Featured, Industry News, Letterkenny, Shoresy

New Metric Media partners with Encore to develop bilingual rom-com heist series

January 30, 2024 Greg David

From a media release:

Award-winning comedy entertainment studio New Metric Media has partnered with Quebec’s premiere production company Encore to co-produce the untitled, rom-com mini-series involving a Quebecois family and an Anglo-Ontarian family reluctantly coming together despite their differences for an unforgettable wedding weekend. The project is based on a concept created by Mark Montefiore, Founder and CEO, New Metric Media.

“We’re excited to collaborate with the insanely talented producteurs d’Encore on this hilarious nouvelle serie that will transcend barriers de la langue and playfully bridge the gap between Québécois and English cultures, all while laughing at it at the same time,” commented Montefiore (above left). “This project is a celebration of inclusivity, laughter and the unique charm that defines le coeur du Canada.”

“As comedy is part of Encore’s DNA, nous sommes très heureux to work with New Metric Media. With Mark, his incredibly talented team, and a project that made us rire at the first words, it was only natural for us to join forces. We dated for a while and finally said OUI to each other!”, say Julie Provençal (above right), President of Encore.

The untitled rom-com is My Big Fat Greek Wedding meets Bon Cop Bad Cop in a culture clash heist about a young couple from two different provinces whose wedding threatens to divide them rather than unite after the gift box of cash money goes missing from their already fractious ceremony. The Québécois blame the Anglos and the Anglos blame the Québécois sending the whodunnit mystery into all-out civil (union) war and threatens to drag their holy matrimony along with it.

About New Metric Media
Based in Toronto, New Metric Media is an award-winning independent entertainment studio specializing in building comedy brands across tv production, live entertainment, distribution, merchandising and licensing. Recipient of Playback’s 2022 Production Company of the Year award and the Banff World Media Festival’s 2018 Innovative Producer Award, the company’s slate of programming includes the hit Crave/Hulu original comedy Letterkenny, the Crave/Hulu Letterkenny spinoff series Shoresy, the CTV/CW/Roku half-hour comedy series Children Ruin Everything, as well as the new half-hour Crave comedy series Bria Mack Gets A Life.

New Metric Media is recognized as a leader in 360 degree brand marketing and its success with Letterkenny off-screen extensions, including beer, collectible merchandise and Letterkenny LIVE!, a sold-out North American theatre tour featuring the stars of the series.

About Groupe Encore
Created in Montreal in 2000, Encore is an integrated entertainment group, one of the most prolific production companies in scripted series (comedy and drama), live comedy specials, live plays, and artist management in French Canada.

With nearly 700 hours produced, Encore Television multiplies the production of millionaire and award-winning TV series praised both on the local and global markets. Licensed in more than 100 countries as originals or adaptations, hit series like Les beaux malaises, Bête noire (Dark Soul), Fugueuse (Runaway), Pour Sarah (For Sarah), Léo, Boomerang, La candidate (The Candidate), Lâcher prise (Freefall) are amongst the highest-rated series in Québec.

Featured, The Nature of Things

Preview: The Nature of Things “I am the Magpie River” spotlights a waterway with personhood rights

January 30, 2024 Greg David

Can nature have rights? That’s the question at the heart of Thursday’s new episode of The Nature of Things.

In “I am the Magpie River,” airing Thursday at 9 p.m. on CBC and CBC Gem, filmmaker Susan Fleming answers the question with a resounding yes. The 200-kilometre river, in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, flows from the Labrador Plateau into the north shore of the St. Lawrence River near Sept-Îles, Quebec.

The waterway is sacred to the Innu First Nation, who call it Mutuhekau Shipu, and they’ve depended on it as a major highway and food source for centuries. And that’s why, as of 2021, the Innu Council of Ekuanitshit and the Minganie Regional County Municipality had the river declared a legal person. The result? The river has nine rights, including the right to flow, to be free from pollution, and to sue.

Gorgeously filmed, with aerial drone shots capturing the rugged river in its savage glory through the seasons and up-close footage of the area’s unique flora and fauna (including herds of caribou), Fleming shows the awesome strength of the waterway during the spring melt. And it’s the power of the Magpie that Hydro Quebec—which is the fourth largest producer of hydropower on the planet—would love to have a piece of. And that’s the point of personhood: to protect the river from being changed, being taken advantage of, and being tamed.

The Magpie River may be the first in Canada to be granted personhood, but it is just the latest in many around the world. Indigenous-led campaigns like that done by the Innu in Canada have saved the Klamath River in the U.S., the Whanganui River in New Zealand, and the Amazon in Columbia.

The Nature of Things, “I am the Magpie River,” airs Thursday at 9 p.m. on CBC and CBC Gem.

Image from “I am the Magpie River.“

Sight Unseen

Links: Sight Unseen, Season 1

January 21, 2024 Greg David

From Heather M. of The Televixen:

Link: Karen and Nikolijne Troubetzkoy Preview Sight Unseen
Y’all know I’m ride or die on Killjoys, so I was thrilled when we heard last year that CTV had greenlit a new drama from Killjoys alumni and sisters Karen and Nikolijne (Niko) Troubetzkoy – Karen was an executive producer and Niko was a writer and producer. Separately, they’ve also worked on shows ranging from Orphan Black to The Lake to SkyMed to Transplant to Culprits and more. Continue reading.

From Eric Volmers of the Calgary Herald:

Link: Calgary expat Agam Darshi delves into complex character in CTV’s new high-concept cop drama, Sight Unseen
“It was really a wonderful collaborative experience, but I feel like I was given a lot of freedom by both the directors as well as (co-creators Karen and Nikolijne Troubetzkoy) to explore this character in the way I wanted to explore her and really dive deep in the way that wanted to.” Continue reading.

From Dana Gee of the Vancouver Sun:

Link: New drama Sight Unseen pairs clinically blind detective with agoraphobic true crime fan
“This show brings so many things together. It’s romance, it’s drama, it’s comedy, it’s real relationships, it’s professional challenges, it’s technology, it’s crime-solving. And, to me, that means it is a very human story that everybody can relate to in some way.” Continue reading.

From Heather M. of The Televixen:

Link: Agam Darshi talks Sight Unseen
“I don’t think any of us really knew exactly what the show was going to turn into. I had a sense, obviously, that Sunny’s agoraphobic and her only outlet is through her device, and that it would be a lot of acting with myself in my apartment and my computer. But from what I heard originally, the original idea was that she was this mysterious figure for a huge portion of the series. And she was in one room. We didn’t really get a sense of who she is.” Continue reading.

Son of a Critch

Links: Son of a Critch, Season 3

January 21, 2024 Greg David

From Alex Nino Gheciu of The Canadian Press:

Link: Mark Critch looks back on his awkward teen years in Season 3 of ‘Son of a Critch’
Mark encounters even more teen awkwardness in Season 3. His confidence takes a hit when he discovers he needs glasses, and he finds himself in emotional turmoil when he competes in an academic quiz against his crush. Continue reading.

From Elisabetta Bianchini of Yahoo News:

Link: ‘Son of a Critch’: Mark Critch on Benjamin Evan Ainsworth recreating his embarrassing moments
“I was excited to do that, to say goodbye to that school, move on to high school. I think there’s a lot of growth and change, and coming into your own in this season, which has been a lot of fun.” Continue reading.

From Dana Gee of the Vancouver Sun:

Link: Son of a Critch co-star says Season 3 has both heartbreaking and heartwarming moments
“All of us are growing up and exploring new interests and expressing ourselves in different ways. And I think it’s really special getting to see all of us grow up and change through the seasons.” Continue reading.

From Larry Fried of That Shelf:

Link: Interview: Malcolm McDowell and Mark Critch on SON OF A CRITCH Season 3
That Shelf sat down with Son of a Critch stars Malcolm McDowell and Mark Critch (also creator and writer) to discuss returning for the show’s third season, McDowell’s admiration for Newfoundland, and how Critch helped pay tribute to fellow Canadian William Shatner in the show’s special Star Trek homage. Continue reading.

From Niagara-on-the-Lake Local:

Link: Niagara-on-the-Lake actor speaks of her role in Son of a Critch
Those who know actor Nora McLellan might have trouble picturing her as a mean, threatening nun whose main job as school principal is to terrify unruly students into submission with a stern look and a wooden ruler in hand. Continue reading.

From Global’s The Morning Show:
Link: Mark Critch and Benjamin Ainsworth on season 3 of ‘Son of a Critch’

Run the Burbs

Links: Run the Burbs, Season 3

January 21, 2024 Greg David

From Aisling Murphy of the Toronto Star:

Link: He’s a dad, a TV star and a sneakerhead: Andrew Phung of ‘Run the Burbs’
It’s easy to draw a road map of Andrew Phung’s adult life when sifting through his sneaker collection. From the pair worn during a final audition for “Kim’s Convenience” to those donned at his wedding, they tell a story about the Canadian comedian who went on to become the face of CBC, first as sidekick Kimchee on the celebrated comedy “Kim’s Convenience” and now as suburban dad Andrew on “Run the Burbs.” Continue reading.

From Elisabetta Bianchini of Yahoo News:

Link: ‘Run the Burbs’ with Andrew Phung, Rakhee Morzaria is so engaging, fans keep pitching their own ideas
“It’s a season focused on family, so for me it was … seeing the ups and downs of family, seeing kids turning 17 and 13, finding their independence, seeing a family dealing with, how do we spend time with each other? How do we find the work-life balance? Having Camille’s dad move into her house, so having multiple generations in a house.” Continue reading.

From Eric Volmers of the Calgary Herald:

Link: Andrew Phung’s very Canadian family sitcom finding audience south of the border
When the American show Access Hollywood recently ran a trailer for the Canadian family sitcom Run the Burbs host Mario Lopez showed enthusiasm for the show even if he was a bit confused geographically. Continue reading.

From Max Goldbart of Deadline:

Link: Hulu Buys Canadian Comedy ‘Run The Burbs’
Canadian comedy Run the Burbs has been picked up by Hulu for its second window in the U.S. Continue reading.