Some set visits are more memorable than others. Such was the case earlier this week when I was on location with the stars of Naked News Uncovered. That’s the title of a new documentary series premiering Monday, Sept. 23 on Super Channel.
The eight-part documentary series will follow the stars and behind-the-scenes employees around Naked News’ top secret Toronto headquarters. Executive producer Allan Novak, a veteran showrunner previously associated with such fully clothed TV efforts as Ken Finkleman’s The Newsroom, says the time was ripe to “uncover” this story. Viewers today seek characters they can’t find in their own lives (i.e. Duck Dynasty) in settings they don’t usually live in themselves. With Naked News’ stable of ready made (and, uh, naked) characters, this doc was just waiting to happen.
Naked News has been an Internet sensation since the turn of the millennium. It is a strange and unique newscast where female news anchors read real news stories while they take off all their clothes. One of my first jobs at the Toronto Sun was to interview a few of the original Naked News anchors. At the time I thought: all this and a parking spot.
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| Me with former Naked News anchor Athena in 2002, back when we both had more hair |
I have maintained for a few years now that if the Sun News Network had teamed with these folks in the first place they would never have had to bow before the CRTC or ask for another dime. One look at the carriage on chief Naked News anchor Victoria Sinclair, for example, and who cares about mandatory carriage?
Sinclair is 47 which makes her the oldest Naked News anchor. Hell, she’d have been tossed out of CTV News five years ago. Yet here she is, in 2013, still keeping abreast of the news, and doing a fine, uplifting job of it.
Back when Naked News launched 13 years ago, there were also male reporters, but they only stuck it out for a couple of years.
Before I make another bad pun, take a minute and four seconds and check out the video of my day on the set of Naked News Uncovered. Reporting at its finest!
