From Etan Vlessing of The Hollywood Reporter:
Link: ‘Orphan Black’ maker buys majority stake in ‘SCTV’ reunion co-producer Insight
Orphan Black producer Boat Rocker Media has nabbed a majority stake in rival Canadian producer Insight Productions.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Insight’s founder and CEO John Brunton will continue to lead the company under the Boat Rocker banner. Continue reading.
From a media release:
Netflix today announced that Academy Award-winning director, producer and screenwriter Martin Scorsese will direct an untitled Netflix original comedy special exploring the enduring legacy of Emmy-winning sketch comedy show SCTV.
Scorsese will reunite comedy legends and former SCTV co-stars Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short and Dave Thomas in front of a live audience for An Afternoon with SCTV, moderated by Jimmy Kimmel. To be held at Toronto’s historic Elgin Theatre on Sunday, May 13 at 3 p.m., the filming will be part of the Netflix special, produced by longtime SCTV Producer Andrew Alexander of Second City, Emma Tillinger Koskoff of Sikelia Productions and Lindsay Cox of Insight Productions.
Canadian classic SCTV aired for six seasons between 1976 and 1984, quickly becoming one of pop culture’s touchstone comedies. The series’ stars include some of the most beloved and celebrated names in laughter, including the late John Candy and Harold Ramis.
Photo credit: Cara Howe for Netflix
From a media release:
#BBCAN fans can finally mark their calendars as Global announces broadcast details for juggernaut reality series Big Brother Canada, premiering Wednesday, March 7 at 7 p.m. ET/PT. With three recent Canadian Screen Award (CSA) nominations – including Best Reality/Competition Series – the perennial fan favourite returns three nights a week on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. ET/PT, Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT, and Mondays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Global. Building off of the powerful response from #BBCAN fans, viewers can expect Season 6 to deliver big twists, staggering challenges, and of course, lots of drama.
Once again in Season 6, Big Brother Canada selects a group of hand-picked strangers from their homes, sequesters them from the outside world, and places them inside a house outfitted wall-to-wall with cameras and microphones that capture their every move. Competing for a grand cash prize, each week the houseguests battle in a series of challenges that give them power or punishment, voting each other out until the fate of the final two is decided by a jury of fellow houseguests.
Also returning this season is host Arisa Cox who is currently up for the CSA’s Audience Choice Award. Beginning tomorrow, fans can continue to place their vote by clicking here.
Leading up to the premiere on March 7, fans can get their Big Brother fix during a new episode of Big Brother: Celebrity Edition tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Global. Viewers can tune in four nights a week over two-and-a-half weeks until the winner is crowned during the finale on Sunday, February 25 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
Additional details about Big Brother Canada Season 6, including this season’s houseguest reveal and the grand prize, will be announced in the coming weeks.
From a media release:
Insight Productions has partnered with Steve Nash of Meathawk Productions to develop Hardwood at CBC, a one-hour, character-driven drama series set in the world of youth basketball, Shannon Farr, Vice President & Supervising Producer, Insight Production Company Ltd., announced today.
Hardwood (working title) follows a flashy, big-city entrepreneur who opens an elite youth basketball academy in a sleepy farming town in exurban Toronto. Skander Halim (Pretty Persuasion, 18 To Life) created the series and is writing the pilot.
Farr (Falcon Beach and The Jon Dore Television Show) recently opened Insight’s Los Angeles office – a move that is part of Insight’s strategy to increase its scripted development and production slate as it looks to grow the company and expand its global business.
Hardwood is executive produced by Insight Production’s John Brunton and Barbara Bowlby, alongside Steve Nash and Ezra Holland of Meathawk Productions and Skander Halim. Shannon Farr is Supervising Producer.
