Tag Archives: Bell Media

CTV orders new daytime series, The Good Stuff with Mary Berg, premiering fall 2023

From a media release:

Announced today in advance of the Bell Media Upfront, CTV confirms it has ordered THE GOOD STUFF WITH MARY BERG, an all-new, one-hour, daily talk and lifestyle series from Bell Media Studios for the upcoming 2023/24 broadcast season. Hosted by multiple Canadian Screen Award-winning host and author Mary Berg, THE GOOD STUFF WITH MARY BERG is set to tape before a live studio audience weekday mornings on CTV from Bell Media’s iconic 299 Queen St. West location in Toronto.

A daily hour of fun, food, and laughs, THE GOOD STUFF WITH MARY BERG features lifestyle trends, home hacks, audience games, and inspiring stories – all from top experts. Berg dives right in – from sharing daily, delicious and approachable recipes for the home cook, to cook-a-long sessions with guest chefs, and getting her hands dirty with gardening, DIYs, home renovations and more. As well, Berg welcomes notable guests, including authors, celebrities, influencers, and everyday heroes.

In addition, CTV confirms that sponsorship and branding opportunities are immediately available for the original series. From brand integration and social extensions, to custom content, shoppable media and sponsored activations, THE GOOD STUFF WITH MARY BERG is set to work with brands to offer consumers engaging experiences.

Berg can currently be seen in new episodes of CROSS COUNTRY CAKE OFF, airing Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app. As well, beginning July 13, Berg will host MARY’S RESERVATION FOR TWO, a brand-new podcast from Bell Media Studios, taped on location at some of the top foodie hot spots in Toronto, featuring one-on-one conversations with guests who inspire Berg in and out of the kitchen. New episodes will be available Thursdays on iHeartRadio and everywhere podcasts are found. In addition, it was confirmed today that original culinary series MARY MAKES IT EASY has been greenlit for a third season, set to debut on CTV Life Channel this fall.

THE GOOD STUFF WITH MARY BERG is produced by Bell Media Studios. Michelle Crespi and John Simpson are Executive Producers; Dave Daigle is Vice-President, Local TV, Radio, and Bell Media Studios.

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Preview: Season 2 of Animal Planet’s Pets & Pickers offers services to low-income pet families

I would do anything for my cat. Homer, who is 13, may get on my nerves with his early-morning requests to feed him or plaintive meows to be let outside when I’m in the middle of a Teams meeting, but I love the little guy.

That love of animals is at the heart of Pets & Pickers, a truly unique series on Animal Planet. Returning Saturday at 8 p.m. Eastern—and available to watch for free thanks to Bell’s free preview of their specialty channels right now—Pets & Pickers follows the folks at Regional Animal Protection Society (RAPS) Animal Hospital in Richmond, B.C., who have a groundbreaking way to fund often-expensive medical care for pets: a thrift store. It’s in the RAPS thrift store that staff sort through abandoned storage lockers for items that can be sold or auctioned off. All money raised pays for vet care and surgeries.

Saturday’s return kicks off with 11-year-old Tigger, a cat who has received some scratches to his face and muzzle that have hindered his breathing. While he’s under anesthesia, Dr. Regan discovers Tigger is missing teeth, and has additional swelling and infection.

Meanwhile, thrift store manager Karen—whose team has raised over $1 million to offset vet costs—is up to her shoulders in new items in two storage bins. Smaller items like an old lamp can pull in $40, while a box of vintage comic books can command upwards of $200. It all counts and quickly adds up to $2,000.

Back at the hospital, Tigger receives x-rays that uncover a possible answer to how he received his facial scratch and more serious issues. Thankfully, Tigger gets the treatment he needs, owner Rose is thrilled to have him back and appreciative that the bill has been covered by RAPS.

Equal parts Storage Wars and The Incredible Dr. Pol, Pets & Pickers is a fun and emotional ride.

Pets & Pickers airs Saturdays at 8 p.m. ET on Animal Planet.

Image courtesy of Bell Media.

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CTV announces third season of original comedy Children Ruin Everything

From a media release:

CTV announced today that Canadian Screen Award-nominated comedy CHILDREN RUIN EVERYTHING is set to return for a third season. Production on 10, half-hour episodes of the CTV Original series from New Metric Media is underway in Toronto and Hamilton, Ont. Meaghan Rath and Aaron Abrams return, alongside Logan Nicholson, Mikayla SwamiNathan, Ennis Esmer, Nazneen Contractor, Dmitry Chepovetsky, Veena Sood, Lisa Codrington, and Darius Rota. CHILDREN RUIN EVERYTHING is created by Emmy® and Golden Globe® Award-winner Kurt Smeaton (SCHITT’S CREEK, KIM’s CONVENIENCE).

CHILDREN RUIN EVERYTHING follows parents Astrid (Rath) and James (Abrams), as they raise their three young children and struggle to hold on to their pre-kid life, while discovering all of the little ways that raising kids has reshaped their world. Season 2 of the CTV Original series is the Top Canadian Comedy broadcast year-to-date among key demos A25-54 and A18-49.

The first two seasons of CHILDREN RUIN EVERYTHING are currently available for streaming on CTV.ca and the CTV app, as well as Crave, and are available on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Season two of the series was split into two seasons in the U.S., with season three launching on The Roku Channel on Friday, May 12.

CHILDREN RUIN EVERYTHING is from award-winning comedy entertainment studio New Metric Media and is created and executive produced by Smeaton and executive produced by one of television’s premier comedy writers Chuck Tatham (MODERN FAMILY, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT), multiple Canadian Screen Award-winner Mark Montefiore (LETTERKENNY, SHORESY, BRIA MACK GETS A LIFE, WHAT WOULD SAL DO?), and Meaghan Rath, with Alyson Richards (The Retreat) serving as Producer.

Bell Media Distribution is the international rights holder for CHILDREN RUIN EVERYTHING, and New Metric Media is the series’ exclusive International Sales Agent. The series is produced by New Metric Media in association with CTV, with the participation of the Canada Media Fund and Bell Fund.

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From Jennifer Podemski, Hannah Moscovitch, and Jeremy Podeswa, the Crave and APTN original drama series, Little Bird, premieres May 26

From a media release:

Crave and APTN premiere their much-anticipated original limited series, LITTLE BIRD, Friday, May 26, which follows an inspirational journey of self-discovery and truth. From Crave, APTN, Rezolution Pictures,OP Little Bird, and in partnership with global producer and distributor Fremantle, the six-part, one-hour limited series explores universal themes of resilience in the face of trauma and loss. It follows Bezhig Little Bird (Darla Contois) as she embarks on a path to find her birth family and uncover the hidden truth of her family history. The series streams on Friday, May 26 on Crave and APTN lumi, in English and French, with subsequent episodes dropping Fridays.

Removed from her home in Long Pine Reserve in Saskatchewan, Bezhig Little Bird is adopted into a Montréal Jewish family at age five, becoming Esther Rosenblum. Now in her 20s, Bezhig longs for the family she lost and is willing to sacrifice everything to find them. Her search lands her in the Canadian Prairies, worlds apart from everything she knows. As she begins to track down her siblings, she unravels the mystery behind her adoption and discovers that her apprehension was connected to a racist government policy, now known as the Sixties Scoop. Bezhig’s sense of identity shatters, and she is forced to reckon with who she is and who she wants to become.

Led by Contois, the character-driven drama features a talented cast of Indigenous actors, including: Ellyn Jade; Osawa Muskwa; Joshua Odjick; Imajyn Cardinal; Braeden Clarke; Eric Schweig; and Michelle Thrush. Rounding out the cast is Lisa Edelstein (HOUSE) who plays Esther’s adoptive mother, Golda Rosenblum.

The recent winner of the Audience Award Prize at the 2023 SERIES MANIA Festival in Lille, France, LITTLE BIRD was filmed in and around Winnipeg and Brokenhead Ojibway Nation on Treaty 1 territory, in Sioux Valley Dakota Nation on Treaty 2 territory, and in Muscowpetung First Nation on Treaty 4 territory. LITTLE BIRD showrunner Jennifer Podemski was also recently presented with an Academy Board Of Directors’ Tribute Award at the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards.

Alongside the final episode on June 30, Crave and APTN lumi are making available COMING HOME, a 90-minute companion documentary providing historical context, about the Sixties Scoop. Directed by Erica Daniels (Run as One), COMING HOME explores the connections between the ground-breaking movement for Indigenous narrative sovereignty and the impact of the child welfare system as experienced through the LITTLE BIRD series’ Indigenous creatives, crew, and Sixties Scoop advisors. COMING HOME provides a structuring through-line, interwoven with interviews with cast, crew, and community members revealing personal connections to the Sixties Scoop.

LITTLE BIRD is a co-production from Crave and APTN, produced by Rezolution Pictures and OP Little Bird with the participation of the Canada Media Fund (CMF), Manitoba Film and Music, the Rogers Cable Network Fund, the Bell Fund, and the COGECO Independent Production Fund. Additional training funding is provided by Bell Media, the Indigenous Screen Office, REEL Canada and the Director’s Guild of Canada (DGC). Fremantle is distributing the series globally.

Led by an Indigenous creative team, LITTLE BIRD is developed by showrunner Jennifer Podemski and Rezolution Pictures, and created by Podemski and head writer Hannah Moscovitch. The creative team includes directors Zoe Hopkins and Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and was written by Hopkins and Moscovitch. The series is executive produced by Christina Fon, Ernest Webb, Catherine Bainbridge, Linda Ludwick (Rezolution Pictures), Kim Todd, Nicholas Hirst (Original Pictures), Jennifer Podemski, Hannah Moscovitch, Zoe Hopkins, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and Jeremy Podeswa, along with Christian Vesper and Dante Di Loreto (Fremantle). Producers are Tanya Brunel and Jessica Dunn (OP Little Bird), Claire MacKinnon and Philippe Chabot (Rezolution Pictures) and Lori Lozinski and Ellen Rutter.

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The Marilyn Denis Show to end following 13 remarkable seasons on CTV

From a media release:

After 13 incredible seasons on CTV, Marilyn Denis announced live today on THE MARILYN DENIS SHOW that the daytime series will conclude at the end of the current season. Beginning Monday, May 8, the series will celebrate with special guests, audience surprises, and highlights from its more than 2,000 shows, culminating with a memorable farewell episode on Friday, June 9 at 10 a.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app.

While Canada’s Queen of Daytime has chosen to conclude THE MARILYN DENIS SHOW following a 34-year career of daily daytime television, the veteran broadcaster will continue as co-host on Marilyn Denis and Jamar weekday mornings on Toronto’s CHUM 104.5. Denis will also remain as host of MARILYN DENIS DOES A PODCAST, available on iHeartRadio.ca, the iHeartRadio Canada app, and everywhere podcasts are found.

“Hosting a national television show has been a career highlight, and such a rewarding and fulfilling chapter in my life, but after more than three decades of balancing my radio show with a daytime series I’m ready to step away and refocus on my family and other projects,” said Marilyn Denis. “While I’m moving on from daytime TV, I’m not saying goodbye and will continue on the CHUM morning show and with my podcast. I want to thank the entire team at THE MARILYN DENIS SHOW, who are and always will be family, the incredible experts and guests who have joined me over the years, and most importantly – every studio audience member and the viewers at home for welcoming me into your lives. I’ll be forever grateful for the wonderful years we’ve spent together.”

“Marilyn is a trailblazer with a relatable and authentic approach that has made her a much-beloved figure in Canadian broadcasting and to viewers across the country,” said Dave Daigle, Vice-President, Local TV, Radio, and Bell Media Studios. “While we are truly sad to see THE MARILYN DENIS SHOW end, we are proud to have been the home of this incredible series. We will miss seeing Marilyn on TV every day, but we are happy she’ll remain with the company on CHUM 104.5. I want to thank Marilyn and the production team for their dedication as they made the show a destination for our viewers and guests alike.”

Currently celebrating its 13th season, THE MARILYN DENIS SHOW airs weekdays at 10 a.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app, and 11 a.m. ET on CTV2. The four-time Canadian Screen Award-winning series connects with viewers across the country through a mix of expert and celebrity guests. Denis places fans at the centre of it all, as she provides a unique blend of entertainment and topical lifestyle information, from fashion to food to fitness.

Denis has always balanced her dynamic radio career, which she began in 1976, with her candid television presence. Her career in television started by reporting on sports, weather, and entertainment at CTV Calgary, while also working as a freelance reporter for TSN. Denis also shared hosting duties on Bravo!’s Gemini Award-winning concert series LIVE AT THE REHEARSAL HALL, and was host of the popular daily show CITYLINE for nearly 20 years. Denis is the recipient of The Rosalie Award, honouring Canadian women who have paved the way for others in radio broadcasting. She is also listed as one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 by WXN, and is the first female recipient of the Allan Waters Broadcast Lifetime Achievement Award. Denis continues her morning show co-hosting duties weekdays at CHUM 104.5, a position she has held since 1986.

CTV’s new daytime programming lineup, including a new series, will be announced later this year.

THE MARILYN DENIS SHOW is produced by Bell Media Studios. Michelle Crespi and John Simpson are Executive Producers.

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