Canadian Crossing

Canadian TV notebook: Murder in a Small Town debuts September 24 on Global and Fox

As we noted last week in our CBC television fall preview, the autumn in 2024 is rather desolate for Canadian TV on both sides of the border. This makes the debut of Murder in a Small Town all the more intriguing.

Rossif Sutherland and Kristin Kreuk head the mostly Canadian cast in the new drama on Fox and Global. Both outlets carry the show Tuesday nights at 9 pm Eastern. Global will simsub the show in Canada.

Sutherland plays a detective in Gibsons, BC where Kreuk plays a local librarian. The cast is filled with Canadians, such as Stana Katic, Mya Lowe, Savonna Spracklin, Aaron Douglas, and Fritzy-Klevans Destine. James Cromwell is the honourary American as a guest star in the pilot.

Cromwell did star in Still Mine (2012), a rare Canadian film set in New Brunswick. Michael McGowan directed and co-wrote the film.

The September 24 episode is a special 90 minute episode at 8 pm Eastern. The October 1 episode also runs at 8 pm before moving to 9 pm Eastern.

Murder in a Small Town has something in common with Family Law, Global's only other independent Canadian TV production. Both are set and shot in British Columbia; the latter show is set and shot in Vancouver. They filmed Season 4 of Family Law from March to June of this year. The CW aired Season 3 this winter. We don't have a date for Season 3 on Global.

We aren't kidding about the dearth of Canadian TV on over the air networks in the fall. Bell Media keeps the best stuff for Crave instead of CTV. Sullivan's Crossing (Season 3) and Sight Unseen (Season 2) have new episodes on CTV in 2025. All of these shows run on The CW.

Hudson & Rex is back in the winter on Citytv for Season 7 as is Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent for Season 2.

Good laughs and great adventures are in store, as the previously announced inaugural season of @CTV Original comedy docuseries MARK MCKINNEY NEEDS A HOBBY airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT, beginning Oct. 2 on CTV, https://t.co/85grarWPYz, and the CTV app. From birding and fly… pic.twitter.com/9MFTOGD4Ca

— CTV PR (@CTV_PR) September 16, 2024

Mark McKinney Needs a Hobby debuts on October 2 on CTV at 9 pm Eastern and Pacific. The Kids in the Hall star travels throughout Canada and the United States in search of people with interesting hobbies. Season 1 has 10 half-hour episodes.

The debut episode has Mark McKinney on the Canadian shores of Lake Erie to learn about birding and birdwatching.

If you are one of those in Canada who has Crave but not CTV, each episode will be available for streaming the next day (Thursdays).

Canadians can watch Children Ruin Everything (Season 4, Part 1) on Thursdays at 8:30 pm ET on CTV beginning October 17.

Looking for more Canadian programming on over-the-air networks? CTV is airing Saturday afternoon CFL games at 3 pm Eastern. Citytv counts Saturday night Hockey Night in Canada games as Canadian content, starting October 12. This applies whether or not the game is also on CBC or one of the Rogers Sportsnet channels. 

2024 Canadian TV upfronts highlights

The CW will air Season 2 of Sullivan's Crossing starting October 2 at 8 pm Eastern. CTV aired Season 2 last spring.

The Nova Scotia scenery is one of the best actors on the show. A bit of sarcasm. Not my cup of tea but we still talk about shows we don't watch. The show would be a bit better if the entire program was in Nova Scotia instead of the inane Boston subplot.

Speaking of Nova Scotia, we are slowly catching up on Season 2 of Moonshine online through The CW. Our Canadian friends can see a beautiful part of Canada by watching all 3 seasons on CBC Gem.

Have watched 3 episodes of Season 2. Jennifer Finnigan's character is definitely enjoying Season 2 doing scenes with Allan Hawco. Her son has disappeared. The other characters have subplots but none of them are interesting. Season 1 was too intriguing and Season 2 is like someone hid the pepper mill.

CBC aired Season 3 more than a year ago. We have literally heard nothing about a Season 4 in Canada or Season 3 in the United States.

Allan Hawco is in both shows, though in highly limited roles.

Loss of 'Run the Burbs' a death knell for Canadian TV (Toronto Star)

Canadian TV notebook: Run the Burbs done after 3 seasons

There is a part of us that is still upset that Hulu didn't pick up Season 3 of Mary Kills People. Lifetime carried the Global TV program in the States yet bailed for Season 3.

Run the Burbs got picked up by Hulu. So far, the U.S. streaming service hasn't picked up Season 3 of the CBC comedy.

Your humble narrator doesn't want to relive the whole debate between Children Ruin Everything and Run the Burbs. Let both Canadian TV comedy shows live on both sides of the border.

Canadians can catch up with all 3 seasons of Run the Burbs on CBC Gem.

2024 CBC television fall preview

Those with Crave on the Canadian side should look into Don't Even. The show has been dropping 2 new episodes each Friday since August 23 and will debut on APTN later this fall.

Don't Even follows best friends in late 1990s in Winnipeg. The show features Leenah Robinson, Victoria Turko, Joel Oulette, Gail Maurice, and Jennifer Podemski.

Maybe Americans can visit friends in Canada who subscribe to Crave.

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

Television viewership is dropping on both side of the border. Canadian TV networks are struggling with declining popularity of U.S. shows as well as Canadian shows. The CW's co-production approach may be ahead of its time and relevant now.

One intriguing oddity between the 2 countries is that to watch a CTV, Global, or Citytv show, people have to log in with a cable or satellite provider. They are over the air networks. U.S. viewers can log in to the site of an over the air network and watch TV shows on their computers or phones.

As an example, when I was in Canada, I could watch Shelved on Crave but not through CTV.ca without a cable password. There is an irony to American watching Sullivan's Crossing online but Canadians can't without a cable password on CTV.ca.

Eugene Levy and Dan Levy became the first father-son duo to host the Emmys Sunday night on ABC and CTV2. We had a mini Schitt's Creek reunion with Annie Murphy on stage with the Levys just before Catherine O'Hara presented the final award of the night for Best Comedy Series.

A bonus with a crowd shot of Emily Hampshire in the audience.

Schitt's Creek received 19 Emmy nominations and 9 Emmys in 2019 and 2020, the final 2 seasons of the 6-year run.

2024 CBC television upfront preview

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

These doctors are scrubbing back in.
NBC's #Transplant premieres October 12 9/8c on NBC. pic.twitter.com/gDcAcNKjdn

— NBC Entertainment (@nbc) September 19, 2023

This tweet is from last fall to promote Season 3 of Transplant on NBC. The U.S. TV market is waiting on Season 4 of Transplant on the U.S. network. We know the fall schedule does not have the program. The U.S. network went 15 months in between Season 2 and Season 3. The Season 4 finale aired on CTV in Canada on January 19 of this year.

NBC hasn't been in a rush to get that program to its television audience. The network's enthusiasm was more apparent during a worldwide pandemic.

Winter should find some progress on a lot of Canadian TV fronts, maybe even Transplant.

photo credits: Murder in a Small Town (x2); 2024 Emmys/ABC
Twitter captures: @CTV_PR; @nbc

2024 CBC television fall preview

The CBC used to run an elaborate press release for the fall schedule. Now the public broadcaster has to hide the fall schedule because of the excessive number of American shows from Fox. Apparently Joel McHale is an honourary Canadian (he isn't).

We don't have a breakdown of when a show ends in a timeslot. Still aren't mindreaders.

Based from the 2024 CBC television upfront, the good stuff comes in winter. Fall programming is not a priority at the CBC.

Murdoch Mysteries (October 7; September 30 on CBC Gem), Plan B (October 7; streaming now on CBC Gem), This Hour Has 22 Minutes (September 17), Still Standing (October 8), The Passionate Eye (September 18), Dragons' Den (September 26), Marketplace (October 11), About That with Andrew Chang (September 20), The Fifth Estate (October 11), Hockey Night in Canada (October 12), Heartland (October 6; September 29 on CBC Gem), and The Great Canadian Baking Show (October 6) all return to the CBC television lineup.

Monday
Murdoch Mysteries, 8p
Plan B, 9p

Tuesday
This Hour Has 22 Minutes, 8p
Still Standing, 8:30p
Animal Control, 9p
The New Wave Of Standup, 9:30p

Wednesday
The Knowing/Paid In Full, 8p
The Passionate Eye, 9p

Thursday
Dragons' Den, 8p
My Mum, Your Dad, 9p

Friday
Marketplace, 8p
About That with Andrew Chang, 8:30p
The Real Crown/The Fifth Estate, 9p

Saturday
Hockey Night in Canada, 7p

Sunday
Heartland, 7p
The Great Canadian Baking Show, 8p
Crime Scene Kitchen, 9p

Years worth of work. The story of so many First Nations families. We always knew about the children, youth and adults who went missing at Indian Residential Schools, inside Indian Hospitals and at TB sanitariums. The Knowing. The book is available on Aug 27 and the limited TV… https://t.co/HMypbdaoZl

— Tanya Talaga (@TanyaTalaga) August 23, 2024

The CBC television release has start dates for the new shows: The Knowing (September 25) and Paid In Full (October 23; September 21 on CBC Gem). The New Wave Of Standup has Seasons 4 and 5 starting September 24 (Seasons 4-5 streaming on CBC Gem).

CASTING NEWS: Paul Sun-Hyung Lee joins the cast of Murdoch Mysteries for season 18, filming now in Toronto @bitterasiandude @CBCMurdoch https://t.co/fzr9B1vIOK pic.twitter.com/2FGN4QLhos

— CBC PR (@CBC_Publicity) July 23, 2024

Season 2 of Plan B has already been on CBC Gem. Season 2 has a whole new cast with Vinessa Antoine and Vincent Leclerc in the lead roles. This is one of the rare times of late that the CBC has scheduled a Canadian TV show after Murdoch Mysteries on Monday nights.

The Knowing is a multimedia presentation by journalist, filmmaker, and Anishinaabe author Tanya Talaga "on a quest to find the truth of what happened to the women in her maternal family, revealing a story intertwined with Canada's Indian Residential School system."

The book came out August 27. The documentary series has a screening during the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, and the TV program premieres September 25 on CBC and CBC Gem.

Paid In Full is about the "journey of Black artists in the music industry from its inception to the digital streaming age." Jully Black handles the narration.

As we noted, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee joins the cast of Murdoch Mysteries this fall.

There is way too much foreign filler in the CBC television fall lineup.

2024 CBC television upfront preview

CBC should grab Shelved if CTV cancelled that show

Loss of 'Run the Burbs' a death knell for Canadian TV (Toronto Star)

Canadian TV notebook: Run the Burbs done after 3 seasons

.@CBC has announced premiere dates for its fall 2024 slate, including Paid in Full: The Battle for Black Music (Sept. 21), Murdoch Mysteries (Sept. 30), The Great Canadian Baking Show (Oct. 6) and the 50th season of The Fifth Estate (Oct. 11). Read more: https://t.co/dbpbmWFCYh pic.twitter.com/6odw7Tvals

— CBC PR (@CBC_Publicity) August 21, 2024

2024 CBC television winter preview

2023 CBC television fall preview

We had a lot of Canadian film related type programming on the CBC last fall: Bones of Crows, Blackberry, and Swan Song.

Season 2 of SkyMed ran last fall. We know there will be a Season 3. There aren't cancellations based off last fall's schedule, just shows not meant to last beyond a season.

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

CanadianCrossing.com CBC coverage

CBC runs Canadian films on Saturday nights until Hockey Night in Canada starts up again on October 12. You can check out our coverage of those Canadian films.

photo credit: The Knowing/CBC
Twitter captures: @TanyaTalaga; @CBC_Publicity (x2)

2024 Canadian TV upfronts highlights

While CBC carries more Canadian TV shows than the 3 Canadian private networks combined, we are curious what CTV, Global, and Citytv have for the upcoming 2024-2025 TV schedule.

CTV/Bell Media

The new show of note on CTV comes from Kids in the Hall alum Mark McKinney on a search mission to uncover Canada's hobby enthusiasts on Mark McKinney Needs a Hobby. We've been surprised that no one has tried to do a take on what Jonny Harris does with Still Standing on CBC. Hoping this show has a similar feel.

Children Ruin Everything is coming back with 16 new episodes that look to be divided between a Season 4 and yes kids, a Season 5. We are curious as to which season that Morris (aka Andrew) will start talking. The program airs on The CW in the United States.

Sullivan's Crossing (Season 3) and Sight Unseen (Season 2) will have new episodes on CTV and also The CW. The latter show is a co-production with the 2 networks. CTV aired Season 2 of Sullivan's Crossing with the CW airing coming this fall. The season finale airs Sunday on CTV. Sight Unseen just finished its 10-episode Season 1 on Wednesday on The CW.

SurrealEstate (CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada and SyFy in the United States) will have a Season 3. This is a surprise to those who suffered through a miserable Season 2. Season 1 was cool and Season 2 was not.

Transplant is done after 4 seasons on CTV though NBC is taking its sweet [bleep] time getting to Season 4. The Spencer Sisters is an one-and-done series for CTV and the CW.

Unfortunately, there is no Season 2 for Shelved. Season 1 was worth a few years of this show. But, cutbacks.

Bell Media making deep cuts to W5, CTV local newscasts

While we don't normally count Canadian news as "Canadian programming" in terms of the CRTC, we made a grand exception for W5, which Bell Media cancelled suddenly in February. W5 was older than the Super Bowl and 60 Minutes, dating back to September 11, 1966 on CTV.

Canadians lost a Canadian TV classic and a necessary part of Canadian TV journalism.

CBC should grab Shelved if CTV cancelled that show

Loss of 'Run the Burbs' a death knell for Canadian TV (Toronto Star)

Canadian TV notebook: Run the Burbs done after 3 seasons

CTV has new seasons of The Traitors Canada (Season 2), Battle of the Generations (Season 2), and The Amazing Race Canada (Season 10). Karine Vanasse returns to host The Traitors: Canada et Les traîtres on Noovo. While we want Vanasse to have success. she is very much needed as an actor on film and television.

While this is on the sports end, CTV will have Saturday afternoon CFL football starting September 7. The CBC had the last CFL game over the air with the 2007 Grey Cup and CTV hasn't aired a CFL game since 1986. CTV regularly simsubs NFL games from the United States.

CTV Comedy greenlit Season 3 for Acting Good, starring Paul Rabliauskas. There was mention of another season of The Good Stuff with Mary Berg (daytime on CTV) but no note on a Season 4 of Mary Makes It Easy on CTV Life Channel in Canada and the Food Network in the United States.

On the Crave side of things, Shoresy is renewed for Season 4. Season 3 airs later this month on Hulu in the United States. There will be a Season 2 for Late Bloomer and The Trades. The latter show is a bit of Trailer Park Boys and Moonshine, very Nova Scotia.

Super Team Canada is an animated series coming to Crave next year featuring Will Arnett, Cobie Smulders, Kevin McDonald, Charles Demers, Brian Drummond, Ceara Morgana, and Veena Sood about the exploits of 6 little-known Canadian superheroes.

Don't Even (Crave and APTN) is an urban Indigenous coming-of-age story in the late 1990s in Winnipeg. Leenah Robinson and Victoria Turko are the leads with Joel Oulette (Trickster), Gail Maurice, and Jennifer Podemski.

There is a feel of Montréal with a docuseries The Rebuild: Inside the Montreal Canadiens about the Habs' previous season. As someone who writes about hockey, the team has been rebuilding for awhile. There are short series based on previous Canadian films Bon Cop, Bad Cop and So Long, Marianne (think Leonard Cohen).

Sasha Leigh Henry is back with a drug-related drama called Bad Trips. Henry created Bria Mack Gets A Life, which just won Best Comedy Series at the Canadian Screen Awards last week. A Season 2 of Bria Mack Gets A Life is not mentioned in the Bell Media release. Then again, no one at Bell Media said Shelved got cancelled.

Update: Turns out Bria Mack Gets a Life got cancelled. There was U.S. interest in the show if there was a second season. 

2024 CBC television upfront preview

Global/Corus

Canadian TV fans might recognize this shot of Gibsons, BC. Molly's Reach was the restaurant on The Beachcombers, a Canadian TV series that ran on the CBC from 1972-1990. I've seen a few episodes on the Internet and I can see the charm in the program.

This is contained within the trailer for Murder in a Small Town, starring Rossif Sutherland and Kristin Kreuk. Fox will debut the program during the 2024-25 TV season. Global has the show on its fall schedule, Wednesdays at 10 pm Eastern.

Sutherland plays the chief of police while Kreuk plays a local librarian. Somehow, they solve crimes. Watching the trailer made me think back to Three Pines, a series where Sutherland starred. Sutherland and Kreuk are Canadian and well known to American audiences.

Molly's Reach is a reference point that 99.99999% of Americans and a lot of Canadians would not know. Nice Easter egg.

Global will show Season 3 of Family Law sometime in 2025. The U.S. viewers are actually ahead of the curve, having seen that season on The CW. Not a spoiler, but Season 3 is better than Season 2.

Though Doc, starring Canadian actor Molly Parker, is not a Canadian show, we note that Global will carry the Fox series in Canada. We mentioned Murder in a Small Town and Doc in our Victoria Day notebook.

2024 Victoria Day notebook: Vancouver, Edmonton meet tonight for Game 7

Corus cut ties to Robyn Hood after a single season and 8 episodes. The show was a take by Director X on the Robin Hood legend, starring Jessye Romeo as Robyn Loxley, "a young woman whose masked hip-hop band, The Hood, is known for their inventive videos and anti-authoritarian message."

I thought the idea was interesting. I heard next to nothing about how this show was. The trailer seemed really dark. Sorry this didn't get more of a chance.

Global ran Season 3 of Departure last summer. Season 3 did not run on Peacock in the States. No news likely means the show won't return.

2023 Canadian TV upfronts highlights

2022 Canadian TV upfronts highlights

2021 Canadian TV upfronts highlights

Citytv/Rogers

The focus on the Citytv upfront was on the fall schedule. So what does Citytv count as Canadian television in the fall? Hudson & Rex repeats and Hockey Night in Canada.

The fall lineup features Hudson & Rex repeats on Saturday nights at 10 pm as well as Sunday nights at 7 pm Eastern AND 10 pm Pacific. Hopefully, those are distinct reruns.

Most Saturdays, Citytv is simulcasting a game from a Rogers Sportsnet cable feed. Occasionally, that game is a simulcast of CBC. The Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver affiliates usually carry a second game at 7 pm Pacific.

Rogers has a picture of the Citytv fall schedule. The most Canadian part of this is a picture of Connor McDavid.

We’re wagging our tails with excitement! Our favourite cop-and-canine duo is BACK for an all-new season of #HudsonAndRex returning in 2025 on Citytv. It’s season 7 – that’s season 49 in dog years! 🐶 pic.twitter.com/LuRxL20qyi

— Citytv (@City_tv) June 10, 2024

Update: We only had to wait 3 days after our story to find out Hudson & Rex is coming back in the winter of 2025 on Citytv. We have the release for the "Canadian content" including Season 4 of Canada's Got Talent. This comes 6 days after the Citytv upfront for the American shows.

Hudson & Rex will be back in the winter on Citytv for Season 7: 6 seasons and 100 episodes so far. Whatever we might think of the quality of the program, 100 episodes in Canadian TV is a rare honour. 

Those in the States can catch Hudson & Rex episodes on UPtv, a "wholesome" family type channel you might have on cable.

Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent has advantages to show Canadians the real Toronto

Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent is renewed for Season 2, also in the winter. Canada's Got Talent ran this spring. I didn't think Wong & Winchester was that great but I miss its presence.

"Fox also has come in as a partner on The Donut (working title), a single-camera family business comedy in development at Canada's CBC from Catherine Reitman and Philip Sternberg, stars of CBC/Netflix's popular comedy Workin’ Moms, which Reitman created."

We see a lot of films that are co-produced by Canada and the United States. Canadian TV seems to be taking on this trend on some level. Interestingly, Fox is involved in this — odd since this is the network that bought the rights to Diggstown and never showed the Canadian TV show.

2024 Canadian Screen Awards: Little Bird leads the way with 13 CSAs

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

The U.S. writers strike did not produce an influx of Canadian TV. We still have slight hope that a U.S. outlet can save Shelved, so ironically, more episodes can air in Canada.

The TV-eh.com Web site is a great resource on Canadian TV. We like promoting them because they are such a valuable resource on this topic. There is no relationship of any kind; we are just generous.

Please let us know any corrections or updates to this list.

photo credits: Sight Unseen/CTV/The CW; Super Team Canada/Crave; Murder in a Small Town/FOX/Global; Robyn Hood/Global; Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent/Citytv

2024 Canadian Screen Awards wrapup: Technically better than 2023

My column on tonight's #CdnScreenAwards: A desperately needed rebound from last year's disaster (once you could actually hear it). But Canadian Academy still needs to seriously readjust and rebuild if we want our film & TV industry to succeed. (And I do!) https://t.co/o91pZgIlXe

— Barry Hertz (@HertzBarry) June 1, 2024

Mae Martin wanted to be sure people were happier with the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards than the 2023 version. Technically, they got their wish since the ceremony wasn't as terrible as the 2023 coverage.

Having a ceremony in a theatre brought back good memories of the 2019 gala, the last time there was such a ceremony. Unfortunately, 60 minutes and a taped ceremony is subpar for the needs of Canadian television and Canadian film.

The missing sound at the beginning, especially since the telecast wasn't live, was problematic. Fortunately, the sound was not gone for too long.

Martin was okay as a host. They ran the "Carolyn Taylor is my best friend" joke into the ground. Somehow, Martin had more than one bit about playing a worm in a future Dune film from Denis Villeneuve, which won't even be a Canadian film.

Martin was in Toronto while Samantha Bee never left New York City in 2023. An improvement yet light years away from what we deserve.

2024 Canadian Screen Award nominations

2024 Canadian Screen Awards nominations: Film

2024 Canadian Screen Awards nominations: Television

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television saved the top awards for last night's ceremony. Unfortunately, because the ceremony was 2 hours and there was only 1 hour for television, major awards such as Best Director for film and Best Comedy Series and Best Drama Series on television were announced haphazardly. These are major awards in other countries, and that should include Canada.

Get to know @kdeveryjacobs, the recipient of this year’s Radius Award, presented by @made_nous, as she reflects on the people and places that have shaped her as an artist and advocate. The full video is available now on [link] pic.twitter.com/OKAg3uVRe2

— The Canadian Academy (@TheCdnAcademy) May 30, 2024

2023 Canadian Screen Awards wrapup

As Mike Sr would say, "Good God!" Congrats to all my wonderful colleagues on @SonOfACritchTV for taking home the coveted Audience Award at this year's @TheCdnAcademy! Unbelievably cool. ❤🍁❤ pic.twitter.com/PyhdowpxrZ

— Kerri MacDonald 🥔 (@kerrimacd) June 1, 2024

Son of a Critch (CBC) won the 2024 Cogeco Audience Choice Award. The beauty of this award is that viewers get to vote for the winner. The CBC comedy beat out Family Law (Global), Heartland (CBC), Murdoch Mysteries (CBC), and Sullivan's Crossing (CTV).

All 5 have U.S. TV deals with the CW carrying Family Law, Son of a Critch, and Sullivan's Crossing.

Son of a Critch (CBC) was a finalist last year, losing out to Hudson & Rex (Citytv). This was the first year that Family Law and Sullivan's Crossing were finalists.

2024 CBC television upfront preview

CBC should grab Shelved if CTV cancelled that show

Canadian TV notebook: Run the Burbs done after 3 seasons

This Canadian Press article notes, as we seem to hear each year, the wonderful Canadian television series honoured with CSA nominations and then not coming back.

Little Bird (Crave/APTN) is a one-off on purpose. Sort Of (CBC), Workin' Moms (CBC), Transplant (CTV), and Letterkenny (Crave) got to set good-byes on their own terms. Run the Burbs (CBC) and Shelved (CTV) had their fates determined by others.

The article notes that CBC executive vice-president Barbara Williams, at the public broadcaster's upfront, said Run The Burbs was cancelled due to a lack of viewership and to make room for other programs. Viewership is a factor but the public broadcaster has holes to fill in its fall lineup, especially on the comedy side.

The consensus in the article is that there will be fewer Canadian TV shows in the future, especially for traditionally underrepresented audiences.

Barry Hertz from The Globe and Mail had an interview that suggests the future of Canadian television is … outside Canada?

The private broadcasters have their upfronts next week and we will cover them in depth.

Jackson Weaver of CBC News weighs in with the state of Canadian film (it's not good). Director Chandler Levack (I Like Movies), whom I met in person last month, took the view that a huge number of capable Canadian filmmakers are not being given the chance to succeed. 

Levack told CBC News that we have to shake off the stigma of Canadian movies being boring or an afterthought. Unfortunately, she brought up Solo (Sophie Depuis) and Something You Said Last Night (Luis De Filippis), Canadian films with lots of flaws.

One suggestion we hadn't heard was Levack's idea of a cool Canadian distributor or marketer, akin to America's A24, to generate excitement about Canadian films.

The Canadian Screen Awards give media outlets an excuse to write about the state of Canadian TV and Canadian film.

The Golden Screen Award celebrates the Canadian film that made the most money

PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie won the 2023 version of the Golden Screen Award for the Canadian film that made the most money. The film reportedly made $202 million (U.S.) worldwide. Its sibling film — PAW Patrol: The Movie — won the 2021 award. If you have children, you may have seen both films even in the United States.

We have seen some recent Golden Screen Award winners: 1991 (2018), Compulsive Liar | Menteur (2019), and Two Days Before Christmas | 23 décembre (2022). All of them were broad Quebec films.

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

Here are the winners of the special awards:

Lifetime Achievement: Marilyn Denis
Board of Directors Tribute: John Brunton, Jeff Barnaby
Changemaker Award: Tonya Williams
Radius Award: Devery Jacobs, Lamar Johnson
Gordon Sinclair Award: Paul Workman
Sustainable Production Award: Science North, Jane Goodall: Reasons for Hope
Academy Icon Award: Denis Villeneuve
Industry Leadership Award: Michael MacMillan
Earle Grey Award: Patrick Huard

You can catch up on all the winners and watch the video.

Overview Canadian television Canadian film

photo credit: Canadian Screen Awards/CBC
Twitter captures: @HertzBarry; @TheCdnAcademy; @kerrimacd

2024 Canadian Screen Awards: Little Bird leads the way with 13 CSAs

The Porter dominated last year's Canadian Screen Awards on the Canadian television and unfortunately has been mostly forgotten. We hope the same fate won't hit Little Bird, the big winner on the television side of the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards.

The Crave/APTN show won 11 awards earlier in the week and 2 big awards last night. The show won best drama, best ensemble performance in a drama, Darla Contois and Braeden Clarke for acting awards, and Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers for best direction for a drama series for her work on the first episode, Love is all Around.

U.S. viewers can watch Little Bird through PBS.

Sort Of, from Bilal Baig and Fab Filippo, ended its run with 4 awards: best direction, photography and picture editing of a comedy, as well as best original song.

Bria Mack Gets A Life won for Best Comedy Series, beating out 4 really good shows we know. Letterkenny won best ensemble performance in a comedy. 

Meaghan Rath and Ennis Esmer won the acting awards for a comedy for Children Ruin Everything on CTV. Yet the comedy didn't make the cut for Best Comedy Series.

Mae Martin, host of last night's ceremony, won the award for best guest performance in a comedy for their stint in I Have Nothing (Crave). Daniel Maslany won best guest performance on Transplant (CTV). His sister Tatiana has a lot more of those awards on her mantle.

Winners are marked with a + sign.

Comedy

Best Comedy Series
Bria Mack Gets A Life (Crave)+
Letterkenny (Crave)
Shelved (CTV)
Son of a Critch (CBC)
Workin' Moms (CBC)

Best Lead Performer, Comedy
Meaghan Rath Children Ruin Everything+
Carolyn Taylor I Have Nothing
Andrew Phung Run The Burbs
Chris Sandiford Shelved
Benjamin Evan Ainsworth Son of a Critch
Mark Critch Son of a Critch
Dani Kind Workin' Moms
Catherine Reitman Workin' Moms

Best Supporting Performer, Comedy
Ennis Esmer Children Ruin Everything+
Ali Hassan Run the Burbs
Jonathan Langdon Run the Burbs
Amanda Cordner Sort Of
Ellora Patnaik Sort Of
Supinder Wraich Sort Of
Jonathan Torrens Vollies
Sarah McVie Workin' Moms

Best Guest Performance, Comedy
Mae Martin I Have Nothing+
Jay Baruchel Son of a Critch
Ali Hassan Sort Of
Dan Aykroyd Workin' Moms
Jann Arden Workin' Moms

Best Ensemble Performance, Comedy
Acting Good (CTV Comedy Channel)
Letterkenny (Crave)+
Shelved (CTV)
Slip (The Roku Channel)
Workin' Moms (CBC)

Congratulations to Little Bird Series for winning not one, but 11 trophies at the Canadian Screen Awards. The limited series, which aired on APTN, took home 11 trophies at the afternoon and evening galas, which focused on craft, television programs, and performances. pic.twitter.com/j5Fa3j4PF2

— APTN (@APTNtv) May 30, 2024

Drama

Best Drama Series
Essex County (CBC)
Little Bird (Crave)+
Plan B (CBC)
Slasher: Ripper (Hollywood Suite)
Transplant (CTV)

Best Lead Performer, Drama
Mayko Nguyen Hudson & Rex
Darla Contois Little Bird+
Ellyn Jade Little Bird
Victor Garber Family Law
Meredith MacNeill Pretty Hard Cases
Adrienne Moore Pretty Hard Cases
Hamza Haq Transplant
Laurence Leboeuf Transplant

Best Supporting Performer, Drama
Lynn Rafferty Bad Behind Bars: Jodi Arias
Kevin Durand Essex County
Braeden Clarke Little Bird+
Emma Hunter Moonshine
Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova Robyn Hood
Salvatore Antonio Slasher: Ripper
Paula Brancati Slasher: Ripper
Ayisha Issa Transplant

Best Guest Performance, Drama
Lauren Holly Family Law
Imajyn Cardinal Little Bird
Manuel Rodriguez Robyn Hood
Dani Kind SkyMed
Daniel Maslany Transplant+

Best Ensemble Performance, Drama
Essex County (CBC)
Little Bird (Crave)+
Pretty Hard Cases (CBC)
Robyn Hood (Global)

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

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There are 9 Canadian TV shows nominated for an ensemble performance: 5 in comedy and 4 in drama. 7 of the 9 series are definitely not coming back. Slip needs a new home, meaning Acting Good is the only one definitely coming back. Find some time to catch up on some great Canadian TV that ended their time in the TV universe.

Overview Canadian television Canadian film

photo credit: Canadian Screen Awards/CBC
Twitter capture: @APTNtv

2024 CBC television upfront preview

We have the new and returning CBC shows for the 2024-2025 season. Let's see what we have in store.

Murdoch Mysteries (Season 18), This Hour Has 22 Minutes (Season 32), The Fifth Estate (Season 50), and Marketplace (Season 52) run in the fall and winter.

we’re on set filming for Netflix’s North of North comedy series pic.twitter.com/sizRcuRWht

— ulaaquti (@ulaaquti) April 2, 2024

Comedy

CBC needs a lot more comedies to fill holes taken by U.S. and British television shows as well as cancellations, such as Run the Burbs and One More Time.

North of North and Small Achievable Goals air in Winter 2025. Snotty Nose Rez Kids has a 2025 date without specifics.

North of North stars Anna Lambe as a young Inuk mother "who wants to build a new future for herself. After a spontaneous — and extremely public — exit from her marriage, Siaja has to find a job and a place for her and her young daughter to live, and fast. Her only option might be to go from one complicated living situation to another — where Siaja's dreams of a fresh start collide with some long-kept secrets."

Small Achievable Goals brings back Baroness von Sketch Show veterans Jennifer Whalen and Meredith MacNeill. They are somehow forced to work together on a podcast and discover "they are both undergoing “The Change” – aka menopause." Whalen and MacNeill co-created the show.

Snotty Nose Rez Kids is based off of the Indigenous hip hop group of the same name. Quinton and Darren move "from their remote Haisla Nation to the big city of Vancouver to chase their hip hop dreams." Jennifer Podemski is the showrunner.

That sounds really encouraging for the Tuesday (likely) winter schedule along with the return of Son of a Critch (Season 4).

The only other comedy for fall is Season 2 of You're My Hero, a Web series that ran on CBC Gem.

The other comedies mentioned in the release are comedy festivals from Halifax and Winnipeg (both in 2025) as well as The New Wave Of Standup (2025).

CBC should grab Shelved if CTV cancelled that show

Loss of 'Run the Burbs' a death knell for Canadian TV (Toronto Star)

Canadian TV notebook: Run the Burbs done after 3 seasons

2023 CBC television upfront preview

Drama

We only get a single truly new drama.

Saint-Pierre combines Allan Hawco and French star Josephine Jobert investigating crimes on Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, the French islands just south of Newfoundland. This is all I need to know to sign up for this. The show airs in Winter 2025.

Plan B returns late in the summer with new characters than we had in Season 1. Vinessa Antoine is back as a Montreal police officer "who uses the mysterious agency to alter the outcome of crimes."

The fall schedule features a return for Heartland (Season 18). The winter schedule has returning dramas Allegiance (Season 2), SkyMed (Season 3), and Wild Cards (Season 2). The U.S. audience will see the latter show on The CW in Winter 2025.

Moonshine went from fall (Season 2) to summer for Season 3. The press release does not mention the show. The 3 seasons are available on CBC Gem in Canada. Season 2 is now available on The CW Web site in the United States.

CBC unveils 2024-25 programming slate featuring over 40 original series and specials from Canadian storytellers https://t.co/xCQp5YqfD3

— TV, eh? (@tv_eh) May 23, 2024

Other

We have a single new entry, once again in Winter 2025. Locals Welcome, from food writer and expert Suresh Doss, "is a celebration of the lesser-known food places that make up the fabric of our rich communities."

Dragons' Den (Season 19), The Great Canadian Baking Show (Season 8), Still Standing (Season 10), and The Passionate Eye (Season 10) are back in the fall. No mention of Best In Miniature.

The Nature of Things (Season 64) along with Season 3 of Bollywed and Stuff The British Stole return this winter. No mention of Push or The Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down.

Canada's Ultimate Challenge and Race for the Tide have been running on Sunday nights during the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. Hockey fans aren't happy; we are confused, though the CBC makes money off those shows where they make no money on hockey (Thanks, Rogers).

2024 CBC television winter preview

Canadian TV notebook: CBC Gem only place to watch Sort Of in 2023

2023 CBC television fall preview

Much of the schedule that just ended were designed to be seat fillers, though Canadian seat fillers, such as Blackberry and Bones of Crows. To the best of our knowledge, CBC television still hasn't aired Sort Of (Season 3), though that show is available on CBC Gem.

We fear that the same Fox show that ran in the heralded Tuesday night 9 pm timeslot will be back on CBC. Beyond ridiculous for the public broadcaster to resort to this. The new shows all sounds promising but they aren't enough to fill a 13-hour schedule (2 hours M-F and 3 hours on Sunday).

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CBC could show reruns of The Beachcombers and King of Kensington and draw amazing ratings. They could also draft more CBC Gem series and bump them up to CBC.

Random cancellations such as Run the Burbs, Tallboyz, and Frankie Drake Mysteries are met with holes filled by non-Canadian and definitely not creative programming. This feels a bit like the Toronto Blue Jays not signing Matt Chapman and not having anyone in the minors to play at 3rd base.

Plan B starts August 11, just after the Olympic Games Paris 2024 coverage (July 26-August 11). (The Paralympic Games Paris 2024 coverage runs from August 28-September 8.)

We criticize the private networks for not airing enough distinct Canadian TV shows. The CBC should be doing better for all Canadians.

Speaking of the private networks — CTV, Global, Citytv — we will cover their upfronts, hopefully on June 7.

photo credit: Saint-Pierre/CBC
Twitter captures: @ulaaquti; @tv_eh

2024 Victoria Day notebook: Vancouver, Edmonton meet tonight for Game 7

Welcome to Victoria Day 2024. Hope our Canadian readers are getting to enjoy a well deserved holiday long weekend.

The second round NHL Stanley Cup playoffs series with the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks ends tonight at 9 pm Eastern/6 pm Pacific at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. CBC and Rogers Sportsnet have the game in Canada while American viewers get a less than stellar play by play person on ESPN.

The winner faces Dallas for the Campbell Conference final starting Thursday. Our series ending story runs tomorrow.

2024 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs scoreboard

2024 Stanley Cup notebook: Vancouver plays Edmonton in the second round

Today we say goodbye to #AliceMunro, a Canadian icon whose legacy lives on within our walls.

Along with readers around the world, we send our deepest condolences to the Munro family.

A full tribute can be found on our Facebook and Instagram pages. pic.twitter.com/Kq4UQvVjn3

— Munro's Books (@MunrosBooks) May 14, 2024

I had recently acquired a collection of Alice Munro short stories. I was curious particularly about The Bear Who Came Down a Mountain, the Alice Munro short story that Sarah Polley adapted for her directorial debut Away From Her. Polley received an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay and Julie Christie got a Best Actress nomination.

The casting fit the characters in the short story. Polley had worked with Julie Christie on No Such Thing (2001) and The Secret Life of Words (2005). Gordon Pinsent was wonderful as Grant, the husband left behind as Fiona goes into a home.

Made me think of Kristen Thomson, who played nurse Kristy in Away From Her and how good she was in that part. Polley cast Thomson in the short film I Shout Love (2001). You might also recognize Thomson from her role as Noelle Dyson on Cardinal and an appearance on a recent episode of Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent as an intense billet mom for a young hockey player.

Speaking of Victoria, the city has a wonderful downtown bookstore called Munro Books at 1108 Government Street. Munro and her first husband James opened Munro Books in 1963. The couple divorced in 1972.

The acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar adapted 3 of Munro's short stories — Chance, Silence, and Soon — into Julieta (2016). Other film adaptations of Munro's short stories include Martha, Ruth and Edie (1988), Edge of Madness (2002), and Hateship, Loveship (2013).

Alice Munro was 92.

TSN is mourning the loss of our friend and beloved SportsCentre host Darren Dutchyshen. pic.twitter.com/Mb7m1IzCCY

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 16, 2024

Darren Dutchyshen was a very well-loved TSN sportscaster. The accolades following his demise from fellow TSN people as well as competitors from CBC and Rogers Sportsnet showed us Dutch was a good human being besides being a top flight sportscaster.

Dutchyshen had dealt with prostate cancer and had been off the air since around Christmas. He was 57. Proof that cancer sucks.

British Columbia fine tunes decriminalizing drug policy

CBC should grab Shelved if CTV cancelled that show

We include some in-depth stories in our Victoria Day notebook. Hard drugs and Canadian television don't normally mix. Canadian storytelling is crucial as is dealing with the opioids crisis.

We are working on a story about the boycott of the many grocery store chains owned by Loblaws. Hope to get that story up this week here and on our sibling blog, BalanceofFood.com.

Some stories are worth reading past a 3 minute minimum.

2024 Canadian Screen Award nominations

2024 Canadian Screen Awards nominations: Film

2024 Canadian Screen Awards nominations: Television

We still care about the Canadian Screen Awards even if we have serious doubt that the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television cares. The unexpected delay means the week honouring Canadian television and Canadian film will finally run next week. The May 31 ceremony on CBC means the public broadcaster will not carry Game 5 of the Vancouver or Edmonton series against Dallas.

We might get the CBC upfront this week. Maybe. 

We don't report on the Canadians on U.S. television because the universe is stronger than we are capable of reporting. We do want to note that Fox has a new medical drama series called Doc, starring Molly Parker. Parker plays Dr. Amy Elias, a Minneapolis surgeon who suffers a brain injury that erases the last 8 years of her life.

The U.S. network also acquired the U.S. rights to Murder in a Small Town with Canadian leads Rossif Sutherland and Kristin Kreuk, based on the 9-book Karl Alberg novel series by Canadian author L.R. Wright. The show will be shot on the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia.

Only White Sox have scored fewer runs than Jays. Ross Atkins says Jays hitters are working advantage counts & better results are ahead.

“We do believe in we do believe in the changes and adjustments (we’ve made) & feel like we have the time and the talent for that to correct.”

— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) May 18, 2024

The Toronto Blue Jays will be on the MLB Network hosting the Chicago White Sox on Victoria Day. Game time is 3:07 pm. MLB Network will carry the Rogers Sportsnet feed unless you live in the Chicago area (d'oh). The teams will also meet in Chicago next week.

This has the potential of scoreless ties through 9 innings between the 2 teams. Blue Jays fans seem slightly encouraged on Saturday when Davis Schneider replaced George Springer in the leadoff spot.

The Blue Jays are weak on offence and not exciting to watch. While Toronto did score 3 runs on Friday, Tampa's Tyler Alexander (who?) was perfect through 7 1/3 innings.

The next 10 days has the potential to go better. Otherwise, the Blue Jays may be sellers at the end of July.

2024 Toronto Blue Jays preview

2024 CFL preseason schedule

The CFL preseason starts today with Winnipeg at Saskatchewan. The non-TSN games are on CFL+, home of the games in the United States.

Want to emphasize the positive and not think about Chad Kelly or Shawn Lemon.

Our season preview runs June 5.

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

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You might celebrate Victoria Day with a barbecue or watching a sports event. You might be an introvert and you celebrate by watching a Canadian film. We have film reviews and coverage. 

photo credits: NHL; Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television; CFL
Twitter captures: @MunrosBooks; @TSN_Sports; @bnicholsonsmith

CBC should grab Shelved if CTV cancelled that show

Editor's note: This is no longer a matter of "if" since CTV has cancelled Shelved. This would still be a great pickup by CBC.

American TV has a lot of shows that have aired on more than one network. Brooklyn Nine-Nine ran 5 seasons on Fox and 3 on NBC. Taxi had most of its run on ABC but finished on NBC.

Murdoch Mysteries started out on Citytv and ran for 5 seasons. CBC picked up the program and has aired it since January 2013.

CBC and Citytv had a production deal in 2015 where the CBC ran Young Drunk Punk reruns while Citytv ran Mr. D reruns. The shows originally appeared on the other network.

Ann Pornel wrote a recent column in the Toronto Star on how Canadian TV is falling short of diversity with the Run the Burbs cancellation. Pornel noted in the article that One More Time (CBC) and Shelved (CTV) were cancelled after a single season. This was news to a lot of people, including your humble narrator.

CBC has had a dearth of comedies of late. The home of Schitt's Creek, Kim's Convenience, and Workin' Moms hasn't replenished that comedy supply. Having to resort to mediocre American comedies (Animal Control) in key time slots. We know CBC is down one comedy with the cancellation of Run the Burbs and likely another if One More Time isn't returning.

We agree with Pornel about having more comedies that reflect underappreciated segments of Canadian society. We also love Shelved and that show deserves more of a life.

Loss of 'Run the Burbs' a death knell for Canadian TV (Toronto Star)

Canadian TV notebook: Workin' Moms final season is on Netflix

We first wrote about Shelved about a year ago after its first season run on CTV. We watched a few episodes while on Canadian soil in November. Loved this show. One of those shows Americans would love if they knew this existed.

Anthony Q. Farrell created this series. Farrell wrote for The Office, worked as an executive story editor for Little Mosque on the Prairie, wrote for The Thundermans on Nickleodeon, and co-created the CBC Gem show Overlord and the Underwoods.

Shelved takes place at Jameson Branch, a not-so-great branch in the Parkdale neighbourhood in the Toronto public library system. Lyndie Greenwood, Paul Braunstein, Dakota Ray Hebert, and Chris Sandiford are the leads in the show.

Robin Duke plays an unhoused recurring character. The drag queen storytime episode felt ripped from the headlines in Canada and the United States.

Comparison points would be shows such as Abbott Elementary and Parks and Recreation.

If CTV and Bell Media let go of the show, CBC would still be a winner in showing Season 1 of Shelved before producing and airing new episodes in the near future.

We thought the Young Drunk Punk and Mr. D relationship was a bit odd and that Young Drunk Punk deserved a second season. If that is what works for Canadian television, better than ditching good shows too soon. CTV could even run repeats of One More Time or even pick up more seasons of Run the Burbs. Even if CTV does renew Shelved, the network could make a financial deal with CBC to show Season 1 reruns this fall instead of more Animal Control. 

And yes, this is an open letter to the CW to pick up Shelved if that money helps out more seasons of this Canadian show.

Ann Pornel in @TorontoStar on “Run the Burbs” cancellation and the sorry state of current Canadian tv. Didn’t realize that “Shelved” and “One More Time” were also axed. Sucks all round. https://t.co/2nELfB3BNe

— Glenn Sumi (@glennsumi) May 8, 2024

Canadians have proven for decades that comedy runs through its veins. Canadians are funny, especially when given a proper chance to show off their talents. Dramas are easier to produce and get noticed in the TV landscape of late. The CBC Tuesday night comedy lineup was a dynamite collection of comedy. These days, the holes in that lineup are large enough to fit mice.

Canadian television can't afford to randomly throw away comedy gold in shows such as Shelved. Would be like throwing away steak or truffles for a starving person. There is a lot of potential in that show. CTV has every right to be foolish and throw out Shelved and CBC has every right to bring that show to the public broadcaster.

Canadians can watch Season 1 (for now) of Shelved on CTV.ca.

Canadian TV notebook: Run the Burbs done after 3 seasons

Four in the Morning would benefit Canadian television with a Netflix boost

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We noted at the beginning of the month that the Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) overwhelmingly (96.5%) voted for an authorizing strike action against the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA). Good news. The sides have reached a new agreement.

video and photo credit: Shelved/Bell Media
Twitter capture: @glennsumi

Canadian TV notebook: Run the Burbs done after 3 seasons

It's happening! Tuesday, @bitterasiandude joins #runtheburbs as our SEASON FINALE Guest Star! 3 years in the making, and this episode pulls together so many season arcs. Reuniting on screen w/ Paul was so special. I can't wait for you to see it! CBC 9pm, streaming 🇨🇦 on @cbcgem! pic.twitter.com/GngCAr3wgB

— Andrew Phung (@andrewphung) April 1, 2024

We see a lot of reaction to Run the Burbs as being corny. I am not normally a fan of "corny" but made an exception for Run the Burbs. Andrew Phung made that an easy sell. Good casting all around and you got the impression that everyone liked each other. Nice reunion with from Paul Sun-Hyung Lee.

CBC cancelled the show after 3 years. Ironically Strays, the "official" Kim's Convenience spinoff, lasted 2 seasons.

I won't go too much into the contrast with Children Ruin Everything, which I feel is a more cartoonish version of Run the Burbs. Both sides of the border have weighed in and cartoonish > corny in these examples.

Canadians can catch up on the show via CBC Gem. Americans can watch Seasons 1-2 on Hulu with hopefully (please) the addition of Season 3 this summer (maybe).

Let’s go. Watch @ShoresyHockey Season 3 starting May 24th on @cravecanada and June 21st on @hulu. From @newmetricmedia. pic.twitter.com/lZP6Q1ChAK

— Letterkenny Problems (@LetterkennyProb) April 23, 2024

Missing Letterkenny but Shoresy fills some of those emotional holes. Season 3 of Shoresy arrives this summer on the traditional start of summer in Canada (May 24) and the technical start of summer in the United States (June 21).

Jared Keeso has done a lot with the character we never saw on Letterkenny. Season 1 proved better than expected while Season 2 had a molasses type slow start. More Laurence Leboeuf will help, especially when she speaks en Francaise. Season 3 of Shoresy, like the others, has 6 episodes.

Saw the CW debut of Sight Unseen, a CTV co-production. The premise is intriguing about using technology to help a detective solve crimes. I learned that Dolly Lewis, the actor who plays Tess Avery, has some vision issues in real life. I am a fan of Agam Darshi, who plays Sunny Patel, the one who helps Tess solve the crimes. Darshi was one of the best parts of Funny Boy and she created Donkeyhead, which we enjoyed.

Fun to see Roger Cross back on a CW show. Cross was in Coroner on the CBC and CW. His character was more substantial on Coroner. I've lost track of how many Canadian TV shows have featured Ennis Esmer but this is another one.

I have a couple of issues with the program. The idea of getting around with sight issues is a personal vulnerability so watching a show where that comes up is problematic for me. I also struggled with the skips in logic in the pilot in how Tess got around as easy as she does.

We stopped watching Sullivan's Crossing and Sight Unseen is better. Try an episode and see if it is your cup of tea.

CTV is now running Season 2 of Sullivan's Crossing on Sunday nights as of April 14.

SkyMed will be back for Season 3 on Paramount+ in the United States and on CBC in Canada.

The idea of a cultural test to determine truly Canadian content

Finally got through the final season of Pretty Hard Cases. I postponed that for awhile to savor the end of the show. Season 3 gets off to a rough start. The show has had internal police issues that makes things harder for Sam (Meredith MacNeill) and Kelly (Adrienne C. Moore).

Wendy Crewson, who is normally a reliable fixture in Canadian TV, sadly plays a 1-dimensional commander. The pace of the show picks up when they ease out of using her character.

We got some fun returns of previous characters played by Susan Kent, Amanda Brugel, Katie Douglas, and yes, Percy Hynes White. We even had a brief reunion of Douglas and August Winter, who played best friends on Mary Kills People. (Add Mary Kills People to your TV list if you don't know the show. The show ran on Global in Canada and (unfortunately) only the first 2 seasons are on Hulu.)

This show has sharp writing and chemistry that other shows would kill to get on their sets. Tassie Cameron and Sherry White came up with an amazing show that deserved better treatment in the Canadian TV landscape and a better U.S. TV deal. You can catch episodes on CBC Gem in Canada and Freevee in the United States.

2024 Canadian Screen Awards nominations: Television

With the turn of the calendar, in case you have an old school calendar, summer isn't far away. We figured the CW will crank up some Canadian television for the summer. We have no announcements.

Turns out you can get a jump on Season 2 of Moonshine on the CW. Your TV? Nah. Season 2 is currently available online via the CW site.

Canadians can catch up on all 3 seasons of the show via CBC Gem.

Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent has advantages to show Canadians the real Toronto

Watching Tim Rozon with a beard in his homage to Jian Ghomeshi on an episode of Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent. This show really is ripping it from recent headlines. The numbers have been great on the Canadian side.

My friend who loves this show asked me if I was sure this was referring to Jian Ghomeshi. I assured him that the Internet and myself were on board.

Tassie Cameron, who we mentioned with Pretty Hard Cases, is the showrunner and it shows (terrible pun).

I figured this show would be a natural crossover for an American outlet to pick up fresh L&O content. The headlines really feel Canadian. Sure, Q ran on NPR stations in the United States but how many Americans (besides me) would even make that connection?

Amanda Brugel and Rozon are Canadian actors who have clicked with American audiences, so maybe some crossover is viable.

The program has 3 more episodes, including a new episode Thursday 8 pm Eastern on Citytv.

2024 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs preview for Canadian teams

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This is hockey related yet more Canadian TV related. We thought Rogers might be at fault for not having NHL on Sundays starting on April 28. My current hunch (nobody ever tells us anything) is that CBC deliberately wanted to run Season 4 of Race Against the Tide as well as Season 2 of Canada's Ultimate Challenge.

On the face of things, these shows could have waited until summer. Also, CBC gets advertising revenue from these shows, something they don't get from carrying Hockey Night in Canada via Rogers. There are only 2 more seasons under the Rogers contract, which expires after the 2025-2026 season. Where the CBC will be hockey-wise under the new deal? No crystal ball can help. Amazon taking on Monday nights is the first of many clues.

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The Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) had 96.5% of the record turnout of 70.2% of eligible voters vote for an authorizing strike action against the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA). Doesn't mean there will be a strike; just being ready in case they have to do so.

The issues are very similar to the writers strike on the U.S. side. WGC members have been working without a new contract since December 31, 2023.

No regular reader will be surprised to learn that we are on the side of the writers, even if that means disruption to the Canadian television schedule. The future of Canadian TV depends on a fair deal now.

Twitter captures: @andrewphung; @LetterkennyProb
photo credits: Sight Unseen; Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent

The idea of a cultural test to determine truly Canadian content

We have struggled to articulate an argument for Canadian content to be, well, more Canadian. The audience may appreciate things that are Canadian if they knew what they were. Canadian audiences, English Canadians specifically, might not be as appreciative. The more they know, the more they may be surprised that they like.

Bill C-11, aka the Online Streaming Act, ideally is supposed to improve the definition of Canadian content. Richard Stursberg, executive vice president of CBC/Radio Canada from 2004 to 2010, has an idea for determining Canadian content based on a cultural test, similar to what they do in the United Kingdom.

In a world where Brooklyn and The Nest are Canadian films while Women Talking and Turning Red are not Canadian films, we need a different standard. Currently, producers or Telefilm Canada funding determine a lot as to whether a film is a Canadian film.

Canadian television is rather easy to define, though Big Brother Canada and Amazing Race Canada feel closer to their U.S. counterparts.

Stursberg cites Schitt's Creek, and Flashpoint as Canadian TV shows that don't seem Canadian as if they could be anywhere on the planet. I thought the raw milk episode in Schitt's Creek was as close as the show came to saying "Canada" in that raw milk is illegal in Canada. I am one of the less than 1% who follow such things.

Family Law (Global) does make references that note the show is in Vancouver. Wild Cards (CBC) takes place in Vancouver yet never acknowledges the uniqueness of its setting. Both shows air on the CW in the United States, though CW co-produces Wild Cards.

"The Danish, the French, the Israelis, and the British do not disguise their origins. They have all created recognizable national brands that are attractive to both viewers and buyers. But if nobody knows that our films and shows are Canadian, it is impossible to build a category brand around them, no matter how good they are."

My love of Canadian film stemmed from decades of watching films from around the world. Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Mexico, South Korea, France, Japan, even Irish vs. British. We have seen enough wonderful Canadian films to know there is a voice, an approach distinct among people on the planet Earth.

Changing Canadian content definition should help deserving Canadian films

Turning Red shows the beauty of Toronto thanks to Domee Shi

Stursberg offers his solution to the conundrum of Canadian content.

But there is an alternative way of looking at the definition of Canadian content. In the U.K., for example, they have a system for defining British content that is completely different from the Canadian one. Instead of a 10-point system based on employment, it has a 35-point one based on cultural considerations. It is, in fact, called the Cultural Test.

Of the 35 points, the first 18 concern whether the characters are identifiably British, whether the program is clearly set in Britain, whether the subject matter is British, and whether it is made in English. A further four points are added if the show is an interpretation of British culture and its history of diversity. Only eight of the 35 points are based on employment.

The U.K. system pretty much guarantees that when a TV program or film is made with British taxpayers’ money, it looks, feels, and smells like Britain.

There is no evidence that the U.K. Cultural Test has disadvantaged British talent. The country’s writers, directors, and actors are in demand throughout the world.

Canada has a secondary film system of American productions that come to Canada for tax credits. We don't consider those to be Canadian films and productions but they do employ Canadians who also work on Canadian films.

Women Talking and All My Puny Sorrows are adaptations of Miriam Toews novels. Toews is Canadian. The Nest is a film written and directed by a Canadian yet otherwise doesn't seem Canadian in any form on screen. There should be ways to give that separation more meaning to filmgoers and TV watchers.

The British insistence that their taxpayers’ money be spent on productions that are culturally British is paralleled in other countries. Similar rules apply, for example, in Italy, Australia, New Zealand, and Germany.

It is important to change the definition of Canadian content to a cultural one not just for reasons of national pride or to keep the streamers in line, but also because it is what the Canadian public wants. In the most recent survey done by the Canadian Media Fund, Canadians said that their number one priority for the redefinition of Canadian content was to make people proud of being Canadian and to contribute to nationhood and national cohesion. That will be impossible if the production industry continues to make ersatz U.S. shows. How can Canadians be proud if they don’t even know that the productions they are paying for are Canadian?

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The United States and Canada are more multicultural countries than the UK, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, and Germany. Canada shows more of its immigrants in stories than the United States does in their films. Rewarding Canadian films that spend time in Canada instead of their previous countries and getting points toward, hopefully, more Canadian film and television funding.

photo credits: Turning Red; All My Puny Sorrows