In the news: Sensitivity will be death of comedy

Kevin Baker of the National Post writes about the flap over the Altar Boy Gang and what that means to the future of comedy:

Irreverence control
“At a presentation of CBC TV’s fall lineup, Little Mosque on the Prairie was hailed as ‘the saviour of the CBC.’ In fact, the CBC has made a deal with the Devil, in particular, with the demons Sensitipheles and Feelzebub, whose minions are grievancebearers and offence-finders. The CBC made a bid for publicity and won its prize: a hit sitcom. But the price it paid could mean future comedy series must be vetted by irreverence-control inspectors, whose checklists have no box for funny.”

In the news: Canadian fall schedule

Brendan Kelly of Variety reports on the Canadian TV landscape and fall season:

CTV tries takeover of rival Chum
“The big shake-up on the horizon — CTV Globemedia’s takeover of rival broadcaster Chum — has yet to receive approval from Canadian watchdog the CRTC, with the regulator expected to rule on the acquisition at the end of the summer. So for the moment, both CTV and Chum continue to act independently of each other and both bought separately at the recent L.A. Screenings.”

Gayle MacDonald of the Globe and Mail reports on challenges to CBC’s claims:

CBC’s best season in five years? Expert says no
“One of Canada’s leading experts in television ratings is challenging CBC Television’s claim that it just posted its best prime-time season in five years. Barry Kiefl, president of Ottawa-based Canadian Media Research Inc. (CMRI), says the 2006-2007 overall season in audience terms was the public TV broadcaster’s worst in its 55-year history.”

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Kate Taylor of the Globe and Mail compares the Canadian and American editions of Idol:

Kindler, gentler and bleep-free
“Are Canadians nicer than Americans? Television producer John Brunton has his suspicions. Brunton is the executive producer of Canadian Idol, the local franchise of the hugely popular reality show and singing contest, and he readily agrees his version is kinder to the contestants than the sometimes vicious American Idol.”

Tara Merrin of Sun Media talks to the country singer about his guest appearance on Trailer Park Boys:

George Canyon lands ‘Trailer Park’
The country music star will appear on two back-to-back episodes of Trailer Park Boys, starting tomorrow night, in the role of an American forest ranger who protects a colony of North American beavers. “It’s funny because the character takes this very seriously — it’s his whole world,” says Canyon, who is staying tight-lipped about the details of the story line.