Canada’s longest-running scripted entertainment series is not The Beachcombers or Wayne & Shuster or even Murdoch Mysteries. It is This Hour Has 22 Minutes. Premiering in 1993, the Halifax-based sketch comedy made stars out of brash Newfoundlanders Mary Walsh, Cathy Jones, Greg Thomey and Rick Mercer. Turnovers in the cast and writing talent – a
NOTE: This story has been corrected below to clarify that the decline in Canadian ratings is true for all broadcast networks, not just CBC. How tough has it been for new broadcast network shows to crack through the clutter this fall? Tougher, so far this season, than trying to root for The Toronto Maple Leafs.
As my late ex-mother-in-law Teresa Darrah usd to say, Mark Critch is as ‘busy as a dog licking two pots.” He’s back tonight on This Hour Has 22 Minutes, snapping into wigs and costumes and behind the desk and in his 18th season on the Halifax-based sketch series. That places him second in time served
Gerry Dee, the latst guest on brioux.tv the podcast, says he is thrilled to be back in front of a studio audience again as Family Feud Canada returns for a third season. Click on the blue-and-white arrow ball above to listen to the entire conversation. The game show, shot at CBC’s Toronto broadcast centre, had
The election is over. Let the feuding resume! As is Family Feud Canada, back for a third season starting at 7:30 tonight (8 NT) on CBC and CBC Gem. Host Gerry Dee is back with 104 new episodes airing weeknights Monday to Thursday. The new season is still in production at the CBC Broadcast Centre
Here’s another reason to curse that same-result federal election: last Monday’s vote came the week after the 15th season return of CBC’s Murdoch Mysteries. With the election falling last Monday, it delayed the second half of the two-part premiere 14 days until tonight. Fans who can think two weeks back will recall that all hell
…and not just because, had the Conservatives formed the next government, Erin O’Toole campaigned to defund the public broadcaster’s english TV appropriation. CBC put out a release early Wednesday declaring that they were “Canada’s top source for election news” during Monday evening’s election coverage, drawing more viewers on CBC’s main broadcast network and CBC News
Sitcoms usually take a while to hit their stride; sometimes weeks, sometimes months. This was especially true if you go all the way back to the days of Cheers and Mary Tyler Moore. Both were such slow starters they’d likely be canceled today before they had a chance to jell. Even The Office was too