Tag Archives: Crave

Featured, Web series

Shaftesbury aces inclusive stories with Crave’s The D Cut

Shaftesbury truly is a production company providing stories for everyone. Want a time period drama? Check out Murdoch Mysteries, Frankie Drake Mysteries or Dead Still. How about a more middle of the road mystery? There’s Hudson & Rex and Departure, each with their own storytelling twist. Those looking for LGBTQ2S+ characters and stories can find that too, in Carmilla, CLAIREvoyant and the brand-new series The D Cut.

The D Cut, which debuted six Season 1 instalments on Crave, visits a combination bike shop and hair salon, the latter serving the LGBTQ2S+ community. Based on a true story, The D Cut stars Marie Marolle as hairstylist D and Amrit Kaur as her newest client Viva; the web-length instalments follow D as she interacts with her existing clients, friends and Viva.

The D Cut cast.

“The D Cut was inspired by a Montreal artist [who] had a salon that was in the back of a bike shop,” says Audrey Dwyer, who co-wrote the project with Wendy Litner (How to Buy a Baby). One of the interesting things about that, she explains, was there wasn’t a set price for haircuts, so it made the experience more accessible to people who wanted to explore their look or wanted just a simple haircut. Dwyer—an actor, director and playwright—was teamed with Litner by Shaftesbury, presented with a few real stories from the shop and created their own. And while there is a dramatic tale regarding the future of the salon hanging over all, the heart of The D Cut is the will-they-or-won’t-they between D and Viva.

The D Cut co-writer Audrey Dwyer.

“[Amrit and I] had very little time to connect,” Marolle says with a laugh. “We had just one day of rehearsal and had to make a connection right away. It wasn’t easy, but we hit it off and it went really well. I was super-nervous but there also wasn’t time to be nervous.” Though they had a tight production schedule of just four shooting days—with D. W. Waterson directing—in Toronto preceded by one day of rehearsals, the chemistry between Marolle and Kaur is there from the moment D and Viva lock eyes. It gave me goosebumps. It’s performances like theirs that get me excited about Canadian content, especially when there are inclusive, diverse stories being told.

“It’s actually pretty awesome watching a brown person kiss a French woman on-screen,” Kaur says. “I’ve never seen that, so I was really excited to be a part of it. Hopefully, I get to tell more gay stories because I love to.”

All six episodes of The D Cut are available on Crave now.

Cast images courtesy of Shaftesbury. Audrey Dwyer image courtesy of Caro Ibrahim.

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Canada's Drag Race

Link: ‘These queens are fierce’: Canada’s Drag Race brings a maple flavour to RuPaul’s franchise

From Debra Yeo of the Toronto Star:

Link: ‘These queens are fierce’: Canada’s Drag Race brings a maple flavour to RuPaul’s franchise
“Whenever I’m in other countries, people always say, ‘You’re Canadian?’ as if it’s a shocking thing. We have some amazing talent here and drag is one of those amazing talents.” Continue reading. 

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Canada's Drag Race

Canada’s Drag Race premieres Thursday, July 2, only on Crave

From a media release:

As Canada prepares to honour one of the world’s most iconic queens on Victoria Day, Crave announces the cast of its majestic inaugural season of CANADA’S DRAG RACE. Season 1 of the Crave Original Series promises to have viewers clutching their royal pearls as 12 of the fiercest queens in the land showcase their Canadian Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve, and Talent to compete to become Canada’s First Drag Superstar, and win the $100,000 grand prize.

Crave also announced today that in celebration of Canada Day, the herstorical first season premieres Thursday, July 2 only on Crave. New episodes roll out weekly, Thursday nights on Crave’s TV channel, Crave.ca, and the Crave app.

With Snatch Game, Rumail, the reading challenge, puppets, makeovers, and gag-worthy untucked sessions, CANADA’S DRAG RACE serves up fan-favourites from RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE, but with a dash of maple-flavoured Canadian realness. Each episode tests the queens’ talents, and challenges them to master singing, dancing, acting, impersonation, costume making, and improvisation. One competitor sashays away at the end of each episode, until the last queen standing is announced the inaugural winner. Throughout this journey, the queens share their personal struggles and successes, highlighting their individuality.

As previously announced, presiding over each of the 10 episodes is a panel of expert judges – Brooke Lynn Hytes, Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman, and Stacey McKenzie – while ETALK Senior Correspondent Traci Melchor is Canada’s very first Squirrel Friend, making appearances throughout the season and adding her trademark fabulousness to the werkroom, challenges, and the main stage. Weekly celebrity guest hosts also join the panel, and will be announced in the coming weeks.

As previously announced, Crave and OUTtv formed an unprecedented partnership that extends the reach of international television phenomenon, RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE in Canada. This partnership includes the new Crave Original Series, CANADA’S DRAG RACE, the first-ever Canadian adaptation of the show, and all past seasons of RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE, currently available on Crave.

In association with Crave, CANADA’S DRAG RACE is produced by Blue Ant Studios. Executive producers for World of Wonder are Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato, and Tom Campbell. RuPaul serves as Executive Producer. Executive producers for Blue Ant Studios are Michael Kot, Laura Michalchyshyn, Mike Bickerton, and Betty Orr.

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Industry News

Crave packs in the laughs with four new original stand-up specials for 2020

From a media release:

Crave is laughing its way through the coldest months of the year, one hilarious hour at a time! Marking Crave’s largest order ever for stand-up comedy specials in one year, four all-new, one-hour specials are set to join the service beginning Friday, February 14 with AISHA BROWN: THE FIRST BLACK WOMAN EVER.

Additional specials rolling out on Crave over the next three months include: THE EL-SALOMONS: MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE (March); GRAHAM KAY: STUPID JOKES (April); and TOM HENRY: 66 JOKES (May).

Filmed in front of a live audience during the 2019 Just for Laughs Festival in Montréal, the new specials expand Crave’s existing collection of Crave Original stand-up specials featuring Canadian comics like Mark Forward, Graham Chittenden, Debra DiGiovanni, and more.

This new batch of specials builds on Crave’s ongoing partnership with Just For Laughs, which also includes the Just for Laughs Collection. With more than 80 titles, the collection features some of the best comics to have graced the JFL stage, and includes specials like Trevor Noah @ JFL, HOWIE MANDEL’S 5TH ANNUAL ALL-STAR COMEDY GALA, JEFF DUNHAM @ JFL, and more.

AISHA BROWN: THE FIRST BLACK WOMAN EVER
No one, and nothing, is off-limits for comedian Aisha Brown, as she takes on her boyfriend’s penis, racism, clinical depression, and Donald Trump, in this hilarious one-hour comedy special.

Aisha Brown is a Toronto-based stand-up comedian, writer, actress, and extremely casual satirical rapper. She recorded her third televised set at the Just For Laughs festival in 2018, and was a featured performer on Kevin Hart’s LOL Network and the ALL ACCESS special, which aired on The Comedy Network (now CTV Comedy) in 2016. Brown has also written for BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW, THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES, and more. She’s also been a featured performer on THE BEAVERTON and BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW, as well as a writer-performer for CBC Radio’s The Debaters, Because News, and Day 6. Along with two other comedians, Brown was featured in the 2017 TVO documentary STAND-UP TORONTO, about up and coming POC comics in the GTA. In 2016 she was named one of The Torontoist’s “Local Ladies Who Make Us Laugh,” and won “Female Breakout Comic of the Year” at the I Heart Jokes Awards. Brown has recorded two albums with Toronto based comedy hip-hop collective, Runnin’ at The Mouth for Comedy Records.

THE EL-SALOMONS: MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE
Quick-witted comedy duo Jess Salomon and Eman El-Husseini hilariously take on today’s politics from their perspectives as a Jewish and Palestinian same-sex married couple. From peace in the Middle East, Donald Trump, marriage, and Eman’s reckless driving, this one-hour comedy special is sure to leave you in stitches.

The El-Salomons take the motto ‘make love not war’ very personally. Jess Salomon and Eman El-Husseini met and fell in love at a comedy club in Montréal nearly a decade ago when a friend of theirs suggested, “you two broads should kiss.” Jess is Jewish and Eman is Palestinian (basically enemies); one is a Taurus and one is a Leo (ENEMIES!!), but they somehow make it work. It’s probably the hummus. Salomon has appeared on THE TONIGHT SHOW and El-Husseini has opened for Patton Oswalt, and now based in New York, the accomplished comedians have been performing as a duo. From the prestigious Just for Laughs Festival in Montréal, to San Francisco Sketch Fest, to the Boston Women in Comedy Festival, and even to the Arctic, they have been making people laugh, spreading love, and trying not to get a divorce. The El-Salomons have been featured on NowThis and PBS NEWS HOUR, as well as in Curve Magazine, The Huffington Post, and The Washington Post.

GRAHAM KAY: STUPID JOKES
Graham Kay brings his observational humour and sarcastic charm to Just For Laughs, where he takes on everyday topics from surviving a breakup in NYC to tracing-paper pornography in this hilarious one-hour stand-up comedy special.

Graham Kay won the coveted Just for Laughs 2015 Homegrown Comic Competition and was runner-up at the 2016 Seattle International Comedy Competition. He was also nominated for Best Male Stand Up at the 2016 Canadian Comedy Awards. Kay has hosted the popular Sirius satellite radio show and podcast, The Sport Brahs, featured on CBC-TV’s Halifax Comedy Festival special, and the iChannel’s No Kidding. He was a regular on Much’s VIDEO ON TRIAL and wrote for the popular CTV sitcom SPUN OUT, starring comedy legend Dave Foley. Kay’s performances at the 2014 and 2015 Just For Laughs Festival were featured on The Comedy Network. In 2018 Kay made his film debut in Broken Lizard’s Super Troopers 2 and most recently performed on THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT.

TOM HENRY: 66 JOKES
From vegan cupcakes to tap dancing, comedian Tom Henry brings his hysterical brand of understated observational humour to Just For Laughs in this one-hour, 66 joke-filled stand-up special.

Toronto-based comedian Tom Henry has appeared on The Comedy Network and at festivals such as Just For Laughs, San Francisco Sketchfest, and Bridgetown Comedy Festival. He has opened for comics such as Tim Meadows, Nikki Glaser, and Todd Barry, and has been a regular on Andy Kindler’s Alternative Show. Kindler also chose him as “The Next Big Thing in 2017” stating “Tom Henry is a comic who you could say he’s a little bit like Mitch Hedberg, a little bit Steven Wright, but he’s in a category by himself.” He was also named one of LA Riot Fest’s “Comics to Watch” in 2017 and was nominated for a Canadian Comedy Award for “Best Stand-Up Newcomer” in 2012. Last year his debut album, Tom Henry Kills reached number one on the iTunes comedy charts.

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New Eden

Links: New Eden, Season 1

From Morgan Mullin of The Coast:

Link: New Eden, who dis?
In a year where their actions keep making us ask “why are men?”; As we keep sharing clickbait stories about women’s-only villages with the caption “where do I sign up?”—we need New Eden. The eight-episode series, streaming on Crave TV starting January 1, is a true crime mockumentary about a women’s-only cult in late-1970s BC. Continue reading.

From Cole Schisler of the Ladysmith Chronicle:

Link: Ladysmith’s Kayla Lorette to release new series on Crave New Year’s Day
“Evany and I knew we wanted to put a show together, so we talked about our mutual love of the true crime genre… and then we’ve always been a bit obsessed with cults. We started from there, but then we were questioning – what if there’s not the traditional male cult leader at the centre of it, what if it’s these two women? Then it just grew from there.” Continue reading.

From Norman Wilner of Now Toronto:

Link: Crave’s New Eden explores why women are drawn to true crime
With any luck, 25 years from now people will be arguing over whether the events depicted in Kayla Lorette and Evany Rosen’s New Eden are real. Continue reading.

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