How you can follow Canada’s return to the FIFA World Cup

July 26, 2022 Greg David

It’s an exciting time to be a follower of Canadian sports, with the national soccer team qualifying for the FIFA World Cup 2022. This will be the team’s first appearance at this level since 1986, making it a cause for celebration. This winter’s tournament will be the first of two World Cups Canada will play a part in as they are guaranteed to qualify for World Cup 2026 due to being one of three host nations alongside the United States and Mexico. The entire country will get behind the boys.

All previous instalments of FIFA’s showpiece tournament have been played during the months of June and July. This is to maximize the good weather while taking advantage of all major European club competitions, such as the English Premier League, UEFA Champions League and the Spanish La Liga, being in their off-season. But things will be different this year, and there are a few changes Canadian soccer lovers should know about before making predictions at the best sports betting sites in Vegas and planning your viewing.

A competitive renewal
This promises to be one of the most competitive renewals of the World Cup we have witnessed in a generation, and there’s no reason why Canadian fans shouldn’t dream big. At this stage of preparations, Canada has as much chance of lifting the trophy as Brazil, England, defending champions France, the USA or any other team that secured their involvement in Qatar.

Canada went into the draw for the tournament group stages in pot four of four, meaning they were expected to be the weakest team in their pool. At this level of soccer, there are tough groups and near-impossible groups of a team like Canada. But which did they get, and how are they expected to handle themselves when things get moving in November with the opening round of matches?

Canada was added to Group F alongside Belgium, Morocco and Croatia. Escaping that bracket in one piece will be no mean feat as Canada mixes it with a Belgian side which is one of the pre-tournament favourites to win the World Cup, and Croatia, who finished as runners-up behind France in 2018. They will open against Belgium on 23rd November at Amad Bin Ali Stadium in Al Ryaan. Let’s look at three ways you can see Les Rouges in action.

Stadium
The best way to get the full Qatar 2022 experience is to purchase a ticket, travel to the World Cup and enjoy the match from the stadium. This allows you to share in all the emotions of Canada’s quest for three points as they aim to upset the betting odds and silence the critics. You can get as close to the action as possible, but remember to only purchase matchday tickets from official avenues, such as the FIFA smartphone app or by registering your interest for a ticket with the Canadian FA.

Television
Perhaps you prefer to enjoy the matches from the comfort of your home. You can do just that, thanks to the live coverage provided by Bell Media. This gives you a chance to enjoy the tournament without having to travel across the globe during the festive period. For many casual soccer fans, shelling out for flights, hotels and matchday tickets, as well as food, drink and merchandise, just isn’t an option.

One criticism of Qatar being awarded the World Cup is that it will price many supporters out of attending, especially on the approach to Christmas. Save cash and watch from home or, better yet, create a watch party and invite your friends, family, neighbours and fellow soccer lovers around to create a personalized fan zone.

Live streaming
The leading online betting apps allow registered members to watch the World Cup for free on their Android or iOS device. Simply register an account and place a bet for a minimum of $1 to watch the match.

The live streams are 100% legal with HD quality, expert commentary, in-play betting apps, predictions, live scores from around the grounds and more. This is perfect if you are away from home during the play. Using your mobile, you can turn everyday situations into an opportunity to watch live sports.

Images courtesy of Google Images Creative Commons Licences.

Diggstown, Family Feud Canada, Featured, Heartland, Moonshine, Murdoch Mysteries, Sort Of, Strays, This Hour Has 22 Minutes

CBC announces fall 2022 premiere dates for new and returning series

July 26, 2022 Greg David 1 Comment

From a media release:

CBC today announced broadcast and streaming premiere dates for its fall 2022 slate of new and returning programming, including 26 original series and specials from Canadian creators, producers, and storytellers reflecting people, places and perspectives from across the country. The new fall primetime schedule launches Monday, September 12 on CBC TV and CBC Gem.

CBC and CBC Gem Fall 2022 Primetime Schedule launching Monday, September 12:
All following times are local. For Newfoundland and Labrador, please add half an hour to all times.

MONDAYS
7 PM – CORONATION STREET (continuing weekdays at 7 p.m., Fridays at 7:30 p.m. beginning September 16)
7:30 PM – FAMILY FEUD CANADA Season 4 (104×30) Mondays to Thursdays; premieres the week of September 12
8 PM – MURDOCH MYSTERIES Season 16 (24×60) premieres September 12
9 PM – THE NORTH WATER (6×60) premieres September 12
9 PM – RIDLEY ROAD (4×60) premieres October 24
10 PM – THE NATIONAL

TUESDAYS
7 PM – CORONATION STREET (continuing weekdays at 7 p.m., Fridays at 7:30 p.m. beginning September 16)
7:30 PM – FAMILY FEUD CANADA Season 4 (104×30) Mondays to Thursdays; premieres the week of September 12
8 PM – THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES Season 30 (24×30) premieres September 13
8:30 PM – STRAYS Season 2 (10×30) premieres September 13
9 PM – COMEDY NIGHT WITH RICK MERCER (8×60) premieres September 13
9 PM – SORT OF Season 2 (8×30) premieres November 15 with back-to-back episodes
10 PM – THE NATIONAL

WEDNESDAYS
7 PM – CORONATION STREET (continuing weekdays at 7 p.m., Fridays at 7:30 p.m. beginning September 16)
7:30 PM – FAMILY FEUD CANADA Season 4 (104×30) Mondays to Thursdays; premieres the week of September 12
8 PM – SUMMIT ‘72 (4×60) premieres September 14
8 PM – DIGGSTOWN Season 4 (6×60) premieres October 12
9 PM – WAR OF THE WORLDS Season 3 (8×60) premieres September 14
10 PM – THE NATIONAL

THURSDAYS
7 PM – CORONATION STREET (continuing weekdays at 7 p.m., Fridays at 7:30 p.m. beginning September 16)
7:30 PM – FAMILY FEUD CANADA Season 4 (104×30) Mondays to Thursdays; premieres the week of September 12
8 PM – DRAGONS’ DEN Season 17 (10×60) premieres September 15
9 PM – THE FIFTH ESTATE Season 48 (16×60) premieres September 29
10 PM – THE NATIONAL

FRIDAYS
7 PM – CORONATION STREET (continuing weekdays at 7 p.m., Fridays at 7:30 p.m. beginning September 16)
7:30 PM – CORONATION STREET (weekdays at 7 p.m., Fridays at 7:30 p.m.)
8 PM – THE PASSIONATE EYE (9×60, 1×120) premieres September 16 with Jennifer Baichwal’s INTO THE WEEDS before moving to its regular 9 PM timeslot
8 PM – MARKETPLACE Season 50 (16×30, 1×60) premieres October 7 with a one-hour 50th anniversary special
8:30 PM – TRAVEL MAN: 48 HOURS IN… (8×30) premieres October 14
9 PM – THE PASSIONATE EYE (9×60, 1×120) continues September 23 in its regular 9 PM timeslot
10 PM – THE NATIONAL

SATURDAYS
Afternoons – CBC SPORTS
Evenings – Canadian feature films continue
Evenings – HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA beginning in October

SUNDAYS
7 PM – HEARTLAND Season 16 (15×60) premieres October 2
8 PM – THE GREAT CANADIAN BAKING SHOW Season 6 (9×60) premieres October 2
9 PM – MOONSHINE Season 2 (8×60) premieres October 2
10 PM – THE NATIONAL

Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Discovery reveals the 12 carvers competing in the all-new series A Cut Above, beginning August 8

July 24, 2022 Greg David 4 Comments

From a media release:

Discovery gears up for a competition series like no other when the all-new Canadian original series, A CUT ABOVE, premieres Monday, August 8 at 10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT. Also revealed today are the 12 highly skilled carvers who are ready to tackle the ultimate carving competition. The gifted group of chainsaw-wielding whizzes from around the world must demonstrate their creativity, strength, and skill, as they turn ordinary logs into extraordinary works of art.

Each one-hour episode of A CUT ABOVE sees the talented carvers compete to win both the Quick and Master Carve challenges while racing against the clock in hopes of avoiding weekly elimination. At the end of the entire competition, the artist who out-carves the rest wins a cash prize and is declared “A Cut Above”.

As previously announced, Golden Globe-nominated actor, Adam Beach, joins as host alongside world-renowned Canadian chainsaw carver Ryan Cook and esteemed sculptor, Katharine Dowson, who bring their combined expertise and artistic prowess as judges.

Meet the 12 cutting-edge carvers.

Andrew Mallon, Age 39
Falls Church, VA
8 Years’ Experience

Aya Blane, Age 46
Boonville, NY
17 Years’ Experience

Bongo Love, Age 47
Boulder, CO
15 Years’ Experience

Brigitte Lochhead, Age 40
Vancouver, B.C.
14 Years’ Experience

Chris Woods, Age 52
Newport, Wales
22 Years’ Experience

Jesse Toso, Age 46
Vancouver, B.C.
17 Years’ Experience

Joel Palmer, Age 37
Browns Flat, N.B.
9 Years’ Experience

John Hayes, Age 49
Waterford, Ireland
7 Years’ Experience

Junior Henderson, Age 44
Campbell River, B.C.
15 Years’ Experience

Ryan Villers, Age 41
Edmonton, Alta.
4 Years’ Experience

Sam Bowsher, Age 23
Moffat, Scotland
3 Years’ Experience

Sylvia Itzen, Age 53
Bucholz, Germany
20 Years’ Experience

Each week, viewers can stream new episodes of A CUT ABOVE on CTV.ca and the CTV app, which is also home to behind-the-scenes videos, cast highlights, and more

A CUT ABOVE was created and produced by leading global entertainment company, marblemedia, in association with Bell Media for Discovery. For marblemedia, Matt Hornburg, Mark Bishop, and Diane Rankin are Executive Producers, Donna Luke and Carly Spencer are co-Executive Producers, Grant Greschuck is series producer, and the series was created by development producer Kelsey Epsensen.

Industry News, The Spencer Sisters

Lea Thompson and Stacey Farber cast as dynamic mother and daughter duo in CTV original series, The Spencer Sisters

July 24, 2022 Greg David

From a media release:

CTV and Entertainment One (eOne), together with Buffalo Gal Pictures, today announced that award-winning television and film actress, director, and producer Lea Thompson (Back To The Future, CAROLINE IN THE CITY) and acclaimed Canadian actress Stacey Farber (VIRGIN RIVER, SCHITT’S CREEK) will headline the upcoming CTV Original procedural series, THE SPENCER SISTERS.

Created by Alan McCullough (PRIVATE EYES, ROOKIE BLUE) and executive produced and co-showrun by McCullough and Jenn Engels (SORT OF), the lighthearted 10-episode, one-hour series centres on a hot-headed former police officer Darby Spencer (Farber) and her estranged, internationally renowned, mystery novelist mother, Victoria Spencer (Thompson). Despite opposite personalities, differing sensibilities, and a complicated history, they embark on the unlikeliest of ventures: becoming partners in a private detective agency. THE SPENCER SISTERS is set to begin production next month in Winnipeg, with broadcast slated for 2023. Additional details are to be announced at a later date.

As one of the titular characters, Victoria Spencer (Thompson) is an intelligent, charismatic, and renowned best-selling author of mystery novels, who is suffering from crippling writer’s block. When her estranged daughter Darby returns home, Victoria seizes the opportunity to reconnect with her. After the two work to solve a crime together, Victoria is inspired by the experience – and the possibility of a mended relationship with her daughter – to sit behind the keyboard once more.

Darby Spencer (Farber) is a smart, opinionated, and passionate woman who follows in her late father’s footsteps and becomes a police officer – much to Victoria’s stark disapproval. Carrying an innate intellect and the natural intuition of an experienced detective, Darby’s career aspirations come to a halt when she impetuously quits her job as a police constable after an unjust reprimand. About to turn 30 and in a dead-end relationship with a cheating boyfriend, she returns home, where to her surprise, she finds she may have more in common with her mother than she thought.

Talent biographies for the leading actresses are as follows:

Lea Thompson
Lea Thompson is actress, singer, and director, continuously honing her craft for over 40 years. She is best known for starring in the iconic Back To The Future films. Thompson has also starred in All The Right Moves with Tom Cruise, George Lucas’s Howard The Duck, John Hughes Some Kind Of Wonderful, and Red Dawn. Thompson won the People’s Choice award for the title role in the NBC sitcom CAROLINE IN THE CITY. Her acting credits are many, including Sally Bowles in Cabaret on Broadway, THE JANE DOE MYSTERIES, 102 episodes of the Peabody award-winning series SWITCHED AT BIRTH, and many telefilms and Sundance indies. Some of her directing credits include THE GOLDBERGS, Chuck Lorre’s CBS comedy MOM and YOUNG SHELDON, RESIDENT ALIEN, Greg Berlanti’s, STARGIRL, and STAR TREK: PICARD. Lea is perhaps most proud of her feature directorial debut The Year Of Spectacular Men, which her daughter Madelyn Deutch wrote, scored, and starred in, along with Lea and her other talented daughter Zoey Deutch. She has been married to their father, director Howard Deutch for 33 years. She is represented by Gilbertson Entertainment, Innovative Artists and Yorn, Levine, Barnes, Krintzman, Rubenstein, Kohner, Endlich & Gellman.

Stacey Farber
Stacey Farber is known for her compelling performances in numerous hit TV series— both dramatic and comedic. She recurs as grief-stricken Tara in the Netflix chart-topper VIRGIN RIVER and played villainous Leslie Larr in The CW’s breakout SUPERMAN & LOIS. She can also be seen in the award-winning comedies SCHITT’S CREEK (CBC/Pop TV), GRACE AND FRANKIE (Netflix), and 18 TO LIFE (CBC) as well as UnREAL (Lifetime), THE BRAVE (NBC), DIGGSTOWN (BET+), CHICAGO JUSTICE (NBC), SAVING HOPE (CTV/Ion TV), and ROOKIE BLUE (GLOBAL/ABC). For seven years, Stacey portrayed the fan-favourite character Ellie Nash in DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION (CTV). She is represented by The Characters Talent Agency, Manager Christina Gualazzi and A3 Artists Agency.

A CTV Original series, THE SPENCER SISTERS is produced by eOne together with Buffalo Gal Pictures with the participation of the Canada Media Fund and the Bell Fund, and is distributed internationally by eOne. The series is executive produced by McCullough and Jenn Engels, who are both co-showrunners. Jocelyn Hamilton serves as Executive Producer for eOne. Phyllis Laing and Jennifer Beasley are executive producers for Buffalo Gal Pictures.

Industry News

Blink49 Studios and Bell Media strike long-term pact with world-renowned entertainer Lilly Singh

July 20, 2022 Greg David

From a media release:

Blink49 Studios and Bell Media announced today they are partnering with world-renowned entertainer Lilly Singh and her company Unicorn Island Productions on a unique first-look global scripted and second-look unscripted deal.

Spearheaded by Singh and Polly Auritt, Head of Development at Unicorn Island Productions, Carolyn Newman, Executive Vice President, Global Scripted and Virginia Rankin, Executive Producer for Blink49 Studios, the deal will focus on creating and producing compelling television content that showcases underrepresented communities.

Projects developed under the pact will be executive produced by Singh, Auritt, Newman and Rankin with Blink49 Studios handling production and the worldwide distribution.

Named in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Hollywood & Entertainment list, Fast Company’s Most Creative People and as one of the most influential people on the internet by TIME, Lilly Singh is a multi-faceted entertainer, actress, producer, writer, creator and a New York Times bestselling author. She is a leading force in the digital world having amassed a global audience of more than 38 million followers across her social media channels. This year, Singh was a judge on CityTV’s Canada’s Got Talent, was part of the star-studded cast for the DreamWorks Animation action-comedy The Bad Guys and launched her book club Lilly’s Library that spotlights South Asian stories for everyone. Up next, she will headline the new Disney+ comedy series The Muppets Mayhem alongside several Muppet stars. Singh is also a co-owner of Angel City FC in the National Women’s Soccer League.

Blink49 Studios is a content venture with Endeavor Content as its anchor investor and lead strategic partner. Focusing heavily on a creative-first approach, Blink49 Studios is dedicated to partnering with best-in-class writers, creators and producers, as well as aggressively pursuing IP in Canada and throughout the world. The indie studio is committed to applying significant resources to support new and diverse Canadian voices.

ABOUT BLINK49 STUDIOS

Co-founded in 2021 by industry veterans CEO John Morayniss, Non-Executive Vice Chair Patrice Theroux, COO Jeff Lynas and CFO Nelson Kuo-Lee, Blink49 Studios is a full-service indie studio focused on the development, production, and monetization of premium scripted and unscripted content for a global market. Headquartered in Toronto with offices in Los Angeles, Blink49 Studios was formed in partnership with its anchor investor and lead strategic partner Endeavor Content. With a combined experience of innovative deal-making and strong relationships in the creative community, Blink49 Studios takes a content-first approach by partnering with best-in-class writers, creators, producers, and talent as well as supporting new and diverse voices.