Tag Archives: CBC

Industry News

CBC announces first-ever podcast to TV development slate

From a media release:

CBC, Canada’s public broadcaster, today announced its first-ever development slate of podcast-to-television series that will see five popular, original CBC Podcasts adapted for the screen. These initial projects include: David Ridgen’s SOMEONE KNOWS SOMETHING (First Generation Films, scripted); UNCOVER: THE VILLAGE (Noble Entertainment, documentary); PERSONAL BEST (3Arts Entertainment, unscripted); TAI ASKS WHY (Irwin Entertainment, unscripted); and, ALONE: A LOVE STORY (Sienna Films, scripted). The announcement was made at Podcast Movement 2019 in Orlando, Florida, the largest podcast gathering in the world.

CBC’s first foray into the adaptation of podcasts for television includes five acclaimed podcast titles with wide ranging subject matter, from drama and true crime, to humour and life’s greatest questions:

SOMEONE KNOWS SOMETHING

● In development for a scripted series with First Generation Films. CBC’s most-downloaded original title, SOMEONE KNOWS SOMETHING with host David Ridgen examines unsolved cases of missing or murdered individuals, in hopes of uncovering new information, while also exploring how the cases have affected the families and communities involved.

UNCOVER: THE VILLAGE

● In development for an unscripted, documentary series with Noble Television. The true crime podcast, the third in the Uncover series, explores two waves of unsolved murders in Toronto’s Gay Village, 40 years apart, following the arrest of Bruce McArthur in January 2018.

PERSONAL BEST

● In development with 3Arts Entertainment for an unscripted series. The humorous, internationally acclaimed podcast helps ordinary people work through the little things they’d never bring to a life coach and celebrates small ambitions, half-wins, and getting less bad at things. From kicking a snooze button addiction to being less awkward around cashiers, Personal Best aims to be a self-improvement sidekick.

TAI ASKS WHY

● In development with Irwin Entertainment for an unscripted series. The award-winning podcast looks for answers to life’s biggest questions from the perspective of an exceptional 12-year-old through conversations with everyone from NASA experts to his own little brother in order to expand the minds of the audience and touch their hearts.

ALONE: A LOVE STORY

● In development with Sienna Films for a scripted series. This acclaimed podcast is a memoir about love, marriage and life after betrayal, telling raw truths about life post-divorce, dating and the maddening uncertainties of life and love.

CBC is Canada’s Public Podcaster, reaching more Canadians than any other podcast publisher. With more than 20 series in genres including investigative reporting and true crime, comedy, human interest and audio fiction, CBC podcasts are downloaded millions of times per month.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Preview: CBC Docs POV’s Humboldt: The New Season should not be missed

How can you possibly return to the ice after fellow teammates, coaches and others close to you die? That path is explored through the eyes of Humboldt Broncos players and their families in the heartbreaking and touching “Humboldt: The New Season.”

Debuting as part of CBC Docs POV on Thursday at 9 p.m. on CBC, “Humboldt: The New Season” follows five survivors—Brayden Camrud and Derek Patter as they return to play for the 2018-2019 Humboldt hockey season with a different coaching staff and new teammates and Tyler Smith, Kaleb Dahlgren and Layne Matechuk—as they continue their recovery while pursuing their love of hockey in new ways.

Produced by Chris McIvor and Libby Lea of Frank Digital and Lucas Frison and Elise Beaudry-Ferland of Prairie Cat Productions, “Humboldt: The New Season” recalls the horrific crash between the Broncos bus and a tractor-trailer on that lonely road on April 6, 2018. Sixteen perished and those left behind have been affected physically and mentally for the rest of their lives. Set against a haunting rendition of Tom Cochrane’s “Big League,” while a drone hovers over kids playing hockey on a frozen pond, “Humboldt: The New Season” is a gut-punch from Minute 1.

Banners sit on the ice in a hockey rink.

“I didn’t know if I was going to be able to return after my injuries,” Brayden Camrud says in the opening minutes. “It’s been tough. You have a lot to think about. You think about all those other guys every day. I think about the boys who aren’t here.” Much of the documentary is spent telling the stories of those who were lost, including coach Darcy Haugan, assistant coach Mark Cross and athletic therapist Dayna Brons.

It’s also about healing, whether it’s the players themselves or the small town of Humboldt, whose citizens were thrust onto the world stage because of the accident and who rallied around each other.

The danger of making a project like this is that it can feel invasive, an excuse to get into the faces of those affected and exploit them. But the producers don’t ever do that. The result is a tear-filled story of remembrance and respect that everyone should watch.

“Humboldt: The New Season” airs as part of CBC Docs POV on Thursday at 9 p.m. on CBC.

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Battle of the Blades

CBC announces complete lineup of figure skaters for Battle of the Blades

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From a media release:

CBC today announced the complete lineup of figure skaters confirmed to compete live in the new season of hit returning series BATTLE OF THE BLADES (Season 5, 1×120, 6×60), with additional skaters rounding out the team who will be paired with hockey players to vie for the Season 5 championship. BATTLE OF THE BLADES, the highest-rated original English-language Canadian format of all time* and produced by Insight Productions, launches with a special two-hour premiere on Thursday, September 19 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) on CBC and the free CBC Gem streaming service. The complete lineup of hockey players, as well as the pairings for the competition, will be announced in the coming weeks.

First-time competitors include three-time World Ice Dance medallists, Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje, and two-time World Pairs champion, and two-time Olympic Games medallist, Eric Radford. Season 2 winner and two-time Olympic Games gold medallist in pairs skating, Ekaterina Gordeeva, and Season 4 winner and Olympian in pairs skating, Amanda Evora, will return to the ice. They join previously announced figure skaters Vanessa James and Violetta Afanasieva.

Ice dancers Weaver and Poje have represented Canada internationally for 13 years. These beloved fan-favourites have won three World Ice Dance medals, two gold medals at the Grand Prix Final Championships and three Canadian Ice Dance titles. They have represented Canada in ice dancing twice at the Olympic Games, placing seventh at Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018.

Radford is a two-time Olympic Games medallist with pairs partner Meagan Duhamel with whom he also won back-to-back World Championship titles in 2015 and 2016, including an undefeated season in 2015. The pair won their seventh consecutive Canadian pairs’ title in 2018, setting an all-time record. Radford and Duhamel were part of the Canadian figure skating team’s silver medal at Sochi 2014, and gold at PyeongChang 2018. Radford is the only openly gay male to have won an Olympic Games gold medal.

Gordeeva and late pairs partner and husband Sergei Grinkov are two-time Olympic Games gold medallists, four-time World champions, and two-time European champions. Icons of Russian pair skating, Gordeeva and Grinkov are still considered the greatest of all time. Since her tragic loss, Gordeeva has gone on as a soloist and continues to perform worldwide. Gordeeva and partner Valeri Bure won Season 2 of BATTLE OF THE BLADES, with $100,000 for both Cardiac Kids and Compassion Canada charities.

Evora is a five-time pairs medallist at the U.S. Championships with former partner Mark Ladwig, with whom she represented Team U.S.A. at multiple international competitions including two World Championships over the span of 10 years. Evora and Ladwig competed on the American figure skating team for the Olympic Winter Games Vancouver 2010.  In 2013, Evora and partner Scott Thornton won the fourth season of BATTLE OF THE BLADES, winning $100,000 for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

Returning this fall, BATTLE OF THE BLADES combines athletes from two of Canada’s favourite sports — figure skating and hockey — as they pair up in a live, high-stakes figure skating competition for the charity of their choice. Hockey Night in Canada’s Ron MacLean will reprise his role as host, with four-time Canadian and four-time World champion figure skater Kurt Browning returning as head judge. Beloved Canadian Olympic Games ice dance champions, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, will be rink-side with him as guest judges for select episodes. Previously announced hockey players for the new iteration of the hugely popular format include hockey players Sheldon Kennedy and Natalie Spooner. First launched in 2009, BATTLE OF THE BLADES was broadcast on CBC from 2009—2013 (4 seasons, 57 episodes) and remains the highest-rated original English-language Canadian format of all time.*

A CBC original series, BATTLE OF THE BLADES is produced by Insight Productions. The series is executive produced by Insight’s John Brunton, Lindsay Cox, Erin Brock, and Mark Lysakowski and is co-created and executive produced by Olympian and World & Canadian Figure Skating Hall of Famer Sandra Bezic. 

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Industry News

CBC announces fall 2019 premiere dates for new and returning series

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From a media release:

CBC today announced broadcast and streaming premiere dates for its fall 2019 slate of new and returning original series, featuring a wide range of Canadian stories across drama, comedy, factual, arts, kids, news, and documentary programming. The fall schedule launches Monday, September 16 on CBC and the free CBC Gem streaming service.

CBC’s Fall 2019 primetime schedule launching Monday, September 16:

All following times local with the exception of Newfoundland, please add half an hour to all times.

MONDAYS
7:30 PM – CORONATION STREET (weekdays at 7:30 p.m., moves to 7 p.m. the week of December 23)

8 PM – MURDOCH MYSTERIES Season 13 (18×60) premieres September 16

9 PM – FRANKIE DRAKE MYSTERIES Season 3 (10×60) premieres September 16

TUESDAYS
7:30 PM – CORONATION STREET (weekdays at 7:30 p.m., moves to 7 p.m. the week of December 23)

7:30 PM – FAMILY FEUD CANADA (60×30) Tuesdays to Fridays; premieres the week of December 16 at 8 p.m., moves to its regular time of 7:30 p.m. beginning the week of December 23

8 PM – STILL STANDING Season 5 (13×30) premieres September 17

8:30 PM – THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES Season 27 (19×30) premieres September 17

9 PM – TALLBOYZ (8×30) new sketch comedy series from executive producer Bruce McCulloch premieres September 17

9:30 PM – BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW Season 4 (10×30) premieres September 17

WEDNESDAYS
7:30 PM – CORONATION STREET (weekdays at 7:30 p.m., moves to 7 p.m. the week of December 23)

7:30 PM – FAMILY FEUD CANADA (60×30) Tuesdays to Fridays; premieres the week of December 16 at 8 p.m., moves to its regular time of 7:30 p.m. beginning the week of December 23

8 PM – THE GREAT CANADIAN BAKING SHOW Season 3 (8×60) premieres September 18

9 PM – NORTHERN RESCUE Season 1 (10×60) premieres September 18

THURSDAYS
7:30 PM – CORONATION STREET (weekdays at 7:30 p.m., moves to 7 p.m. the week of December 23)

7:30 PM – FAMILY FEUD CANADA (60×30) Tuesdays to Fridays; premieres the week of December 16 at 8 p.m., moves to its regular time of 7:30 p.m. beginning the week of December 23

8 PM – BATTLE OF THE BLADES (1×120, 6×60) premieres with a two-hour special September 19

9 PM – DRAGONS’ DEN Season 14 (10×60) premieres September 26

FRIDAYS
7:30 PM – CORONATION STREET (weekdays at 7:30 p.m., moves to 7 p.m. the week of December 23)

7:30 PM – FAMILY FEUD CANADA (60×30) Tuesdays to Fridays; premieres the week of December 16 at 8 p.m., moves to its regular time of 7:30 p.m. beginning the week of December 23

8 PM – MARKETPLACE Season 46 (22×30) premieres September 27

8:30 PM – IN THE MAKING Season 2 (8×30) premieres September 27

9 PM – THE NATURE OF THINGS Season 59 (18×60) premieres September 20 with two back-to-back episodes *NEW NIGHT*

11:30 PM – CBC ARTS: EXHIBITIONISTS Season 5 (6×30) premieres September 20

SATURDAYS
Mornings – MOLLY OF DENALI (38X30) *special premiere date Monday, September 2*

Mornings – TRUE AND THE RAINBOW KINGDOM Season 3 (10X30) premieres September 7

Afternoons – ROAD TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES Season 5

6:30 PM – HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA

SUNDAYS
7 PM – HEARTLAND Season 13 (10×60) premieres September 22

8 PM – ANNE WITH AN E Season 3 (10×60) premieres September 22

9 PM – THE FIFTH ESTATE Season 45 (14×60) premieres September 22

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Diggstown

CBC original legal aid drama Diggstown rolls on second season

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From a media release:

Production is underway in Halifax, Nova Scotia on the second season of the CBC original one-hour drama Diggstown (6×60). Produced by Circle Blue Entertainment, Freddie Films Inc., and Waterstar Entertainment Inc. and created by Halifax’s Floyd Kane (Across The Line), the series will premiere in winter 2020 on CBC and stream on CBC Gem.

In the first season of Diggstown, viewers were introduced to the fierceness of Marcie Diggs (Vinessa Antoine, Being Erica, Heartland) and the emotionally and ethically devastating world of legal aid. Season 2 follows Marcie and her fellow crusaders at legal aid as they continue their fight against a criminal justice system that shows no mercy to their most at-risk citizens.

Marcie dives deeper into criminal law, testing her ethics as a lawyer at every turn. Pam (Stacey Farber, Grace and Frankie), focuses on her work as her personal life crumbles around her. While preoccupied with staving off her boss, Colleen (Natasha Henstridge,  Species), struggles to keep the Halifax Legal Aid team in line. Reggie (C. David Johnson, Street Legal) is surprised when a reluctant favour turns into a new exciting interest. Doug (Brandon Oakes, Arctic Air) makes a potentially devastating professional blunder and Iris (Shailene Garnett, Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments) dives into her dream career.

Cory Bowles, Kelly Makin and Lynne Stopkewich are back as directors, with Sharon Lewis joining as an additional director.

A CBC original drama, Diggstown is co-produced by Circle Blue Entertainment, Freddie Films Inc., and Waterstar Entertainment Inc. Kane is creator, executive producer and showrunner, and Amos Adetuyi (Jean of the Jones), Brenda Greenberg (Being Erica), Karen Wentzell (Seed) and Todd Berger (Wynonna Earp) are executive producers.

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