TV & Film News – DGC unveils television award nominees

The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) has unveiled the initial round of nominees for the 23rd annual DGC Awards, led by nods for television series like political thriller Fellow Travelers; true crime miniseries Under the Bridge, delving into the murder of B.C. teen Reena Virk; and AppleTV+ supernatural horror series, The Changeling. The television nominees cover categories for Television Series, Movies for Television and Mini-Series. Winners will be announced and presented online on Monday, Oct. 28. DGC will announce nominations for Feature Film, Documentary and Short Film shortly, as well as the shortlist for the DGC’s Jean-Marc Vallée Discovery Award, following a meeting of the DGC Awards juries on Sept. 7.

ACTRA Alberta has opened submissions for the ACTRA Alberta Awards, set to take place Nov. 2 at the Plaza Theatre in Calgary. The deadline to submit productions, broadcast between Oct. 1, 2022 and August 30, 2024, is Sept. 27.

The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) has announced the official reunion of k.d. lang and The Reclines, performing together for the first time in 35 years at the 2024 CCMA Awards. In addition to the special performance, lang will be celebrated in an exclusive induction ceremony during Country Music Week 2024. CTV will broadcast the 2024 CCMA Awards on Saturday, Sept. 14 at 8 p.m. ET.

Super Channel is introducing Super Channel Quest, the specialty network’s new channel focused on docuseries and documentaries. Available as of Wednesday, the channel will feature a mix of content ranging from series that attempt to explain the unexplained, real-life mysteries, and science and discovery. It replaces GinxTV, the network’s 24-hour gaming lifestyle and eSports channel. Select GinxTV content will still be carried on Quest. The channel is launching with 100% Canadian content. Read more here.

CTV has announced premiere dates for its fall 2024 lineup, featuring a slate of CTV Originals, new series, and returning titles. New series joining CTV this fall include: crime drama Hight Potential (beginning Sept. 17), written by Drew Goddard (The Good Place) and starring It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Kaitlin Olson; Hawaii lifeguard drama Rescue: Hi-Surf (Sept. 23); Doctor Odyssey (Sept. 26), a procedural drama led by Joshua Jackson with Don Johnson from creator Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story); The Summit, an unscripted competition series hosted by Manu Bennett (The Hobbit), which sees 16 strangers embark on a treacherous once-in-a-lifetime adventure through the New Zealand Alps (Oct. 2); and documentary series SCAMANDA (Oct. 9 on CTV2), based on the podcast of the same name.

Corus Entertainment’s Slice has released its fall schedule, which includes the addition of the previously-announced The Daily Show (starting Sept. 9), Love After Lockup (Sept. 24), True Crime News (Sept. 16), and The Braxtons (Sept. 4), with 173 hours of new content. Slice and its lineup are available to stream via STACKTV. 

WildBrain Television has unveiled a new slate of Canadian content, highlighted by new seasons of The Fabulous Show with Fay and Fluffy, Ruby and the Well and Caillou. On Family Channel, LEGO, fans can look forward to Season 2 of LEGO Friends, along with a second season of LEGO DREAMZzz, both of which will air Sept. 6. Family Jr. will have the Canadian premiere of Polly Pocket, Season 6, as well as the premiere of Season 4 (part two) of Grizzy and the Lemmings on Sept. 16. WildBrainTV will see two Canadian premieres this fall, Season 3 (part two) of Boy Girl Dog Cat Mouse Cheese (Sept. 7), and The Smurfs Season 3, premiering Sept. 15. On WildBrain Television’s French-language channel, Télémagino, Season 1 of Jade Armor will air Sept. 3, with Open Season: Call of Nature Season 1 (part two), premiering Sept. 7. 

Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana has announced that Barney, the beloved purple dinosaur, will return to television screens after a 14-year hiatus. The new Barney’s World is set in a playground, where Barney is joined by dinos Billy and Baby Bop and their three kid best friends. The new series (52 x 11 mins), co-produced by Mattel Television Studios and Nelvana, will premiere on Treehouse, Monday, Oct. 14 and be available to stream on STACKTV. The debut season features all-new original music and updated takes on Barney classics. 

Todd Talbot of Love It or List It Vancouver joins Cottage Life with the debut of his new documentary series, Todd Talbot Builds: The Passive House Project (8×30’). The eight-part series is an intimate look into the highs and lows of Talbot’s construction journey as he and his wife, actor Rabecca Talbot, set out to build a net-zero, passive house A-frame on Okanagan Lake, just outside Kelowna. The Canadian broadcast premiere airs Tuesday, Oct. 8. Talbot’s passive house made headlines in summer 2023, when wildfires forced his family to evacuate and halt production of the series. Nearly all the passive house elements were completed, with the exception of the stone wool insulation and non-combustible cladding on the underbelly of the structure. When they were allowed back to the site a month later to survey the damage, the pile of insulation was the only thing not destroyed.

Crave has announced all-new original comedy series, The Office Movers, is being delivered to audiences beginning Friday, Oct. 11. Shot in and around Toronto, this is the first-ever television project from Brampton-born comedy duo Jae and Trey Richards. The six-episode, half-hour comedy follows Everett (Jae) and Eric Saunders (Trey), two brothers reluctantly following in their father’s footsteps in commercial office moving. Produced by Counterfeit Pictures in partnership with Crave, the first two episodes drop Oct. 11 with two new episodes streaming on subsequent Fridays. 

Josh Holliday, an alum of Calgary’s X92.9 (CFEX-FM), Toronto’s 102.1 The Edge (CFNY-FM) and CBC, has released his first short film with a broadcast theme. The mockumentary follows Steve Hammerstone, one half of Coboconk’s #1 morning radio show, as he visits Woofstock: Canada’s Largest Festival for Dogs.

Firecracker Department, the community-driven creative collective supporting female and non-binary artists, has announced the winners of its 2024 Firecracker Department Awards. Allana Harkin and Robin Duke will be presented with the Blaze Award and the RedPoint Award, respectively, at the annual Firecracker Department TIFF Brunch on Saturday, Sept. 7. Harkin, an Emmy Award-winning producer, director and correspondent known for her work on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, and directing work on series like the Rockie Award–nominated Nesting. The RedPoint Award, which recognizes Firecrackers over the age of 50 who continue to create impactful and inspiring art, will be awarded to legendary comedian and actress Robin Duke, a Saturday Night Live and SCTV alumna, in addition to CTV series, Shelved.

Liz Shorten, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA), was among those awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal during a ceremony with B.C.’s Premier David Eby and B.C.’s Lieutenant Governor Janet Austin. Shorten was recognized for her outstanding commitment and dedication to the film, television and digital media sectors. Others from the B.C. media community recognized include Sp!ce Radio founder Shushma Datt, CKYE RED FM news director Harjinder Thind, South Asian NHL play-by-play commentator Randip Janda, journalist and TV commentator Guo Ding, and journalist Debbie Chen.