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)
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.
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
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).
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.
.@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/dbpbmWFCYhpic.twitter.com/6odw7Tvals
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.
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)
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
"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
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.
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.
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)
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.
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.
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)
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.
The Edmonton Oilers are still playing in the NHL Stanley Cup final. Since there are no more Saturday hockey games, the CBC starts its hiatus from hockey with Canadian films during the summer and early fall on Saturday nights.
The CBC is showing a Marie Clements doubleheader, mixing sports metaphors, this weekend. The evening starts out with her latest Bones of Crows followed by Red Snow. You might recall that the Bones of Crows TV series that stemmed from the film of the same name.
This is only part of CBC programming to honour National Indigenous Peoples Day, which is today.
The final weekend of June acknowledges Pride Month with a trio of Canadian films. Wildhood is the first film on deck followed by Giant Little Ones and then Funny Boy.
The first 2 films ran on June 17 last year while Funny Boy ran on July 22. They might be new to you.
Some of these Canadian films may have been featured on CBC in the past. The films should also be available on CBC Gem.
June 22
9p Bones of Crows (2022) 11:10p Red Snow (2019)
June 29
9p Wildhood (2021) 11:30p Giant Little Ones (2018) 1:30a Funny Boy (2019)
Your humble narrator has seen Red Snow but not Bones of Crows. Red Snow is a highly imaginative and thoughtful film. That film peaked my interest to see Bones of Crows.
Phillip Lewitski and Joshua Odjick, the leads in Wildhood, are in Bones of Crows. Other Canadian actors who I recognize include Cara Gee, Gail Maurice, Rémy Girard, Karine Vanasse, and Alanis Obomsawin.
We noted the TV version of Bones of Crows, which is related to the film.
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.
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.
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).
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
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).
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).
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
