Tag Archives: CTV

Masterchef Canada

Home cooks and their families face off in MasterChef Canada: All-Star Family Edition

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From a media release:

CTV is cooking up a feast of MASTERCHEF programming, and it all begins with the television event MASTERCHEF CANADA: ALL-STAR FAMILY EDITION, premiering Monday, Dec. 5 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The two-hour CTV Original Special brings together past MASTERCHEF CANADA winners, their families, and some special guests to compete for $10,000 for the charity of their choice. The home cooks returning to the MASTERCHEF CANADA Kitchen are Season 1 winner Eric Chong, Season 2 winner David Jorge, Season 3 winner Mary Berg, and MASTERCHEF CANADA: A HOLIDAY SPECIAL winner Pino DiCerbo.

MASTERCHEF CANADA judges Michael Bonacini, Alvin Leung, and Claudio Aprile will serve up four nail-biting challenges, and decide which teams face elimination and which ones move forward. The special also airs Monday, Dec. 12 at 9 p.m. ET on Gusto. As with 2014’s MASTERCHEF CANADA: A HOLIDAY SPECIAL, MASTERCHEF CANADA: ALL-STAR FAMILY EDITION was created by Proper Television in collaboration with CTV and Endemol Shine Group.

In MASTERCHEF CANADA: ALL-STAR FAMILY EDITION, four MASTERCHEF CANADA champions are joined by their families to compete in four increasingly difficult culinary challenges: the Better-Half Skills Race, the Mother and Child Mystery Box, the Bossy Sibling Coaching Challenge, and the Family Feast Team Cook. Over the course of the two-hour special, select family members will compete alongside Eric, David, Mary, and Pino, as they work to impress the judges with their creativity and skill. The family who cooks their way to victory will win the first MASTERCHEF CANADA: ALL-STAR FAMILY EDITION and $10,000 for their chosen charity.

The MASTERCHEF CANADA: ALL-STAR FAMILY EDITION teams are:

#TeamEric (Blue Apron)
MASTERCHEF CANADA Season 1 Winner Eric Chong joins the competition with his mother Zena, girlfriend Jenn, and brother Andrew. Eric entered Season 1 with a recent engineering degree. His parents did not want him to pursue cooking, but claiming the MASTERCHEF CANADA title helped him win their support. Eric is now chef and co-owner of R&D, the successful Toronto restaurant he opened with MASTERCHEF CANADA judge Alvin Leung. #TeamEric is competing for the Canadian Diabetes Association.

#TeamDavid (Red Apron)
David Jorge, the winner of MASTERCHEF CANADA Season 2, was a high school dropout and concrete worker who dreamed of something more. After his victory he opened S+L Kitchen and Bar in Langley, BC, in partnership with the Joseph Richard Group, and has two more restaurant projects on the go. David is joined in the kitchen by his mother Maria, brother Kevin, wife Tanis, and sons JJ and Nuno. #TeamDavid is competing for the Surrey Food Bank.

#TeamMary (Green Apron)
Season 3’s winning home cook Mary Berg is competing with her new husband Aaron, brother Michael, and her mom Myra. Following her win, Mary left her job as an insurance broker and started her own catering company, Perfect Day Events. #TeamMary is competing for the SickKids Foundation.

#TeamPino (Purple Apron)
Pino DiCerbo, winner of MASTERCHEF CANADA: A HOLIDAY SPECIAL, is no longer a stay-at-home dad. He now offers private chef services via Chef Pino Di Cerbo’s Cucina Rustica and cohosts a YouTube cooking show with his mother Filomena. Pino will be joined again by his mom, sister Ange, wife Anna, and sons David and Adam. #TeamPino is competing for Brandan’s Eye Research Foundation.

The culinary season continues on CTV following the premiere of MASTERCHEF CANADA: ALL-STAR FAMILY EDITION with the return of MASTERCHEF JUNIOR for its fifth season in February 2017 as a new batch of talented kids showcase their skills in the kitchen and passion for food. MASTERCHEF CANADA is also set to return in Winter 2017 for Season 4 with a new group of talented home cooks from across the country. Viewers looking to satisfy their hunger for MASTERCHEF CANADA before the series returns can stream all past seasons on CraveTVâ„¢.

The MASTERCHEF format and finished programmes are represented internationally by Endemol Shine Group, and is based on a format originally created by Franc Roddam.

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Industry News

Corner Gas, CTV, Vancouver’s Arts Club Theatre Company and Stratford Festival mourn the death of Janet Wright

From a media release:

The producers and cast of CORNER GAS, CTV, Vancouver’s Arts Club Theatre Company, and Stratford Festival extend its deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of distinguished actress and director Janet Wright.  Wright passed away this morning in Vancouver at the age of 71.

Janet played the beloved role of ‘Emma’ on CORNER GAS,  Canada’s most successful sitcom.  In 1974, Wright co-founded the Persephone Theatre In Saskatoon with Brian Richmond and Susan Wright.  The first dramaturge at Vancouver’s Arts Club Theatre Company, Wright appeared in and directed more than 40 productions for the company.  During her seven seasons at Stratford she shone as a director and in many key roles as an actress.  In 2011, Wright returned to Stratford after more than a decade away, giving an unforgettable performance as ‘Ma’ in the acclaimed production of The Grapes of Wrath and portrayed a hilarious ‘Mistress Quickly’ in the The Merry Wives of Windsor. In 2014, Wright reprised her role as ‘Emma’ in CORNER GAS: THE MOVIE, which reached more than 7 million TV viewers in Canada.

“Janet was like no other person I’ve ever met.  She had a giant wit, a giant heart, and was one of the strongest human beings to ever stride around this planet,” said Brent Butt, Creator and Executive Producer, CORNER GAS. “She was so great to work with.  When you looked at the call sheet in the morning, and saw you were doing scenes with Janet, you knew you’d be laughing that day, and probably at something terribly inappropriate.  We had this running thing, where if there was a scene with just our characters, I’d write it at the kitchen table, with our characters eating macaroni and cheese.  We were both trying to watch our weight, but she said if “our characters” were eating the stuff, it wasn’t really us.  I truly, honestly loved her.  We all did.”

“Both direct and loving, Janet was as honest in life as she was with her characters,” said Scott Henderson, Vice-President, Communications, Bell Media. “As the beloved Emma Leroy, Dog River’s frequent voice of reason on CORNER GAS, she entertained millions of Canadians with Emma’s quick wit and no-nonsense approach. We were blessed to have her as a member of the cast. She will be sorely missed by everyone at CTV and in Canada’s acting community.”

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of actress/director/multi-talented Janet Wright,” said Bill Millerd, Artistic Managing Director, Vancouver’s Arts Club Theatre Company. “She was a powerful actor and inspired director who created intelligent and challenging theatre for our audiences. We will miss her immense talent, her caustic wit, and her incredible strength in facing tragedy. Our love and condolences to the Wright family.”

“Janet was an artist on an uncompromising search for the truth in all its unvarnished beauty,” said Stratford Festival Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino, who directed Ms Wright as Ma Joad in the 2011 production of The Grapes of Wrath. “She was a profoundly talented actress, director and ?champion for the importance of the arts. I will never forget her passion and forever be inspired by her commitment to our work.”

“Janet had a huge heart and an insatiable passion for the arts,” said Alicia Jeffery, Agent with the Characters Agency. “She was a lightning rod for the truth in all her performances and in life and never ceased to mentor younger actors, both as a director and as a fellow performer.  Nothing gave her more joy in our many calls than to sing the praises of a young actor or director she’d recently worked with.  Her loss is a hole in the fabric of our community that will never be truly mended.”

In honour of Janet’s memory, CTV will rebroadcast CORNER GAS: THE MOVIE on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 8 p.m. ET.

Vancouver’s Arts Club Theatre Company will be hosting a Celebration of Life for Wright, with further details to be released.

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Industry News

Link: Award-winning Corner Gas star Janet Wright dies at 71

From the Canadian Press:

Link: Award-winning Corner Gas star Janet Wright dies at 71
Award-winning stage and screen actress Janet Wright, best known for her portrayal of the long-suffering matriarch on “Corner Gas,” has died at age 71.

Wright played Emma Leroy on the hit Canadian sitcom, which ended its six-season run in 2009, and returned with a big-screen adaptation in 2014.

Wright’s character Emma was the wife of Oscar Leroy, played by Eric Peterson, and mother to Brent, portrayed by series creator and star Brent Butt. Continue reading.

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Saving Hope

Link: Saving Hope showrunner Adam Pettle discusses the decision to end the series

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Link: Saving Hope showrunner Adam Pettle discusses the decision to end the series
“We wanted to end the series on a creative high note, and we felt that the story had run its course. We had a definite endgame in mind, and we felt the fans deserved to see the story close with a period, rather than an ellipsis.” Continue reading. 

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Saving Hope

Saving Hope says goodbye after five seasons

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From a media release:

– Season 5 will consist of 18 new episodes from ICF Films and Entertainment One, and will air as part of CTV’s 2016/17 midseason lineup –
– Erica Durance leads ensemble cast including Michael Shanks, Wendy Crewson, Michelle Nolden, Benjamin Ayres, Julia Taylor Ross, Huse Madhavji, Kim Shaw, Dejan Loyola, and Jarod Joseph –

After five seasons, a coma, a love triangle, countless ghosts and surgeries, and with more dramatic moments to come, CTV confirmed today in conjunction with ICF Films and Entertainment One (eOne) that hit original drama SAVING HOPE will conclude with its upcoming fifth season. Set to wrap production in Toronto on its 18-episode final season on Tuesday, Nov. 1, Season 5 will air as part of CTV’s 2016/17 midseason lineup. Following the broadcast of Season 5, 85 episodes of the hour-long drama will have aired since its 2012 debut. Viewers can enjoy Seasons 1-4 of SAVING HOPE streaming now on CraveTV™. Episodes of the series fourth season are also currently airing Saturdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Picking up in the aftermath of the heart-stopping Season 4 finale, in which a vengeful Tom Crenshaw (Travis Milne, ROOKIE BLUE) appeared at the Hope Zion Hospital Fellowship Awards and fired a shot at Alex (Erica Durance) and Charlie (Michael Shanks), Season 5 of SAVING HOPE sees the Hope Zion staff thrust into turmoil. As Alex faces a big decision, her fellow doctors deal with new challenges as changes come to Hope Zion that will not only affect the livelihood of the hospital, but also its doctors and everything they hold dear.

At the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards, SAVING HOPE was a Best Dramatic Series nominee as well as finalist for the Golden Screen Award for most-watched Canadian drama. Additionally, Julia Taylor Ross was a nominee in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Series category, while Michelle Nolden won Best Performance in a Program or Series Produced for Digital Media for her role in SAVING HOPE’s companion digital series PSYCHIC HEALING.

SAVING HOPE stars Canadian Screen Award nominee Erica Durance (SMALLVILLE) as Dr. Alex Reid; Michael Shanks (STARGATE SG-1) as Dr. Charlie Harris; Canadian Screen Award-winner and 2016 Earle Grey Award recipient Wendy Crewson (Room) as Dr. Dana Kinney; Benjamin Ayres (BITTEN) as Dr. Zach Miller; Canadian Screen Award nominee Julia Taylor Ross (GOTHAM) as Dr. Maggie Lin; Canadian Screen Award-winner Michelle Nolden (Prisoner X) as Dr. Dawn Bell; Huse Madhavji (CALL ME FITZ) as Dr. Shahir Hamza; Kim Shaw (THE GOOD WIFE) as Dr. Cassie Williams, Dejan Loyola (THE 100) as Dr. Dev Sekara, and Jarod Joseph (MISTRESSES) as Dr. Emanuel Palmer.

SAVING HOPE is produced by ICF Films with eOne in association with CTV, with the participation of the Canada Media Fund and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit. SAVING HOPE airs on ION Television in the U.S.

The series is executive produced by Ilana Frank, John Morayniss, and Linda Pope, and co-executive produced by Noelle Carbone, Patrick Tarr, Jocelyn Hamilton, and Sonia Hosko. Adam Pettle is Executive Producer and Showrunner.

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