Link: Workin’ Moms set to say goodbye in Season 7 Catherine Reitman hit the motherlode with her CBC series Workin’ Moms. The show debuted in 2017 and struck a chord with viewers worldwide for its portrayal of parenthood — each raw, honest and funny part of it. Continue reading.
Link: Mothers and breasts and bears: the cast reflects on seven seasons of ‘Workin’ Moms’ “I think what people connected with (in ‘Workin’ Moms’) was what they needed that year … It happens to be that I hired really talented writers and really talented actors to play these compelling stories convincingly, and people connected with that. So I think how it continued to hit was we evolved as the times changed.” Continue reading.
From Isobel Grieve of Toronto Guardian:
Link: Workin’ Moms Sarah McVie Says A Heartfelt Goodbye With Workin’ Moms about to air its seventh and final season on January 3, I sat down with Sarah McVie, who plays Val, to talk about her journey on the show and what it’s like to say goodbye to such a beloved character. Continue reading.
From Eric Volmers of the Belleville Intelligencer:
Link: How ‘Workin’ Moms’ Retired After Seven Seasons Catherine Reitman wanted to share stories of women trying — and often failing — to have it all. Fast forward seven seasons, 83 episodes and dozens of awards nominations (including two International Emmy nods), and she’s ready to put that baby to bed. Continue reading.
From Indiescreen:
Link: Workin’ Moms retire It’s the last week of shooting for the cast and crew of Workin’ Moms when Indiescreen reached them in mid-September. The CBC series is sunsetting after its upcoming seventh and final season, set to hit the network in early 2023. Continue reading.
The relationship between Pretty Hard Cases’ Sam Wazowski (Meredith MacNeill) and Kelly Duff (Adrienne C. Moore) has faced some major challenges over the past two seasons. During Season 1, the detective duo had to learn how to work together despite their odd couple dynamic. In Season 2, they overcame a series of personal misunderstandings to forge a true friendship—even though it resulted in them being separated on the job.
At the start of Season 3—kicking off Wednesday at 9 p.m. on CBC and CBC Gem—Sam, demoted to street cop, and Kelly, working undercover, have been apart for eight months. But worry not. Just a few minutes into the premiere episode, “Always A Bridesmaid,” written by series creators Tassie Cameron and Sherry White, the pair enjoys a glorious reunion that showcases the fabulous chemistry between series leads MacNeill and Moore. There is screaming and jumping. There are secret handshakes and goofy butt pats. And, of course, there is banter.
But while Sam and Kelly are back together and stronger than ever, they still have to prove themselves to new Unit Commander Gloria Ballard (Wendy Crewson) before they’ll regain access to the OCE’s top cases—such as discovering the source of a deadly new drug that’s hit the streets of Toronto, or tracking down last season’s still at large villain Adeline French (Charlotte Sullivan). They also have to navigate their new romantic relationships, with Sam making another go of things with ex-husband Steve (Trevor Hayes) and Kelly testing the waters with fellow detective Nathan (Daren A. Herbert).
During a recent chat with MacNeill and Moore, we found out more about Sam and Kelly’s upcoming adventures and why the actors sometimes feel like “naughty children” on set.
Sam and Kelly’s friendship has grown a lot over the past two seasons. How will it evolve in Season 3? Adrienne C. Moore: I think like any friendship, in Season 2, we had that tension that I think long-standing and long-term relationships must have in order to kind of jump that hurdle that they can get to a point where they know each other’s thoughts, they know what each other is thinking before they even say. And I think that was one of the balances that we tried to strike and establish this theory that they had a hard time getting to know each other, they went through the thick of it, and now they’re just like, they can read each other’s thoughts. They know how to support each other as friends, and they know what they need from each other in friendship.
Meredith MacNeill: Yeah, and then because of that, because that friendship has taken the next layer, they tend to add other things into their life. You see them involve each other in the other aspects of their life, which was interesting. So like, when we got the scripts, I was like, ‘Oh, this is your family.’
Both of your characters are in very different places with their personal lives than they were in previous seasons. Kelly is making a go of it with Nathan, and Sam is back with her ex-husband Steve, which may or may not be a good thing. MM: I feel that for Sam—and for Meredith MacNeill—there’s something about being in your 40s and admitting what it’s truly like to start over and all the mess and glory that comes with that. So I love the way Tassie and Sherry write. Yes, I’m back with my ex-husband, but it takes it to this level that I think will be extremely relatable, that just because you’ve made a decision and you’re like, ‘I’m gonna go for this,’ it doesn’t automatically mean that once you make the decision, everything’s fine. When the scripts would come in, and we work on scenes. I was like, ‘Oh gosh, I really know this relationship. I know these people. These are people I have in my life.’
ACM: I think for Kelly, she’s shown a lot with being vulnerable and open in relationships. And not to give any spoilers, but there’s already some physical tension in the beginning between her and Nathan, and so through the course of the season, you discover how Kelly is really embracing being vulnerable. She knows she has a good thing with Nathan, but she’s still scared. And I think a lot of people when they get in relationships, become afraid of losing their own identity and their own individuality. And so she learned how to balance that, how to be in a relationship with a partner but yet still have her own identity. And I’ve loved that Nathan supports that for her.
You’ve got a new unit commander this season, played by Wendy Crewson. MM and ACM: Woo!
How was it working with her? MM: She’s it. That’s it. She comes on set, you know you’re lucky, and you just stand there and hope you can keep up. That’s what you do.
ACM: Wendy was working on another show also at the same time. She came in every day, on point, knew these chunky, chunky dialogue lines and was killing it. I was like, ‘OK, I can learn from her.’
Pretty Hard Cases effortlessly blends comedy and drama, and many scenes can be played either way. How do you decide which way you’re going to take a scene? Are you given a lot of freedom to improvise, or is it all on the page? MM: I think because we’re both theatre-based, we’re pretty comfortable with both. I respect the work completely and the author of scripts, that’s just standard. And then also with theatre, you’ll learn really quickly to play in the moment, be in the moment, throw all your work away, and what’s happening isn’t to me, it’s what’s happening between the two characters. So I find what happens in the show is—because we get along and we want to have so much fun—sometimes I feel like we’re naughty children, but professional naughty children. We adore the writing by Sherry and Tassie, we’re respectful to that. But as soon as we can, we’re like, ‘Can we play? Can we go, can we go?’ And then they’ll give us some goes, and so it kind of balances out and then, in the end, it’s really great.
As you said, you get along well and love working together. What have you learned from each other as actors over the last three seasons? MM: I know that we get [each other] pumped. Like, if it’s a 16-hour day, we kind of look at each other, kind of give each other a soft high-five, and go in and kill it. We know we got it.
ACM: I know that if she has a lot of dialogue to carry, or I have a lot of dialogue, what I love is that we can just kind of look at each other and I know where she’s at, she knows where I’m at, and I know what she needs, she knows what I need.
MM: And we get there really quick.
ACM: Yeah, we provide that for each other, and it’s like when you have those days, when you work every day and you’re doing 12-16 hour days like that, it’s good to look over and see your partner in crime. You’re going through it with someone that you trust.
Pretty Hard Cases airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBC and CBC Gem.
This New Year’s Eve, join CBC and Rick Mercer to ring in 2023 with a national celebration featuring fireworks and performances from across the country. CANADA’S NEW YEAR’S EVE: COUNTDOWN TO 2023 will be broadcast on CBC TV and CBC Gem on Saturday, December 31 at 11 p.m. (11:20 p.m. AT, 11:50 p.m. NT).
Hosted by Rick Mercer from The Blue Mountains in beautiful Grey County, the all-Canadian lineup includes performances by Devon Cole, JJ Wilde and OKAY TK from Halifax, NS; Vincent Vallières from Quebec City, QC; Chad Price, Kardinal Offishall, and Savannah Ré from The Blue Mountains, ON; James Barker Band from Saskatoon, SK and Leela Gilday from Aurora Village, NWT. There will be fireworks from cities across the country, including Kelowna, BC and St. John’s NL.
CBC and HBO Max have renewed the Peabody Award-winning comedy series SORT OF for a third season. The CBC original series is a co-production with HBO Max and Sphere Media (formerly Sienna Films).
Created by Bilal Baig and Fab Filippo, the second season of the critically acclaimed comedy about a gender-fluid millennial in transition in every aspect of their life debuted November 15 on CBC and CBC Gem, and made its HBO Max premiere on December 1. A coming-of-age story, SORT OF exposes the labels we once poured ourselves into as no longer applicable… to anyone.
Bilal Baig, co-creator, co-showrunner, executive producer and lead actor quote: “It’s been such a creative and rewarding pleasure to sink deeply into the mess of the lives of these characters in season two. And I look so forward to continuing and expanding the mess, alongside Fab, our gifted writers, the generous teams at Sphere Media, CBC and HBO Max, and our gorgeous cast and crew!”
Sally Catto, General Manager, Entertainment, Factual & Sports, CBC quote: “Sort Of has made its way into the hearts of viewers and critics in Canada, the U.S. and around the world by embracing universal themes that we can all relate to, no matter who we love or how we self-identify. We are excited to continue our work with Bilal, Fab, HBO Max and Sphere Media, and to keep sharing Sabi’s story with audiences everywhere.”
Sarah Aubrey, Head of Original Content, HBO Max quote: “Baig and Filippo, alongside our partners at CBC and Sienna Films, continue to deliver a heartfelt, empathetic and engaging story and we’re thrilled we get to continue following Sabi, their family, 7ven and the Kaneko-Bauers on their journeys in the new season.”
Jennifer Kawaja, executive producer, Sphere Media quote: “We love these characters and are thrilled to have the opportunity to continue working with CBC and HBO Max to explore their lives.”
Called “easy to love” by Rolling Stone, season two of SORT OF made the publication’s list of the 20 Best TV Shows of 2022 and debuted in the US to another round of strong acclaim, including “still great” by NPR and “as big-hearted and introspective as its wonderful predecessor” by TIME. With a Gotham Award nomination for the first season, Baig has also been recognized as one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business and TIME’s Next Generation Leaders.
The CBC and HBO Max Original series is created by Bilal Baig and Fab Filippo, who also serve as showrunners and executive producers, and produced with the participation of the Canada Media Fund. Sphere Media’s Jennifer Kawaja is also an executive producer on the series. SORT OF is distributed worldwide by Sphere Media. Abacus Media Rights handles sales outside of the United States and Latin America.
marblemedia, a leading production and distribution entertainment television studio, is excited that CBC and CBC Gem have announced the return of their hit series, Best in Miniature (8 X 60) for a second season, returning on Sunday, February 19, 2023 at 7:00 pm. Production on season 2 wrapped late last summer in Hamilton, Ontario.
The series, which saw major success after its debut season, will once again tap into the viral world of miniatures; and take the reality competition genre to a whole new scale, both in size and creativity.
Season 2 will welcome 10 new highly skilled artists from across Canada and from around the world to compete in the ultimate challenge: building their dream home in miniature-form. The competitors will create their houses, in painstaking detail, room by room by shrinking life-size objects down to 1:12 scale. While the objects may be small, the stakes could not be bigger.
Returning host this season is actress, writer, and stand-up comedian, Aba Amuquandoh (CBC’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes). Back as the judges are UK Miniature Expert Emma Waddell, and esteemed Interior Designer Michael Lambie, whose precision and design techniques will save the vying competitors from dreaded elimination. The winner of the series will win a crash prize and the coveted title of being Best in Miniature!
Trailblazers in the unscripted and competition series space with smash global hits like Netflix’s Blown Away and Drink Masters, as well as CBC’s Race Against the Tide, Discovery’s A Cut Above, and TVOKids’ All-Round Champion, Canada’s own marblemedia is excited to once again be working with CBC and CBC Gem to bring more episodes of the bingeable Best in Miniature series.
Best in Miniature is produced by marblemedia in association with CBC. For marblemedia, Matt Hornburg, Mark Bishop and Diane Rankin are executive producers; Donna Luke and Carly Spencer are co-executive producers, and Erica Lenczner is series producer and showrunner for the series; and created by Director of Unscripted Development, Kelsey Espensen.
