Tag Archives: Bell Media

Amazing Race Canada, Featured

The Amazing Race Canada: Squishing in Saskatoon

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First, my apologies to those of you expected an Amazing Race Canada review last week. I took a week-long holiday and was, literally, off the grid. And second, after finally watching it, what’s with so many teams opting to take time penalties? To me, taking the penalty is a last-ditch decision, not gameplay.

Irina and Dave, Trish and Amy and Meaghan and Marie all skipped “Clamageddon,” which was a real shame. The fun of The Amazing Race Canada is watching teams compete … not sit on the sidelines. (Meanwhile, Aarthy and Thinesh and Anthony and James are showing what teamwork can do.) With Sarah and Sam landing in first place last week—and Meaghan and Marie eliminated—the remaining teams headed to Saskatoon.

It was nice to see a different team in the lead heading into this Leg and the athletes were hoping their “brave” mantra wound serve them well; Lauren and Joanne hoped their hometown would give them an advantage. Meanwhile, Dave and Irina continue to have targets on their backs and called a quick meeting at the Nanaimo airport for everyone to talk. It did not go well, however, and teams left even more fractured than before.

A woman and a man walk.Teams headed to the Canadian Light Source with Anthony and James in the top spot. Once there, they were instructed to journey to the Nutrien Cory Potash Mine. At the mine, teams went a kilometre below the surface to hang and seal ventilation curtains. Anthony and James have had recent experience hanging plastic thanks to some home renovations, so they worked fairly quickly and completed the task first, followed by hometown girls Lauren and Joanne and Sarah and Sam. Aarthy and Thinesh, who had an Express Pass to use, were struggling.

Next up: a trip to the local Shell station to fill up and get those ever-important tear-inducing messages and clues from home. Then, teams travelled to Champêtre County Vacation Ranch for the Detour. Here, squads could either Dance in a Square (calling square dance moves and dancing) or Walk in Circles (find ornamental corn hidden in a massive barn board maze). Anthony and James entered maze (I would have chosen that too), as did Lauren and Joanne, Sarah and Sam and everyone else. Dave and Irina chose Dance in a Square … and then, rightly, switched to do the maze instead. Trish and Amy chose to dance/call too and stuck with it.

Anthony and James whipped through the maze fairly quickly—I wonder if Anthony’s height was an advantage?—and they moved on in first place.

Two women read words on a card.At Victoria Park, teams participated in lacrosse with the Saskatchewan Rush, first passing the ball to each other and then hitting two of four targets. Again, Anthony and James completed the task quickly and departed while everyone else was still back at the ranch. Sam and Sarah exited in second place to look for Jon, with Dave and Irina in hot pursuit.

The Leg’s Pit Stop was located at the Remai Modern Art Museum, and with over 15 minutes of broadcast left, that meant teams were going to really struggle. That was proven correct by Lauren and Joanne, who kept heading back towards the entrance rather than finding the exit. Aarthy and Thinesh did the same thing, which kept them towards the back of the pack.

Anthony and James completed the Leg in pole position, scoring a trip to Costa Rica and free gas for a year. They were followed by Sarah and Sam and Irina and Dave. It came down to a footrace between Aarthy and Thinesh and Trish and Amy, with the former arriving just ahead of the latter, giving the moms … yet another chance because it a non-elimination Leg. The pair will have to complete an additional challenge next week.

Here’s how the teams finished this Leg of the Race:

  1. Anthony and James
  2. Sarah and Sam
  3. Irina and Dave
  4. Lauren and Joanne
  5. Aarthy and Thinesh
  6. Trish and Amy (non-elimination Leg)

The Amazing Race Canada airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

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Industry News

Modern Family EP boards comedy series developed by New Metric Media

From a media release:

Award-winning independent production company New Metric Media (Letterkenny, Bad Blood) is in development with Bell Media on a new single-camera comedy series Children Ruin Everything, with Emmy, PGA and WGA award nominated Chuck Tatham (Modern Family, How I Met Your Mother, Arrested Development) attached as Executive Producer.

Created by Kurt Smeaton (Schitt’s Creek, Kim’s Convenience), Children Ruin Everything is an original comedy about living with the worst roommates of all: your young children. Astrid and James struggle to find a balance between being ‘Mom and Dad’ to two kids and being who they were before offspring. Children Ruin Everything explores the hilarious and varied ways kids can tear down your life and, if you’re lucky, replace it with something you have to admit is pretty okay, too.

Alongside Tatham, Smeaton and Montefiore will also serve as Executive Producers.

As previously announced, New Metric Media is committed to expanding its original development slate by optioning the rights for multiple projects from three renowned authors including bestselling Criminologist Dr. Michael Arntfield for Monster City, veteran author and Toronto Star’s lead investigative reporter for organized crime Peter Edwards to create the Peter Edwards Universe based on a selection of his novels and popular online personality Anne T. Donahue for Nobody Cares.

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Amazing Race Canada, Featured

The Amazing Race Canada: Getting revved up in Revelstoke, B.C.

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In last week’s Season 7 debut, returning competitors Jet and Dave showed that even veteran Racers can make a rooke mistake on The Amazing Race Canada, when neglecting to grab a map led to their elimination.

This time around—and in a special timeslot—the remaining teams began Leg 2 in British Columbia, and headed to Revelstoke. Dave and Irina—who finished first last week, claimed two Express Passes and talked a surprising amount of trash about their competitors—were the first to depart for the two-hour-plus drive through the mountains. Along the way, teams were instructed to keep an eye out for a clue signifying the last spike. Athletes Sarah and Sam were the next to drive out of town, followed by sisters Meaghan and Marie, sisters Lauren and Joanne, friends Trish and Amy, married couple Anthony and James, couple Aarthy and Thinesh, Nikki and Aisha and Gilles and Sean.

It was at the site of the last spike that Racers learned the Leg’s Road Block: someone would be driving a motorbike course. Marie, Dave, Joanne, Sam, James and Trish all hit the course around the same time, with different levels of success. The best part? When those not doing the Road Block realized Jet and Dave weren’t around. But back to the bikes, where Marie took a major header over her handlebars. She was OK, but the replay of the crash showed how violent it was. Marie and Dave were a little slow the first time around, but were under the two-minute mark on their second try and completed the task. Nicki and Aisha were caught, literally, on the other side of the mountain and had to backtrack. Sean, who was oh-so-confident he would breeze through (he rides a bike to work every day, he confided to Sam), fell over two feet into the course.

In the Detour, teams had to choose between Plant (planting 40 tree seedlings at the correct depth and distance) or Paddle (take to the water in tethered kayaks and collect flags). Those choosing to plant included Dave and Irina, Anthony and James, Trish and Amy, Nicki and Aisha, and Lauren and Joanne. Those opting to paddle were Meaghan and Marie (who just happen to be expert, competitive paddlers), Gilles and Sean, Sarah and Sam, and Aarthy and Thinesh.

A man rides a dirt bike.Dave and Irina were just two trees away from completing their task when they realized they hadn’t used the included rope to measure off the planting distances. They would have to do it all again. Meaghan and Marie had no issues and left the Detour in top spot.

Next up was the Revelstoke Railway Museum, where duos worked together to create a model train laid out in a specific way. This was a detail-oriented task, and Meaghan was distracted by other teams’ arriving. Teams like Aarthy and Thinesh who came, saw and whipped off the challenge in their first try. Dave and Irina were next, followed by Gilles and Sean, Sarah and Sam, Meaghan and Marie and Anthony and James. Lauren and Joanne, meanwhile, were still planting trees and arguing.

The Leg’s Pit Stop was located at the Revelstoke Mountain Resort, where teams took a gondola ride to the top to search for Jon. It was, shockingly, Aarthy and Thinesh who turned a seventh-place start into a first-place finish and a trip to Madrid and an Express Pass. Dave and Irina were next (and Irina showed poor gamesmanship, in my opinion), followed by Gilles and Sean, Sarah and Sam, Meaghan and Marie, and Anthony and James. Aisha and Nicki headed in the wrong direction leaving an opportunity for Lauren and Joanne to make up ground.

And, in the end, that’s exactly what happened as the sisters beat out out the best friends to the mat; Aisha and Nicki were eliminated from the Race. What did you think of this Leg? Were you expecting it to be a non-elimination? Let me know in the comments below.

Here’s how the teams finished this Leg of the Race:

  1. Aarthy and Thinesh
  2. Dave and Irina
  3. Gilles and Sean
  4. Sarah and Sam
  5. Meaghan and Marie
  6. Anthony and James
  7. Trish and Amy
  8. Lauren and Joanne
  9. Aisha and Nicki (eliminated)

The Amazing Race Canada airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

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Amazing Race Canada, Featured

The Amazing Race Canada sprints into Season 7

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After seven seasons, I honestly didn’t think The Amazing Race Canada would still be interesting to watch. But, as it is with reality competition programming, it’s the contestants that make a show compelling. Kudos to the casting department at Insight for continuing to find Canadians we really care about as they hurtle around this country and parts of the world on a quest to win two 2019 Chevrolet Blazer RS, a once-in-a-lifetime trip for two around the world, the $250,000 cash prize and the title of champions.

As previously announced, nine pairs of new competitors were ready to race alongside Canada’s Choice, Jet and Dave, who first appeared in Season 1, where they placed fourth. Coming into Tuesday’s return, I wasn’t a fan of this decision. I much prefer a completely fresh cast, but you can’t deny the two friends are fun to watch.

The teams began Season 7 just down the block from Bell Media’s Toronto headquarters in a small park nestled up against Roy Thomson Hall. At the drop of Jon Montgomery’s finger, they were on the way, snagging knapsacks and Route Info to Extreme Reach Recording Studio. Couple Dave and Irina were the first to arrive, followed by Jet and Dave, grandfather and grandson Gilles and Sean, friends Nicki and Aisha, married couple Anthony and James, athletes Sarah and Sam, sisters Lauren and Joanne and dating couple Aarthy and Thinesh. Moms and friends Trish and Amy were the last to arrive.

Instructed to lend their voice to a trailer for The Lion King (the first of what will be many, many, sponsorship plugs this season), Irina, Jet, Aisha, Sean, Anthony, Sam, Meaghan, Lauren, Thinesh and Trish stepped up to the microphones for their teams. Irina completed her voice work in the first take—she took it very seriously—and she and Dave departed. It took some folks a while to realize that timing was the key to success. Sadly, Sam wasted precious time thinking he had to memorize the script.

A group of people run toward the camera.Next up was the Ontario Food Terminal, where teams had to run around 100,000 square feet of cold space to find two halves of a postcard that revealed the next clue. Irina and Dave got there in first place, closely followed by Jet and Dave, Aisha and Nicki, Meaghan and Marie, Trish and Amy, Gilles and Sean, Lauren and Joanne and Anthony and James. Sarah and Sam and Aarthy and Thinesh, meanwhile, were still stuck at the studio. Thinesh finally completed the task, leaving the Olympic hopefuls in last.

Jet and Dave put the pieces together and headed off for Kamloops, B.C., on one of two flights. Irina and Dave, Aisha and Nicki, Joanne and Lauren and Trish and Amy were nipping at their heels and scored seats on the first flight. The others were on the second, delayed by 30 minutes.

In the Road Block, the person who didn’t voice the trailer were tasked with ziplining over an old copper mine and dropping a ball into a target below. Dave missed on his first try, as did Nicki, but Irina’s Dave landed it and they regained first place. Amy and Trish were befuddled by the map and argued over where to go. Sarah and Sam leapfrogged to fourth place, just ahead of Trish and Amy; Gilles and Sean were left behind. As Sean said, they’d need another team to make a mistake for them to recover. That seemed to come in the form of Jet and Dave, who were trying to navigate with no map and, ultimately, learned they had gone 80 km in the wrong direction.

Next was the Circle Creek Equestrian Centre, where teams searched moving cattle for a clue. Staying still was the name of the game for this test and Irina and Dave quickly learned their final destination: the Pit Stop at the Kamloops Bike Ranch. Sarah and Sam and Lauren and Joanne worked together to learn the destination. It was Dave and Irina who arrived first, confident and picking up a trip to South Africa and two Express Passes (one to use and one to give away). Sarah and Sam, who I thought would be eliminated, arrived on the mat next, followed by Meaghan and Marie and Lauren and Joanne.

It was Jet and Dave who arrived in front of Jon last, and they were eliminated from the Race. Wow, after the voting and the pomp and circumstance surrounding their return and the pair were cut in Week 1.

Here’s how the teams finished the first Leg of the Race:

  1. Dave and Irina
  2. Sarah and Sam
  3. Meaghan and Marie
  4. Lauren and Joanne
  5. Trish and Amy
  6. Anthony and James
  7. Aarthy and Thinesh
  8. Nicki and Aisha
  9. Gilles and Sean
  10. Jet and Dave (eliminated)

The Amazing Race Canada airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV. It airs at a special time, 9:30 p.m. ET/PT, next week.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

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Letterkenny, Littlekenny

Good things come in small packages: Littlekenny debuts June 28 on Crave

From a media release:

There are 500 kids at Letterkenny Central School, and audiences will soon learn about all of their pint-sized problems. The new Crave Original Series LITTLEKENNY, an irreverent, short-form animated extension of Crave’s smash-hit comedy LETTERKENNY, premieres on Friday, June 28 with all six episodes, just in time for the Canada Day long weekend.

Created, written, and directed by Jared Keeso, LITTLEKENNY tells the origin story of The Hicks, and how standing up for each other in the schoolyard resulted in their friendship. Featuring the voices of LETTERKENNY stars Nathan Dales as young Daryl; K. Trevor Wilson as young Dan; Keeso as young Wayne; and Canadian actress Kandyse McClure as the voice of Ms. Tricia, these wee-hicks may seem adorable, but as with their original incarnations, their quick wit packs a Texas-sized punch.

LITTLEKENNY will also be available on other Bell Media platforms including:

  • SnackableTV (all six episodes drop on June 28)
  • On CTV.ca as part of the SnackableTV collection (all six episodes drop on June 28)
  • The Crave YouTube channel (sampling)
  • TheComedyNetwork.ca (sampling)
  • MUCH.com (sampling)
  • MTV.ca (sampling)

Additionally, Episodes 1 and 2 will be available as a sneak peek on the Letterkenny Problems YouTube channel on June 27.

As LITTLEKENNY gets introduced to the world, its big brother LETTERKENNY is also in the spotlight over the Canada long weekend with:

  • A LETTERKENNY Season 5 marathon on Crave on Sunday, June 30 beginning at 9 p.m. ET, followed by a Season 6 marathon on Monday, July 1, beginning at 9 p.m. ET
  • New LETTERKENNY-inspired collections on Crave including “LETTERKENNY Cast’s Favourite Comedies” chosen by cast including Mark Forward and Nathan Dales, “The Best of Squirrely Dan,” and “The Best of Daryl”
  • A “Best of LETTERKENNY” five-episode marathon airs on Much on Saturday, June 29 at midnight following THE SIMPSONS. Select LITTLEKENNY episodes will also air on Much on Friday, June 28 during the Much Friday Night movie.

Another six-pack of LETTERKENNY is set to debut on Crave on October 11, as production gets set to begin on Season 8 this summer.

LITTLEKENNY is produced by New Metric Media in association with Playfun Games and Bell Media, with the participation of Canadian Media Fund, OMDC Tax Credits and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund and distributed by DHX Media with New Metric Media as sales agent. Animation services for LITTLEKENNY were provided by Little Blackstone Inc.

For LETTERKENNY, Jared Keeso is executive producer, co-writer, star, and creator, Jacob Tierney is executive producer, director, and co-writer and Mark Montefiore is executive producer for New Metric Media.

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