Sunday marks the finale of The 2015 Pan American Games. Canadian athletes did our country proud, winning a record 214 medals by end of day Saturday, including 77 gold. Sunday’s haul should add to that tally. But how did the Games do on TV? CBC is the rights holder and is looking for a big
Are you like me–gripped by Pan Am Games fever? A lot of us would rather take one of those HOV lanes the hell out of town than face the Gardiner over the next two weeks. CBC head of sports programming, Trevor Pilling, believes all the negativity will disappear once the Games get underway. It all
Celebrate Canada Day by reading about national treasure Catherine O’Hara. She’s come a long way from Our Lady of Peace grade school in Etobicoke. O’Hara and her ol’ SCTV mate Eugene Levy, and his son Dan Levy, just wrapped up the Season Two shoot of Schitt’s Creek. It returns next season on CBC and Pop.
Last October when I was at MIPCOM in Cannes you couldn’t help but notice all the signage for Just For Laughs Gags. Scenes from the very visual Quebec comedy were everywhere, on giant electronic billboards as well as on the sides and roofs of the many overpriced taxis. The message: visual gag comedy sells internationally.
Are you watching Blackstone on CBC this week? The APTN drama, from creator/showrunner Ron E. Scott, is getting a summer window on CBC. Season One and Two episodes will run through July 7. It’s a gritty, unblinking series set in a fictional Aboriginal community, with director Scott mining gold in first time performances from many of
Degrassi is the show that will not die. Netflix and Family Channel confirmed Tuesday that they are both behind a deal that will extend the forever Canadian TV franchise for at least another 20 episodes. The series will be rebranded–again–as Degrassi Next Class when it returns early in 2016. Now, I can’t say I’m surprised. Halifax-based
In Canada, the annual television network “Upfronts” are a few weeks later than they are in the States. Our Upfronts are really “Uplaters.” They also don’t draw anywhere near the same amount of advertising revenues. Canadian advertisers tend to commit less of their budgets in the spring, playing more of a wait and see game. Since
Twenty years ago, when my young adults were young children, Sharon, Lois & Bram were superstars. Because I worked at TV Guide at the time, the children’s entertainers were also on my radar thanks to their very successful TV ventures, The Elephant Show and Skinamarink TV. Eric Nagler and Fred Penner were frequent guests. It