You had to feel for Nicole Power. The Middle Cove, Nfld., native was singled out early in the run of Kim’s Convenience by none other than the series’ executive producer, Ivan Fecan. The Canadian television industry veteran quickly saw her as somebody to build a show around. A long-range plan to do just that was
It’s been a tough year for all of us, but also for broadcasters. If you have any doubt, check the TV listings for this New Year’s Eve. In a normal year, Citytv, CTV and Global would be hosting big, live, outdoor extravaganzas featuring coast-to-coast Canadian musicians entertaining thousands in front of various stages. This year:
A week into 2020, with schedules starting to heat up again, it’s time to get back to the numbers. Scheduling moves over the holidays generally fall into the stunt or one-off category. This is especially true of New Year’s Eve. This December 31, CBC programmers decided to end the year with five episodes of Family
Yikes. Tuesday night, This Hour Has 22 Minutes returned for its 26th season to 367,ooo estimated, overnight viewers. While numbers were counted in some screwy ways back when 22 Minutes began, I’m going to go out on a fairly sturdy limb and suggest that is the series’ lowest-rated season premiere ever. That number is about
CBC is renewing a great deal of its schedule for next season but one of its top draws is departing — the Rick Mercer Report. Mercer and his partner in business and life Gerald Lunz made the decision before this 15th and final season started as I reported here last September. The St. John’s native is only
This season marks 25 years since the launch of This Hour Has 22 Minutes. Conceived by Mary Walsh as the follow up to her earlier CBC comedy series CODCO, the weekly news satire has lampooned politicians and Canada in general since Jean Chretien was strangling citizens on Parliament Hill. Halifax-based author Angela Mombourquette – who worked
I first met Rick Mercer 24 years ago. I had a very cool assignment from TV Guide; go to Halifax, spend a week with the cast and crew of This Hour Has 22 Minutes and find out how they go from newspaper headlines to a sketch comedy series in five days. Mercer was a young lad at the
Feeling like waving the flag this Canada Day? Over the past weeks and even months,m I’ve been banking quotes from several TV personalities, getting their response to one question: What does Canada’s 150th birthday mean to you? Among those I quizzed: Don Cherry, Ron MacLean, Rick Mercer (above), Brent Butt, Marilyn Denis, Cobie Smulders, Jared