Canadian Crossing

TIFF selects Top 10 Canadian films of 2020

Canada, meet your Top Ten. #SeeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/HVGlL6i3s9

— TIFF (@TIFF_NET) December 9, 2020

When the 2019 TIFF Top 10 list was released, your humble narrator had seen 7 of the 10 films, soon to be joined by the eighth film. The 2020 TIFF Top 10 list? A lot still unknown.

Let's get acquainted with the list of Canadian films. Here is the 2020 Top Ten list with the directors and province of origin:

Beans Tracey Deer | Quebec/Ontario
Fauna Nicolás Pereda | Ontario
Funny Boy Deepa Mehta | Ontario
Inconvenient Indian Michelle Latimer | Ontario
Judy Versus Capitalism Mike Hoolboom | Ontario
The Kid Detective Evan Morgan | Ontario
Nadia, Butterfly Pascal Plante | Quebec
The Nest Sean Durkin | Ontario
No Ordinary Man Aisling Chin-Yee, Chase Joynt | Quebec
Possessor Brandon Cronenberg | Ontario

Beans; Fauna; Inconvenient Indian; and No Ordinary Man played at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival. All but Fauna were "pure Canadian"; 3 of the 5 "pure Canadian" films that played at TIFF made the list. Fauna (Mexico) and The Nest (UK) are co-productions.

I pride myself on keeping track and several of these films were not on my radar. Judy Versus Capitalism is a documentary that takes a look at the life of feminist, activist, and journalist Judy Rebick. The Kid Detective stars American actor Adam Brody as a former teen detective with a chance to solve his first case as an adult. The film features Canadian talent such as Sophie Nélisse, Wendy Crewson, Peter MacNeill, Maurice Dean Wint, and Sarah Sutherland.

The Nest doesn't qualify as "visibly Canadian" unless you count Canadian actors such as Wendy Crewson and Tattiawna Jones, who are not high on the call list. You already know about Funny Boy, Canada's entry to the Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film.

Combing through the TIFF Top 10 Canadian film lists of the 2010s

2020 TIFF wrapup

2020 TIFF preview

2020 TIFF Canadian film preview

Nadia, Butterfly, the only Canadian film to make the list at Cannes, is the (shockingly) only French-Canadian film on the list. The 2019 list had 3 French-Canadian films: And the Birds Rained Down; Antigone; and Matthias et Maxime.

The 2020 list doesn't include a single film outside of Ontario and Quebec.

Inconvenient Indian; Judy Versus Capitalism; and No Ordinary Man are documentaries.

4 films were directed or co-directed by women. There are 6 filmmakers of colour with 3 Indigenous filmmakers.

Your humble narrator has sadly seen only a single film on this list: Funny Boy. In ranking the films by interest, the top 5 would be Beans; Nadia, Butterfly; Inconvenient Indian; Judy Versus Capitalism; and The Kid Detective.

Fauna is the first film on this list in Spanish since Roads in February | Les routes en février (2018). The 2020 list has a film in Spanish, Tamil, and only one in French. Seriously. Fine for the other languages but only one in French? J'accuse. Mon dieu.

The other question is when will Canadians and those trapped below the 49th parallel get a chance to see these films. Possessor and The Nest are now playing at TIFF’s Digital Cinema and on demand in the United States. The U.S. audience will get to see Trickster from Michelle Latimer before seeing Inconvenient Indian.

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

You can find out more about the features as well as shorts on the Top 10 list. We are curious about the potential distribution of the TIFF Top Ten list every year, but particularly from 2020.

Twitter capture: @TIFF_NET
photo credit: Beans film

Canadian film review: Funny Boy

Editor's note: We published follow-up notes based from the Netflix version of this film.

Funny Boy might be the most well-known Canadian film in recent times with a release on Netflix and a worldwide debut on CBC. The story takes us to Sri Lanka in the 1970s and 1980s with a gay boy as well as the civil war between the Tamils and Sinhalese.

The younger version of Arjie dominates the first part of the film where he explores who he is in a place and time where his mother and aunt Radha (Agam Darshi) love and support him for being "funny" while his father disapproves of even the boy dancing, much less wearing makeup.

The second half of the film is mostly about the rising Tamil-Sinhalese conflict leading up to Black July in 1983. The focus on teenage Arjie meeting and falling in love with Shehan ends up being surprisingly secondary, given the focus on Arjie in the first half of the film. Funny Boy the film stops becoming about the funny boy.

The legendary Deepa Mehta directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Shyam Selvadurai, who wrote the original novel. Mehta shot the film in Sri Lanka, which adds to the authenticity of the story but the Tamil language issues have been well-documented.

Aunt Radha is a huge focus in the first half yet disappears in the second half of the film. She falls in love with a Sinhalese man but marries a Tamil man because her family insists on this. Her disappearance is one of several points in the film that are lost due to audio issues.

Jegan becomes the focus of the second half. The problem is I had to look online to figure out who Jegan was.

Even if you have the most perfect hearing, you have to watch this film with closed captioning. So much of the English dialogue is muddled; some of the Tamil dialogue isn't translated into subtitles. This is a story where the words are important. Most of the dialogue between Arjie and Shehan is lost without closed captioning.

There is a surprising amount of English in the film. Technically, the film still qualifies for the Oscars (hopefully) in the Best International Feature Film. You would have to break down the film to know whether the film contains less than 50% in English. Some English makes sense in context but so much is lost with the poor audio. There are quite a few conversations that switch mid-sentence between English and Tamil.

Our Funny Boy preview with debuts soon on CBC and Netflix

Deepa Mehta's Funny Boy is Canada's Oscars selection

The film incorporates a lot of early music references from in and around 1983. They don't talk about Black July specifically — another moment where your humble narrator had to research online that really belonged in the film.

Every Breath You Take by the Police; an Eurythmics T-shirt; Irene Cara's Flashdance, What a Feeling are meant to be symbols of 1983 even if they don't follow the timeline. Bronski Beat's Smalltown Boy was definitely from 1984. These small details are distracting if you know that era.

The David Bowie and Culture Club references do fit the timeline.

Yesterday, Deepa Mehta’s FUNNY BOY was announced by Canada as the country’s official selection for @TheAcademy Awards. Today, we share the first trailer for this moving film, which @ARRAYNow will release on @netflix in December. Watch, smile and share. Let’s spread some love. pic.twitter.com/3Ck9uZjIkm

— Ava DuVernay (@ava) October 30, 2020

There are Canadian references. The young Arjie wears a University of Toronto jacket. Leonard Cohen is referenced in Suzanne and Famous Blue Raincoat. Radha speaks of living in Toronto and hanging out with her gay friends. Radha actually says, "whatever happens in Club Davids, stays in Club Davids" in the 1970s in Sri Lanka. The 21st century Las Vegas tagline is jarring in this context.

The numerous mistakes are a bit of a surprise from a veteran filmmaker such as Mehta. A few more months of post-production would have done wonders for the film.

A lot more context for what was happening to the Tamils would have been useful. A linear telling of the teenage relationship would have been useful. The film does a terrible job with how the relationship develops. The relationship feels superficial, like a music video circa 1983, which feels really out of place. The audience is invested in Arjie in the first part and their desire to see more of him is not rewarded.

Mehta and Selvadurai pounce on the contrast between wealth and poor in the film but almost never show that argument from the poor side of the equation.

The necessity of Canadian films that don't seem Canadian

'Visibly Canadian' is a reasonable goal for Canadian film

Canadian films should tell more stories about Canada

Telefilm Canada shouldn't limit funding by language but reward films shot in Canada with Canadians

Funny Boy has potential compelling stories but is all over the place in presentation. The film feels rushed with numerous, obvious mistakes in English and Tamil. If your audience is having to do research while watching the film, you might want to reconsider how that story is told. If you don't value your script, the audience won't value the words either.

The film gets points for telling difficult Sri Lankan stories on Sri Lankan soil with mostly regional actors. If the minor details don't get in your way and you see the film with closed captions, you might enjoy the film overall. The stories deserved better treatment, especially from a legendary filmmaker such as Mehta.

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

We will know on February 9 whether Funny Boy makes the Best International Feature Film Oscars shortlist.

The shortlist of 10 films gets narrowed to 5 official nominees on March 15. The 93rd Academy Awards is scheduled for April 25.

Funny Boy is available in Canada on CBC Gem and debuts on Netflix today in the United States.

photo credit: Funny Boy film
Twitter capture: @ava

Shining a light on our Indigenous coverage

We want to do a better job of covering the Indigenous world within Canada for CanadianCrossing.com. We start out with a couple of stories that slipped through the cracks from earlier this year. Then we have a big announcement at the end.

Come learn with me? I’ve signed up for a (free) course through the University of Alberta called Indigenous Canada. 12 lessons that explore Indigenous histories and contemporary issues from an Indigenous perspective.

This little video explains it all. Sign up via link in my bio! pic.twitter.com/LccboMO8X2

— dan levy (@danjlevy) August 18, 2020

We have been intrigued as to how much Indigenous issues come out in Canada (unlike the United States where the Indigenous population is truly invisible) yet most Canadians don't seem as interested in learning more about their Indigenous neighbours.

Dan Levy, who is a rather famous Canadian these days, spent part of his COVID-19 pandemic isolation time to take a free 13-week online course on Indigenous history and issues at the University of Alberta. Levy's fame likely drew people into taking the course with him, though they were likely curious on their own.

Levy encouraged people to come along for the ride. He wanted them to make donations to the program, offering to match all donations up to $25,000. Levy did donate to the program since the fundraising goal was reached.

Searching for a good lobster roll in Nova Scotia

Celebrating advantages of the Halifax Seaport Farmers Market

CanadianCrossing.com Nova Scotia coverage

The R v Marshall 1999 Supreme Court of Canada ruling upheld the Halifax Treaties. The Mi'kmaq were allowed to make a "moderate livelihood" in lobster fishing. Despite the court's ruling, no one established what exactly that meant.

Earlier this year, the Mi'kmaq, after 21 years of indecision, set out to lobster fishing mainly in Saulnierville and Middle West Pubnico, Nova Scotia.

The reaction from non-Indigenous fishers was swift and vicious. Traps were taken in the water. A lobster pound was burned to the ground. The RCMP officers would stand there and not respond to the destruction.

The non-Indigenous fishers argued that the Mi'kmaq fishing would lead to overfishing. That argument proved quite weak, given how few boats the Mi'kmaq had compared to the commercial fishers.

A lobster boycott developed to support the Mi'kmaq in their efforts.

The kicker to the story that you might not have seen coming is that Mi’kmaq communities the Membertou and Miawpukek First Nations bought Nova Scotia-based Clearwater Seafoods in a deal worth $1 billion Canadian.

The Mi'kmaq had these rights for generations; those rights were validated in 1999 by the Supreme Court of Canada. They finally tried to take advantage of those inherent rights and were subject to violence and racism.

We talk about buying fair trade for chocolate; there should be something along the lines of fair trade lobster as well.

Montréal chef Chuck Hughes travels north to learn more about Indigenous food traditions in Chuck and the First Peoples' Kitchen. The show premiered this fall on APTN.

Hughes is the host yet he is there to learn from the people who doing the cooking.

Hughes has experience with food television in Canada and the United States. His warm and humble nature is helpful in these parts of Canada that most Canadians know very little of first hand.

The show is available in English and French. The first season had 13 episodes. This would be a great show to have in the United States.

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

The Trudeau Government has introduced Bill C-10 to amend the Broadcasting Act to require broadcasters to fund Indigenous productions and provide content in Indigenous languages. The current act mentions Indigenous programming but doesn't require them.

While we have seen a number of Indigenous films, the TV offerings have been limited to shows such as Mohawk Girls and Trickster.

Little Mosque on the Prairie showcased Muslim characters. People need to see themselves on screen in films and television.

Mohawk Girls ran on OMNI Television and APTN during its run. The CBC showed the program this past summer and is available to Canadians on CBC Gem.

Canadian Museum of Human Rights needs a CEO who really understands human rights

Canadian film review: Angry Inuk

CanadianCrossing.com Indigenous coverage

We are launching a category on the right side of the blog for our Indigenous coverage.

Years ago, the question would occasionally come up: Is Canada a racist country? Your humble narrator didn't really have a sense of that back then. The English and French. White people and Indigenous people. Those were rather obvious. My standard answer was that there was racism but more subtle than what we have seen in the United States.

Now, we know a lot more about racism in Canada than we knew back then. Most of what your humble narrator has learned about the Indigenous population has been through Canadian films as well as visiting the Canadian Museum of Human Rights. That curiosity led to podcasts on topics, including racism, police conduct, clean water, food costs and food insecurity, and missing girls and women.

We talked about promoting Indigenous travel in our Thanksgiving 2020 notebook. That is a good way to learn about their culture. Understanding and curiosity is only the beginning of a better relationship between the Indigenous population and settlers from other parts of the world within Canada.

Twitter capture: @danjlevy
photo credit: me; Chuck and the First Peoples' Kitchen/APTN

Canadian film review: Sharkwater

Your humble narrator came to the world of Rob Stewart with the release of Sharkwater Extinction (2018), the posthumous release after Stewart died from a dive that went very wrong while making the film in 2017. Watching Sharkwater Extinction made me wonder about the film that started all of this, Sharkwater (2006).

Stewart talks about his love since childhood for sharks in Sharkwater and how he became a underwater photographer as a result. He goes through the myths of how humans learned to fear sharks. Stewart points out that humans used to fear whales but changed their perception once they knew more about whales.

Jaws (1975) is only briefly mentioned. Stewart mentions that sharks aren't trying to hurt humans; they swim in similar patterns to seals, a target in the shark diet.

Turns out that sharks should be more afraid of humans since some humans are harvesting sharks for their fins. Shark fin soup is a delicacy in some Asian cultures.

The film takes us to Cocos Island near Costa Rica as well as the Galapagos Islands, areas where sharks thrive. Unfortunately for the sharks, there are people using long-line fishing to catch the sharks.

2018 WIFF Canadian films in review

The documentary has beautiful underwater images of sharks in their natural environment and horrible, disturbing images of sharks without their fins being deposited back into the ocean.

Stewart is a calming influence in telling the story of the sharks. He knows a lot about sharks and explains that world well.

In trying to bring the shark poachers to justice, Stewart and the crew are placed under arrest in Costa Rica. Even though they were under house arrest, Stewart breaks out to film the previously hidden shark fins drying in the sun. TV investigative journalists should watch that part of the film.

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Unlike most documentarians, Stewart does throw in his ego at times, sometimes when needed and other times when the behaviour is over the top. His ease in this world where most humans fear to tread more than makes up for his ego. The ending isn't as smooth as the rest of the film but only a brief hiccup in an otherwise engaging film. Even people who aren't huge fans of documentaries will enjoy this film.

If you have only seen Sharkwater Extinction, you will get a sense of what Stewart was all about. Seeing Sharkwater gives the viewer a better idea of how Stewart and his love for sharks.

I remember passing a Vancouver restaurant a numbers of years back and seeing protesters wanting the restaurant to stop serving shark fin soup. Sharkwater did a wonderful job of explaining the horror that goes into the process of shark fin soup. Stewart's legacy is drawing attention to the cause. He sneaks back into Costa Rica and films some of the protesters in the streets criticising the harvest of shark fins.

If Sharkwater Extinction made you rethink the world of sharks, take the time to watch the original Sharkwater documentary. If you haven't seen Sharkwater Extinction, start with the original Sharkwater.

photos credit: Sharkwater film

Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig detainment hits 2-year mark thanks to Meng Wanzhou case

The 2-year anniversary of the Chinese illegal detainment of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig is coming up this week. The 2-year anniversary of the arrest Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou was last week.

The Meng arrest in Vancouver was made at the request of the United States over allegations that Huawei violated U.S. sanctions over doing business with Iran. Canada does not have sanctions against Iran. Canada has argued that a fraud charge applies.

China hasn't said the illegal detainment against Canadian citizens Spavor (left) and Kovrig (right) is connected to the Meng arrest but clearly there is a connection. There is hope that if the Meng Wanzhou situation reaches a solution, the two Canadians will be released.

We have heard preliminary speculation of a possible deal with the U.S. Justice Department to send Meng back to China in exchange for admitting wrongdoing.

The impact of President-elect Joe Biden might have sparked the interest in making a deal. The current regime has tainted the case as Donald Trump said he would intervene in the case if doing so might lead to a trade deal with China.

Kovrig, in particular, was alarmed to hear about the impact of COVID-19 in October. Canada didn't have communication with Kovrig and Spavor from January to October 2020. Meanwhile, Meng is living in one of her 2 mansions in Vancouver, where she can freely travel around the city.

Meng Wanzhou might finally know true house arrest thanks to the COVID-19 coronavirus

Why is Meng Wanzhou still in Canada?

Canola farmers in Canada latest pawn in China battle over Meng Wanzhou arrest

We haven't seen too much NHL coverage from Rogers since the pandemic kicked in so the Huawei sponsorship hasn't been as active. Canada is the last Five Eyes country ((U.S., United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand) that hasn't decided whether Huawei will be involved in the 5G technology. You might think China would be nicer to Canada in case Canada decides to go along with Huawei.

As we have noted, China also retaliated by imposing trade restrictions on Canadian goods.

The next step in this process of getting Meng extradited to the United States is scheduled for at least April 2021.

Sanctioned: The Arrest of a Telecom Giant (CBC podcasts)

The podcast devoted to the Meng Wanzhou story did add a couple of updates in late September. If you know absolutely nothing about this story, the podcast can be useful. Your humble narrator thinks the podcast could be a lot more ambitious. The last episode is entitled "The Two Michaels" yet the episode barely mentions them. I have more questions than the podcast can provide. We can start with: Why is this extradition process taking years?

Canada paying a price to go along with U.S. desire to arrest Meng Wanzhou

CanadianCrossing.com trade coverage

President-elect Joe Biden should make his first international trip to Canada

Joe Biden will become president on January 20, 2021. Even though the United States is part of the triangle with Canada and China in the Meng Wanzhou, the story has been virtually invisible south of the 49th parallel. Canada asked Trump to speak to China and there is absolutely no proof that this has happened. A resolution should be on the agenda of the new U.S. secretary of state along with the ongoing concern from Minister of Foreign Affairs François-Philippe Champagne.

We would love for this to be the second-to-last story we ever write about Meng Wanzhou. On behalf of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, we would cover this topic until the situation is fully resolved.

photo credits: CBC News; Canadian Press video

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for early December 2020

The frost is really nipping almost everywhere in Canada. CBC continues the Christmas films theme in December. Some of the upcoming films are extended Christmas specials from well-loved CBC shows such as Murdoch Mysteries and Heartland.

Canadian films continue to run on CBC on Saturday nights instead of Hockey Night in Canada.

As we noted earlier, CBC will run Canadian film doubleheaders at 9 pm and 11 pm local time (add 30 minutes in most of Newfoundland) until the NHL season starts up again.

Note the early start times.

December 5

7p Once Upon A Murdoch Christmas (2016)
9p A Christmas Fury (2017)

December 12

7p A Heartland Christmas (2010)
9p Rock n Roll Christmas (2019)

Once Upon A Murdoch Christmas takes Murdoch and Brackenreid to investigate a series of brazen robberies targeting Toronto's wealthiest businessmen just before Christmas. The cast includes Yannick Bisson, Thomas Craig, Jonny Harris, Kristian Bruun, Mouna Traoré and Hélène Joy.

A Christmas Fury is an unconventional (in a good way) holiday story. The fight over who will get the family business turns chaotic with the arrival of a child. The cast includes some very familiar names such as Mary Walsh, Mark McKinney, Susan Kent, Shaun Majumder, Jonny Harris, Sherry White, and Joel Thomas Hynes.

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for late November 2020

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for early November 2020

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for late October 2020

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for early October 2020

A recap of CBC Saturday night Canadian films in spring and summer 2020

A Heartland Christmas send Amy and Ty to rescue starving horses stranded by an avalanche. The cast features Amber Marshall, Michelle Morgan, Graham Wardle, and Chris Potter.

Rock n Roll Christmas features a mother-daughter singing duo creating a new album for Christmas. They have to get past their differences to make the album happen. Catherine Mary Stewart plays the mother. The film also stars Michael Dickson.

CanadianCrossing.com CBC coverage

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

The Canadian films are available in Canada on CBC Gem.

photo credit: A Christmas Fury film

Our Funny Boy preview with debuts soon on CBC and Netflix

Yesterday, Deepa Mehta’s FUNNY BOY was announced by Canada as the country’s official selection for @TheAcademy Awards. Today, we share the first trailer for this moving film, which @ARRAYNow will release on @netflix in December. Watch, smile and share. Let’s spread some love. pic.twitter.com/3Ck9uZjIkm

— Ava DuVernay (@ava) October 30, 2020

The Funny Boy world debut on CBC is tomorrow night at 8 pm local time (8:30 pm in most of Newfoundland). The Netflix debut outside Canada is in 7 days. This is the biggest debut ever for a Canadian entry into the Academy Awards for the Best International Feature Film category.

The Canadian entry could have a less-dominant Oscars field and a grand debut will help the cause. The Deepa Mehta film has been gained attention but not what the filmmakers would have wanted.

While we said there isn't enough Canadian representation in the Canadian entry for the Best International Feature Film, we now hear of complaints from the Tamil community of not having enough Tamil representation in the Canadian film.

Mehta also said that half of the cast was Tamil though not so much in the leading roles. The filmmakers had to re-record the Tamil language for the actors. Mehta desribed the Tamil language effort as "really dodgy."

Mehta noted that one of 2 Tamil actors she wanted in the film, who weren't able to do the film, was Ontario-based. Given that Toronto has the largest concentration of Tamils outside southern Asia, the film could have satisfied calls for more Tamil and Canadian representation.

A bit of controversy isn't necessarily a bad thing. Publicity is publicity. Even if the Tamil language concerns are addressed in the final product airing on CBC and Netflix, the film will have attention for its subject matter in certain parts of the world.

Some of the film is English but the other languages will have subtitles. Every Canadian entry in this Oscars category has subtitles for English-language viewers.

Deepa Mehta's Funny Boy is Canada's Oscars selection

The necessity of Canadian films that don't seem Canadian

'Visibly Canadian' is a reasonable goal for Canadian film

Canadian films should tell more stories about Canada

Telefilm Canada shouldn't limit funding by language but reward films shot in Canada with Canadians

In a normal year, we would have a better idea about the competition for Funny Boy. Another Round (Denmark) is likely to get strong consideration. We have personally seen the entries Apples (Greece) and Gaza mon amour (Palestine). Enjoyed both films but hard to know what else is out there. Once your humble narrator sees Funny Boy, we should have a good comparison point.

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Funny Boy will be available for viewing for about 2 months before the Best International Feature Film shortlist is announced on February 9. We will have a review once we see the film for ourselves.

The shortlist of 10 films gets narrowed to 5 official nominees on March 15. The 93rd Academy Awards is scheduled for April 25.

Twitter capture: @ava
photo credit: Funny Boy film

Elliot Page announces he is a transgender person

Elliot Page, formerly known as Ellen Page, announced on Instagram that he is transgender. Page goes by he/they pronouns.

You might recall the last time Page came up on CanadianCrossing.com was his directorial debut last year. There's Something in the Water tackles environmental racism in Nova Scotia, Page's home province. The film is available outside Canada on Netflix.

We are aware of Page's career on U.S. projects though we choose to focus on Page's work on Canadian projects.

We heartily congratulate Page on his significant announcement yesterday. Page is an amazing Canadian artist and a wonderful human being. That hasn't changed one bit with the announcement.

2019 WIFF Canadian films in review: Documentaries

Canadian film review: The Tracey Fragments

Canadian film review: Marion Bridge

Canadian film review: Into the Forest

Canadian film review: Wilby Wonderful

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

We do have some reviews of Page's previous work as well as other articles about Page. These will be the last "Ellen Page" mentions.

Ellen Page comes out as 'openly Canadian' on Colbert Report

Ellen Page: still a cool Canadian role model

Jon Stewart shares love of Canada with Ellen Page

Nova Scotia (and Ellen Page) in spotlight in technology advertising campaign

Glaad.org has a reference to help people understand better. There are some good tips that are worth noting. Elliot Page is a non-binary, transgender person.

There's Something in the Water showed that Page has a good sense behind the camera. As much as we enjoy Page on screen, he has great potential behind the camera.

photo credit: Elliot Page Instragram

Transplant back on Tuesday this week on NBC and CTV

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the news that Baroness von Sketch Show is running 5 bonus episodes on CBC early in 2021.

Transplant airs on Tuesday nights at 10 pm Eastern on NBC and CTV. The Baltimore-Pittsburgh NFL game started out on Thanksgiving night. The game was moved to Sunday due to COVID-19 numbers for the Baltimore Ravens. The game, originally scheduled to air on NBC, was moved to Tuesday.

NBC chose to move the Tuesday programming to Thursday nights, putting Season 1 Episode 11 Orphans on a 48-hour delay. Late yesterday, the NFL moved the game once again to Wednesday.

The network announced last night that the original Tuesday night programming will return to Tuesday night.

NBC Reveals Schedule Changes After Ravens-Steelers NFL Game Is Moved, Again https://t.co/9IVreluxdW

— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) December 1, 2020

NBC normally has the Sunday Night Football package but gets the nighttime U.S. Thanksgiving game as part of the deal. NBC moved the programming to Thursday instead of Wednesday because the network was carrying coverage of the Christmas tree lighting at Rockefeller Center, home of the NBC headquarters.

If you are a Transplant fan and not a fan of football, you might not have even known the show had been temporarily moved. We always remind people to check your local listings.

NBC is running the final 2 episodes of Transplant back-to-back a week from tonight December 8 at 9 pm and 10 pm Eastern.

The return to Tuesday nights is convenient to CTV, which is running a sim sub on the repeats in Canada that are new to the U.S. audience.

Trickster coming to the U.S. on the CW in January

Transplant makes U.S. debut on NBC

U.S. television turns to Canadian TV shows to fill gaps due to COVID-19

Their work has only just begun. #Nurses premieres Monday, December 7 at 10/9c on NBC. pic.twitter.com/QbSl7QUC3V

— NBC Entertainment (@nbc) November 28, 2020

Nurses is the latest Canadian TV drama to come to U.S. broadcast TV

Since we are updating Canadian television on U.S. channels, tomorrow night (December 2) marks the end of the 2 seasons for Coroner on the CW Network. The CBC drama had 16 episodes that ran on the CW since late summer. IFC is wrapping up the 8-episode final season of Baroness von Sketch Show tomorrow night. The CBC comedy has been running on IFC on Wednesdays at midnight Eastern.

Baroness von Sketch Show just announced that 5 bonus episodes will run on CBC starting January 5.

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

NBC starts running the Global series Nurses Monday night at 10 pm Eastern. The first 2 episodes run on Mondays before moving into the Transplant timeslot Tuesday nights at 10 pm Eastern in 2021 on January 5.

Trickster from CBC hits the U.S. airwaves on the CW on January 12.

We have been very pleased with Transplant in its first season. We are mostly happy with Coroner though the show goes off on odd tangents. We implore the U.S. networks to keep these shows well past the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

photo credit: Transplant/CTV
Twitter captures: @Deadline; @NBC