The Olympics are back... we need it
Hi All,
It’s been a wild week. January was really hard. The doom and gloom of truckers and the pandemic is really hitting us hard. I get the feeling that this weekend might be tough.
But I don’t want this to continue. I’ve doomscrolled enough. I’m ready for some bright lights. I’m ready to hang out with friends. I’m just really ready to cheer on Canada’s Olympians.
And I know… Tessa and Scott are not in Beijing. That’s tough for everyone. I really am going to miss watching Scott get drunk and cheer on the women’s hockey team. But Leslie Jones is still Instagramming. TikTok exists this time around and the X Games dudes are on it. I’m doing some retail therapy at Lulu… SO. We’re good.
The convoy, Dougie, and crew can be idiots all they want… I’m watching curling.
Let’s get into it.
This week on the blog:
I’ve got a full round-up of all the things I watched in January with mini-reviews of everything. Check that out here.
I also said last week that I’d hit publish on my Canadian TV blog… jk. The government tabled Bill C-11 — an update of C-10 and an attempt to bring online streamers into the Canadian system. I’m going to a panel this week with the Heritage Minister talking about it and so… you’ll have to wait a little while longer.
Things to watch this week:
There is really only ONE thing you should be watching for the next two weeks and that’s the Olympics!
Now I know not everyone is as into the Olympics as I am… I woke up this morning at 6:00 a.m. to watch the opening ceremony live. I’m that person.
But I’m here to be that helpful person for you and guide you through what’s on the daily schedule. Most competitions are taking place overnight — a lot of the action is taking place between 1:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. — but there are some key events taking place at a semi-reasonable morning hour (6:00 – 7:00 a.m.) and evenings (8:00 p.m. – midnight). So this is the link you need to bookmark if you care. It will tell you what’s happening when and who’s competing.
If you are looking to know who to keep your eyes on this Olympics, the Toronto Star has a great primer on the 22 Olympians to Watch. Mikaël Kingsbury is on the top of the list for a reason. He’ll be defending his gold medal tomorrow morning at 6:30 a.m.
You can watch the Olympics on CBC TV, Gem, and streaming on various CBC Sports platforms. Plus — I highly recommend getting onto #TeamCanada TikTok, following Devin Heroux on Twitter, and just generally getting into the vibes by blasting this.
Let’s move along for those of you who are joining in on the boycott of the Olympics… (which, TBH, is extremely fair.)
In summer 2020 I unexpectedly fell in love with Sweet Magnolias. It’s a cheesy Hallmark-style romantic drama, which I normally don’t love, but I loved it. It ended on a massive cliffhanger and thankfully we’ll finally get to know what happens next. Season two drops today on Netflix. As per above, I will be focusing on the Olympics, so please don’t tell me what happens. I won’t get to it for a while. Watch the trailer here.
On Crave today, there is a new series called The Panthers. “Inspired by The Black Panthers in the USA; a group of young radicals from New Zealand form The Polynesian Panthers.” It looks incredible. Check out the trailer here.
Just in time for Valentine’s Day next week, we’re getting new seasons of the smash reality show Love is Blind. This Tuesday, the show is going international with Love is Blind Japan. I think this show is ridiculous… but in a so-bad-it’s-good way. Next week, the American OG gets new episodes but I’m personally more interested in watching the Japanese version. Watch the trailer for Love is Blind Japan here.
I’ve been spending my week at the Canadian Media Producers Association’s annual conference Prime Time — and this morning, I listened in to a fireside chat with Karine Moses, Bell’s Vice Chair Quebec, and Senior Vice-President Content Development and News. She used this next show as an example of ways Canadian content creators could create in both the French and English markets.
So on Thursday, check out the new Crave original Pillow Talk. Originally filmed and created in French for a Québécois audience, Entre deux draps became a successful show so Bell recreated it with English actors and an English crew for the rest of Canada. It’s similar to what Bell did with 19-2. I’m honestly surprised this doesn’t happen more often in Canada. Anyways, this is a sketch show filmed exclusively in bedrooms. Check out a clip here and watch all the episodes of both series on Crave.
Also on Crave on Thursday, BBC-HBO Max’s new show The Girl Before premieres. This four-part psychological thriller is about a woman who lives in a stunning minimalist house designed by an architect that has… specific rules. The question she wants to know: what happened to the girl who lived in the house before she moved in. It looks intense. Watch the trailer here.
Other things to check out:
I’ve spent most of the week doomscrolling the trucker situation. As a political nerd and Twitter addict, it’s the story I cannot look away from right now. CBC’s Front Burner had a great episode today and this article about how it contributed to Erin O’Toole’s ouster is fantastic. However… it’s not great. Golden Ret
📺 So you can do pretty much anything and still have a career on reality TV. We knew this, but I don’t think people realized HOW LOW you could go and still get a reality show. Rudy Giuliani is going to be on The Masked Singer. It’s ridiculous. Obviously the late-night guys are having a field day with this. I’ll link this clip of Colbert talks about it and the truckers.
📻 The Rogan-Young-Spotify conversation continues. Jon Stewart has now joined in. I’m always here for Stewart’s opinion, he’s a smart guy who knows the media industry. This conversation is super interesting.
🎬 If you are ready to go back to theatres, go see The Worst Person in the World. It’s showing at the TIFF Bell Lightbox this week and it will be well worth the adventure. I cannot say enough good things about the film. Watch the trailer here to get a feel for it.
🎬 There is a new trailer out for a Miles Teller mini-series about the making of The Godfather. I’m here for it. It looks phenomenal.
🍿 The Juno Awards announced their host for 2022… Simu Liu. Perfect. May 15th. Toronto. Mark your calendars.
📺 Finally, this BBC commercial celebrating the network is *chef’s kiss* perfect! It just… reminds me why I love TV.
Have a great weekend,
-Paula
📝📝📝 This newsletter was graciously edited by Emma Sakamoto 📝📝📝
This newsletter was written by me — Paula Sanderson — a freelance Television Producer and current MBA student based in Toronto. After years of recommending the best shows to my friends, I decided to start a newsletter so everyone could get the recommendations. If you want to learn more about what I do professionally or follow me on the various social channels click here.