TV & Film News – Crave and APTN’s ‘Little Bird’ leads Canadian Screen Award nominations

Crave Original limited series Little Bird leads both television and overall 2024 Canadian Screen Award nominations with 19, as the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television announced nominees across 156 TV, film and digital media categories Wednesday morning. The final seasons of CBC comedies Sort Of and Workin’ Moms followed Little Bird with 18 and 12 nominations, respectively. In film, Matt Johnson’s BlackBerry tops nominations with 17, making it the most nominated film in the history of the awards. The awards will be presented over four days during Canadian Screen Week, May 28-31. Read more here. CBC led nominations by network with 288 nods, followed by Bell Media with 165, 65 for Corus Entertainment, 32 for Rogers Sports & Media, and 30 for APTN. Check out our breakdown here highlighting nominations across news, sports & entertainment.

Jennifer Podemski has been named this year’s ACTRA National Woman of the Year. An award-winning actor, writer, director and producer, her on-screen credits include: The Rez; Degrassi: TNG; Blackstone; Departure; and Reservation Dogs (Disney+). Behind-the-camera she’s been at the helm of TV series including: The Seventh Generation; Rabbit Fall; The Other Side; Moccasin Flats; and Future History (CBC Gem), in addition to co-creating award-winning mini-series Little Bird (Crave/APTN). Her advocacy work includes founding the SHINE Network Institute, encouraging all those working in film and television to take the 45 minute PACT (Pledge – Activate – Cultivate – Thrive) online course, providing valuable training preparing non-Indigenous screen industry workers to work on Indigenous productions.

9 Story Media Group is reducing its global workforce by about three per cent, across its teams in Toronto, New York and Dublin, in the name of navigating market challenges. 9 Story has an estimated global workforce of 1,000 employees.

CTV will broadcast the 96th Oscars live Sunday, March 10. ETALK is planning extensive multi-platform coverage with Tyrone Edwards anchoring the network’s prime red carpet interview position – second only to host broadcaster ABC. Meanwhile, ETALK senior correspondents Lainey Lui and Traci Melchor have a birds’-eye view, reporting across ETALK’s social channels from their balcony position at the Dolby Theatre. For the first time, ETALK continues the celebration with ETALK After the Oscars, a 30-minute live show breaking down big moments from the evening. 

Bell Media streaming service, Crave, has made its Premium, ad-free plan available for purchase through Prime Video Channels in Canada, joining platforms, including Crave.ca and Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, select LG and Samsung Smart TVs, PlayStation, Roku, and Xbox One. Crave’s Premium, ad-free plan can be purchased by Prime members directly through their Prime account for $21.99/month.

XITE has introduced seven new channels on Samsung TV Plus in Canada. The new music video offerings include XITE 80s Flashback; XITE 90s Throwback; XITE Hits; XITE Country Today; XITE Country’s Finest; XITE R&B Classic Jams; XITE Rock On; XITE Icons; XITE Just Chill; XITE Only Love; and XITE Celebrates, featuring timely content throughout the year based on cultural celebrations, pop culture moments, seasons, and holidays.

Blue Ant Media has launched its free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel, Love Pets, on The Roku Channel in Canada. Since the pet-themed channel debuted last year, it has rolled out in 27 countries. Featuring heartfelt and compelling stories about the animals and pets in our lives, programming highlights include: Hope For Wildlife, a look at the Nova Scotia wildlife rescue team, led by Hope Swinimer, that rescues thousands of sick, injured and lost animals and returns them to their natural habitats; Bondi Vet, which immerses viewers in the drama of emergency vets at a clinic in Australia; and Pick-a-Puppy, which follows families as they visit breeders and animal shelters in search of the perfect canine companion.

CBC Kids is bringing Canadian audiences Gangnam Project (10×30) —a new coming-of-age series co-commissioned with CBBC and produced by Pillango Productions and Aircraft Pictures that offers audiences a glimpse behind the curtain of what it takes to become a K-pop superstar. All episodes begin streaming March 8 on CBC Gem. The series is told through the eyes of 16-year-old Korean-Canadian Hannah Shin (Julia Kim Caldwell).

The CBC Music Live at Massey Hall concert series is now on CBC Gem. Performances available to stream include: The Beaches, Charlotte Day Wilson, Donovan Woods, Jeremy Dutcher, July Talk, Matt Andersen & The Big Bottle of Joy, OMBIIGIZI – a collaboration between Anishnaabe artists Zoon (Daniel Monkman) and Status/Non Status (Adam Sturgeon), Wild Rivers, and the 2023 Polaris Music Prize Gala featuring Aysanabee, Begonia, Gayance, The Sadies, Dan Mangan, Snotty Nose Rez Kids and Debby Friday. 

Andrew Phung will be reunited with former Kim’s Convenience co-stars Paul Sun-Hyung Lee and Nicole Power in upcoming episodes of the CBC original comedy series Run The Burbs, currently in Season 3. In the tenth episode of the season, entitled Phirst Love, Power will appear as Lisa, the ex-wife of the Phams’ neighbour Hudson (Jonathan Langdon). In the season finale, Summer Phorecast, Lee guest stars as Andrew’s personal hero, municipal councillor Vernon Park.

Bryan Baeumler takes viewers on a road trip this spring with eight all-new episodes of Bryan’s All In, beginning Sunday, March 31 on HGTV Canada and STACKTV. In the series, which viewers got a sneak peek of last fall, Baeumler spends a week guiding budding business owners through a make-or-break point in their renovation. He picks up his journey this Spring in Arnprior, ON, where he meets the owners of a local bowling alley who are working against the clock with a big list of renos. Additional episodes include a craft brewery in Kenora, a fishing resort in Pollard’s Point, NL, and a maple syrup business in Coldwater, ON.

Canada’s Got Talent premieres March 19 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Citytv. This season sees 116 acts from all corners of Canada compete for a life-changing prize of $1M – the biggest cash prize in Canadian television history – thanks to Rogers, in addition to financial advice from CIBC. Every Golden Buzzer recipient will also receive $25,000, courtesy of CIBC, to help realize their ambitions. Hosted by Lindsay Ell, Canada’s Got Talent culminates in a live two-hour finale on Tuesday, May 14 at 8 p.m. ET/PT from OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls.

Groupe Juste pour rire, which operates the Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal, has cancelled this year’s event as it begins formal restructuring under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. The company is moving operations forward in a scaled-down format, laying off about 70% of its workforce. Among the challenges cited are inflationary factors and a changing media industry landscape, that with consolidation and reduced budgets at the networks and streaming platforms, have made television production more challenging.

imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is permanently moving its fall festival to June, corresponding with Indigenous Peoples’ Month. Postponing the 2024 event, the new dates run from June 3-8, 2025 in Toronto and June 9-15, 2025 for the online festival. Leading up to the festival, imagineNATIVE will host events including extending the imagineNATIVE Tour to the end of November 2024. Further programming will be announced later in the year.  

Paramount+ in Canada has announced that its first Original Documentary, 500 Days in the Wild will premiere on March 15. The documentary, from award-winning filmmaker Dianne Whelan, tracks her incredible adventure as the first person to travel 24,000 km on the Trans Canada Trail. The film has received numerous awards including the Audience Award at the 2023 Whistler Film Festival. Following a limited theatrical release, Paramount+ is partnering with Hot Docs to host an exclusive screening event March 14, featuring a special Q&A with Whelan.

Super Channel has acquired Australian drama series Prosper (8X60) from Lionsgate Television. The family drama will make its Canadian premiere on Super Channel Fuse on March 24, with each episode available to stream On Demand the following day. Produced by Lingo Pictures, and commissioned by Lionsgate and Australia’s Stan, Prosper is set in the inner sanctum of evangelical megachurch, U Star. This year’s biggest Australian summer original premiere for Stan, it stars Richard Roxburgh (Elvis, Van Helsing) as the charismatic founder and pastor of U Star, and Rebecca Gibney (Halifax: Retribution, Back to the Rafters, Wanted) as his wife.