Before Late Night with David Letterman and within a year or two of Saturday Night Live and SCTV there was a little show that firmly planted the irony flag on the comedy landscape: Fernwood 2Nite. This offshoot from the equally groundbreaking Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman deconstructed talk show television in a way rarely seen on
Warner Bros. Television Group Chairman and CEO Channing Dungey will return to the Banff International Media Festival this June as a keynote speaker. Dungey, who once described herself as “a TV junkie who somehow scored a backstage pass,” has shepherded such shows as Ted Lasso and Abbott Elementary while at Warners. Prior to arriving at
I was just starting university in 1977 when a strange little show became something of an obsession: Fernwood 2Nite. It was spun-off from the equally odd and hilarious Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman with TV comedy legend Norman Lear in on both productions. Alan Thicke was among the Fernwood producers. The series mocked local, small-market TV
Tonight marks the season — and now the series — finale of Street Legal the reboot. CBC announced over the weekend that the law drama starring original cast member Cynthia Dale would not be returning for a second season. It was a surprising decision coming as swiftly as it did, but, in my opinion, the
My favourite new show of the past year stars one actor in their seventies and one in their eighties. No, not Grace and Frankie (although that would qualify; Lily Tomlin is 79 and Jane Fonda is 81). I’m talking about The Kominsky Method, a lovely late-in-the-year surprise from Netflix. All eight episodes are currently available
Does a hit TV show always fall apart with the premature departure of its leading star? I was asked to give my two cents on that topic Monday on The Bill Kelly Show, heard daily on Hamilton’s AM900 CHML. The starting point was Kelly’s disappointment in the final season of House of Cards. Sure, main star
It’s interesting to compare — or re-boot around — Thursday night’s revival of Murphy Brown vs. last winter’s revival of Roseanne. In both instances I wasn’t expecting much. Two sitcoms coming back after 20 year absences. Did anybody ever ask for more from these shows? Roseanne, however, really surprised me. I didn’t expect to care
Every day, it seems, there’s talk of another canceled TV show coming back in a new, re-booted version. This week, we learned Hulu is looking at renewing Veronica Mars with Kristen Bell back in the lead (good news for her Canadian co-star Rico Colantoni?). Kelsey Grammer, apparently, is wondering if the doctor might be back