If only The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour was still around to help us through another tumultuous US Presidential election. Pat Paulsen — where are you when we need you? A key writer/producer back on that 1966-69 comedy variety show was a Canadian — Allan Byle. Before the Smothers, he worked for Fred Rogers as well
In Part Two of my conversation with Ken Levine, more evidence that the Emmy-winner is one of TV’s top storytellers. One of my favourite episodes from his excellent podcast, Hollywood & Levine, is the one where he told listeners exactly what he thought of the recent reboot of Frasier. Some might see this as sour
What hasn’t Ken Levine done? He’s an Emmy-winning screenwriter who has — with writing partner David Issacs — written for some of television’s best comedies. You may have heard of M*A*S*H, Cheers and Frasier. In his spare time (!) he has also been a disc jockey, a major league baseball play-by-play announcer, a cartoonist, a playwright, a director,
This past spring, the CBS action-drama Tracker became an instant hit, emerging as the No. 1 US network series of the season. On this episode, I speak with the tracker himself, Justin Hartley, who was in Toronto last June promoting the series at the CTV upfront. After a career in soaps (Passions; The Young and the
When you’ve been busy creating, writing and starring in TV shows and films for a couple of decades, who has time for a hobby? That’s been the case for Mark McKinney. The son of a diplomat moved around a lot as a lad and says comedy has always been his hobby. Together with Dave Foley, Kevin
The first scene of the new Fox and Global series Murder in a Small Town is set at that most sacred of Canadian television landmarks: the diner from The Beachcombers, Mollys Reach. Seated inside, shooting a first date scene, are two actors representing several generations of Canadian acting royalty: Kristin Kreuk, the Vancouver lass who went from Edgemont to Smallville to Beauty and
Ever wonder what it was like to be in Studio 8H on opening night in 1975 on the very first episodes of Saturday Night Live? Director Jason Reitman’s new film, “Saturday Night,” is a recreation of the hours leading up to airtime on that historic night. Somebody who was there, however, is my guest this week on
TV schedules and programs are like the places where we live. Sometimes they need somebody to come in a do a thorough de-cluttering. As CBC’s Dragon’s Den heads into a 19th season, who better to join the series as the latest investing entrepreneur than Brian Scudamore? He’s the founder and CEO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK. You know their slogan: