From Katie Bailey of RealScreen:
Link: Boat Rocker acquires Proper Television, Proper Rights
The business that high-profile producer Guy O’Sullivan built and fostered for 13 years will have new life going forward, as news broke Monday (September 25) that Boat Rocker Media has acquired the company. Continue reading.
Mary Berg won Season 3 of MasterChef Canada, but she’s only beginning her culinary adventure. The energetic insurance broker from Pickering, Ont., captured the grand prize on Sunday night by beating Jeremy Senaris with her cohesive three-course creations. But winning the series, a trophy and $100,000 is just a launch pad for Berg, who plots to run her own catering business … and perhaps return to television.
“I have a project in development with Bell Media and Proper Television and we’ll see where that goes,” Berg says with a smile during an interview Monday afternoon. “I met with Proper Television and was showing them some photos and they sat me down and approached me.” Berg is mum on anymore details regarding the potential television project, but does plan to continue catering. Sunday’s season finale broadcast didn’t stop her from catering an event for 29 on Saturday night.
Regarding her three-course finale of golden beet borscht, surf and turf and blueberry financier, Berg plotted the meal once she’d made the Top 5 so she’d be prepared, using the inspiration of her family as the basis for her choices. Being prepared was never an issue for Berg, but being too adventurous was. Case in point? Deciding to create four different eclairs in an Elimination Challenge that put her on the cusp of going home.
“As soon as I started that challenge I thought, ‘Mary, you idiot, why are you doing this?’ but I had decided and once you make a decision like that you just have to go with it,” she says with a laugh. “And even though I look frazzled, I get it done.” Berg was in the bottom two a second time this season after leaving a bone in the fish she’d prepared; she still has that piece of bone.
But that’s all in the past. Berg is eying future prospects … and finally getting her hands on the trophy after it was taken away at the conclusion of filming.
“I know where I’m going to put that,” Berg says. “In my house, on the speaker for my record player. It’s very central. I don’t have trophies, this is my first, and I’m going to place it somewhere noticeable.”
From a media release:
Proper Television announced today that Vegas Rat Rods Season 3 is in production with ten new, one-hour episodes for Discovery Canada and Discovery US. The third season of the internationally acclaimed series continues to follow Steve Darnell and his merry band of misfits as the Welderup gang creates 10 more killer vehicles that are bold, bitchin’ and badass. Production of Season 3 begins after a successful year of international sales with Seasons 1 and 2, now airing in over 180 territories across the globe.
Having spent the past two decades scouring the desert around Vegas for cars, parts and rusty inspiration, Steve is starting to realize many of his reliable stomping grounds have been picked dry. With more clients seeking out Steve’s expertise, Season 3 finds him venturing further and further afield to find his rusty relics, which means he needs to trust the rest of the Welderup crew to look after the shop. The crew must adapt to a new way of doing business in order to stay on schedule and on budget while taking the creativity of the builds to the next level.
Produced by Proper Television, Guy O’Sullivan (Canada’s Worst Driver) serves as Executive Producer and Barry Davis (Canada’s Smartest Person) as Series Producer. Vegas Rat Rods is an original production produced for Discovery Canada and Discovery US. For Discovery Canada, Bruce Glawson is Executive Producer and Edwina Follows is Director of Production. For Discovery US, Mitchell Rosenbaum and John Slaughter serve as Executive Producers. Proper Rights oversees international distribution on Vegas Rat Rods.
From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:
Women Behind Canadian TV: Cathie James
“I’m not trying to make any kind of statement in my hiring, but I have found in this business, that for this kind of television, on the story side of it, I think women just have a greater affinity for shaping this material. We are dealing with real people and a lot of our job is just listening to them and getting them to tell us, in the most honest and compelling way, their stories. I hate to generalize but that is just something that female culture is more in tune to. We are listeners. I’ve found that sometimes when I’ve put men in those roles they just aren’t as interested in the material.” Continue reading.Â
From a media release:
It’s turbo speed ahead as Steve Darnell and his Welder Up’ gang return to Sin City for a second season of VEGAS RAT RODS, featuring 10 killer new vehicles that are bold, bitchin’, and definitely badass. Premiering Thursday, Jan. 7 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Discovery, the 10-part original Canadian series from Toronto’s Proper Television (CANADA’S WORST DRIVER and MASTERCHEF CANADA) follows Darnell and his crew at their custom car shop as they create rolling works of art from everyone else’s junk. This season showcases builds created in the spirit of rat rods that are bigger, badder and breaking the mold. Sometimes the best action in Vegas happens off the strip!
In the Season 2 premiere of VEGAS RAT RODS, “Wagon Rod†(Thursday, Jan. 7 at9 p.m. ET/PT), Darnell is asked to transform a Chevy wagon into something faster and meaner, complete with a corvette suspension, a new LS3 engine, and all the modern conveniences any family man could ask for. The Welderup crew makes this Wagon Rod a kind of Jekyll-and-Hyde creation: badass to the eye, but comfortable enough to throw in the kids and dog for a weekend of adventure. Twiggy takes on a new responsibility as “parts girl,†but Steve puts a wrench in her first assignment. And new guy Grant is brought on board to help with the heavy workload, and naturally the crew initiates him. Click HERE for a sneak peek of VEGAS RAT RODS.
Also, on Thursday Jan. 7 on Discovery, MEGASPEED, produced by Bell Media’s own Exploration Production Inc., returns for a third season at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT. A six-episode documentary series, the Canadian original circuits the globe from Jamaica to Iceland and Belgium, profiling personalities from the world’s most iconic motorsports events.
This season features a wide variety of dreamers and schemers, including a visit to the home of Craig Jackson, CEO of Barrett Jackson, for a private tour of his extensive vehicle collection and one-of-a-kind garage. When Jackson isn’t running his world famous Barrett Jackson car auctions, returning to Scottsdale Jan. 23-31 (airing on Discovery Velocity), he’s out driving rare, exotic cars.
In the Season 3 premiere of MEGASPEED, “Rolex 24†(Thursday, Jan. 7 at 11 p.m.ET/8 p.m. PT on Discovery and Saturday, Jan. 9 at 7 p.m. ET/10 p.m. PT on Velocity), Wayne Taylor Racing is the underdog heading into The Rolex 24 At Daytona, the first auto race on the North American racing calendar. The race, two times around the clock, is a test of endurance, perseverance, and mental toughness with 67 cars sharing the narrow, high-banked tri-oval of the Daytona International Speedway. And later, viewers get a behind-the-scenes look at the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Flat Track Championship, and meet a Hollywood fabricator who makes hot rod dreams come true. Click HERE for a sneak peek ofMEGASPEED.
VEGAS RAT RODS is produced for Discovery by Toronto’s Proper Television. The series is executive produced by Guy O’Sullivan. Jennifer Scott is the Series Producer. For Discovery, Ken MacDonald is Vice-President and General Manager, Discovery. Tracey Pearce is Senior Vice-President, Specialty and Pay, Bell Media.
