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TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television
Ransom

Global partners with CBS on suspense drama Ransom

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From a media release:

GLOBAL AND TF1 GREEN LIGHT NEW ORIGINAL SUSPENSE DRAMA, RANSOM

  • CBS joins as broadcast partner for the new series from Entertainment One
  • The Canada/France Co-Production from Entertainment One, Sienna Films (Canada), and Wildcats Productions (France) is set to Premiere in 2017
  • Rising Star Luke Roberts Cast as Lead Character Eric Beaumont
  • Ransom is Executive Produced by Frank Spotnitz and his Company Big Light Productions, and Created by Canadian David Vainola

Global, in partnership with France’s TF1, announced today that they have green lit 13-episode original suspense drama Ransom, with CBS (US) joining as a broadcast partner. Starring the talented Luke Roberts (Black Sails, Game of Thrones), Ransom is a Canada/France treaty co-production from global studio Entertainment One (eOne), Big Light Productions and producers Sienna Films and Wildcats Productions. Filming in both Europe and Canada in the coming months, Ransom is set to premiere in 2017.

Through his company Big Light Productions, Golden Globe® winning and Emmy® nominated screenwriter Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files, The Man in the High Castle) serves as an executive producer on the series. Created by David Vainola (Diamonds, Combat Hospital) and Spotnitz, Ransom is inspired by the professional experiences of distinguished crisis negotiator Laurent Combalbert. Laurent Combalbert and his partner, Marwan Mery, are considered to be among the top negotiators in the world. Today, they travel around the globe to help multinational corporations and governmental agencies with complex negotiations and conflict resolution.

Ransom follows crisis and hostage negotiator Eric Beaumont (Luke Roberts), whose team is brought in to save lives when no one else can. Eric understands criminals better than they do, and uses his insight into human behaviour to resolve the most difficult kidnap and ransom cases. Despite the stakes, Eric refuses to resort to violence, even when confronted by some of the most dangerous criminals in the world. While Eric’s considerable powers of manipulation make him the best at what he does professionally, they often complicate his relationships with family, friends and colleagues. Is Eric being himself, or who he needs to be in order to get what he wants? The difference is often hard to tell. The series begins with Eric taking on Maxine Carlson, a new member of the team eager to prove herself. But a dangerous secret from Maxine’s past may pose a threat that even the great Eric Beaumont is unable to resolve.

Ransom is a Canada-France treaty co-production and will be co-produced by eOne; Jennifer Kawaja and Julia Sereny via their Sienna Films banner; and Valerie Pechels and Odile McDonald of Wildcats Productions; while Spotnitz via his Big Light Productions banner will executive produce. Ransom has been co-developed by TF1 and Corus Entertainment Inc., with the participation of the Centre National du Cinema et de l’Image Animé in France as well as Canada Media Fund, and will be produced with the financial assistance of the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit.

eOne controls worldwide rights to the series, excluding French-speaking territories.

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Masterchef Canada

Final three cooks revealed on Masterchef Canada

From a media release:
The Final Three Home Cooks are Revealed on CTV’s MASTERCHEF CANADA

  • Veronica Cham, a lawyer from Toronto, left the competition on tonight’s MASTERCHEF CANADA
  • An all-new episode of MASTERCHEF CANADA airs next Sunday, June 12 at 7 p.m. ET/PT on CTV and the CTV GO app, as the Top 3 battle it out for a place in the finale and cook for 13 of Canada’s most influential chefs using ingredients from the nation’s 10 provinces and three territories
  • The next Canadian MasterChef will be revealed during the MASTERCHEF CANADA Season 3 finale on Sunday, June 19 at 7 p.m. ET/PT on CTV –

A salt water Pressure Test featuring fresh sea scallops on tonight’s MASTERCHEF CANADA led judges Michael Bonacini, Alvin Leung, and Claudio Aprile to send Veronica Cham, a lawyer from Toronto, home from the competition.MASTERCHEF CANADA returns next Sunday, June 12 at 7 p.m. ET/PT on CTV and the CTV GO app as the Top 3 cook for 13 ofCanada’s most influential chefs.

On tonight’s episode of MASTERCHEF CANADA, the Top 4 home cooks got a taste of home when they were surprised in the kitchen by their families, who also joined them for a trip to Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market. With the help of their family members, the home cooks each decided on an entrée they felt showcased their culture and background, and selected the necessary ingredients at the market.

With their family members cheering them on, the home cooks had 60 minutes to create a dish the judges and their families would be proud of. With each home cook presenting their dish to the judges, Matthew Astorga was up first with his quail adobo with puffed wild rice and quail egg. This marked the first time Matthew prepared a Filipino dish on MASTERCHEF CANADA, and he drew inspiration from meals his mom has prepared for him. Mary Berg presented her plate next, pan-seared quail and cornmeal sweet potato waffle, which was inspired by her family vacations to South Carolina. Next, Veronica brought up her braised brisket with hand-pulled noodles and pickled cucumber. Knowing her dad wouldn’t want her to lie to the judges, Veronica let them know that her brisket might be underdone. Lastly, Jeremy Senaris served up his kare-kare, oxtail stew with peanut butter and rice cake, which is a favourite of his two nieces. In the end, the judges crowned Mary the winner of the challenge – automatically advancing her to the Top 3.

With Mary safe from elimination, the remaining three home cooks faced a difficult Pressure Test involving fresh scallops. With only 60 minutes, they were challenged to replicate three mouth-watering dishes: scallop crudo, thinly sliced raw scallops in a citrus dressing; pan-seared scallops with a pea and mint puree and passionfruit coulis; and coquilles St-Jacques. The home cooks were given the exact number of scallops they needed to replicate each dish, and were further challenged by having to open each sea scallop from its shell. With their 60 minutes up, the home cooks presented their dishes to the judges and in the end, Jeremy was revealed as the winner of the Pressure Test moving him into the Top 3. With Matthew and Veronica left standing, the judges made the difficult decision to send Veronica home from MASTERCHEF CANADA.

On an all-new episode of MASTERCHEF CANADA (Sunday, June 12 at 7 p.m. ET/PT on CTV and the CTV GO app), the season’s penultimate episode finds the home cooks battling it out for a place in the finale by creating beautifully-composed plates for 13 ofCanada’s most influential chefs. Their pantry consists of the same 13 ingredients – one from each province and territory – that they received in their first Mystery Box Challenge at the start of the season. The winner advances immediately to the finale, while the two remaining home cooks go head-to-head in a difficult dessert challenge.

The remaining Top 3 home cooks vying for the title of MASTERCHEF CANADA and the $100,000 cash prize are:

 

For more on MASTERCHEF CANADA, fans can visit CTV.ca/MasterChefCanada for exclusive content, including must-see videos with the home cooks and the judges, bios, full episodes, sneak peeks, and extras.

New episodes of MASTERCHEF CANADA are available following their broadcast premiere on demand at CTV.ca and on the CTV GO app, and encore Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on M3, Saturdays at 7 p.m. ET/PT on CTV Two, and Sundays at 5 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Viewers can watch Veronica Cham live on CTV MORNING LIVE ATLANTIC (Weekdays 7:00 a.m. AT), CP24 BREAKFAST(Weekdays 5:30 a.m. ET), CTV News Channel (8:45 a.m. ET/PT), and THE SOCIAL (Weekdays at 1 p.m. ET/PT) on Monday, June 6 as she discusses her experience on MASTERCHEF CANADA.

The MASTERCHEF format and finished programmes are represented internationally by Endemol Shine Group, and is based on a format originally created by Franc Roddam.

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Wynonna Earp

Link: Wynonna Earp brings the casual feminism

From Alisha Grauso of Film School Rejects:

Wynonna Earp Brings The Casual Feminism We So Need On TV Right Now
If you’re not watching it, you need to remedy this and catch up — because it’s quietly been one of the best new shows of the season, if not one of the best shows out there, period. And it’s built itself upon something we’ve sorely needed on television for a while now: casual feminism. Continue reading.

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Industry News

Link: Canada Media Fund CEO fires back at CanCon critics

From Sean Craig of the Financial Post:

Canada Media Fund CEO fires back at CanCon critics, says it’s given ‘a pride of place at home’
Last week was not the best week for the Canadian Content regime. A report from the non-partisan C. D. Howe Institute argued that CanCon quotas should be abolished, foreign ownership restrictions lifted and that regulations which require cable providers to spend fixed amounts on content should be replaced with direct subsidies from the government. Continue reading.

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