From Sara Alessi of WorldScreen:
Link: Sinking Ship and Corus developing comedy series
Sinking Ship Entertainment and Corus Entertainment have entered into a development deal for the comedy series 4Player.
Created by Vivieno Caldinelli and Mark De Angelis, 4Player is a single-camera sitcom for kids ages 8 to 12. It follows a rag-tag group of teenage gamers who are great at video games but are “all thumbs†when it comes to everything else in life. Continue reading.
From Melissa Girimonte of The Televixen:
Link: Mary Kills People Postmortem: Episode 3 with Greg Bryk
“It really was a joy to create this character with them. I’ve known all of [the creative team] off and on in different capacities over the years. I’m proud to be part of it to be perfectly honest. As a husband and father of two sons and a young girl, to see this collection of women create such a dynamic and strong story, and to have the opportunity to tell that story, it was great to do my little part.” Continue reading.
From a media release:
VICE Studio Canada and Rogers Media today announced the start of production on their second original scripted series for VICELAND – FUBAR. Taking the beloved film franchise and hurtling it into the modern age, the eight-part, half-hour series, currently filming in Montreal, reunites director Michael Dowse and stars David Lawrence and Paul Spence in their original roles as Terry and Dean. FUBAR is slated to premiere in 2017 on VICELAND, with full broadcast details to be announced at a later date.
The series opens with Terry (Lawrence) and Dean (Spence) fleeing from the wildfires of Fort McMurray, in a desperate retreat to Calgary, with nothing but emergency government debit cards to their names. Discovering high-speed Internet for the first time, Terry is exposed to a world of commerce and social media and attempts to harness the web to make a profit. Meanwhile, Dean embarks on a journey to record a triple-concept album, using his burnt bass guitar and no-nuts falsetto voice.
You have to admire Exploration Production Inc.’s, track record. Discovery’s in-house production company is responsible for some of the most engaging—and highly rated—series on specialty television. They’re not only the folks behind Daily Planet, Megaspeed, Forensic Factor and Factory City but the “Mighty” series, including Mighty Ships and Mighty Trains.
Pulling away from Discovery’s dock on Sunday is Season 2 of Mighty Cruise Ships, which aims to spotlight the most outrageous, expensive and exciting cruise ships sailing around the world. The first episode features a stunner: the Carnival Vista. The largest in the Carnival fleet, the ship cruises the Mediterranean with more than 4,600 passengers, and crew of 1,400 in almost 2,000 staterooms. There are 10 restaurants, a 140-metre long slide, IMAX theatre, brewery and—astoundingly—the first-ever suspended bike loop that allows guests to ride 46 metres above the sea. Carnival Vista truly is a small city on the sea, and that comes with positives and negatives.
What has always impressed me about the Mighty series of programs is the unrestricted access they get not only to staff but the nooks and crannies of the things they’re exploring. With just a few hours to do it, the crew successfully completes a turnaround in Greece, offloading previous passengers and their luggage, cleaning, refreshing and loading new passengers, luggage and supplies for the next 10-day voyage. That means cleaning tons of laundry, overseeing 350 pallets of food … and getting out of port on time.
Not everything goes well. Mere moments after beginning the voyage there is an emergency that shows just how nimble a massive ship and its crew can be when called upon.
Upcoming weeks of Mighty Cruise Ships focus on Royal Clipper, Viking Sea, Europa 2, Ocean Endeavour and MSC Divina.
Mighty Cruise Ships airs Sundays at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on Discovery.
Image courtesy of Bell Media.
Why, oh why, is the History Channel constantly showing repeats of Canadian Pickers, especially during the day? So annoying. —Christina
While Pure started off really REALLY hokey (Ep. 1 and 2), it has now settled into a super show with great cliffhangers (so far Ep 3 and 5 have knocked it out of the park with fantastic writing and cliffhangers). With one more episode to go, I now can’t wait to see how this ends. I’m not sure how they will end it, (and by the time I am writing this, it’s already finalized how it ends). However, I hope that it has such a great cliffhanger that it lends itself to a second season (if CBC runs with it again). The potential of further material to do more seasons on this premise is huge—as I’ve researched some of this stuff in the past—and I can see more future in this show.
When I first heard about this production in 2016, I was so curious how this show would go, and I have now been totally blown away by the cast, directing, writing and creativity.
Thanks, CBC, for having the guts to go with this show. —Dale
I love the timeslot for Pure in Ontario. It comes right after the Murdoch Mysteries which I love. Pure is great, love it! I look forward to Mondays where I can watch it! —Rolfe
Pure (CBC) is a phenomenal show which is so well cast that it stands head & shoulders above the rest. Hoping for more next year! —Sandra
Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? Email greg.david@tv-eh.com or via Twitter @tv_eh.
