Just a few years ago, Murdoch Mysteries was deader than Jian Ghomeshi at a meeting of Intern parents. That was back when City walked away from the series after five seasons. Now it is CBC’s most-watched scripted series and one of the highest-rated dramas in Canada. It could also be Canada’s Top TV export, sold to
Wednesday in Toronto, I’ve been asked to moderate a panel of Canadian television “hitmakers” at the Innoversity Creative Summit. The two hour discussion starts at 10 a.m. at the Toronto Reference Library just north of Bloor on Yonge. The panel features miracle workers–individuals who not only created TV shows but got them on the air
Back in 2008 when my book Truth and Rumors came out, I was booked as a guest on CBC Radio’s Q. I had never met host Jian Ghomeshi and was struck by how professional the whole experience was, and flattered that he and his producers had taken the time to set everything up with a
Think of all the referee helmet cam jokes we’ll likely see next week on 22 Minutes. Like the ref accidentally leaving the cam on in the washroom, or getting caught scoping hot babes in the stands while ignoring infractions on the ice, or…the mind boggles. The helmet cam was just one of the innovations trotted out
CTV, as usual, was quick to rush out a release declaring they have all the hot new shows so far this season. This after one week of total ratings. So, yes, Gotham opened huge as expected (3,375,000 Live + 7 viewers, gaining a million over the overnight tally) with Thursday night Shonda Rhimes drama How to
The fall season began in earnest the week of Sept. 22 to 28. After some strategic moves by CBS and ABC, CTV faced three serious challenges. Canada’s most-watched TV show–The Big Bang Theory–was temporarily bumped to a new night. CTV’s No. 1 reality show–The Amazing Race–also got moved, as did CTV’s No. 1 imported drama, Grey’s
This week, CHML’s Scott Thompson was shocked–shocked!–to hear that Bell was getting out of the TV news business. Well, that was their threat anyway. Bell’s brain trust, along with other industry weasels leaders, have been in Gatineau, Que., the past week-and-a-half. They’re attending something called “Let’s Talk TV: a Conversation with Canadians.” The CRTC called
Okay, this is really last week’s podcast. Hey, even Rob Ford gets time off for bad behaviour every now and then. Last week’s burning issue was how deep the cuts would be at CBC as the public broadcaster went public with its latest five year plan. CHML’s Scott Thompson wanted to know how bad was