John Oliver sees the endless U.S. election coverage as the gift that keeps on giving. The host of Last Week T0night with John Oliver also says the Trump and Cruz circuses and all the other primary concerns bring their own unique challenges for a TV satirist. “Sometimes it’s hard to joke a joke,” says Oliver. “If people are
CHML’s Scott Thompson starts things off this week by talking about the Super Bowl. Ratings were down slightly in the U.S. and Canada. I say it was because neither team could throw, catch or run. Also the weather was warmer than usual, allowing a few of us to step away from our screens. Scott especially
A lot of folks were surprised when Samantha Bee was not offered the host’s chair following Jon Stewart’s departure from The Daily Show. After all, Bee, from Toronto, was the longest-serving “senior” correspondent on the Comedy Central showcase, logging 12 seasons. Nonetheless, Trevor Noah got the gig. Bee took her act to TBS, home of Conan
A dull, mistake-filled game plus good weather across much of Canada put a dent in Sunday’s Super Bowl numbers. According to overnight estimates, an average-minute audience of 7,324,000 Canadians watched Super Bowl 50 on CTV Sunday night, down roughly 900,000 from the year before. The 2015 game was a nail-biter and a record-setter, with 8.23
You’ll want to keep a pen or a recorder handy to catch all the chirpy phrases on Letterkenny. The web-to-TV series premieres Super Bowl Sunday on CraveTV. Creator/star Jared Keeso (“19-2”) has been gathering all the crazy-ass experessions he and his hockey-playing pals have uttered in bars and dressing rooms over the years and thrown
CHML’s Scott Thompson wanted to know what I was doing in New York this week. I tell him about my visit with John Oliver, gearing up for the third season launch of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (returning Feb. 14 on HBO and HBO Canada). The interview was conducted around a boardroom table with five other
Who picks the “Classic TV” options on Air Canada flights–somebody with a dart board? Is this some plot by Air Canada to drive folks to turn off their screens and save electricity? Among the classic choices this week: two episodes of the best-forgotten Howard Hesseman classroom comedy from the late ’80s, Head of the Class.
I’m sitting in an airport eatery (Wahlburgers–try the Dad burger). People keep walking past, a few take the moving sidewalk. I can’t help thinking of those old O.J. Simpson ads where he’s running through a terminal, trying to chase down a rent-a-car. Yes, I’m that old. Old or young, you’ll want to check out the premiere