and stints on prime time entertainment shows, including So You Think You Can Dance, DanceX and Strictly Dance Fever. On top of working in a number of world-famous theatre, film, television productions and music videos, she’s also sat in the director’s chair for productions including Strictly Come Dancing The Live Tour, The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance.

Winnipeg born Thom Allison is one of Canada’s most popular leading men. He has been a mainstay at the Stratford Festival, having appeared in productions of Romeo and Juliet, Pericles, My Fair Lady, Threepenny Opera, The King and I, King Henry VIII and the Stratford Festival production of Into the Woods. Allison is a multi-award nominated performer of musical theatre, having been in the original Canadian companies of Miss Saigon, The Who’s Tommy and Rent. Following a yearlong run of his Broadway debut in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, he has received rave reviews for his current starring role as Coalhouse Walker Jr. in Ragtime at the Shaw Festival.

Louise Pitre is Canada’s first lady of musical theatre, boasting a career that spans theatre, television and concert stages across North America and Europe. Pitre received a Tony nomination for her Broadway debut in the smash hit Mamma Mia! and in addition to headlining the Toronto, Broadway and U.S. touring company casts of Mamma Mia!, her signature roles include Fantine in Les Misérables (Toronto, Montreal, Paris) and the title character in Edith Piaf.

OVER THE RAINBOW, hosted by Daryn Jones, is an exciting new series coming this fall to CBC, produced by Temple Street Productions. The winner will star in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new production of The Wizard of Oz, opening at the Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto this December.

The series will kick-off with a two-hour premiere on Sunday, September 16 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT). The first episode chronicles the cross-Canada audition process with girls competing to play the iconic role of Dorothy, as well, the Top 10 will be revealed and viewers will see them perform live for the first time.

In each live performance show the 10 Dorothys will compete, singing a mixture of Broadway, standards and pop songs. The first results show airs on Monday, September 17 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) where the bottom two, (as determined by a telephone and online public vote) will faceoff and one contestant will be saved from elimination by the judges.

One contestant will be eliminated each week until only three remain in the final performance episode. The competition will culminate in a showdown between the final three, with Andrew Lloyd Webber himself in attendance, and Canada choosing the winner.

In addition, there will be a search for a dog to play the role of Toto in the finale episode of OVER THE RAINBOW. The hilarious duo, comedians Deb McGrath of Little Mosque on the Prairie and Colin Mochrie, star of the summer series, Trust Us With Your Life along with award-winning dog breeder, Mike Macbeth, form the judging panel that will help to select the 10 most lovable contenders. After being featured on Monday night results episodes, there will be a weekly elimination until the winning Toto is adorned with the coveted red ruby collar, performing live on stage with the Dorothy finalists.

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Continuum

Continuum renewed for season 2

From a media release:

SHOWCASE’S CONTINUUM CONTINUES. SUMMER’S #1 SPECIALTY SERIES RECEIVES SEASON TWO ORDER

Showcase announces the renewal of its #1 series that swept the nation this summer, Continuum. The phenomenally successful series will begin production on its 13 episode season two order in 2013.

Continuum debuted on Showcase to an audience of over 1 million viewers (2+), shattering all previous premiere records on the network, making it the #1 specialty series of the summer. Boosting Showcase’s viewership by indexing 117% for A25-54 and 123% for A18-49 versus last summer, Continuum averaged #1 on Sundays, dominating its timeslot (9p-10p) across all key demos. The epic first season concluded with the most-watched finale in Showcase history.*

In the season finale titled ”Endtimes,” Kiera raced against the clock trying to prevent a Liber8 bombing, which ultimately killed hundreds of innocent people. The shocking twist led to an explosive finale leaving many lingering questions. In the search for answers, fans continue to flock to the Continuum social networks to sound off. Since the premiere, there have been over one million page views at showcase.ca/continuum, making it the most visited show site of all time, and averaged over 10,000 Get Glue check-ins per new episode. Boasting over 630,000 video views, fans can catch up on the entire first season of Continuum at showcase.ca/video.**

Continuum is a one-hour police drama centered on Kiera Cameron (Rachel Nichols), a cop from the year 2077 who finds herself trapped in present day Vancouver, searching for convicted criminals from the future, known as Liber8. With unexpected assistance from teen tech genius Alec Sadler (Erik Knudsen), Kiera concentrates on bringing down the terrorists before they can change the course of history forever. Impersonating a local law enforcement officer to expedite her investigation, she forms an uneasy alliance with her new partner, detective Carlos Fonnegra (Victor Webster).

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Uncategorized

Production starts on Rogue

From a media release:

The Movie Network, Movie Central and Entertainment One Announce Start of Production on Rogue, Starring Thandie Newton and Marton Csokas

The Movie Network (Eastern Canada) and Movie Central in association with Entertainment One (eOne) announced that production commences today in Vancouver on 10 episodes of the suspense-drama Rogue, starring Thandie Newton (Mission Impossible 2, Crash) and Marton Csokas (The Debt, Alice In Wonderland). The series is an international co-production by Entertainment One and Greenroom Entertainment, produced in participation with The Movie Network, Movie Central and DIRECTV. Rogue will air on The Movie Network Movie Central in Canada.

Rogue revolves around Grace (Newton), a morally and emotionally-conflicted undercover detective who is tormented by the possibility that her own actions contributed to her son’s death. Grace’s search for the truth is further complicated by her forbidden relationship with Jimmy (Csokas), the crime boss who may have played a hand in the crime. A smart, complex, character-led thriller, the show explores loss, grief, identity, family bonds, second chances and redemption. Both Grace and Jimmy not only struggle with who they are, they also struggle with who they want to be. Both cross the line – morally, emotionally, sexually – with devastating consequences for their own lives and those around them.

A Canada-UK coproduction, Rogue is executive produced by renowned UK producer/director Nick Hamm for Greenroom Entertainment; John Morayniss and Michael Rosenberg for eOne; and Steven Marrs from Momentum Entertainment Group. Series creator Matthew Parkhill (The Caller) serves as writer and supervising producer.

In addition to Newton and Csokas, the cast includes Ian Hart (Luck), Claudia Ferri (The Killing), Joshua Sasse, Jonathan Holmes, Sarah Jeffrey, Ian Tracey (Intelligence, Hell on Wheels), Jarod Joseph (Fringe), Matthew Beard (And When Did You Last See Your Father), and Martin Donovan (Simple Men, Weeds). Brian Kirk (Luck, Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire) directs the first episode.

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Uncategorized

Space orders 13 episodes of Bitten

From a media release:

SPACE Orders New Original Canadian Drama BITTEN

SPACE announced today at the start of Fan Expo Canada™ that it has ordered the new original scripted drama series BITTEN from Vancouver’s No Equal Entertainment and Hoodwink Entertainment, and Toronto’s Entertainment One (eOne). Based on the best-selling Women of the Otherworld novels by Canadian author Kelley Armstrong, thirteen episodes of the one-hour drama have been ordered, with production set to begin in Toronto next spring. Armstrong, and Executive Producer, J.B. Sugar, will be onsite at Fan Expo Canada™ this weekend, appearing on a SPACE panel on Sunday, Aug. 26 at 11 a.m. ET (Room 715) to discuss her novels and the new SPACE series.

Set in Toronto and upper New York State, BITTEN follows the adventures of 28-year-old Elena Michaels, the world’s only female werewolf. An orphan, Elena thought she finally found her “happily ever after” with her new love Clayton, until her life changed forever. With one small bite, the normal life she craved was taken away and she was left to survive life with the Pack. Today’s announcement follows SPACE’s order of new 13-episode drama series ORPHAN BLACK in June. eOne will handle worldwide distribution for the series.

Seeking refuge in Toronto, Elena constructs the façade of a normal life, working as a photographer and dating a new man. But when bodies turn up in the backwoods of Stonehaven, the rural mansion that has served as a werewolf sanctuary for generations, and the Pack is threatened by an unknown predator, they turn to Elena for help. Caught between two worlds and two loves, Elena returns to Stonehaven out of duty, but once back in the fold she realizes that when push comes to shove, like any true alpha female, she’ll stop at nothing to defend her family – including putting her own life on the line.

An erotically charged thriller, BITTEN examines the age-old battle between man and beast as human and inhuman forces come to a head in one small town and within one woman’s body.

BITTEN is based on the critically acclaimed series of novels from Kelley Armstrong, a Globe and Mail and New York Times bestselling author. Originally from Sudbury, ON, Armstrong’s first book, Bitten, was released in 2001 by Random House Canada. She has since written 12 additional books in the Women of the Otherworld series, with the final book, Thirteen, released on July 24, 2012. Armstrong still lives in Southwestern, Ontario with her husband, kids, and far too many pets.

BITTEN is produced by No Equal Entertainment, Hoodwink Entertainment and eOne in association with Bell Media. Executive producers are J.B. Sugar (THE COLLECTOR, JPOD) for No Equal Entertainment, and John Barbisan and Patrick Banister (WHISTLER) for Hoodwink Entertainment. Daegan Fryklind is executive producer and writer. Rebecca DiPasquale is Production Executive, Drama. Trish Williams is Director of Drama, Independent Production, Bell Media. Corrie Coe is Senior Vice-President, Independent Production, Bell Media. Catherine McLeod is Vice-President, Specialty Channels, Bell Media. Rick Brace is President, Specialty Channels and CTV Production. Phil King is President, CTV Programming and Sports.

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Rookie Blue, Saving Hope

New tonight: Rookie Blue, Saving Hope

image006Rookie Blue, Global – “The Rules”
Rookie Blue’s Gregory Smith (“Dov”) Makes His Directorial Debut in this Episode. After 15 Division’s devastating loss, Sergeant Best decides it’s time for his officers to get back on track. After a death threat aimed at a local priest leads Andy and Nick to a neighborhood drug kingpin, the officers realize they’re navigating in a war zone with a surprising connection. Meanwhile, Traci is forced to make a major decision about her career and Dov’s new relationship takes a dramatic and dangerous turn.

Saving Hope, CTV – “A New Beginning”
When Joel (Daniel Gilles) gets cold feet in the operating room, Kinney (Wendy Crewson) takes him with her on a continuing medical education assignment in her hometown to help clear his head. Meanwhile, Charlie (Michael Shanks) meets a deceased therapist who suspects it’s an emotional block that is keeping him in his coma. Encouraged by Charlie breathing on his own, Alex (Erica Durance) continues her rounds and diagnoses a fitness buff with a rare condition. (Encore episode airs Sunday, Aug. 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV)

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