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

Link: Sunnyside: a fine madness on the wrong channel

From Bill Brioux of Brioux.tv:

Sunnyside: a fine madness on the wrong channel
A few days after I razzed Rogers to make a call on Sunnyside, they did. The show, as expected, was officially cancelled.

The sketch-uational comedy, shot for all the right tax reasons in Winnipeg, pleased fans dying to see some of Canada’s best comedy performers romp through a half-hour of unbridled madness. Here was a show where no idea seemed too far-fetched–an infestation of ponies? Sure. An open manhole version of the Internet? Log it on. Continue reading.

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Featured, Sunnyside

Comments and queries for the week of March 18

Sunnyside cancelled by City

So confused. It seems somebody had the vision to greenlight the show, then someone with no nurturing supportive vision stepped in to red light it. Sheesh. Apparently a similar decision was almost made after the first season of Seinfeld. —Chris

How can great new shows like Sunnyside possibly achieve the coveted audience numbers if networks don’t invest in sufficient advertising and promotion for them? They are competing against the juggernaut of American shows and American ads; why aren’t our country’s broadcasters supporting great Cancon like this?
What a sad day. And what an ominous sign for the future of Canadian television: Great show. Great cast. Adored by critics. Award- winning. And cancelled?!? Yikes. —Dave

Sunnyside was the best. Too bad the higher ups didn’t feel the same way as everyone who watched it. Very funny and inventive. Finally we had a good Canadian comedy show and now it’s gone. I’m very disappointed in City. —Matt

I’m disappointed and will miss this show. It was hilarious and I found it amusing how different the actors looked when they dressed up as different characters. I’ve enjoyed Sunnyside while it lasted. —Iris

Orphan Black and Schitt’s Creek capture key Canadian Screen Awards

Norm McDonald did a GREAT job IMO. Overall, a pretty good show … just a few clunky presenter moments. Jacob Tremblay shows incredible poise for someone his age and the interaction between he and Christopher Plummer was fun. Great to see Schitt’s Creek do so well. And I don’t know if it was really scripted or not, but I liked how so many of the presenters and award recipients quickly jumped on the Candy bandwagon. While the late John Candy may not have had an extensive enough career to actually deserve such an honour, it does make for a catchy and fun name as Norm Macdonald mentioned, so, let’s hope there is plenty more Candy for Canada’s screen industry for many more years to come! —Byron

 

Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? greg@tv-eh.com or @tv_eh.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Colin and Justin get down and dirty for Season 3 of Cabin Pressure

Anyone who’s done grand-scale home renovations knows that feeling of hopelessness. A “simple” job that grew to into a catastrophe, a project that morphed from costing a few thousand dollars into a massive bank black hole. Such is the case for Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan, the Scottish design duo who return for a third go-round of Cabin Pressure this Sunday on Cottage Life.

The timing of the series couldn’t be better—Cottage Life is currently in an eight-week free preview—plenty of time to watch the lads’ cottage country exploits and commiserate when things go wrong. And do they ever. Episode 1 quickly sets up the premise—the pair have purchased a Haliburton, Ont., cottage to renovate and use as an income property—before plans go awry.

“We’re trying to redevelop one of the worst cabins on one of the loveliest lakes in Haliburton,” Ryan said. “It’s been a huge challenge from start to finish.” As in Season 2 with a reno of their own cottage, the pair wanted to lift this cabin off the ground and dig out a basement. But decades of moisture and a bad foundation threaten to shatter hopes and bank accounts. Ryan’s frustration at being over $80,000 in the hole just days into the work is plain. Thankfully, there is good news; sections of the fractured foundation could be saved and most of the floor joists escaped spreading mould, meaning a return to the hilarious (and sometimes very un-PC) comments Colin and Justin fans love. Well, that, and the ingenious design ideas they come up with, sometimes costing just pennies to do, like the coffee-stained walls utilized in Season 1.

McAllister and Ryan’s design inspiration for this project is a black-on-black European minimalism transported to cottage country, something not only reflected in the building itself but deck too. Ryan remembered how they were struggling to find someone to build the deck until a woman named Andrea contacted them via Twitter. Her boyfriend’s St. Catharine’s company, Boys with Big Decks could complete the 2,400 square-foot task.

“We’re now boys with big decks,” McAllister quipped.

“Actually, we’re boys with massive decks,” Ryan corrected.

Cabin Pressure airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Cottage Life.

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Uncategorized

Emergency Room: Life + Death at VGH returns to Knowledge Network

1 Comment

From a media release:

Record-breaking documentary series Emergency Room: Life + Death at VGH returns to B.C.’s Knowledge Network with second season

  • Meet the next generation of life-saving care providers at one of Western Canada’s largest and busiest emergency departments

The highly-anticipated season two of Emergency Room: Life + Death at VGH delves deeper into the province’s most pressing health and social issues. The new season premieres on Tuesday, April 12, 2016 at 9 p.m. PT on British Columbia’s Knowledge Network. Episodes will be simulcast on the series’ interactive companion website at knowledge.ca/er, which will also feature 49 web shorts, and interactive surveys to spark debate and conversation around critical health topics impacting our province today.

Filmed at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH)’s emergency department, Emergency Room: Life + Death at VGH gives viewers a look into one of British Columbia’s busiest emergency departments and the only accredited Level 1 Trauma Centre in the province. Season one broke viewership records with more than 1.2 million TV and online viewers. It was also critically acclaimed as Best Television Show and Best Documentary at the 2014 Leo Awards and earned two Canadian Screen Award nominations.

The second season of Emergency Room: Life + Death at VGH continues to examine the high-intensity, life-and-death stakes of emergency medicine, and the important issues that arise. It also takes a closer look at the patient’s medical journey, at times following their story with medical specialists beyond the walls of the emergency room.

To create the new season, Knowledge Network again partnered with Vancouver Coastal Health and B.C.-based Lark Productions for almost 80 days of shooting, with unrestricted access to all areas of the VGH emergency department. The second season features returning familiar faces and introduces viewers to new staff and care providers. Among the timely and thought-provoking issues explored in the six-episode second season are the unique problems created by an aging population, the impact of common accidents, and the life-saving role of new technology. There will also be an entire episode dedicated to nurses and the vital role they play in the emergency department. With registered nurses representing the majority of VGH’s emergency department staff (81 per cent), and often the frontline of care, it’s a tribute that will engage audiences across the province. In watching the series as well as the web shorts, viewers will come to know the patient stories, as well as the established faces of emergency medicine professionals at VGH, and the next generation who are being trained and mentored in saving lives and in providing critical health support in the most difficult of circumstances.

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Vikings

Vikings renewed for a fifth season

From a media release:

History greenlights Vikings for a fifth season 

  • Golden Globe Award winner Jonathan Rhys Meyers joins the cast
  • Network orders 20 episodes to air in 2017

HISTORY announced today that it has renewed a 20-episode fifth season of Canada’s #1 specialty entertainment series Vikings[1]. Golden Globe® Award winner Jonathan Rhys Meyers (The Tudors, Roots) joins the cast for season five.

Since its inaugural premiere in 2013, Vikings has maintained its reign as the #1 specialty entertainment program across multiple demos[1]. With three weeks of confirmed data for season four, the blockbuster series is currently averaging 437.1 AMA (A25-54) and 859.2 AMA (Ind2+)[2]. In its three years on air, Vikings has earned six Canadian Screen Awards including Best International Drama two years in a row and Best Visual Effects for three consecutive years.

Season five of Vikings will begin production this summer to air in 2017.

From creator and sole writer Michael Hirst (Academy Award® winning film Elizabeth and the Emmy® and Golden Globe® nominated series The Tudors), Vikings is a family saga that tells the remarkable tales of the lives and epic adventures of the raiders and explorers of the Dark Ages.

New episodes of season four of Vikings currently air every Thursday at 10pm ET/PT, with an additional ten episodes scheduled to air later this year. In Thursday’s upcoming episode, Ragnar confides in Yidu his darkest secret. In Wessex, Ecbert agrees to support Kwenthrith in Mercia, but is Ecbert a true ally? Pregnancy brings happiness to Lagertha and Kalf and a marriage is arranged. Watch a sneak peek of the episode here: bit.ly/1Va1mFu.

Fans can catch up on the exciting first three seasons of Vikings on shomi and iTunes, and the third season is available on HISTORY on Demand, history.ca, and the HISTORY Go app. The first four episodes of season four are available on history.ca and the HISTORY Go app, where new episodes will be available the day after broadcast.

Hirst serves as executive producer along with Morgan O’Sullivan of World 2000 (The Count of Monte Cristo; The Tudors), Sheila Hockin (Penny Dreadful, The Tudors, The Borgias), John Weber of Take 5 Productions (The Tudors, The Borgias), Sherry Marsh, Alan Gasmer and James Flynn (The Tudors, The Borgias).

Vikings is an international Irish/Canadian co-production by World 2000 and Take 5 Productions. HISTORY broadcasts both domestically in Canada and in the U.S. MGM Television is the worldwide distributor outside of Ireland and Canada. Vikings is produced in association with Shaw Media.

[1] Source: Numeris PPM Confirmed Data. 3+ airings. (2/25/13-3/6/16). Total Canada.* Adults 18-49 & 25-54, Males 18-49 & 25-54 (excluding sports).
[2] Source: Numeris PPM Confirmed Data. (2/18/16-3/6/16). Thurs 10p-11p. Total Canada

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