Is there an art to getting viewers to watch arts programming on television? We’ll find out this season as CBC launches an aggressive new arts initiative. Taking the high road on arts seems like a kamikaze mission for a broadcaster given all the shiny distractions on other channels. Covering Canada’s thriving national arts scene has one big
This week, CHML’s Scott Thompson wanted my reaction to Trevor Noah’s first week as host of The Daily Show. Mindful of Tim Goodman’s edict to never review a late night talk show until 100 episodes or so, I do have some quick first impressions. It’s still The Daily Show, with the same crew and writers
A lot of shows this fall seemed designed to cut through the “too much TV” clutter by offering a connection or two to the past. They’re built around familiar stars (Don Johnson from Blood & Oil, John Stamos from Grandfathered, The Muppets), familiar concepts (Heroes Reborn, Fuller House, The Muppets), familiar movie titles (Minority Report, Limitless,
So how are all these new Fall shows doing in Canada? About as so-so as they are in the U.S. based on first week, overnight impressions. Keep in mind overnights are now like watching the first two periods of a hockey game. Still, they provide a relative indication of which shows have made some sort
Tonight’s the night Trevor Noah makes his long-awaited debut as host of The Daily Show (11 p.m. ET on Comedy). Following Jon Stewart can’t be easy. Stewart redefined late night after a 16-year stint in the Daily chair. Noah is a very different comedian as he demonstrated this past summer at the Just for Laughs
When I spoke with Norm Macdonald this summer in Montreal at the Just for Laughs comedy festival, he was quite happy to talk about Sunnyside. The all-Canadian comedy returns Sunday at 8 p.m. on City with the first of several brand new episodes. Shot in Winnipeg and co-created by Dan Redican and Gary Pearson, Sunnyside, like
This past week in Montreal I fell under the spell of Priyanka Chopra. The former Miss World and current Bollywood superstar is making her North American series debut Sunday in Quantico (10 p.m. ET, ABC and CTV). The 33-year-old stunner plays an FBI recruit at the Quantico, Virginia, training academy who is not above flirting with
MONTREAL–CTV flew me in to visit the set of Quantico, the new thriller set to premiere Sunday. The ABC series is set at an FBI training facility and is parts Rookie Blue, parts Homeland. They put press up at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth hotel, which allowed me to take a Magical Mystery side-tour. Suite 1742