Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Corus’ original series Life is Messy premieres alongside a new season of Renovation Resort this spring on Home Network

February 24, 2026 Greg David Leave a comment

From a media release:

Corus unveils a star-studded ensemble lineup this spring with two highly anticipated original series led by longstanding powerhouse talent. Legendary duos Scott McGillivray and Bryan Baeumler return with Season 3 of Renovation Resort (8×60 – MEM), and Kortney Wilson and Kenny Brain are back with the all-new series Life is Messy (8×60 – Scott Brothers Entertainment). Both series offer inspiring stories, practical ideas, and memorable renovations that Canadians from all walks of life can appreciate. Rounding out the programming lineup are new and returning international acquisition series, including Rachael Ray’s Rebuild, and George Clarke’s Flipping Fast. All series will be available to stream on STACKTV.

Home Network kicks off the return of its high-stakes renovation competition series just in time for cottage season. McGillivray and Baeumler are back with Season 3 of Renovation Resort—and this time, they’re headed to the lake! Premiering Sunday, April 5 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, four teams of talented builder-designers from across North America go head-to-head in the premier real estate renovation battle, transforming a long-neglected lakeside resort into the ultimate vacation destination. Over eight weeks, these duos battle to create breathtaking, one-of-a-kind vacation homes in the Kawarthas. The competing teams include:

Tatianna and Thomas, Vancouver, B.C.
Marcy and Melissa, Niagara, Ont.
Chalon and Liz, Texas, U.S.A.
Taylor and Mehrdad, Vancouver, B.C.

Each team must push their creativity and skills to the limit, navigating unexpected twists and bigger, bolder challenges than ever before. With a lineup of special guest judges who will critique every daring design choice, the last team standing will take home a game-changing $100,000 prize and the coveted title of Renovation Resort champions. Viewers can catch up on previous seasons of Renovation Resort on STACKTV.

Helping families regain control from clutter and disorganization, design expert Wilson and builder Brain are ready to step in with the series premiere of Life Is Messy on Thursday, April 9 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Home Network. When homes get buried under excessive mess and spaces shrink from too much stuff, life can feel overwhelming. The unstoppable pair utilize small budgets to create big ideas and greater spaces, guiding families through the physical and emotional evolution that comes with letting go.

Each week, audiences will watch Wilson and Brain save families from their chaos, including homes taken over by active toddlers, tired parents playing musical bedrooms with dogs and children, and a single mother feeling boxed-in back in her childhood home. These hijacked spaces will be reimagined with smart designs and clever storage solutions, turning dysfunction into comfort, and helping families reclaim their space so they can breathe again.

Heated Rivalry, Schitt's Creek, Yaga

Carrie-Anne Moss leads an all-star cast for the Crave original series Yaga, including Noah Reid, Clark Backo and Hudson Williams

February 24, 2026 Greg David Leave a comment

From a media release:

With production now underway, Crave today announced the principal cast for its first, half-hour, original drama series, YAGA, led by Carrie-Anne Moss (THE MATRIX), Noah Reid (SCHITT’S CREEK), Clark Backo (LETTERKENNY), and Hudson Williams (HEATED RIVALRY).

Based on the hit play by Kat Sandler, who also serves as writer and showrunner, the Crave Original series reimagines the myth of Baba Yaga, as a contemporary mystery thriller set in a small coastal town. Produced by Front Street Pictures and Blink49 Studios in partnership with Crave, YAGA is co-directed by David Frazee and Rachel Talalay, with principal photography currently underway.

YAGA follows Rapp (Noah Reid), a private investigator who arrives in a small coastal town to investigate the disappearance of a young heir to a powerful fishery, Henry Park (Hudson Williams). He finds himself at odds with an apprehensive local detective, Carson (Clark Backo), a charismatic university professor with a taste for younger men, Katherine (Carrie-Anne Moss), and a labyrinth of enigmatic suspects, secret lives, and ancient magic.

“Featuring a truly exceptional cast, this series marks another exciting collaboration with Blink49 Studios,” said Justin Stockman, Vice President, Content Development & Programming, Bell Media. “We’re thrilled to bring Kat Sandler’s bold vision to Crave with this first-ever half-hour drama, and to continue setting the bar for genre-bending, unexpected storytelling.”

“YAGA has evolved from myth to stage to my first greenlit series, reclaiming the wicked witch and reshaping her as an incendiary feminist antihero for our time,” said Kat Sandler. “It reflects the kind of storytelling I love: propulsive, accessible, dark, funny, and unapologetically bold. I’m incredibly excited to bring Crave’s first-ever half-hour drama to life alongside longtime collaborator Mackenzie Donaldson, Front Street Pictures, Blink49, and Bell Media.”

“YAGA is the kind of ambitious, genre-smashing storytelling we’re proud to support,” said Mackenzie Donaldson, Vice President, Scripted Television, Blink49 Studios. “Bringing Kat Sandler’s singular and fearless voice to the screen for the first time is a thrill. This is a story that is truly unique and unmistakably hers – fresh, contemporary reimagining of a classic myth brought to life by an exceptional cast and creative collaborators.”

The series marks a significant collaboration between Bell Media and Blink49 Studios, following Bell Media’s strategic investment in the Toronto-based production studio announced in June 2025. Bell Media and Blink49 Studios previously partnered on docuseries QUEEN OF THE CASTLE, and scripted series including DON’T EVEN, LATE BLOOMER, SIGHT UNSEEN, and THE TRADES.

Produced by Front Street Pictures and Blink49 Studios, showrunner is Kat Sandler; co-directors are David Frazee and Rachel Talalay. The series is executive produced by Mackenzie Donaldson, Andrew Miller and Carrie-Anne Moss and produced by Charles Cooper.

The series is distributed internationally by Sphere Abacus and will also be available as four, one-hour episodes for international sales.

Canada's Drag Race, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary, Uncategorized

Crave announces Canada’s Drag Race: All Stars with Brooke Lynn Hytes, Priyanka and Jimbo

February 24, 2026 Greg David Leave a comment

From a media release:

Hold on to your beavers! Crave announced today that it is expanding the Drag Race universe in Canada with the all-new Crave Original series, CANADA’S DRAG RACE: ALL STARS. Brooke Lynn Hytes serves as host and resident judge, alongside judges Priyanka and Jimbo, forming the first all-drag judging panel in Drag Race her-story. The full cast is set to be announced at a later date.

“CANADA’S DRAG RACE is a proven hit with Crave audiences, and we’re excited to build on its momentum with this new series,” said Justin Stockman, Vice President, Content Development & Programming, Bell Media. “Together with our partners at Blue Ant Studios and World of Wonder, we’ve cultivated a vibrant, successful, and distinctly Canadian chapter of a global franchise and can’t wait to see the queens who helped define it return to the main stage.”

The six-episode, one-hour spin-off of Crave’s award-winning original series CANADA’S DRAG RACE welcomes back queens with unfinished business to compete for the chance to be crowned “Canada’s Ultimate All-Star,” and win a cash prize of $100,000.

CANADA’S DRAG RACE: ALL STARS is Crave’s fourth original series collaboration with Blue Ant Studios and World of Wonder, in a list that includes Canadian Screen Award-winning series CANADA’S DRAG RACE and CANADA’S DRAG RACE: CANADA VS. THE WORLD, and SLAYCATION.

CANADA’S DRAG RACE: ALL STARS is set to premiere on Crave later this year and will air day-and-date on WOW Presents Plus globally.

Seasons 1-6 of CANADA’S DRAG RACE, and Seasons 1-2 of CANADA’S DRAG RACE: CANADA VS. THE WORLD and SLAYCATION are available to stream on Crave and WOW Presents Plus.

In association with Crave, CANADA’S DRAG RACE: ALL STARS is produced by Blue Ant Studios with World of Wonder. Executive Producers for Blue Ant Studios are Matthew Hornburg, Mark Bishop, Donna Luke, and Laura Michalchyshyn. Trevor Boris is Executive Producer/Showrunner, Shivani Srivastava is Supervising Producer. Executive Producers for World of Wonder are Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato, Tom Campbell, and RuPaul Charles.

Featured, Finding Her Edge

Jeff Norton on Netflix’s Finding Her Edge, and showrunning

February 16, 2026 Greg David Leave a comment

By Scott Campbell

Netflix subscribers were quick to respond to a little soapy teen drama called Finding Her Edge, set in a world of competitive figure skating and featuring love triangles.

Based on Jennifer Iacopelli’s 2022 novel, interest in the show boosted book sales by the January 22 release on the streamer. The series, produced by Canadian company WildBrain, features Canadians in the cast and was filmed in Ontario.

Netflix renewed the show for a second season, 12 days after the premiere.

Showrunner Jeff Norton was thrilled with the news.

“To be embraced around the world,” he said during the Zoom interview from Burlington, Ont. “Particularly in places where I wasn’t sure it would be. It was the No. 1 show, almost out of the gate in places like Brazil, Central Europe, and some places in the Nordics. It’s amazing.”

The eight-episode season highlights three sisters in a struggling figure skating family. Adriana Russo (Madelyn Keys) trains for Worlds with new partner Brayden Elliot (Cale Ambrozic) but still has feelings for her former partner Freddie O’Connell (Olly Atkins).

“I actually read [the book] as a manuscript,” said Norton. “And there are two things I loved about it. The first is I loved this set of characters. I really thought these were a special group of people, and I loved that these were characters that we met at a time in their lives where things were not going particularly well.

“And to me, that was a really interesting way into a family drama and to a romance, and Finding Her Edge is both of those two things.”

Norton remembers drawing a diagram of two intersecting triangles with Adriana in the middle. The triangle of her sisters, the familial one, and that love triangle which is Adriana, Freddie and Brayden.

The second thing Norton found appealing about the novel? “Jennifer had built Finding Her Edge in the modern world of elite figure skating on this incredibly strong foundation of a Jane Austen novel.”

Norton is involved in an upcoming Netflix series titled Crew Girl. He also plugged Netflix’s Geek Girl, which he worked on, too. But Finding Her Edge is his first show as a showrunner.

“Somebody gave me a piece of advice before I started showrunning,” he recalls. “Which is that my most critical job is to be the keeper of the tone of the show, and I take that very seriously. And, for me, the role of the showrunner is that there are thousands of decisions to make, all of which roll up into a vision for what is the show you want the audience to experience.”

Norton gave one example of looking for a particular tone of timeless romance. Early in the season, Adriana runs after Brayden when he’s on a train.

“I wanted to have something that felt like it was from another era,” he said. “So I challenged our production design team and our locations team
to find something that felt that way… and we ended up filming in a train museum, the Simcoe County Railway, and that’s an old 1926 rail car that’s sitting outside in the freezing cold, that we filmed in.”

Filming for the season took 80 days at various locations. The Russo house is on Shanty Bay in Barrie, Ont., the main street in the fictional town of Wentworth, where the skaters live, is downtown Orillia. A Wasaga Beach arena was used for qualifiers, the CAA Centre in Brampton stood in for a Paris arena for Worlds, and some scenes were actually shot in Paris, France.

It’s no coincidence either, that the Winter Olympics were happening around the same time as the show’s release.

“It was very deliberate,” said Norton, when the show was pitched in the autumn of 2024. “We will have a drama on the platform at the same time as people are excited about the sports at the Winter Olympics, particularly ice dance and figure skating.”

Norton gives much credit to the cast and crew, and since there is only one book, he is already sketching ideas for the second season.

“I’ve been working very diligently on a plan for Season 2 and an outline for all of the characters, which really follows the trajectory that we started in Season 1. Now, I don’t want to spoil anything…”

Season 1 of Finding Her Edge is available on Netflix.

Featured image courtesy of Netflix.

Awards, Featured

CBC, Bell Media, and Corus come together to broadcast The 2026 Canadian Screen Awards on May 31

January 30, 2026 Greg David Leave a comment

From a media release:

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television (the Canadian Academy) announced today a landmark partnership that will bring three of Canada’s top broadcasters together to simulcast The 2026 Canadian Screen Awards, a first-of-its-kind award show that will extend this annual celebration of Canadian film and television to more Canadians than ever. Happening on May 31 at the CBC Broadcast Centre in Toronto, The 2026 Canadian Screen Awards will broadcast and stream at 8:00 PM ET on CBC, CBC Gem, Crave, CTV, Global, and STACKTV.

Taking the stage as host is Canadian actor and comedian Andrew Phung, an eight-time Canadian Screen Award winner for his iconic roles in both Kim’s Convenience and Run the Burbs.

“At this pivotal and transformational moment for our industry, it is invigorating to see three powerhouse Canadian broadcasters unite to present The 2026 Canadian Screen Awards,” said Tammy Frick, CEO, Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. “This unprecedented collaboration underscores the strength of our creative community, and the importance of celebrating Canadian stories on a national stage. We are also thrilled to welcome this year’s host, Andrew Phung, whose genuine rapport, infectious energy, and deep connection with audiences across the country make him a standout choice to lead our celebration of Canadian excellence.”

“As the lead broadcaster of the Canadian Screen Awards and the national public broadcaster, we are always looking for new ways to celebrate and elevate our incredible talent in Canada,” said Sally Catto, General Manager, Entertainment, Factual and Sports, CBC. “We are thrilled to join forces with Bell Media and Corus to champion Canadian storytelling, and bring the awards to more audiences across Canada than ever before.”

“Through this collaboration with the Academy and our Canadian broadcast and streaming partners, Bell Media is proud to help amplify the Canadian Screen Awards. We look forward to joining Canadians in celebrating homegrown storytelling and honouring the exceptional talent that defines excellence in Canadian film and television,” said Justin Stockman, VP, Content Development & Programming, Bell Media.

“Corus is proud to join our fellow broadcasters in delivering this important celebration of Canadian excellence to audiences across the country,” said Jennifer Abrams, SVP of Content and Marketing, Corus Entertainment. “Canadian storytelling has always been a cornerstone of our programming, and we’re deeply committed to investing in culturally relevant original content that is intentionally shaped by what audiences are passionate about. We’re delighted to celebrate and amplify that storytelling when The 2026 Canadian Screen Awards airs on Global and STACKTV.”

Hosted by actor and comedian Andrew Phung, The 2026 Canadian Screen Awards is Canada’s biggest night in entertainment, honouring homegrown film and television excellence alongside living legends and rising stars. Taking place in Toronto and simulcast on CBC, CBC Gem, Crave, CTV, Global, and STACKTV for the first time ever, The 2026 Canadian Screen Awards will feature meaningful tributes to entertainment icons and never-before-seen TV moments, inviting viewers into a distinctly Canadian celebration of the stories that unite us all.

“I am so over-the-moon excited to be hosting the 2026 Canadian Screen Awards – I’ve wanted this gig for years!” said Andrew Phung. “Canadian Screen Week is such a highlight for our industry, and I’m so excited to spotlight the people and Canadian stories that make our industry so special. Personally, the Canadian Academy has meant so much to me. I won my first Canadian Screen Award in 2017 and it elevated my career in ways I couldn’t have imagined.”

Comedian, actor, and host Andrew Phung’s infectious and relatable personality has made him one of Canada’s top and most recognized comedic performers. He is best known for his award-winning performance on the hit CBC original and Netflix show, Kim’s Convenience, where he won five Canadian Screen Awards in the category of Best Supporting Actor, Comedy. Andrew is also the co-creator, executive producer, and star of the CBC original and Hulu series Run the Burbs, for which he won the 2025 Canadian Screen Award for Best Lead Performer, Comedy. His other recent television credits include LOL: Last One Laughing Canada on Amazon Prime Video Canada, and he’s the host of the new cooking competition series Big Burger Battle on Corus’ Flavour Network.

The 2026 Canadian Screen Awards will be presented as part of Canadian Screen Week 2026, which takes place from Wednesday, May 27 to Sunday, May 31 in Toronto. The full schedule of events can be found on CanadianScreenWeek.ca.

The nominees for the 2026 Canadian Screen Awards will be announced on Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 7:00 AM ET on Academy.ca/nominees. Additionally, the Canadian Academy has several exciting announcements that will be shared in the lead-up to Canadian Screen Week 2026, including this year’s class of Special Award recipients. For more information, please visit Academy.ca.

Image courtesy of George Pimentel.