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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

CBC competition series Best in Miniature returns for Season 3 on December 26

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From a media release:

BEST IN MINIATURE (8×60) is back with 10 exceptionally talented miniaturists from Canada and abroad, promising a season of unrivaled creativity and innovation. Season 3 premieres Tuesday, December 26, with all episodes available to stream at 9 am ET on CBC Gem, followed by daily back-to-back episodes on CBC TV beginning Tuesday, December 26 through Friday, December 29 at 8 pm (8:30 NT) and 9 pm (9:30 NT).

This season, the 10 miniaturists will unleash their creative superpowers, crafting petite wonders in 1/12 scale, as time ticks away. In each episode, the judges will decide whose delicate dreams have come to an end, and who’s got what it takes to move forward for the chance to claim a prestigious residency and $10,000. The miniaturists better not get worked up over the minor details because if they survive the chopping block, they’ll score the ultimate prize.

Actor and stand-up comedian Aba Amuquandoh returns as host, alongside judges, UK miniature expert Emma Waddell, and esteemed Canadian interior designer and entrepreneur Micheal Lambie.

Meet the Season 3 competitors vying to be crowned Best in Miniature, including five Canadians:

Shelley Acker from Kentville, Nova Scotia has been making miniatures for almost 25 years and is the owner of Freedom Miniatures, a full-service miniatures and hobbies store. Shelley’s skills in miniatures were showcased as one of two Art Directors on the 2022 multi-award-winning documentary feature film Bernie Langille Wants to Know what Happened to Bernie Langille.

Jen Arnold from Winnipeg, Manitoba is a full-time social worker, who finds her strength in the time she spends building hand-held memories, and considers her art as her own form of self-care. Her work has been featured in The Winnipeg Free Press, Global News Morning Winnipeg, Winnipeg radio station 680 CJOB, CBC Radio Information Morning, as well as in the Lac Du Bonnet and Manitoba Clipper.

Lance Cardinal from Bigstone Cree Nation in Alberta is a First Nations 2-Spirit artist, designer and television personality, who has quickly become one of the province’s leading First Nation artists and entrepreneurs. His 30-year journey has allowed him to work with world-class organizations all over Canada, including The Edmonton Oilers, IKEA Edmonton, Kunitz Shoes, Rugby Canada, Unbelts, Telus World of Science, Rogers Place, Fort Edmonton Park, and Re/Max Field.

Tiffany Monk is originally from England and now lives in Sutton, Quebec. Tiffany is a versatile multidisciplinary artist with a background in prop making, sculpting and model making for film. She has worked on a number of diverse film and TV projects in both England and Canada including John Carter, The 100 and a number of independent stop-motion animation films and projects.

Arline Smith is from the UK and now lives in Port Hope, Ontario. She is a many-faceted artist and has spent the past fifty years creating everything from a pea to an elephant. After graduating from Liverpool College of Art, she joined The Royal Shakespeare Company as a costumier and worked alongside Sir Ben Kingsley and Dames Helen Mirren and Judy Dench.

In the lead up to the Season 3 premiere, Miniature enthusiasts can catch up on Seasons 1 & 2 on CBC Gem.

BEST IN MINIATURE is produced by marblemedia, a Blue Ant Media company, in association with CBC. Matt Hornburg, Mark Bishop, Diane Rankin and Donna Luke are executive producers; Erica Lenczner is series producer; the series is created by development producer Kelsey Espensen. 

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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Marblemedia’s critically-acclaimed Netflix hit competition series, Blown Away is set to return this fall for Season 4 with Blown Away: Extreme Heat

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From a media release:

Blown Away is back and things are about to get EXTREME. We’re going bigger, badder, and bolder than ever in North America’s largest hot shop. Ten incredible glassblowers will try and brave the heat in a grueling competition to see if they can push their creative limits enough to win the largest grand prize in the history of the series.

The artists must create jaw dropping works of art if they want to avoid elimination and impress Resident Evaluator and Glass Master Katherine Gray. Hosted by Hunter March, Blown Away: Extreme Heat promises to be a fiery competition like no other.

About the new host:
Currently, Hunter is hosting the fourth season of Netflix’s BLOWN AWAY: EXTREME HEAT, a one-of-a-kind glassblowing competition. Most recently before this, Hunter was the host of E!’s late-night talk show NIGHTLY POP, where he and co-hosts Morgan Stewart & Nina Parker attacked top headlines and juicy gossip without the boundaries of daytime television. For over 650 episodes, their snarky banter and humorous anecdotes often veered from the unexpected to completely outrageous. March also served as host of Netflix’s wildly popular competition show SUGAR RUSH, which pits best-in-class bakers against one another. Prior to that, Hunter served as the witty host of the comedic gameshow EMOGENIUS for GSN. Finally, Hunter also hosts his own weekly relationship advice podcast, FRIENDS WITHOUT BENS, with co-host Alex Ovadia.

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Industry News

The Jim Henson Company & marblemedia to develop new original live-action comedy series, Felix

From a media release:

Award-winning global production company, marblemedia, and The Jim Henson Company, an established leader in innovative and iconic entertainment, are partnering once again, this time on the original scripted comedy series, Felix (10×30), which will break new ground by debunking the stereotypes and stigmatization around neurodiversity and mental health challenges among children.

Created by Miklos Perlus, and inspired by his neurodivergent son, Felix is a live action comedy about a boy, his family, and his “feels” – five original characters to be created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop™ that manifest his larger-than-life emotions. They live in his house; they follow him to school; they eat all the good snacks; they’re like the worst pets ever. And now that Felix attends a school for neurodivergent kids like him, he’s finally learning how to live with his very real emotions.

“We could think of no better partner on this project than The Jim Henson Company to join us in creating a transformative family television series”, explains A.J. Trauth, VP Kids at marblemedia. “We share a desire to bring the much-needed conversation around children’s mental health directly to audiences across North America, and the world. Miklos has expertly crafted an authentic, optimistic, and hilarious story about this very important topic.”

“For generations, the art of puppetry has helped us process our thoughts and feelings. By authentically depicting the nuanced and complex ways that neurodivergent children experience the world, Felix will use comedy and a cast of original hilarious characters to introduce audiences to new ways of thinking, reducing the stigma around mental health and inspiring families to improve their own communication,” said Halle Stanford, President of Television for The Jim Henson Company.

marblemedia and The Jim Henson Company have partnered previously on live-action preschool series Hi Opie!, in 2014 and its spin-off Opie’s Home in 2016.

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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

marblemedia heads back into the world of miniatures with Season 2 of Best in Miniature

From a media release:

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.

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Children's Programming

Season 5 of marblemedia’s All-Around Champion scores premiere dates

From a media release:

Award-winning global media company, marblemedia along with broadcast partners BYUtv (US) and TVOkids (Canada) announce their premiere dates for season 5 of the high-octane series All-Round Champion. Season 5 is set to air first on BYUtv on Sunday, January 15 at 5pm PT, followed by TVOkids on Wednesday, February 8 at 5pm ET. This latest season comes at the heels of the series winning Best Children’s or Youth Non-Fiction Program or Series at the 2022 Canadian Screen Awards.

For the first time in All-Round Champion history, Season 5 will feature a cast fully comprised of para-athletes—competitors with physical disabilities. However, true to the format, they won’t be competing in their own sports; they’ll be competing in each other’s to see how proficient they can become in a new sport in a short period of time. To reach this goal, they must excel beyond their own expectations. They must learn new skills, persevere, overcome their own physical and mental limits, and most importantly, adapt their abilities to the sport and the sports’ equipment. The athlete with the most points at the end of the season will be crowned the All-Round Champion!

The talented athletes and their sports this season are Brayden Butler (Climbing), Bradley Pedrick (Sailing), Dominic Demaio (Rowing), Gurnoor Chouhan (Goalball), Jackson Atwood (Wheelchair Basketball), Lily Brook (Adaptive Boxing), Maggie Manning (Sledge Hockey), Momo Sutton (Swimming), and Samantha Fraser (Track).

The 10-episode, 60-minute series is hosted by Olympian and World Champion Perdita Felicien, who brings mentorship to the young athletes, along with weekly sports stars that coach and encourage the participants through their respective sports. For this fifth season, some of the sports stars include Britain’s most successful Paralympic sailor, Helena Lucas; four-time Paralympic swimming gold medalist, McKenzie Coan; 31-time Canadian track champion, Josh Cassidy; and Matt Scott, a two-time Paralympic champion in wheelchair basketball and the first disabled athlete featured in a Nike commercial.

All-Round Champion is adapted from the wildly successful Norwegian Best i mest (NRK), which won an International Emmy Kids Award for Non-Scripted Entertainment, as well as a Prix Jeunesse. marblemedia was granted North American format rights from Beta Film.

Executive Producers of the series include Matthew Hornburg, Mark J.W. Bishop, Steve Sloan, and co-Executive Producer Donna Luke for marblemedia, Jeff Simpson and Andra Johnson Duke for BYUtv, and Kirsten Hurd for TVO. Perdita Felicien also serves as Producer.

Image courtesy of Mark Owens.

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