These are bleak days for film and TV comedy. There’s no shortage of it, of course. What is in short supply is laughs. There’s a reason why comedies are on streaming services; nobody in their right mind would pay to see them. Balls Up, Ladies First, 72 Hours, Little Brother all have, at best, a
If you are reading this, you probably already follow Marc Berman, a.k.a. “Mister Television.” In 1997, while at Mediaweek, Marc created The Programming Insider, the daily, digital online destination for television and media. We’ve known each other since then through our membership in the Television Critics Association. We’ve both worked our way through platefuls of
Former co-star Jeff Wincott posted on social media that Scott Hylands has passed away. Fans of the CTV series Night Heat, which aired from 1985 to 1989, will remember Hylands as the more seasoned half of the team of detectives O’Brien and Giambone. Their characters were loosely based on real life NYPD veterans Sonny Grosso and
What is the best Canadian TV comedy of all time? Is it SCTV? The Kids in the Hall? Corner Gas? The Trouble with Tracy? OK, that last one was an inside joke for Canadian TV nerds. But I would sincerely like to add one more show to the all-time Canadian comedy list –The Littlest Hobo.
Back in 2008, I had the pleasure of interviewing Peter Lassally, then winding up his extraordinary career in late night as executive producer of The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson. For close to an hour, at his office deep within CBS Television City, Lassally regaled me with stories about Johnny Carson, David Letterman, Ferguson and
A true tastemaker and a real gentleman, legendary late night executive producer Peter Lassally died July 19 in Los Angeles. He was 93. Back in 2008, I had the great pleasure of interviewing Mr. Lassally as he was winding up his extraordinary career in late night with his final stint as executive producer of The
According to overnight estimates, the World Cup final drew an average minute audience of over 5.5 million Canadian viewers on Bell Media platforms TSN and CTV. Of the total, 1,672,000 were estimated to have watched on the main broadcast network CTV. The game, won by Spain 1-0 over Argentina, may have been a one-sided yawn
People ask me: which was your worst celebrity interview ever? I always reply without hesitation: Sam Neill. Born in Ireland and raised in New Zealand, the Golden Globe and Emmy nominated actor passed away July 13 at 78. He had shared on social media recently that tests showed he had licked a rare blood lymphoma.