On Monday, February 8, at 9 pm ET, VisionTV will present the world premiere of Hell: A Survivor’s Guide, a new Canadian documentary examining the history of a place that has maintained its grip on the human imagination for centuries.
Heaven is usually visualized in less specific ways. It’s a place of eternal light, peace, purity, and happiness. Hell, on the other hand, has been mapped out in excruciating detail. In almost every known description of the afterlife, Hell is located underground – a hot, demonic realm of grim tortures and eternal agony.
Paisley also talks to scholars, writers, and theologians, and to a psychologist who has studied why the concept of Hell has had such an impact on our lives, and why, even in secular societies, the idea of Hell can still influence our behaviour.
To supplement the documentary, Asterisk Productions has will be launching http://hellsurvivorsguide.com. The website will include 40 minutes of extended interviews with experts, webisodes, additional written commentary, and recommended readings.
Hell: A Survivor’s Guide was produced by David Springbett and Heather MacAndrew. Moses Znaimer is Executive Producer.
John Catucci is a Canadian sketch comedian, singer, and actor. He is the host of the Food Network Canada series You Gotta Eat Here!, and a member of sketch troupe, The Minnesota Wrecking Crew, and the musical comedy duo The DooWops. Catucci has also appeared on MuchMusic’s Video On Trial and in the movie The Tuxedo. He also appeared as Bus Driver Bob on CBC’s The Doodlebops.
Bravo’s gritty cop drama 19-2 and CBC’s high-profile comedy Schitt’s Creek topline the nominations for the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards. Announced Tuesday morning in Toronto at TIFF Bell Lightbox by Lyriq Bent (The Book of Negroes) and Aislinn Paul (Degrassi), 19-2 captured 12 nominations, including Best Dramatic Series and Best Performance nods for supporting cast and leads Jared Keeso and Adrian Holmes; Keeso and Holmes recorded a video to mark the occasion (check it out below).
Meanwhile, Schitt’s Creek does battle in the comedic categories, with co-stars Eugene and Dan Levy facing off for Best Performance and the Tuesday night comedy fighting off fellow CBC series Mr. D, Mohawk Girls, Young Drunk Punk and Tiny Plastic Men for Best Comedy Series.
Space’s Orphan Black did well too, snagging 13 nominations including performance acknowledgements for Ari Millen and Tatiana Maslany, though it was shut out of the Dramatic Series list. Global’s final season of Rookie Blue was recognized by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, as Missy Peregrym and Ben Bass received nominations.
The nominees in the key television categories are listed below. Who do you think deserves to win? The two-hour Canadian Screen Awards gala airs Sunday, March 13, at 8 p.m. on CBC.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Comedic Role
Gerry Dee, Mr. D
Eugene Levy, Schitt’s Creek
Daniel Levy, Schitt’s Creek
Dave Foley, Spun Out
Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role
Adrian Holmes, 19-2
Jared Keeso, 19-2
Ari Millen, Orphan Black
Ben Bass, Rookie Blue
Aaron Poole, Strange Empire
Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Comedic Role
Brittany LeBorgne, Mohawk Girls
Annie Murphy, Schitt’s Creek
Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek
Belinda Cornish, Tiny Plastic Men
Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role
Kristin Lehman, Motive
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
Megan Follows, Reign
Missy Peregrym, Rookie Blue
Jennie Raymond, Sex & Violence
Best Dramatic Series
19-2
Blackstone
Motive
Saving Hope
X Company
Best Comedy Series
Mr. D
Mohawk Girls
Schitt’s Creek
Tiny Plastic Men
Young Drunk Punk
Best Reality/Competition Program or Series
The Amazing Race Canada
Big Brother Canada
Dragons’ Den
Game of Homes
MasterChef Canada
Best Animated Program or Series
Endangered Species
Numb Chucks
Rocket Monkeys
Slugterra
Best Children’s or Youth Fiction Program or Series
As previously announced, comedian Norm Macdonald will host the 2016 event. Wendy Crewson—currently starring on CTV’s Saving Hope—will receive the Earle Grey Award for acting and Martin Short will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Canadian Screen Awards air Sunday, March 13, at 8 p.m. on CBC.
The addition of Roland—the pair adopted him last week—made an immediate impact on our favourite couple: he threw their lives into complete disarray. Adding an infant to a television series is always a challenge, and it will be interesting to see how Murdoch Mysteries handles the little fellow from week to week. Will he be handed off to a nanny? I don’t think so, as Julia and William seem intent on having him there all the time. Perhaps he’ll be shown cooing in a corner, leaping about in William’s latest contraption, the Gleeful Bouncer—a.k.a. Jolly Jumper. One of the great strengths of the series continues to be the not-so-subtle nods to things we use in everyday life that were on the cusp of being realized in Murdoch’s world. Having a Gleeful Bouncer made me laugh out loud and be inspired by the creativity in the writers’ room.
Monday’s “The Big Chill” also paid homage to the 1922 documentary Nanook of the North. The murder of a man on-board the CGS Arctic introduced viewers to Nuniq, an Inuit man who struck me as a nod to Nanook. The thought was proven true when Crabtree befriended Nuniq and proposed he document him in the city’s hot spots and call it “Nuniq of Toronto.” Crabtree has had some pretty serious storylines so far this season, so it was fun to not only see him create play-by-play and colour commentating last week but serve as a drunken wingman for Nuniq this week.
YTV presents the world premiere of Canada’s most beloved red-head in Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables on Monday, February 15 at 6 p.m. ET/PT in a two-hour special, television event. The much anticipated original movie was filmed in Canada and stars acclaimed actor Martin Sheen as Matthew Cuthbert, 13-year old newcomer Ella Ballentine as Anne Shirley and Canadian actress Sara Botsford as Marilla Cuthbert.
True to the beloved tale that has enchanted fans for over a century, Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables is the story of Anne Shirley, a fiercely imaginative little girl who touches the lives of everyone she meets. Taken from an orphanage to help with the household of an older couple, Anne becomes the charge of strait-laced Marilla Cuthbert and her shy brother Matthew Cuthbert. Though Marilla is determined to bring discipline to the irrepressible Anne, neither has any idea as to the profound impact they will soon have on each other’s lives.
YTV welcomes Tourism Prince Edward Island as the presenting sponsor of this world television premiere with sponsor billboards, custom travel vignettes and a contest created in partnership with Corus. Tourism Prince Edward Island will also be featured in YTV’s Big Fun Movies leading up to the broadcast premiere. The integration will feature Canadian families talking about the fun, adventure and kindred spirits that await them on Prince Edward Island.
Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables is produced by Breakthrough Entertainment in association with the author’s granddaughter, Kate Macdonald Butler who served as Executive Producer. The film was directed by John Kent Harrison (The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler) and was based on the original script by Susan Coyne (Slings and Arrows, Best Laid Plans). Additional cast includes Julia Lalonde, Kate Honig, Stefani Kimber, Drew Haytaoglu, Kyle Gatehouse and Linda Kash.
First published in 1908, Anne of Green Gables remains an iconic work of Canadian literature, which has sold more than 50 million copies worldwide. The eight classic Anne of Green Gables novels set in P.E.I. have attracted generations of readers inspired by the adventures of the spirited redhead Anne Shirley, who comes to stay at Green Gables and wins the hearts of everyone she meets.
