Canwest kicked off three days of Canadian upfronts with their “Coming Attractions” press event Tuesday in Toronto. You could tell it was the Global launch in Yorkville because there were dozens of ACTRA protesters outside the Hazelton Hotel.A couple of times in recent years, ACTRA and others have singled out Global for being naughty CanCon
CBC Television announced Monday in Toronto that Jenny Hacker has been appointed creative head of comedy. Hacker replaces Anton Leo, who is now a bigger head, or as CBC calls it, senior executive in charge of production for live comedy.Prior to joining CBC in 2007, Hacker worked as a lawyer in the TV industry. You
HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA–Barely recognized Robb Wells and John Paul Tremblay (above right with me and Mike Smith) on location at their new series Drunk and on Drugs. The former Trailer Park Boys have both shaved off their face hair. Gone are Ricky’s trade mark sideburns and Julian’s black hair and goatee. J.P. in particular was
HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA–Had to “Smile Awhile” when I spotted Charlie Chamberlain, Don Messer and Marg Osborne in a window display at The Puffin down by Halifax’s historical properties district. The hand-carved tribute to CBC’s Don Messer’s Jubilie (1957-69) is a Canadian boomer delight, one of several impressive wooden carvings made locally and on display at
Art Linkletter seemed to be on TV all the time when I was a child. In those black and white, pre-school days, he was the kindly man in the business suit talking to kids in the hours after Friendly Giant and before the soaps. A friend who reads this blog (that is a friend) emailed
HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA–Eric Balfour brought it up. We were sitting in a union hall by a picturesque bay in Chester, N.S. Balfour (left), one of the stars of the new sci-fi drama Haven (coming this July to Showcase and Syfy), was talking about surfing. It was killing the California dude to be sitting in a
Team Coco is coming to Team CTV.TVFMF has learned that the Canadian rights to Conan O’Brien’s new TBS talk show, coming this November, have been acquired by the CTV Network.Not known is which CTV property will get the show. O’Brien is scheduled to air at 11 p.m. Stateside, ruling out any kind of simulcast plan
Lost pulled over 2 million viewers on CTV Sunday night, not bad after the Canadian rights holder treated it like a buried hatch for six years. You had to be a fan to find Lost on CTV, which over the years was jammed into a 7 p.m. slot, bounced over to sister station /A and