Apple TV+ today released the trailer for “Shape Island,” the all-new stop motion series for kids and families based on the internationally best-selling trilogy of Shapes picture books by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen, premiering globally Friday, January 20 on Apple TV+. 

This clever, funny, and inspiring new stop-motion animated series from Apple TV+ takes place on a charming island and invites viewers to join serious Square, intrepid Circle, and tricky Triangle on their silly adventures as they dig up some fun, search for answers, and build on their friendship – all while learning how to navigate each other’s differences. “Shape Island” shows kids that friendship can take many shapes.The series features the beloved familiar voices of Yvette Nicole Brown (“Disenchanted”) as the Narrator, Harvey Guillen (“What We Do in the Shadows”) as Square, Scott Adsit (“30 Rock”) as Triangle, and Gideon Adlon (“Blockers”) as Circle. 

“Shape Island” was co-created by book authors Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen, who serve as executive producers alongside Emmy Award winning Bix Pix Entertainment’s Kelli Bixler and Drew Hodges (“Tumble Leaf”). Ryan Pequin serves as co-executive producer and head writer.

The award-winning slate of original series and film for kids and families on Apple TV+ includes impressive all-ages offerings such as the critically-acclaimed properties “El Deafo,” “Lovely Little Farm,” “Duck & Goose,” “Pinecone & Pony,” “Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock” and “Harriet the Spy” from The Jim Henson Company, Peabody Award-winning series “Stillwater,” “Helpsters” from Sesame Workshop, “Wolfboy and the Everything Factory” from Joseph Gordon-Levitt, HITRECORD and Bento Box Entertainment, “Sago Mini Friends,” “Hello, Jack! The Kindness Show” from Jack McBrayer and Angela C. Santomero, “Snoopy in Space,” “The Snoopy Show” and “Get Rolling with Otis.” Live-action offerings for include Bonnie Hunt’s “Amber Brown,” “Best Foot Forward,” “Surfside Girls,” “Life By Ella,” and Daytime Emmy Award-winning “Ghostwriter.”Also included are specials from Peanuts and WildBrain including “It’s the Small Things, Charlie Brown,” “Lucy’s School,” “To Mom (and Dad), With Love,” and “For Auld Lang Syne,” and “Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth,” the Daytime Emmy Award-winning television event based on the New York Times best-selling book and TIME Best Book of the Year by Oliver Jeffers.

(Photo credit: Apple TV+)

Paramount+ today announced its new young adult drama series, SCHOOL SPIRITS, will premiere with two episodes on Thurs., March 9, exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S. and Canada. Following the premiere, new episodes of the 8-episode-long season will be available to stream weekly on Thursdays for subscribers in the U.S. and Canada. SCHOOL SPIRITS was filmed in Vancouver in the summer and fall of 2022. 

The announcement was made during the series’ panel at Paramount+’s Television Critics Association presentation, where a first look teaser trailer was also revealed. The SCHOOL SPIRITS panel featured series star Peyton List, along with cast members Nick Pugliese and Milo Manheim; showrunner and executive producer Oliver Goldstick; and creators, executive producers and writers Nate and Megan Trinrud.  

Produced by Awesomeness Live-Action Studios, the YA series SCHOOL SPIRITS is centered around Maddie (Peyton List), a teen girl stuck in the afterlife investigating her mysterious disappearance. Maddie goes on a crime-solving journey as she adjusts to high school in the afterlife, but the closer she gets to uncovering the truth, the more secrets and lies she discovers. 

SCHOOL SPIRITS stars Peyton List (“Cobra Kai,” “Bunk’d”) as Maddie Nears, and is based on the upcoming graphic novel by Nate & Megan Trinrud and Maria Nguyen. Additional cast members include Kristian Flores (“Reboot,” “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent”) as Simon Elroy, Spencer MacPherson (“Reign,” “Degrassi: Next Class”) as Xavier Baxter, Kiara Pichardo (“The Society,” “Mother/Android”) as Nicole Herrera, Sarah Yarkin (“Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “Happy Death Day 2U”) as Rhonda, Nick Pugliese (“13 Reasons Why,” “Dramarama”) as Charley, Rainbow Wedell (“The Wilds,” “The Bureau of Magical Things”) as Claire Zolinski and Milo Manheim (“Zombies 3,” “Prom Pact”) as Wally Clark. Josh Zuckerman (“The Offer,” “Oppenheimer”) and Maria Dizzia (“13 Reasons Why,” “Orange Is the New Black”) have recurring guest star roles as Mr. Martin and Sandra Nears, respectively.  

Oliver Goldstick (“Pretty Little Liars,” “Bridgerton”) serves as showrunner and executive producer of SCHOOL SPIRITS, along with creators Nate and Megan Trinrud, who wrote the pilot. Max Winkler (“Cruel Summer,” “Jungleland”) directed the first two episodes and also executive produced. 

SCHOOL SPIRITS joins Paramount+’s growing lineup of YA content, including the hit iCARLY revival and the original film HONOR SOCIETY. 

Paramount+ today released the official trailer and key art for AT MIDNIGHT, the all-new original romantic comedy film premiering on Friday, Feb. 10. The official trailer and key art debuted during the film’s panel at Paramount+’s Television Critics Association presentation, featuring stars Monica Barbaro, Diego Boneta, and director Jonah Feingold. The film will be available to stream globally on Paramount+ in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil and Italy, with premiere dates for other Paramount+ international markets announced at a later date.  

AT MIDNIGHT centers around Alejandro (Diego Boneta, “Father of the Bride”), an ambitious hotel manager, and Sophie (Monica Barbaro, “Top Gun: Maverick”) a movie star navigating the politics of Hollywood. He’s focused on opening his own boutique hotel. She’s trying to focus on shooting her new superhero film “Super Society 3,” in hopes of getting her own spinoff, but catches her co-star (and boyfriend!) Adam (Anders Holm, “Workaholics”) cheating. Fate strikes when the shoot brings them all to Alejandro’s hotel in Mexico. Despite their radically different lives, Alejandro and Sophie begin to secretly meet At Midnight… 

The film’s cast also includes Casey Thomas Brown (“Father Of The Bride”), Catherine Cohen (“Netflix’s Catherine Cohen: The Twist…? She’s Gorgeous”), Fernando Carsa (“Acapulco”), Whitney Cummings (“Good Mourning”) and Maya Zapata (“Selena’s Secret”). 

(Photo/video credit: Paramount+)

This definitely looks interesting! Canada’s own Pamela Anderson is the subject of upcoming Documentary, PAMELA, A LOVE STORY arriving January 31, 2023 on Netflix. Today we get a brand-new Trailer!

Logline:

An intimate and humanizing portrait of one of the world’s most famous blonde bombshells, Pamela, a love story follows the trajectory of Pamela Anderson’s life and career from small town girl to international sex symbol, actress, activist and doting mother.

(Photo credit: Netflix)

A new, action-packed trailer for Marvel Studios’ “Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania,” which opens in theatres Feb. 17, 2023, just debuted during tonight’s College Football Playoff National Championship. Kicking off Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the fast-paced, big-screen adventure features the MCU’s most powerful villain to date: Kang the Conqueror.

Super-Hero partners Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) return to continue their adventures as Ant-Man and the Wasp. Together, with Hope’s parents Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), and Scott’s daughter Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton), the family finds themselves exploring the Quantum Realm, interacting with strange new creatures and embarking on an adventure that will push them beyond the limits of what they thought possible. Directed by Peyton Reed and produced by Kevin Feige, p.g.a. and Stephen Broussard, p.g.a., “Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania” also stars Jonathan Majors as Kang, David Dastmalchian as Veb, Katy O’Brian as Jentorra, William Jackson Harper as Quaz and Bill Murray as Lord Krylar. The sci-fi adventure opens in theatres on Feb. 17, 2023.

(Photo/video credit: Marvel/Disney)

We’ve had a chance to preview some of the episodes of YOU Season Four, one of our favourite Thriller-Horror Series ever! Penn Badgely returns in his most gritty role yet, as the story heads to London. We will share our thoughts soon! In the meantime, here’s a new Trailer.

Synopsis:
After his previous life went up in flames, Joe Goldberg has fled to Europe to escape his “messy” past, adopt a new identity, and, of course, to pursue true love. But Joe soon finds himself in the strange new role of reluctant detective as he discovers he may not be the only killer in London. Now, his future depends on identifying and stopping whoever’s targeting his new friend group of uber-wealthy socialites…

INSPIRED BY: The novels by Caroline Kepnes
DEVELOPED BY: Sera Gamble & Greg Berlanti
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Warner Bros. Television
SHOWRUNNER: Sera Gamble
EXECUTIVE PRODUCED BY: Greg Berlanti, Sera Gamble, Gina Girolamo, Leslie Morgenstein, Sarah Schechter, Michael Foley
WRITERS: 401: Sera Gamble & Leo Richardson, 402: Neil Reynolds & Kara Lee Corthron, 403: Mairin Reed & Justin W. Lo, 404: Amanda Johnson-Zetterström & Michael Foley, 405: Dylan Cohen & Hillary Benefiel, 406: Justin Lo & Leo Richardson, 407: Neil Reynolds & AB Chao, 408: Kara Lee Corthron & Mairin Reed, 409: Amanda Johnson-Zetterström & Hillary Benefiel, 410: Sera Gamble & Michael Foley
DIRECTORS: John Scott (401, 402, 406), Shamim Sarif (403), Harry Jierjian (404, 405, 410), Rachel Leiterman (407, 408), Penn Badgley (409)
KEY CAST: Penn Badgley, Tati Gabrielle, Charlotte Ritchie, Lukas Gage, Ed Speleers, Tilly Keeper, Amy-Leigh Hickman, Niccy Lin, Aidan Cheng, Brad Alexander, Ozioma Whenu, Eve Austin
MUSIC SUPERVISOR: Season Kent
FILMING LOCATIONS: London, United Kingdom; Paris, France; Los Angeles, CA

(Photo credit: Netflix)

Starting February 14, 2023, all episodes of the hilarious pseudo-newscast THE FEATHER NEWS will be available on APTN lumi, APTN’s exclusive streaming service. The short-form series will feature six sketch-based episodes from Indigenous producer Ryan Moccasin and comedians Shawn Cuthand and Danny Knight. 

Episode Summary:

Episode 1 – “Latimer Violence”
Our cutting edge news team takes on the issue of false identity in this episode. We provide a news update, highlight a new “Racism Simulator” business, and interview a traditional dancer with an identity crisis.

Episode 2 – “Picket Signs”
What’s with all the protests in Indigenous country? We dive deep into all the social movements around the world and whether or not they are effective (hint: they are).

Episode 3 – “Arrested Development”
The RCMP and Indigenous people have a long and difficult history. In this episode, we attempt to demystify this relationship through news updates, a police officer on a talent show, and an interview with a criminal on the run.

Episode 4 – “Race Relations”
Canada is a multicultural nation and our news crew takes aim on how this plays out in everyday life. We reimagine how the Treaty Signings occurred if there were different approaches, we interview the Pope (yes, THE Pope), and take a deep dive into race relations through a cutting edge monologue.

Episode 5 – “Never Read The Comments”
In this episode, we take on the social media industry and how it affects our communities and relationships. We interview a TikTok influencer, sit down with a politician who has a radical plan to combat online racism, and find out if using social media for change is effective or not.

Episode 6 – “Casino Industrial Complex”
What’s with all the casinos in Indigenous country? Our news team is deployed to find out how the economy actually works on reserves and how we generate revenue elsewhere. And as an added bonus, we tackle taxes and provide truth on how these are paid in Indigenous communities. Yes, we do pay those!

(Photo/video credit: APTN)

The Toronto Film Critics Association met today to determine winners of the 26th annual TFCA Awards. The Awards, to be held March 6, 2023 at the OMNI King Edward Hotel will see a winner named for the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award. Up for the $100k prize are Clement Virgo’s Brother, David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future and Anthony Shim’s Riceboy Sleeps. Runners-Up will each receive $5,000.

Leading the winners this year is Charlotte Wells’ AFTERSUN, the semi-autobiographical Drama follows an 11 year-old girl’s recollections of a trip to a Turkish resort with her troubled father for his 31st birthday, following her parents’ separation. The Film is Wells’ first Feature, impressively seeing her sweep Best Picture, Director and Best First Feature. Star Paul Mescal also won Best Actor.

The full list of 26th annual TFCA Awards winners and runners-up below:

Best Picture

Aftersun (Sphere Films)
 
Runners-up: Everything Everywhere All at Once (Elevation Pictures), Women Talking (Universal Picture Canada)

Best Director

Charlotte Wells – Aftersun (Sphere Films)

Runners-up: Daniels, Everything Everywhere All at Once (Elevation Pictures); Sarah Polley, Women Talking (Universal Pictures Canada)

Best Screenplay, Original or Adapted

The Banshees of Inisherin – Martin McDonagh (Searchlight Pictures)

Runners-up: Todd Field, Tár (Universal Pictures Canada); Sarah Polley, Women Talking (Universal Picturs Canada)

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett in Tár (Universal Pictures Canada)

Runners-up: Danielle Deadwyler in Till ((Universal Pictures Canada; Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All at Once (Elevation Pictures)

Best Actor

Paul Mescal in Aftersun (Sphere Films)

Runners-up: Colin Farrell in The Banshees of Inisherin (Searchlight Pictures); Brendan Fraser in The Whale (Elevation Pictures)

Best Supporting Actress

Keke Palmer in Nope (Universal Pictures Canada)

Runners-up: Jessie Buckley in Women Talking (Universal Pictures Canada); Stephanie Hsu in Everything Everywhere All at Once (Elevation Pictures)

Best Supporting Actor

Ke Huy Quan in Everything Everywhere All at Once (Elevation Pictures)

Runners-up: Brendan Gleeson in The Banshees of Inisherin (Searchlight Pictures); Barry Keoghan in The Banshees of Inisherin (Searchlight Pictures)

Best Animated Feature

Turning Red, directed by Domee Shi (Walt Disney Pictures Canada)

Runners-up: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (Netflix); Marcel the Shell with Shoes on (Elevation Pictures)

Allan King Documentary Award

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, directed by Laura Poitras (Elevation Pictures)

Runners-up: Fire of Love (Mongrel Media); Moonage Daydream (Elevation Pictures)

Best International Feature

Saint Omer, directed by Alice Diop (Films We Like)

Runners-up: Decision to Leave (Mongrel Media); EO (Films We Like)

Best First Feature

Aftersun, directed by Charlotte Wells (Sphere Films)

Runners-up: Marcel the Shell with Shoes on (Elevation Pictures); Turning Red (Walt Disney Pictures Canada)

Rogers Best Canadian Feature Award Nominees

Brother, directed by Clement Virgo (Elevation Pictures)
Crimes of the Future, directed by David Cronenberg (Sphere Films)
Riceboy Sleeps, directed by Anthony Shim (Game Theory Films)

Special Citation
To Iranian filmmakers Jafar Panahi, Mohammad Rasoulof and Mostafa Al-Ahmad, who are currently in jail in Ira yet continue to make subtle movies that talk about life in their country, in spite of threats and restrictions from the regime. We stand in solidarity with them and add our voices to the international arts community calling for their release.

(Photo credit: Sphere Films)

Hot off the news that Netflix has renewed its record-breaking new Series WEDNESDAY for a second season, Toronto was also so lucky to host its star Jenna Ortega back in the City over the Holidays. The Actress has seen a wild spike in popularity since the Series’ release, propelled by a viral TikTok dance challenge she inspired, taking the world be storm. Even Lady Gaga, whose “Bloody Mary” in a sped-up version, has been attributed to the sensation, couldn’t resist.

Ortega visited her Castmate Percy Hynes White who stars on the Series as Xavier Thorpe, catching-up and spending quality time together over the break. Thorpe is based in Toronto which hopefully means more reasons for Ortega to visit Toronto!

Fans and paparazzi sighted Ortega and White exchanging a goodbye hug, before leaning-in to sign one autograph for a lucky fan. She donned a Louis Vuitton handbag and a black trench coat before quietly making her way out of the City, casual and comfortable.

We’re sure you’re just as stoked for this upcoming season season of WEDNESDAY, but until then we get to see Ortega this March in SCREAM VI where she once again plays the role of Tara Carpenter.

Some candids. Don’t laugh, please! We tried giving her space but still wanted a memory. Love her.

We’ll always have this one at least from 2019 WE DAY!

Happy New Year! It’s great to see productions gearing-up again after a holiday hiatus! THE BOYS stars Jack Quaid and Colby Minifie are back and ready to pick-up again on the popular Prime Video series, which is now filming its fourth season.

The son of Hollywood royalty Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan continues to see his career flourish and we got to see him in SCREAM last year, in addition to the third season of THE BOYS. He reprises his role as Hughie Campbell once again and the season wraps production late March. Above this, we will see Quaid this year in Christopher Nolan‘s long-anticipated, Oppenheimer this July.

Minifie has been seeing her role of Ashley Barrett expand over the seasons. She’s had a long, lasting career starring in several fan favourites like Jessica Jones, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Fear the Walking Dead. Over the Pandemic, we saw her in Charlie Kaufman‘s acclaimed I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS alongside Jessie Buckley and Jesse Plemmons.

Quaid and Minifie were in great spirits and so nice to stop for some autographs and snaps for fans, including one with our dear beanie!

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)