The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) has held its annual BC Spotlight Gala, honouring exceptional BC and Canadian filmmakers. Ying Wang won the Sea to Sky Award, recognizing the work of a female key creative on a BC-produced short or feature for The World Is Bright; The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open by Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and Kathleen Hepburn won the Best BC Film honour. The Best Canadian Film Award was claimed by One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk by Zacharias Kunuk. Find the full list of winners here
imagineNATIVE will honour Michelle Thrush with the 2019 August Schellenberg Award of Excellence. Thrush has worked professionally in film, television and theatre for more than 25 years and is known for her roles in Arctic Air, North of 60 and Blackstone, which earned her a Gemini Award in 2011. The August Schellenberg Award of Excellence was launched in partnership with Joan Karasevich Schellenberg to honour her late husband and actor August (Augie) Schellenberg and the spirit of his work. Thrush will receive the Augie at the imagineNATIVE Awards on Oct. 27 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox.
Global Calgary celebrated 65 years on Oct. 8. Alberta’s first television station launched regular programming on Oct. 8, 1954 as CHCT-TV. Owned by Calgary Television Ltd., a consortium of Calgary radio stations CFCN, CFAC and CKXL, the “CT” in CHCT stood for “Calgary Television” and at launch was an affiliate of CBC Television. The shows produced at its studios included It Figures with Charlene Prickett, Yan Can Cook, and Stampede Wrestling. Over the years, it’s also gone to air under the call sign CFAC-TV, 2&7 Television and Calgary 7. Canwest purchased the station in 2000, which became part of Shaw Media in 2010. Corus acquired the station in 2016. Read Paul Dunphy’s reflections on 30 years with Global Calgary, here.
Global Lethbridge officially opened the doors to new studio space in the city’s downtown core this week on 7th Street South. The station moved from its original home on 28 Street North, where it had been broadcasting from since Nov. 1955. Now owned by Corus Entertainment, CJHL-TV was originally launched as a partnership between CJOC Radio and the Lethbridge Herald. Get a tour of the new studio facilities here.
Fox has acquired the syndication rights to Schitt’s Creek. The two-year deal covers all seasons of the CBC comedy, which currently airs on POP TV in the U.S. The series’ sixth and final is set to start airing on CBC in Jan. 2020, and stateside next fall. Lionsgate’s Debmar-Mercury announced the deal. The company previously bought domestic broadcast rights to the show from international distributor ITV Studios Global Entertainment.
CTV and Prairie Pants Distribution Inc. have struck a deal that will see Seasons 1 & 2 of Corner Gas Animated available for the first time in the U.S. as an IMDb Original. Starting Oct. 15, all 24 episodes of the show will be available in the U.S. on IMDb TV. In Canada, the Corner Gas franchise is exclusively available on Bell Media platforms including CTV Comedy Channel, Crave, and CTV Throwback. Season 3 of Corner Gas Animated is set to debut on CTV Comedy Channel in 2020.
CTV original series Carter returns for its second season on the newly-rebranded CTV Drama Channel with a two-episode premiere on Friday, Oct. 25. Jerry O’Connell reprises his role as Harley Carter, a former television detective turned private detective. Joining the show for Season 2 are actor Lyriq Bent (The Affair) who stars as new police chief Joyce “Joy” Warwick Boyle, and guest stars that include David Arquette, Colin Mochrie, Derek Mcgrath, and Kids in the Hall alumni Kevin McDonald and Dave Foley. Season 1 of Carter is available to stream on Crave.
HISTORY drama series Vikings returns for its sixth and final season with a two-hour premiere Dec. 4. The 20-episode sixth season will air in two parts, beginning with a two-hour premiere, followed by eight episodes airing every Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on HISTORY. The remaining 10 episodes are slated to air in 2020. Additionally, series regular Katheryn Winnick is set to direct one episode in Season 6. Accompanying the series return is special, Vikings: Worlds at War – with ET Canada, premiering Dec. 1. on HISTORY, with a repeat airing on Global Dec. 4. Carlos Bustamante takes viewers behind-the-scenes of Vikings, including exclusive interviews with the cast and a first-look at the shows new set.
TSN has announced a partnership with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) to deliver live coverage of weekly live wrestling show, AEW Dynamite, starting Oct. 2, from Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. Among the featured wrestlers competing in AEW are Canadian superstars Chris Jericho, the inaugural and current AEW World Champion; and Kenny Omega. AEW also features members of The Elite (Cody and Brandi Rhodes, Matt and Nick Jackson, and Hangman Adam Page) as well as Jon Moxley, Nyla Rose, Awesome Kong, Dr. Britt Baker, SCU, and Dustin Rhodes, with wrestling commentator Jim Ross calling the action. TSN’s coverage of AEW Dynamite is also available for on-demand viewing for TSN and TSN Direct subscribers via TSN.ca/Live and the TSN app.
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