Jann Arden will host the Canadian Screen Awards: CTV Gala Honouring Excellence in Creative Fiction Storytelling on Mar. 27, while Aisha Alfa (The Beaverton) will host the Canadian Screen Awards: the CTV Gala Honouring Excellence in Non-Fiction Programming on Mar. 26. Toronto-based producer and visual researcher Elizabeth Klinck and Manitoba Film & Music CEO & Film Commissioner Carole Vivier will receive Academy Board of Directors’ Tribute Awards, while Canadian producer, screenwriter and actor Brad Wright (Stargate SG-1, Travelers) will be presented with the Margaret Collier Award. Both events will be held at Heritage Court at Exhibition Place as part of Canadian Screen Week, Mar. 25-31. The galas will be streamed live on CTV.ca and the CTV app, beginning at 7 p.m.on both nights, in addition to CTV’s Facebook and YouTube pages.
Much, the channel that was once the mighty MuchMusic – “The Nation’s Music Station”, is down to airing a lone, one-hour block of videos, Monday to Friday. As first reported by The Canadian Press, Much has cut six hours of video programming from its daily lineup, leaving Much Retro Lunch – a retrospective of videos from the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s, as the last vestige of the channel’s place in Canadian pop culture. With digital platforms like YouTube now the leading destination for music video consumption, Scott Henderson, VP of Communications, for Bell Media, said most recently, video play on Much accounted for about 30 per cent of the channel’s programming, but just four per cent of the audience. For example, Playlist – a weekday morning block of videos, airing from 6 a.m. – 1 p.m., was attracting an average of less than 4,000 viewers. Read the full story here.
The CRTC has approved Corus’ sale of its 50.5 per cent stake in the Telatino Network back to existing stakeholders in the company, including president Aldo Di Felice. The deal is worth about $19.8 million and will require the network to pay roughly $1.98 million in tangible benefits.
Vision TV has cancelled Muslim Perspectives, a television show featuring Imam Zafar Bangash, following a complaint and subsequent petition from B’nai Brith Canada. As reported by The Canadian Jewish News, B’nai Brith alleged the program was being used to promote anti-Semitic, homophobic and hateful content, in addition to anti-Israel rhetoric.
Kiawenti:io Tarbell, a 12-year-old Mohawk actress from Akwesasne, has been cast on Season 3 (10×60) of CBC and Netflix’s Anne with an E, following an open call search across Canada. Tarbell will portray Ka’kwet, a resilient Mi’kmaq girl who befriends Anne. Brandon Oakes (Through Black Spruce; Arctic Air; Saving Hope) and Dana Jeffrey (Heartland; Teenagers) also join the cast. Returning cast include Amybeth McNulty, Geraldine James, R. H. Thomson, Dalila Bela, Corrine Koslo, Lucas Jade Zumann, Aymeric Jett Montaz, Dalmar Abuzeid, Cara Ricketts, Joanna Douglas, Kyla Matthews, Cory Grüter-Andrew, and Miranda McKeon. Directors Norma Bailey, Paul Fox, Amanda Tapping, and Anne Wheeler return, as does the all-female writing team led by Moira Walley-Beckett (Kathryn Borel, Jr., Shernold Edwards, Amanda Fahey, Naledi Jackson, and Jane Maggs, with the addition of Tracey Deer). New directors this season include Kim Nguyen and Michelle Latimer.
Letterkenny actors Michelle Mylett (Katy) and Dylan Playfair (Reilly) are acting as special hosts at the SXSW Canada House, and brand ambassadors to the recently launched MADE | NOUS campaign at SXSW, taking place until Mar. 17 in Austin. For the very first time at SXSW, a unified Canada House is featuring the best of Canadian music, film, television, and new media under one roof. The effort was spearheaded by Telefilm Canada, in partnership with Canada Media Fund (CMF), among others.
Super Channel has acquired conspiracy thriller series Condor from MGM Television and Skydance Television in association with Paramount Television. The 10-episode first season will premiere Tuesday, Apr. 2 on Super Channel Fuse. Each hour-long episode will also be available on Super Channel On Demand, the day following its linear broadcast premiere. The upcoming second season will air later this year. Based on the novel Six Days of the Condor by James Grady, Season 1 stars Max Irons, William Hurt, Leem Lubany, Angel Bonanni, and Canadian Kristen Hager, with Mira Sorvino and Bob Balaban. Brendan Fraser guest stars.
Global News Kitchen Party segments have been airing this week in Edmonton, Calgary and Lethbridge, featuring Alberta’s provincial leaders. Hosted by Jennifer Crosby, The series features Premier Rachel Notley (NDP), Jason Kenney (UCP), Stephen Mandel (Alberta Party) and David Khan (Liberal) cooking up their favourite recipes while having casual conversations where nothing is off the table.
Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) has revealed highlights of its upcoming spring programming. They include AMI original special Heart to Heart, airing Mar. 15, following three couples who share something in common: one of the partners has a disability. AMI original docuseries Level Playing Field, hosted by Greg Westlake, travels to Kelowna this month to meet Rob Shaw, an international wheelchair tennis champ from North Bay, ON, who is ranked Top 10 in the world in quad wheelchair tennis (May 10). AMI will also air documentary Seen & Heard on May 24, which follows a troupe of actors and stage crew, as they present a deaf-themed adaptation of The Little Mermaid. All AMI-tv originals are available post-broadcast on demand at AMI.ca or via the AMI-tv app.
Stand Up To Cancer Canada (SU2C Canada) and the Canadian Cancer Society have launched a new PSA campaign featuring Canadian-born Will & Grace star and Stand Up To Cancer Canada ambassador Eric McCormack. The French and English campaign, including print, TV, radio, out-of-home, and digital PSAs, will be seen in media outlets beginning this month. The cause is one close to McCormack, who lost both his parents and his father-in-law to cancer. The PSA also includes Canadian survivors, including Montreal TV personality Nadège St-Phillipe, who was diagnosed with stage three colorectal cancer at age 36, and narrates the French radio PSA.
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