TV, eh? | What's up in Canadian television | Page 49
TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television
Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Making It Home’s Kenny Brain is feeling at home on HGTV Canada

The COVID-19 pandemic caused chaos in the film and television industry. When productions weren’t completely shut down, contact between cast and crew was deeply restricted. For Kenny Brain, it meant he wasn’t able to really get to know his co-star, Kortney Wilson until cameras were rolling on Season 1 of Making It Home with Kortney and Kenny.

“The first time Kortney and I met face-to-face was about an hour before they yelled, ‘Action!'” he says with a laugh. “We did some online stuff but nothing in-person until we showed up to film.

“My legs were shaking when I walked in,” he recalls. “I’m thinking, ‘How did I end up here? Did I make the right decision?'”

Those worries were for naught. As viewers see when they tune in, there is a connection, chemistry and repartee between the duo. That’s even more pronounced in Season 3 of Making It Home with Kortney and Kenny. Currently airing Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV Canada, each instalment follows Wilson and Brain as they visit properties in dire need of a makeover. With her spunk and design know-how and his consummate contracting skills, it’s a wild, funny and tear-filled ride.

It’s been quite the journey for Brain. The Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland, native first made waves on Canadian TV when he appeared on Season 2 of Global’s Big Brother Canada. Once his stint on reality TV came to an end, Brain didn’t plan on returning to the small screen.

“I thought Big Brother Canada would be a one-off,” Brain says. “A really cool, massive experience, but I never dreamed I would end up where I am today.” Brain was quite comfortable transforming properties across the country, something he fell in love with in his 20s when he helped friends renovate their home and cabin. Putting the time and energy into something with his own hands that provided a tangible result had great allure. It quickly turned into his every day.

Now Brain finds himself standing among some of the biggest names in Canadian DIY, mentioned alongside Bryan Baeumler, Scott McGillivray, Sarah Richardson, Jonathan and Drew Scott, Mike Holmes, Sarah Keenleyside and Sebastian Clovis. It’s not something he takes for granted.

“HGTV Canada is such a staple in people’s homes,” he says. “To be a part of that family and to feel supported, I have to pinch myself because I never imagined my life being where it is right now.”

Making It Home with Kortney and Kenny airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV Canada.

Image courtesy of Corus Media.

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Children Ruin Everything

Links: Children Ruin Everything, Season 2

From Jeevan Bear of The TV Watercooler:

Link: Do children really ruin everything? Meaghan Rath and Aaron Abrams on working with kids and escaping sitcom tropes
“The point of the show is that you can keep who you were before. You can still be that person, which is what our characters try to navigate.” Continue reading.

From Melissa G. of The Televixen:

Link: Meaghan Rath and Aaron Abrams discuss Children Ruin Everything Season 2
“It’s ultimately about parenting. They’re trying to go back to their jobs and maintain routines. That’s where all the fun and conflict of the show is, with them trying to live their lives and maintain the things they loved about their life, but doing that with three kids.” Continue reading.

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Acting Good, Featured

Preview: Paul Rabliauskas shines in CTV Comedy Channel’s raucous Acting Good

In 2016, Letterkenny made a huge splash when it debuted on the then-Crave TV. Jared Keeso told the expletive-filled story of a small town full of odd folks getting up to all kinds of shenanigans. Letterkenny is still going strong 10 seasons of six episodes later.

I expect the same for Acting Good.

Kicking off on Monday at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT on CTV Comedy Channel, Acting Good, co-created and starring Anishinaabe standup comedian Paul Rabliauskas, is a raucous showcase for his comedic talents.

Loosely based on his life at Poplar River First Nation in Manitoba and the family and friends that inhabited that community, Rabliauskas plays Paul, a man who moves back to his eccentric family in the fly-in community of Grouse Lake First Nation after life in Winnipeg goes awry. Tail between his legs, Paul is at the mocking mercy of sister Jo (Roseanne Supernault), cousin Dean (Gabriel Daniels), mother Agnes (Tina Keeper, who is also a producer) and ex-girlfriend Rose (Cheyenna Sapp).

The debut instalment—directed by award-winning actor, director and choreographer Michael Greyeyes—pokes fun at land acknowledgments, bullying, “Indian time” and a breakdown of a certain mouth sound that had me giggling.

Sharply written by Rabliauskas and co-showrunners Amber-Sekowan Daniels, Eric Toth and Pat Thornton, Acting Good has a lot of heart wrapped up in its first 22 minutes and is well worth tuning in to.

Acting Good airs Mondays at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT on CTV Comedy Channel.

Image courtesy of Bell Media.

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Industry News

Tales from the Rez heads into production for APTN Lumi

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From a media release:

Blackfoot Nation Films announced today that their latest project Tales from the Rez from writer/director Trevor Solway (Kaatohkitopii: The Horse He Never Rode, CBC Gem), has gone to camera in Siksika, Alberta.

Tales from the Rez is a horror-comedy anthology series which adapts popular Blackfoot traditional tales and urban legends to the screen. The film stars a remarkable cast of Indigenous talent including Eugene Brave Rock (Dark Winds, Wonder Woman), actor and experimental pop/rock band Ghostkeeper frontman Shane Ghostkeeper (Parallel Minds), Shayla Stonechild (Siren), Michelle Thrush (Prey), Joel Oulette (Trickster), Nathan Alexis (Trickster), Cody Lightning (Echo, Four Sheets to the Wind) and introducing Charles Duck Chief.

Each episode features Blackfoot urban legends and twisted traditional tales. Uncle Randalf, an Elder with one foot in the living world and one foot in the spirit world will introduce the story to unfold in each episode. He speaks directly to the audience with dark humour and a lust for good stories. The initial season takes place in the traditional territories of the Blackfoot confederacy also known as Southern Alberta, Treaty 7. Subsequent seasons will travel to other Indigenous communities around the globe.

Tales from the Rez is written and directed by Trevor Solway (Kaatohkitopii: The Horse He Never Rode), Produced by Colin Van Loon (Blackfoot Nation Films), executive produced by Julian Black Antelope (Secret History of the Wild West) and associate produced by Jessica Matten (Dark Winds), Director of Photography is Aaron Bernakevitch (True West: The John Scott Story).

Tales from the Rez was made possible with the support of the Bell Fund, Indigenious Screen Office and APTN Lumi. The series is currently in production and will air on APTN Lumi.

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