From Bill Graveland of the Canadian Press:
From a media release:
ASTRAL’S DISNEY XD AND DISNEY JUNIOR COMMISSION CANADIAN ORIGINAL SERIES AND ORIGINAL MOVIE
Astral’s Disney XD and Disney Junior have commissioned two Canadian original productions for the 2012/2013 season. Disney Junior has commissioned the animated shorts Yub Yubs from Radical Sheep Productions for both its English and French language networks, while Disney XD has ordered its first original movie from Fresh TV with the live-action film Bunks. Slated for broadcast in 2013, production on both properties will begin in Toronto later this summer.Â
“We’re looking forward to working with our partners at Radical Sheep and Fresh TV again to deliver new and engaging content for our viewers across all platforms. Our fall production slate features diverse and innovative projects that will complement the other successful Canadian original programs already on our schedule,†said Michael Goldsmith, Director, Original Programming, Astral Kids. “With Yub Yubs, we’ve been able to develop an inventive and versatile series of shorts that will support Disney Junior in French and English while also providing growth opportunities for the two channels’ emerging digital businesses. Our live-action productions have always rated exceptionally well and we anticipate our first Disney XD original movie, Bunks, will continue this trend and reinforce our commitment to developing event programming for Disney XD.â€
SERIES SYNOPSIS – DISNEY JUNIOR CANADA YUB YUBS (50 animated shorts x 2-minutes)
Yub Yubs stars three curious and playful characters whose feelings are expressed by changing into other physical forms. When the Yub Yubs play together, magic happens. This silly and heartwarming animated series explores sibling dynamics and focuses on the communication of feelings. Created by Matthew Fernandes of Industrial Brothers Studio and developed by Radical Sheep and Industrial Brothers, Yub Yubs will be produced as a short form CG series and an interactive mobile world for preschoolers.
MOVIE SYNOPSIS – DISNEY XD CANADA BUNKS (90 minutes)
The first Canadian Original Movie for Disney XD, Bunks, follows the O’Reilly brothers in a coming-of-age live-action comedy about brotherhood, making your mark and the great outdoors. Grayson, Dylan and Dane don’t exactly have what you’d call a warm and fuzzy relationship, and now these boys will be put to the test as they head off to camp together. Set in Ontario’s idyllic Algonquin Park, Bunks is produced by Fresh TV. Astral Kids has experienced great success thanks to the production partnerships it shares with Radical Sheep and Fresh TV. Radical Sheep are the producers behind the imaginative animated series Stella and Sam, currently airing on both the English and French-language Disney Junior channels. The show has received national recognition, taking home such notable honours as the Youth Media Alliance’s 2011 Award of Excellence Grand Prize for Best Program, the Children’s Fiction Program Award at last year’s Banff World TV Festival and three Gemini nominations in 2011. Fresh TV produces the innovative multi-camera series Really Me, which is set to debut its second season on Family Channel in November.
From a media release:
Canada’s #1 Summer Series DEGRASSI Returns to MuchMusic With Season 12 Premiere, July 16
Summer school sucks, unless it’s DEGRASSI summer school! Fans won’t want to miss the highly anticipated return of DEGRASSI to MuchMusic, with the Season 12 premiere, Monday July 16 at 10 p.m. ET. The latest season of DEGRASSI is sure to bring on the heat with new storylines and students. Viewers can watch full episodes on muchmusic.com after the broadcast.
Season 11 of DEGRASSI ranked as the #1 Canadian series on MuchMusic for the broadcast year, among total viewers and among teens 12-17, people 12-34, adults 18-34 and 18-49 and female viewers aged 12-34, 12-17, 18-34, and 18-49. In the dramatic season finale, Fiona and Imogen shared their first kiss and the will-they-won’t-they couple of the century, Eli and Clare, indulged in a not-so first kiss. With the premiere episode, “Say It Rightâ€, (Part 1), the halls of Degrassi are full of fresh faces and returning favourites, ready for a whole new year of drama.
This year, with MuchCloser, the exclusive MuchMusic social rewards and loyalty program, fans of the series can watch DEGRASSI and then log on to muchmusic.com where they can earn points and rewards by interacting with the site- sharing, exploring, commenting and much more.
In the premiere episode, Drew (Luke Bilyk) is ready to break-up with Katie (Chloe Rose) for Bianca (Alicia Josipovic) but dreads the drama and looks to some liquid courage to get the job done. Clare (Aislinn Paul) wants to be with Eli (Munro Chambers) but worries that he doesn’t feel the same way. Plus, complicating life for the crew is the arrival of a dozen hotties, as Degrassi welcomes players from a junior hockey team to the school. Encore episodes air Saturdays (2 p.m. – 4 p.m. ET) and Sundays from (8 p.m. – 10 p.m. ET) so fans can catch up on the week’s action.
From a media release:
Movie Central and The Movie Network Announce 2012-2013 Original Production Slate
Corus Entertainment’s Movie Central (Western Canada) and Astral’s The Movie Network (Eastern Canada) are pleased to unveil the original series, miniseries, specials and documentaries that have been greenlit for production in 2012/2013. The line-up includes: returning comedy favourites Call Me Fitz, Less Than Kind and Funny as Hell; prominent international co-productions The Heretics and Rogue; and documentaries and special presentations Altman, In Studio, the David Steinberg Documentary, The Reelside, Revolution: Sharkwater 2, Vincent Goes to Hell: An Alice Cooper Doc Opera and Water.
New and returning series and miniseries greenlit for 2012/2013 include:
Call Me Fitz (Season 4)
Call Me Fitz returns for a fourth season. Comedy’s favourite dysfunctional family blows up the themes of identity as the Fitz family find themselves living back at home with mom. Call Me Fitz is produced by Entertainment One, Amaze Film + Television, Big Motion Pictures. The fourth season will begin filming in New Minas, Nova Scotia in Fall 2012, when the third season is scheduled to premiere.
Funny As Hell (Season 3)
Produced by Just for Laughs Television, Funny As Hell is back for a hell of a third season. The half-hour comedy series mixes daring stand-up featuring some of the funniest rising stars in comedy, with musical comedy and digital shorts. Hosted by Jon Dore, Season 3 will be filmed during the 2012 Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal.
The Heretics
Set in 13th Century France, The Heretics portrays the story of the Cathars and the powerful force that was so threatened by their peaceful and egalitarian society, it had to wipe them off the face of the earth. The Heretics is a Canada/France co-production between The Movie Network, Movie Central, Shaw Media and Sienna Films in Canada and Breakout Films, Arte and France 2 in France. The 10-episode, miniseries is currently in production in Romania and the South of France.
Less Than Kind (Season 4)
Gemini® trifecta winner for Best Comedy, Best Acting, and Best Writing, Less Than Kind’s fourth and final season returns to Winnipeg during the short summer months. The series stars Wendel Meldrum, Jesse Camacho, Benjamin Arthur, Nancy Sorel, Brooke Palsson, Tyler Johnston and joining the cast, veteran Canadian actor, Nicholas Campbell. Less Than Kind is produced by Breakthrough Film & Televistion and Buffalo Gal Pictures, principal photography runs from May 28-July 10 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Rogue
A 10-episode drama, Rogue follows a morally and emotionally conflicted cop, Grace, who is tormented by the possibility that her own actions contributed to her son’s death. Rogue stars award-winning actress Thandie Newton (Mission Impossible 2, Crash) and is produced by Entertainment One Television (eOne) and Greenroom Entertainment. The series will air on DirecTV in the U.S. and production is slated to begin in August 2012 in Vancouver.
Good God, Movie Central/The Movie Network – season finale
All hell breaks loose when George is left to look after the pet dog of an old fling and daughter of his media baron boss, Virginia Hailwood. The season finale premieres Monday, June 11 at 8:30 p.m. PT on Movie Central.
