Tag Archives: Still Standing

CBC’s Still Standing kicks off Season 3 in Fort McMurray

It isn’t within Still Standing‘s guidelines to visit a place like Fort McMurray. After all, one of the stand-up/documentary hybrid’s keystones is to visit small communities across the country and Fort McMurray’s population is over 61,000. But the other rule is to focus on an area hit by hard times, and you don’t get much harder hit than the Alberta town which saw much of its area consumed by wildfires.

Returning with two back-to-back episodes on Tuesday at 8 p.m. on CBC, Harris and his crew stop in Fort McMurray during the first half-hour before jetting to Bell Island, Nfld, for the second instalment.

“We thought the story [in Fort McMurray] was so compelling and important that, with the one-year anniversary of the evacuation coming up [for filming], it was a story we could tell,” Harris told us during CBC’s upfront media day. Harris, his writers and producers spent several days in the area, interacting with folks and preparing original standup material to be performed for the community. Rewatching video of the events of May 3, 2016, brings the seriousness of the situation to light. It’s not, you’d think, something folks would want to laugh about. But they do, whether it’s at Harris’ suggestion some folks’ sins brought hell upon them or his own admission he’d freak out during an emergency.

But the episode is as much about joking about the situation as it is about the little triumphs and “disasterhood.” People offered up food, clothing, water and rooms to those affected by the conflagration. And, over a year later, the community is rebuilding, burgeoning and offering surprises.

“I was amazed by how multicultural it is there,” he Harris says. “I’ve met people from every corner of the globe in Fort McMurray and it doesn’t have that rough and tumble, work camp sort of feel. It’s got great restaurants and a healthier art scene than you might expect.”

The mark of a community getting back on its feet.

Still Standing airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on CBC.

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CBC renews Still Standing and Baroness von Sketch Show

From a media release:

CBC today announced the renewal of its acclaimed original series STILL STANDING and BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW. Starring comedian Jonny Harris and winner of the 2016 Canadian Screen Award for Best Factual Series, STILL STANDING has been renewed for a third season (13 x 30). Production is currently underway. All-female sketch comedy series BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW (6 x 30), which made its debut in June, has been renewed for season 2 (7 x 30) and will begin production this fall. Produced by Frantic Films in association with CBC, both series will return with new seasons in 2017.

STILL STANDING – Season 2 continues with all-new episodes Tuesdays at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT)
STILL STANDING follows Canadian comedian Jonny Harris (Murdoch Mysteries) as he explores the country, veering off the main highway to discover the hidden comedy in Canada’s far-flung small towns. Each week, Jonny takes a hilarious and heart-warming journey to find humour in the unlikeliest of places — small towns on the ropes. After immersing himself in the lives of local characters and unearthing the tall tales in these tiny towns, Jonny delivers a rousing original stand-up comedy routine — a toast, not a roast — for the whole community. Upcoming episodes include a visit to Canada’s most northerly mosque in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, sharp-shooting with a former Olympian in Omemee, Ontario, and welcoming a recently-arrived Syrian family in Mabou, Nova Scotia.

Baroness

BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW – Season 1 finale airs tonight, Tuesday, July 19 at 9:30 p.m. (10 NT)
BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW is an all-female, single-camera sketch comedy series that takes a fresh look at the world’s narcissistic contemporary culture. Fast-paced and irreverent, the series celebrates the absurd, mines the embarrassing and satirizes daily lives. Drawing on 15 years of comedy experience and multiple collaborations, the award-winning, talented team of Carolyn Taylor, Meredith MacNeill, Aurora Browne and Jennifer Whalen are the writers, stars and executive producers.

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Still Standing celebrates more Canadian small towns in Season 2

Jonny Harris is back with Still Standing, celebrating small-town Canada with big laughs. Returning Tuesday with what’s quickly becoming a summer staple for CBC, the likable Harris sheds his Constable Crabtree duds and spikes his hair to hit the road, shining a spotlight on communities of folks ekeing out a living in the place they call home.

Tuesday’s return finds the young Newfoundlander in British Columbia, where the 800 citizens of Skidegate are struggling to keep their Haida culture intact amid a history of boom and bust.

Shop owner Rose Russ discusses the local artisans, tourism and an economy that once did well thanks to fishing and logging; Haida elder Diane Brown gives a history of the area and reveals she is one of a mere handful who still know their ancient language; and Jags tells of the once-thriving community of Skedans that was decimated by smallpox.

As with Season 1, Harris successfully tells the history of the community he’s visiting without a hint of malice. He’s there to point out the hard and good times, but there’s no meanness in his comedy. There are references to Europeans arriving in the area and promptly stealing totem poles (“How are you going to show that off to your friends and not look like a complete a-hole?”). And it’s not all bad news in Skidegate: Ben Davidson is a renowned local artist creating Haidi works, a heritage centre promises to educate the youth on their history and language and the Skidegate Saints kick butt on the basketball court.

Upcoming stops in Still Standing‘s season include Omemee, Ont., Inuvik, NWT., and Georgetown, PEI.

Still Standing airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on CBC.

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Comments and queries for the week of May 20

CBC unveils its 2016 summer schedule

It’s a good schedule, but I was hoping for a second run of This Life. Also, the upcoming drama Shoot the Messenger was previously announced as a summer show but it didn’t make the cut. I will watch Still Standing and When Calls the Heart, plus I will check out Four in the Morning and Baroness Von Sketch Show. —Alicia O


Murdoch Mysteries‘ Season 9 and what’s to come in Season 10

I LOVE, and repeatedly re-watch, every episode of all nine seasons! Great entertainment! Amazing cast! Extremely creative plots! (Except there was just too much of the James Gillies character for me.) There is SO much fun in this show, even in some of the seemingly minor details! (Like Brackenreid’s barber—who gets rich by investing—being played on the show by the author of the best-selling book The Wealthy Barber!) But I do have one question: what about Terrence Meyers? I guess we are to assume his rocket ride was fatal, but sometimes I wonder. —LAL


Canada AM‘s Jeff Hutcheson announces retirement

The only reason we watch the show is because of Jeff’s calm, personable, subtle humour. He is a great presenter, announcer, weatherman and the best interviewer on the show. How will you replace that? All the best to him in his retirement. Our mornings will not be the same. —Elaine

Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? greg@tv-eh.com or via Twitter @tv_eh.

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CBC unveils its 2016 summer schedule with five new primetime series

From a media release:

CBC Television today unveiled its summer 2016 schedule with five new series, returning home-grown hits and comprehensive coverage of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The prime-time schedule includes comedies Baroness von Sketch Show and Four In The Morning; international crime drama Follow The Money; inspiring docu-series The Special Needs Hotel; political thriller Undercover; Firsthand documentary special Perfect; CBC documentary special Newfoundland at Armageddon; popular returning series Still Standing with Jonny Harris; new episodes of the Ha!ifax Comedy Fest hosted by Mark Critch; and When Calls The Heart, based on the bestselling novel by Janette Oke. CBC will also showcase a roster of Canadian movies on Saturday nights this summer, including Passchendaele, Monsieur Lazhar, John A: Birth of a Country, Uvanga and more.

The CBC-TV prime-time summer programming schedule is listed below, along with synopses for new series and returning favourites with summer premieres.

MONDAY
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) — Murdoch Mysteries season 9 (encores)

9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — Book of Negroes (encores begin June 20)

9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — Undercover (premieres August 22) *NEW SERIES*

TUESDAY
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) — Rick Mercer Report season 13 (encores begin June 14)

8:30 p.m. (9 NT) — This Hour Has 22 Minutes season 23 (encores begin June 14)

9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — Still Standing season 2 (beginning June 14) *NEW SEASON*

9:30 p.m. (10 NT) — Baroness von Sketch Show (premieres June 14) *NEW SERIES*

9:30 p.m. (10 NT) — Ha!ifax Comedy Fest (beginning August 2) *NEW EPISODES*

WEDNESDAY
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) — Dragons’ Den season 10 (encores begin June 22)

9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — The Romeo Section season 1 (encores begin July 6)

THURSDAY
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) — The Nature of Things (encores begin June 23)

8 p.m. (8:30 NT) — The Special Needs Hotel (premieres August 25) *NEW SERIES*

9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — Keeping Canada Alive (encores begin June 16)

9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — Newfoundland at Armageddon (June 30) *NEW CBC DOCUMENTARY SPECIAL*

9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — Perfect (August 4) *NEW FIRSTHAND DOCUMENTARY SPECIAL*

9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — Firsthand (encores begin August 25)

FRIDAY
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) — Schitt’s Creek season 2 (encores begin June 17)

8:30 p.m. (9 NT) — This Hour Has 22 Minutes season 23 (encores begin June 17)

9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — Mr. D season 5 (encores begin June 17 until July 29)

9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — Four In The Morning (premieres August 26) *NEW SERIES*

9:30 p.m. (10 NT) — Mr. D season 5 (encores begin June 17 until July 29)

9:30 p.m. (10 NT) — Raised By Wolves (encores begin August 26)

SATURDAY
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) — Murdoch Mysteries season 9 (encores)

9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — Follow the Money (premieres June 18) *NEW SERIES*

SUNDAY
7 p.m. (7:30 NT) — Heartland season 9 (encores begin June 19)

8 p.m. (8:30 NT) — When Calls the Heart season 2 (beginning June 19)*NEW SEASON*

9 p.m. (9:30 NT) — Baroness von Sketch Show encores (encores begin June 19)

9:30 p.m. (10 NT) — Still Standing season 2 encores (encores begin June 19)

CBC-TV SUMMER 2016 PRIMETIME PROGRAMMING SYNOPSES:

BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW — New Comedy Series
Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. (10 NT) beginning June 14

6×30 (Frantic Films)

This all-female, single-camera sketch comedy series takes a fresh look at the world’s narcissistic contemporary culture. Fast-paced and irreverent, Baroness von Sketch Show celebrates the absurd, mines the embarrassing and satirizes daily lives. Drawing on 15 years of comedy experience and multiple collaborations, the award-winning talents of Carolyn Taylor, Meredith MacNeill, Aurora Browne and Jennifer Whalen have teamed up once again as writers, stars and executive producers of this new series. Shot entirely on location in Toronto, the series is insightful and emotionally grounded while offering a witty take on everyday concerns. From the politics of ordering a coffee to entitled co-workers and open relationships, this satirical sketch show holds a fun-house mirror up to modern life.

FOLLOW THE MONEY — New Drama Series

Saturdays at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) beginning June 18

10×60 (Acquired from DRTV)

Follow the Money is a Danish drama that takes audiences into the world of economic crime, following swindlers and corporate moguls and the crimes they commit in the pursuit of wealth. When the body of a man is washed ashore near a wind farm, police detective Mads (Thomas Bo Larson) is called out to investigate. At first, it merely looks like an industrial accident, but the case implicates those in the upper echelons of Energreen — one of Denmark’s most successful energy companies. The CEO of Energreen is the charismatic Sander (Nikolaj Lie Kaas), and young lawyer Claudia (Natalie Madueño) is working hard to advance in the company. Nicky (Esben Smed), a former car thief and mechanic, works at his father-in-law’s garage. He has put his life of crime behind him for his girlfriend’s sake, but his new colleague Bimse (Lucas Hansen) tempts Nicky with a chance to make a quick buck. Set in the worlds of both economic and violent street crime, Follow the Money tells the stories of the rich, the poor, the greedy and the fraudulent — people who will go to any lengths to build the lives of their dreams.

FOUR IN THE MORNING — New Comedy Series

Fridays at 9 p.m. (9:30NT) beginning August 26

8×30 (Serendipity Point Films)

Four in the Morning is an edgy comedy that follows four friends in their twenties as they navigate life at the unpredictable, emotional and bewitching hour of 4 a.m. Dealing with themes of life and death, love and heartbreak, friendship and betrayal, it’s a series about self-discovery, disappointment and clawing after dreams that always feel out of reach. The series is created by Ira Parker, who also holds an executive producer credit alongside Ari Lantos, Jeff Sagansky, Mark Musselman and Matt Geller.

HA!IFAX COMEDY FEST — New Episodes

Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. (10 NT) beginning August 2

6×30 (Pilot Light Productions)

The Ha!ifax Comedy Fest cracks like a whip and moves like a bullet. Hosted by the ever-funny Mark Critch (This Hour has 22 Minutes) and featuring more than 60 stand-up performances, the series was shot in various locations around Halifax and crisply edited into six half-hour episodes. This season features 30 Canadian and international comedians, including festival favourites Lachlan Patterson (Last Comic Standing), Gemini Award-winner Nikki Payne, Graham Chittenden, Tim Nutt, Erica Sigurdson, newcomers Matt Wright, Sean Emeny and Daniel Tirado, and comedy legends Harland Williams and Caroline Rhea.

NEWFOUNDLAND AT ARMAGEDDON — New CBC Documentary Special

Thursday, June 30 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT)

1×120 (Gala Films and Morag Loves Company)

Newfoundland at Armageddon tells the epic story of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment and its bloody destruction on the morning of July 1, 1916, a battle that led to enormous consequences on the life of Newfoundlanders. On July 1st 1916, 800 soldiers of the Newfoundland regiment rose from St. John’s Road trench and marched into no man’s land. “We died like tethered goats,” recalled one officer. Less than 35 minutes later almost every Newfoundlander was wounded or dead. As the boy soldiers suffered, so did the heroic women of their lives – who somehow picked up the scattered pieces. How the women did it is central to the story at the heart of this tragedy.

PERFECT — New Firsthand Documentary Special

Thursday, August 4 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT)

1×60 (Rapide-Blanc)

Perfect follows Canada’s national synchronized swimming team as they strive to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Shot over the course of a year and benefiting from exclusive access to the team, it reveals a world of extraordinary sacrifice and determination. Combining the beauty of dance with the intensity of swimming, this sport not only demands a staggering level of athleticism and artistry, it also requires that a team be physically homogenous: virtual clones of the same ideal body. As these young athletes aim for the world’s podiums, they must strive to maintain their health and self-esteem.

RIO 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES

Aug. 5–21 beginning at 7 a.m. ET (4 a.m. PT) each day

The Rio 2016 Olympic Games will be CBC/Radio-Canada’s 20th as Canada’s Olympic Network and the first Olympic Games hosted by a South American city. Including Team Canada, approximately 10,500 athletes representing 206 countries will be in Rio de Janeiro this summer to compete in 306 medal events. As Canada’s Olympic Network, CBC/Radio-Canada, along with primary broadcast partners TSN, RDS as well as Sportsnet, will provide the most innovative and accessible Olympic Games coverage ever made available to Canadians. With more than 1275 combined hours of television coverage and more than 4000 hours of live streaming and innovative virtual reality experiences, Canadians will enjoy Rio 2016 like no Olympic Games before. Details of CBC/Radio-Canada’s programming plans for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games from September 7–18, 2016 will be announced in the coming months.

STILL STANDING –  Season 2 — New Season

Tuesdays at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) beginning June 14

13×30 (Frantic Films)

Follow Canadian comedian Jonny Harris (Murdoch Mysteries) as he sets off yet again, veering off the main highway to discover the hidden comedy in Canada’s far-flung small towns. Each week, Jonny takes a hilarious and heart-warming journey to find humour in the unlikeliest of places — small towns on the ropes. After immersing himself in the lives of local characters and unearthing the tall tales in these tiny towns, Jonny delivers a rousing original stand-up comedy routine — a toast, not a roast — for the whole community. From coast to coast to coast, Still Standing showcases Canada’s vast beauty and highlights the country’s unique and diverse characters. Viewers ride shotgun with Jonny at the wheel on the ultimate cross-country road trip. In season 2, Jonny makes doughnuts in the Haida community of Skidegate B.C., trades stories with Neil Young’s childhood friend Goof in Omemee, Ontario, visits the world’s most northerly mosque in Inuvik, N.W.T., joins a seniors’ ukulele group in Georgetown, P.E.I., — and much more.

THE SPECIAL NEEDS HOTEL — New Factual Series

Thursdays at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) beginning August 25

3×60 (Acquired from Sky Vision)

The Special Needs Hotel follows Foxes Academy, a remarkable organization that gives young people with learning difficulties the opportunity to train to work in the hospitality industry. In this charming and light-hearted series from the U.K., viewers meet extraordinary young people as they progress through the unique academy, which includes working in the academy’s Foxes Hotel. The hotel is open to the public and competes for customers, and must be at the top of its game while staffed by this eclectic group of students. This inspiring documentary series follows both the missteps and triumphs of this extraordinary group and the staff who help them every step of the way.

UNDERCOVER — New Drama Series

Mondays at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) beginning August 22

6×60 (Acquired from BBCWW)

Undercover is a six-part political thriller from BBC/BBC America created by Peter Moffat. The series follows Maya (Sophie Okonedo), a barrister in London, who is at the very top of her profession and about to become the first black director of public prosecutions. But just as her life comes under intense public scrutiny, Maya discovers that her husband, Nick (Adrian Lester), has been lying to her for 20 years. Their stable and loving home life is deeply under threat as a result. At the same time, a case that has dominated her career is about to reach its conclusion. Rudy Jones (Dennis Haysbert), a black man in America, is wrongly convicted of murdering a white politician and soon to be executed. As she fights to save Rudy and discovers more about her husband’s past, Maya begins to realize there are bigger forces at work. An intricate web of corruption involving members of the police, the press and politicians unfolds.

WHEN CALLS THE HEART – Season 2 — New Season

Sundays at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) beginning June 19

10×60 (Acquired from Mindset Television)

Based on the bestselling novel by Janette Oke, season 2 of When Calls The Heart follows the residents of Coal Valley as they navigate matters of the heart during uncertain times in the wake of the mine disaster investigation. Young school teacher Elizabeth Thatcher (Erin Krakow) and Mountie Jack Thornton (Daniel Lissing) are just starting to build their relationship. But when Elizabeth gets bad news from home, she must return to the wealthy, high-society life she left behind, where her feelings for Jack will be put to the test.

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