Canadian Crossing

2025 CBC television winter preview

The Canadian TV presents are here, too late to be under a tree or near a menorah. We noted in the fall update that the good stuff was coming this winter. Let's find out more.

Let's start with our 3 debuts, 2 of which we have previously mentioned. Saint-Pierre, the lone new drama, features Allan Hawco and French actor Joséphine Jobert solving crimes on Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, the French territory just off the coast of Newfoundland. Saint-Pierre runs after Murdoch Mysteries on Monday nights.

The 2 new comedies share the treasured 9 pm Tuesday slot. North of North stars Anna Lambe as a woman trying to reinvent herself in the north. This show will also run on Netflix in the United States. Small Achievable Goals arrives in late February with Jennifer Whalen and Meredith MacNeill (Baroness von Sketch Show) dealing with menopause and producing a podcast.

Saint-Pierre and North of North debut in the first full week in January while Small Achievable Goals arrives February 25.

The ongoing and returning shows, with debut dates, are as follows:

Murdoch Mysteries (January 6), The Nature Of Things (January 2), This Hour Has 22 Minutes (January 7), SkyMed (January 5), Son of a Critch (January 7), Dragons' Den (January 2), Marketplace (January 24), About That with Andrew Chang (January 10), The Fifth Estate (January 24), Hockey Night in Canada (December 28), Wild Cards (January 8), Halifax Comedy Fest (January 14), Allegiance (January 15), Stuff The British Stole (January 24), Canada's Ultimate Challenge (February 27), Winnipeg Comedy Festival (March 9), and Bollywed (March 20) all return to the CBC television lineup.

Monday
Murdoch Mysteries, 8p
Saint-Pierre, 9p

Tuesday
This Hour Has 22 Minutes, 8p
Son of a Critch, 8:30p
North of North/Small Achievable Goals, 9p
Halifax Comedy Fest, 9:30p

Wednesday
Wild Cards, 8p
Allegiance, 9p

Thursday
Dragons' Den/Canada's Ultimate Challenge, 8p
The Nature Of Things/Bollywed, 9p

Friday
Marketplace, 8p
About That with Andrew Chang/Stuff The British Stole, 8:30p
The Fifth Estate, 9p

Saturday
Hockey Night in Canada, 7p

Sunday
The Great British Baking Show, 7p
Travel Man's Greatest Trips, 8:30p
SkyMed/Winnipeg Comedy Festival, 9p

.@CBC announces winter 2025 streaming and broadcast premiere dates for more than 30 series from Canadian storytellers, including new drama Saint-Pierre (Jan. 6) and new comedies North of North (Jan. 7) and Small Achievable Goals (Feb. 25). Read more: https://t.co/aOlaDHjbGc pic.twitter.com/Q0EnAJNFgl

— CBC PR (@CBC_Publicity) November 27, 2024

The 2025 CBC winter lineup is much stronger than the 2024 winter lineup. A homegrown drama in the post Murdoch Mysteries timeslot. New promising comedies on Tuesday nights.

One More Time had soft humour moments and a marvelous cast but not much of a focus or direction. The Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down appears to be done. Push is gone from the lineup.

We liked the idea of a regular timeslot for Canadian documentaries like we had last winter. Those are gone from this winter. We wish the Documentary Channel, under CBC control, showed more actual documentaries. Would rather see the Canadian documentaries on CBC than British repeats on Sunday nights.

The original release mentioned Locals Welcome from food writer and expert Suresh Doss for Winter 2025 but there is no word on that show.

2024 CBC television fall preview

2024 CBC television winter preview

We will look into the limited options for Canadian TV shows on the private networks as well as Canadian TV shows on U.S. TV in 2025. We might finally get Season 4 of Transplant on NBC. Maybe.

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

CanadianCrossing.com CBC coverage

The CW fans should know that the U.S. network will run Season 2 of Wild Cards starting on February 5. The network has not released information on Season 4 of Son of a Critch. We noticed they bunched up a few episodes from the CTV show Children Ruin Everything in November and December that ended last Friday.

Running those comedies in the spring would make some sense, as much sense as broadcast TV does in the States and Canada these days.

photo credit: Saint-Pierre
Twitter capture: @CBC_Publicity

A recap of CBC Saturday night Canadian films in the 2024 offseason

The NHL regular season started last night for all the Canadian teams, except for the Ottawa Senators. Hockey Night in Canada returns to the CBC on Saturday nights. This kicks off a months-long hiatus away from Canadian films on CBC on Saturday nights.

The 2024 offseason followed the 2023 pattern of fewer "family films" and more debuts. We also saw fewer themed collections.

We had some interesting debuts to the CBC Canadian film selection including Bones of Crows (2022), Red Snow (2019), Wildhood (2021), BlackBerry (2022), Room For Rent (2018), The Song of Names (2019), Islands (2021), Splinters (2022), Night Raiders (2021), All My Puny Sorrows (2021), and Happy Place (2020).

Your humble narrator has seen most of these Canadian films. Exceptions include Bones of Crows (2022), Happy Place (2020), Sweetness in the Belly (2019), and American Woman (2019). Let's say I have more enthusiasm to see the Canadian films (first 2) as opposed to the Canadian films in name only (last 2).

This shows out the variety you can find in Canadian films, even ones on the CBC on a Saturday night.

Some of these Canadian films may have been featured recently on CBC. The films should also be available on CBC Gem.

Here was the summer and early fall 2024 lineup.

June 22: Bones of Crows (2022) / Red Snow (2019)

June 29: Wildhood (2021) / Giant Little Ones (2018) / Funny Boy (2019)

July 6: BlackBerry (2022) / Room For Rent (2018) / Sweetness in the Belly (2019)

July 13: Werewolf (2019) / Slash/Back (2021) / Bones of Crows (2022)

July 20: The Death and Life of John F. Donovan (2018) / The Song of Names (2019)

August 17: Islands (2021) / Splinters (2022)

August 24: Night Raiders (2021) / Werewolf (2019) / Honey Bee (2018)

September 14: All My Puny Sorrows (2021) / Tammy's Always Dying (2019) / Man Running (2018)

September 21: Happy Place (2020) / Carmen (2019) / Room For Rent (2018)

September 28: Percy (2020) / Disappearance at Clifton Hill (2018) / American Woman (2019)

October 5: Score: A Hockey Musical (2010) / Race (2016) / The Breadwinner (2017) 

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for early October 2024

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for late September 2024

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for mid September 2024

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for late August 2024

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for late July 2024

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for early July 2024

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for late June 2024

A recap of CBC Saturday night Canadian films in the 2023 offseason

A recap of CBC Saturday night Canadian films in the 2022 offseason

Generally, these Canadian films are available on CBC Gem. Our American readers can find quite a few of these Canadian films. You could even watch them on a Saturday night even when there is hockey on CBC.

CanadianCrossing.com CBC coverage

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

We will cover more Canadian films on CBC during small breaks in the Stanley Cup playoffs as well as the 2025 offseason.

photo credits: BlackBerry; All My Puny Sorrows; Splinters
logo credit: CBC

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for early October 2024

You might have noticed that the 2024-2025 NHL preseason is coming to a close. We still have one more Saturday night with Canadian films on CBC.

The public broadcaster tradition is for sports-related films on that final weekend and we have some this Saturday night.

Score: A Hockey Musical actually opened the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival in what seems like a long ago, far away time. You might be more into musicals than hockey and concerned that this movie is more hockey than musical. Let us calm your fears.

Noah Reid (Schitt's Creek) is delightful in the lead role as the amazing hockey player who sings as well as he plays. Allie MacDonald, whom we remember from Young Drunk Punk, is the female lead. Olivia Newton-John plays his mother.

The movie is not great but you will be entertained. Perhaps a drink or a completely legal marijuana edible might help.

Race is the very earnest story of the rise of American sprinter Jesse Owens leading up to the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Stephan James as Owens is a major Canadian element in this otherwise Canadian film in name only. James' older brother, Shamier Anderson, plays a fellow runner. The Canadian cast includes Shanice Banton, Amanda Crew, Jeremy Ferdman, Chantel Riley, Giacomo Gianniotti, Eli Goree, Anthony Sherwood, Jon McLaren, and Vlasta Vrána. Dutch actress Carice van Houten is particularly good in the role of German propaganda filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl.

The evening and season ends with The Breadwinner, which is not sports related and definitely a Canadian film in name only. A young Afghan girl disguises herself as a boy to provide for her family. The animated film is quite good.

Some of these Canadian films may have been featured on CBC in the past. The films should also be available on CBC Gem.

October 5

9p Score: A Hockey Musical (2010)
11p Race (2016)
2a The Breadwinner (2017)

Canadian film case study: Race

Canadian film case study: The Breadwinner

When TIFF concentrated on Canadian films for the opening night film

We have seen Score: A Hockey Musical but have not officially reviewed it. The U.S. audience can find the film on Amazon Prime Video.

These Canadian films offer a variety of sports-related Canadian films. None of these films ran last year.

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for late September 2024

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for mid September 2024

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for late August 2024

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for late July 2024

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for early July 2024

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for late June 2024

A recap of CBC Saturday night Canadian films in the 2023 offseason

A recap of CBC Saturday night Canadian films in the 2022 offseason

A reminder to our American friends who are fortunate enough to get a CBC signal — such as Detroit, Buffalo, and Seattle — that this is a really good opportunity to get a glimpse into Canadian content through cinema. A lot of English Canadians also need this reminder.

CanadianCrossing.com CBC coverage

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Feel free to leave a comment on these Canadian films or even Canadian films you would love to see on a Saturday night on the CBC.

logo credit: CBC
photo credit: Score: A Hockey Musical
video credits: Mongrel Media

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for late September 2024

The weather is turning cooler so we are in the homestretch for Canadian films on Saturday nights on CBC.

You might think we never get surprised about a Canadian film when doing this feature.

Happy Place definitely qualifies as a pleasant surprise. The film features 7 women in an inpatient-care facility. They struggle with their own pain and learn to rely on each other.

The film is based from the theatrical play by Pamela Mala Sinha, who is in the film cast. Helen Shaver directed the film, which is a big deal to your humble narrator. The cast also includes Clark Backo (Letterkenny), Marie-Eve Perron, Tara Rosling, Liisa Repo-Martell, Jennifer Wigmore, Sheila McCarthy, and Mary Walsh.

This feels like a good film you would find in a video store but outside Canada, this film is difficult to find.

Carmen is not a surprise to us. A quiet film that definitely feels more like Malta than anything visibly Canadian. English actor Natascha McElhone plays a woman who took care of her brother, the local priest. The Catholic Church then abandons her and she has to rethink what her life could be.

The film comes from Maltese-Canadian Valerie Buhagiar, who is known actor-wise from Roadkill and Highway 61.

Room For Rent may seem familiar since CBC played the film this summer on July 6. A lottery winner talks his parents into taking a questionable boarder into their home. Mark Little plays the lottery winner and American actor and comedian Brett Gelman (Fleabag) plays the boarder. We reviewed the film last week.

Percy is a very good, real life story told like it was a TV movie. Disappearance at Clifton Hill gives a realistic feel to Niagara Falls with a sharp acting performance by David Cronenberg. Hannah Gross overshadows the non Canadian lead Tuppence Middleton, which is a drawback to the film. Still a better film to watch than Percy.

American Woman (2019) is a fictional account of Wendy Yoshimura, the real-life woman who cared for Patty Hearst after she was abducted. Sarah Gadon plays Pauline, the kidnapped heiress. Semi Chellas adapted the Susan Choi novel and directed the film in her feature directorial debut. The film also stars Hong Chau, John Gallagher Jr., Lola Kirke, and Ellen Burstyn.

Chellas is Canadian so that accounts for most of this Canadian film in name only.

All 3 of the September 28 films played last September on CBC.

Some of these Canadian films may have been featured on CBC in the past. The films should also be available on CBC Gem.

September 21

9p Happy Place (2020)
11p Carmen (2019)
1a Room For Rent (2018)

September 28

9p Percy (2020)
11p Disappearance at Clifton Hill (2018)
1a American Woman (2019)

Canadian film review: Room for Rent

Canadian film case study: Carmen

Malta submits a Canadian film for Best International Feature Film at the Oscars

Canadian film review: Percy

Canadian film review: Disappearance at Clifton Hill

These Canadian films offer a decent variety in the next couple of weeks. Maybe you missed Room for Rent earlier this summer.

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for mid September 2024

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for late August 2024

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for late July 2024

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for early July 2024

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for late June 2024

A recap of CBC Saturday night Canadian films in the 2023 offseason

A recap of CBC Saturday night Canadian films in the 2022 offseason

A reminder to our American friends who are fortunate enough to get a CBC signal — such as Detroit, Buffalo, and Seattle — that this is a really good opportunity to get a glimpse into Canadian content through cinema. A lot of English Canadians also need this reminder.

CanadianCrossing.com CBC coverage

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Feel free to leave a comment on these Canadian films or even Canadian films you would love to see on a Saturday night on the CBC.

logo credit: CBC
video credit: Photon Films and Media
photo credit: Disappearance at Clifton Hill

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for mid September 2024

The 2024 Paris Paralympics are done so we resume, once again, Canadian films on Saturday nights on CBC.

We are only including the upcoming Saturday in this preview. We will have another story next week to take care of the rest of September. Those years evenly divided by 4 (summer Olympics years) can get complicated. 

All My Puny Sorrows is a very good and quite sad film about sisters, suicide, and a suicide attempt. Michael McGowan adapted the Miriam Toews novel and wonderfully cast Sarah Gadon and Alison Pill as the sisters. We wrote about this film about films dealing with suicide. If you aren't triggered by the topic, this is an incredible film to watch.

The film is available on Hulu in the United States.

Tammy's Always Dying may seem related to the first film yet they are very different. The mother-daughter dynamic is entertaining with Anastasia Phillips and American actor Felicity Huffman. I discovered Phillips in this film and enjoy her in the Canadian TV series Moonshine. This is the second feature film from Amy Jo Johnson, a convert to Canada.

Man Running is running on multiple levels. This is a rather serious film to run in the middle of the night. Gord Rand (Transplant) is running an endurance race while thinking about the ethical complications of a case. Gary Burns, who you might know from waydowntown, is the director and co-writer.

Some of these Canadian films may have been featured on CBC in the past. The films should also be available on CBC Gem.

September 14

9p All My Puny Sorrows (2021)
11:30p Tammy's Always Dying (2019)
1:30a Man Running (2018)

Canadian film review: All My Puny Sorrows

Canadian film review: Tammy’s Always Dying

Canadian film review: Man Running

Dealing with films about suicide that could be triggering

These Canadian films offer a very serious night of Canadian films. Other weeks have plenty of comedies.

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for late August 2024

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for late July 2024

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for early July 2024

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for late June 2024

A recap of CBC Saturday night Canadian films in the 2023 offseason

A recap of CBC Saturday night Canadian films in the 2022 offseason

A reminder to our American friends who are fortunate enough to get a CBC signal — such as Detroit, Buffalo, and Seattle — that this is a really good opportunity to get a glimpse into Canadian content through cinema. A lot of English Canadians also need this reminder.

CanadianCrossing.com CBC coverage

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Feel free to leave a comment on these Canadian films or even Canadian films you would love to see on a Saturday night on the CBC.

logo credit: CBC
photo credit: All My Puny Sorrows

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)

Canadian journalism notebook: The loss of a daily paper in Newfoundland and Labrador

The pressroom is quiet now. Newfoundland and Labrador’s last web press just finished printing the province’s last daily paper. When I started my career in journalism, I never thought I’d see this day. It doesn’t feel real. pic.twitter.com/36hgLuiWvV

— Juanita Mercer (@juanitamercer_) August 24, 2024

We reported earlier this summer that Postmedia had taken over the SaltWire collection of newspapers. Postmedia doesn't have a track record of helping the beleaguered newspapers purchased by the American hedge-fund controlled Canadian newspaper company.

Shortly after the takeover, Postmedia slashed 30 percent of its editorial staff with layoffs. This included all the photojournalists. While there is some dispute over the latter part, there is likely semantics involved.

The other major story is that Newfoundland and Labrador is the first Canadian province in over 100 years to not have a daily newspaper. Postmedia has said The Telegram will only be published on Fridays with an online version the rest of the week.

Canadaland news editor Jonathan Goldsbie, in a podcast episode with editor-in-chief Karyn Pugliese, that from his research, he believes the last province without a daily newspaper was Saskatchewan in the fall of 1905 with about 10 weeks difference between the start of the province (September 1, 1905) and the Regina Leader switching from a weekly to a daily newspaper.

We can hear some of the remarks now:

"Nothing happens in Newfoundland." "The paper is still every day but without expensive newsprint." "These decisions have to happen because of capitalism."

Decisions about journalism in Newfoundland and Labrador are being made in Toronto from people who aren't concerned about the quality of journalism in the province. People smarter than your humble narrator would point out that Postmedia has to acquire more debt to feed its American hedge fund corporate overlords and are stripping these papers for parts.

The traditional names are there but they are a shell of what they once were. News does happen in Newfoundland and Labrador. Journalists need to protect the public interest through investigations.

For those who say Postmedia will only do this in Newfoundland and Labrador, Atlantic Canada is next.

Newfoundland and Labrador didn't have a daily newspaper outside of The Telegram. Smaller communities have weekly newspapers. St. John's has 2 TV stations: CBNT (Channel 8) with the CBC and CJON (Channel 21) with NTV (Newfoundland Television). Here is a list of radio stations in the province.

Yes, The Telegram readers can go online every day to read the news. The idea of sitting at Rocket Bakery right there on Water Street in St. John's and not seeing people reading the newspaper makes your humble narrator very sad.

Canadian journalism notebook: Will there continue to be a Global News in Canada?

New Brunswick switches out one newspaper monopoly for another one

Canadian journalism notebook: Canadian cities losing Monday newspaper editions

📚 Bookends with Mattea Roach, CBC's new author interview show, premieres Sept. 8!

Tune in on CBC Radio or catch it as a podcast. 📚https://t.co/ulv7zuISP4

— CBC Radio (@cbcradio) August 27, 2024

We love listening to Mattea Roach as the host of Backbench through Canadaland. Roach now has a second podcast in their repertoire, this time with CBC Radio. Bookends is an author interview show where Roach explores the creative process for writing with novelists and authors.

Bookends airs Sunday afternoons at 1 pm local time (1:30 NT, 3 PT) on CBC Radio and CBC Listen with repeats on Wednesdays at 1 pm (1:30 NT). The program essentially replaces Writers & Company as Eleanor Wachtel has retired. Roach interviewed Wachtel for the final episode of that show.  

Roach has shown their literary bonafides, winning Canada Reads in 2023 when they championed Kate Beaton’s graphic novel Ducks.

Tom Power interviewed Roach recently on Q. They have some commonalities: relatively young people who excelled in other areas besides radio. Both are from out east: Power from Newfoundland and Roach from Nova Scotia.

Roach noted that they didn't think they would end up hosting a podcast. We were waiting for Roach to mention their current podcast. While Roach referred to a political podcast, they never mentioned the name of the podcast or its primary source.

We also are in favour of more recognition for Canadian authors though we know the podcast will have Canadian and international authors.

U.S. listeners can listen live through CBC Listen and, of course, download episodes of the podcast.

CanadianCrossing.com CBC coverage

CanadianCrossing.com radio coverage

ICYMI Gill Deacon is leaving the CBC. A good friend, an outstanding broadcaster I've known for 30 years. The place won't be the same without her. https://t.co/5U05AStr3B

— Tom Harrington (@cbctom) September 4, 2024

Gill Deacon had been the host of Here and Now on CBC Radio yet hadn't been "here" and "now" in awhile. Deacon had been dealing with long COVID, which is very real even if you don't believe in it. 

The good news is that she has recovered from long COVID. The bad news is that Deacon is leaving Here and Now and CBC Radio.

Deacon has hosted the afternoon show for more than a decade and filled in on many CBC Radio shows. You can read more about her story.

Deacon's voice, brain, and thoughtfulness were traits that made her really good at this job. Good luck in her future endeavors.

Here and Now will find a permanent host down the line.

Canadian politics notebook: Very little of Canada in latest CPC ad

Bell Media making deep cuts to W5, CTV local newscasts

A guide to quality Canadian journalism in lieu of Meta and Google being childish

CanadianCrossing.com journalism coverage

Stephen Harper was subtle about the CBC. Death by several thousand cuts. Recent Conservative Party leaders have not been subtle about their take on the CBC: Pierre Poilievre and Erin O'Toole leap to mind.

Kerry-Lynne Findlay is the chief opposition whip in the House of Commons for the Conservative Party. Findlay released a video this summer on the party's position on getting rid of the CBC. The original video made a case to keep Radio-Canada as well as English language radio programming.

Then the Conservative Party took down the video and the video came back up minus the part about radio programming.

We should note that the Conservative Party playbook is to separate English from French in their thought process. There are 2 strategies to this distinction: Conservatives really want votes in Quebec where they have struggled outside of the Brian Mulroney years. The vast majority of their base would never access Radio-Canada so they wouldn't know any potential negative coverage.

From the National Post:

"Let's talk about the radio part of all this for a moment," Findlay says at one point in the slickly-produced video, filmed in what appears to be West Block on Parliament Hill. On Friday, Findlay reposted the video with that section removed.

"Because radio is very low production cost and the CBC radio programs and Radio-Canada, they do still serve a purpose, particularly in smaller communities and I think (are) fairly well listened to, so I think there can be a case made to keep that," she said.

Poilievre has not directly said the same when it comes to radio programming.

The Conservative Party video we discussed last week was yanked without posting it in some form. This video was yanked, edited, and reposted as if the section never happened. You might wonder why we are quoting from the National Post, the right-wing national newspaper owned by Postmedia, this is because no one else reported on this story (that we could find).

We did get a sense of conservative logic from this sentence: "Findlay also touched on its history, arguing that because 'every Canadian can be their own broadcaster' the need for a national one to unify the country is no longer necessary." Postmedia has issued a single editorial and forced its many newspapers to run the same editorial. The American hedge fund controlled Canadian newspaper chain has a monopoly, controlling both major newspapers in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Ottawa.

National unification is fine for them but only with conservative voices. Also, francophones can have national unity, just not anglophones.

The acclimation is that the "cost" is too high (it's not) but there would still be a cost to Radio-Canada funding.

Per the story at the top of this column, imagine Newfoundland and Labrador journalism without CBC TV and CBC Radio.

Twitter captures: @juanitamercer_; @cbcradio; @cbctom
photo credits: SaltWire/The Telegram; Q/CBC Radio
video credit: Q/CBC Radio

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for late August 2024

The 2024 Paris Olympics are done so we resume Canadian films on Saturday nights on CBC.

Islands is a very quiet film about Joshua, a middle-aged Filipino immigrant searching for a partner after his parents' health starts to fade. A terrific character study with a look at the Filipino-Canadian community.

Splinters is the next to last film from Thom Fitzgerald. Belle comes back home to Nova Scotia after her father passes. Her mother was not happy when Belle came out as a lesbian. Now she wants to hide her current relationship with a man.

You might know Thom Fitzgerald from The Hanging Garden (1997) or Cloudburst (2011).

Night Raiders presents a dystopian world as a nod to the reality of residential schools. Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and Brooklyn Letexier-Hart are in sync on screen.

Werewolf is a strong film about 2 meth addicts in Nova Scotia. Yet CBC showed this film on July 13 this year. Honey Bee might seem like a simple plot yet is surprisingly deep as a story. Julia Sarah Stone has proven she can carry a film. Her character is dealing with a foster home.

We do have a bonus movie on August 17. CBC is running Absolutely Canadian: The Pizza City You've Never Heard Of about Windsor, ON at 8 pm local time. We have reviewed that film.

Some of these Canadian films may have been featured on CBC in the past. The films should also be available on CBC Gem.

The CBC coverage of the Paralympics from Paris will interrupt Canadian films on Saturday nights on August 31 and September 7.

August 17

9p Islands (2021)
11p Splinters (2022)

August 24

9p Night Raiders (2021)
11p Werewolf (2019)
1a Honey Bee (2018)

Canadian film review: Islands

Canadian film review: Splinters

Canadian film review: The Pizza City You've Never Heard Of

Canadian film review: Night Raiders

Canadian film review: Werewolf

Canadian film review: Honey Bee

These Canadian films offer a decent variety in the next couple of weeks. Maybe you missed Werewolf last month.

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for late July 2024

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for early July 2024

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for late June 2024

A recap of CBC Saturday night Canadian films in the 2023 offseason

A recap of CBC Saturday night Canadian films in the 2022 offseason

A reminder to our American friends who are fortunate enough to get a CBC signal — such as Detroit, Buffalo, and Seattle — that this is a really good opportunity to get a glimpse into Canadian content through cinema. A lot of English Canadians also need this reminder.

CanadianCrossing.com CBC coverage

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Feel free to leave a comment on these Canadian films or even Canadian films you would love to see on a Saturday night on the CBC.

logo credit: CBC
photo credit: Splinters

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for late July 2024

The summer continues in late July in our look at Canadian films on Saturday nights on CBC.

Xavier Dolan's sole English language film The Death and Life of John F. Donovan dominates the evening block on July 20. Most reviewers will point to the arduous process of the production and the need for a bit more editing. Your humble narrator would point out that the film is still above average even if not by Dolan's standards.

The film made its CBC debut last August.

The film features international stars Kit Harington, Natalie Portman, Susan Sarandon, Kathy Bates, and Thandie Newton as well as actual Canadians Jacob Tremblay, Jared Keeso, Sarah Gadon, Emily Hampshire, and Ari Millen.

Jacob Tierney (Letterkenny, Good Neighbours, The Trotsky) co-wrote the film with Dolan.

The Song of Names from François Girard is a Canadian film in name only. Tim Roth and Clive Owen (not Canadian) star in a look back at children who were rivals with the violin in common. One disappears and the other looks for him. Your humble narrator found the film mostly boring with sprinkles of somewhat interesting. The flashback story is somewhat interesting but you have waded through to get to that part. The Red Violin is, safe to say, Girard's best film involving a violin.

Girard's previous film Hochelaga, Terre des âmes | Hochelaga, Land of Souls (2017) was Canada's submission for the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.

The 2024 Paris Olympics coverage starts on July 26 so the CBC will take a break with Canadian films during the Olympics.

Some of these Canadian films may have been featured on CBC in the past. The films should also be available on CBC Gem.

July 20

9p The Death and Life of John F. Donovan (2018)
Midnight The Song of Names (2019)

Xavier Dolan says he wants to stop making films

Canadian film review: The Death and Life of John F. Donovan

Both of these Canadian films on July 20 are long and elaborate so you can savor them during the break for the Olympics. You can also check out other Canadian films we have reviewed.

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for early July 2024

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for late June 2024

A recap of CBC Saturday night Canadian films in the 2023 offseason

A recap of CBC Saturday night Canadian films in the 2022 offseason

A reminder to our American friends who are fortunate enough to get a CBC signal — such as Detroit, Buffalo, and Seattle — that this is a really good opportunity to get a glimpse into Canadian content through cinema. A lot of English Canadians also need this reminder.

CanadianCrossing.com CBC coverage

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Feel free to leave a comment on these Canadian films or even Canadian films you would love to see on a Saturday night on the CBC.

logo credit: CBC
photo credit: The Death and Life of John F. Donovan

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for early July 2024

Welcome to July in our look at Canadian films on Saturday nights on CBC because we are in summer.

If you haven't had a chance to see BlackBerry, you can watch the film this Saturday night. So many Canadian Screen Awards on the mantelpiece. The main characters play real people, a challenge for actors. They do really well in telling a truly Canadian story.

Room for Rent from Matt Atkinson, the middle film this weekend, is one where I know very little about the film. A story on the tribulations of winning the lottery. Mark Little and American actor Brett Gelman are the leads with American actors Carla Gallo and Stephnie Weir and Canadian actors Patrick J. Adams and Mark McKinney.

Sweetness in the Belly is a Canadian film in name only based on the novel of the same name from Canadian author Camilla Gibb. The film features non-Canadian actors such as Dakota Fanning, Wunmi Mosaku, and Kunal Nayyar.

Werewolf and Slash/Back sound like scary movies yet aren't scary. Werewolf is a powerful film about 2 meth addicts in Nova Scotia. Depressing at times but powerful and the scary part, pretty accurate. Slash/Back is mostly about girls battling an unseen creature up in Iqlauit in Nunavut. A film about kids that treats them like real people.

Bones of Crows gets an encore presentation. We mentioned the film in the last update.

Some of these Canadian films may have been featured on CBC in the past. The films should also be available on CBC Gem.

July 6

9p BlackBerry (2022)
11p Room For Rent (2018)
1a Sweetness in the Belly (2019)

July 13

9p Werewolf (2019)
11p Slash/Back (2021)
1a Bones of Crows (2022)

2024 Canadian Screen Awards: BlackBerry sets record with 14 CSA wins

BlackBerry, Swan Song are the 2023 Rogers Best Canadian Film winners

Canadian film review: BlackBerry

Canadian film review: Werewolf

Canadian film review: Slash/Back

These Canadian films offer a decent variety in the next couple of weeks.

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for late June 2024

A recap of CBC Saturday night Canadian films in the 2023 offseason

A recap of CBC Saturday night Canadian films in the 2022 offseason

A reminder to our American friends who are fortunate enough to get a CBC signal — such as Detroit, Buffalo, and Seattle — that this is a really good opportunity to get a glimpse into Canadian content through cinema. A lot of English Canadians also need this reminder.

CanadianCrossing.com CBC coverage

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Feel free to leave a comment on these Canadian films or even Canadian films you would love to see on a Saturday night on the CBC.

logo credit: CBC
photo credit: BlackBerry