CBC presented what is an exciting 2023 programming line-up at their LIVE AT MASSEY HALL unveiling today. On-hand were some of their biggest stars and personalities from their diverse and inclusive upcoming slate. It was such a pleasure getting to chat with the stars of their hits series RUN THIS TOWN, SON OF A CRITCH and upcoming Docu-Series STAY TOONED. Additional announcements made today here.
Based on the Memoir of the same name but multi-Canadian Screen Award winner Mark Critch, the Series in its second season once again takes us back on a comedic and heartfelt journey to the ’80s in Newfoundland. We witness young Mark (played by Disney’s PINOCCHIO star Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) go through some firsts like his first heartbreak, while his father Mike (Critch) fights to get a raise at work, and mother Mary (Claire Rankin) tries to keep the men of the house in order.
In this his first ever visit to Toronto, Ainsworth tells us he has plans to attend a Toronto Maple Leafs game and also got to visit Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada in his brief stay here. On his character Mark‘s story arc this season, he tells us “He goes back to school, expecting it all to be great and how he left off. And he realizes quickly that it’s not. And he has to deal with that the first couple episodes. In this season, the writing’s great. Each character gets to grow their branch on the Critch Tree and expand their stories. I’m very excited for everyone to watch it.”.
Critch tells us, “Mike is the type of person who lets life happen to him. He is a stone and the world passes by him. The river of life goes around him. He’s pushed a bit when his son young Mike (Colton Gobbo) starts to work at the station, becomes a colleague and he’s got very mixed emotions about that because he really wanted him to be the first Critch to go off the university. His thing is not really seeing his own value, his own worth and taking himself for something he’s less than.”. Critch adds, “He does see his value a later in the season when he gets offered another job. That sort of thing when your child is becoming a young man and the worry of that. And he also takes Mary’s love for granted a bit and it’s good for him to realize that the fire does need to be fanned a little bit. There’s some lovely moments together this season.”.
Season 2 of Son of a Critch premieres Tuesday, January 3, 2023 at 8:30 p.m. (9 NT) on CBC TV and the free CBC Gem streaming service.
Our favourite Vietnamese-South Asian-Canadian TV family are back for a second season! RUN THE BURBS is set to take us a layer deeper in The Phams’ family dynamics as we see them deal with some very real issues ahead, but with that signature humour and lightness so many fans came to love of the first season. Stars Andrew Phung (Andrew) and Rakhee Morzaria (Camille) sat down to chat with us about what to expect this upcoming season.
Morzaria says, “There’s a lot of exploration of trying and failure, friendships and cultural identity that comes through a lot. A lot of inter-generational family dynamics and it’s really beautiful seeing Camille and her relationship to her family begin to grow with her father and some other surprises that we’ll see. But also her relationship to her entrepreneurship and how so many people during the Pandemic were doing their side-hustle job and that became their ‘job-job’. Camille is experiencing that and I think it’s really fun to play and watch, and I think a lot of people will connect with it.”.
Phung tells us, “For us, the second season was about giving every Pham member an arc of them taking on the world. So for Andrew, it was going back into the workforce and trying to get a job. Andrew was following his own passion in a space he coulnd’t get into. But no matter what, this family’s got eachother’s back and I wanted to showcase that. Life isn’t easy but for The Phams, they’ve got eachother. As long as they’ve got eachother, that’s all that matters.”.
Season 2 of Run the Burbs premieres Wednesday, January 4, 2023 at 8:30 p.m. (9 NT) on CBC TV and the free CBC Gem streaming service.
Having voiced so many characters in the Looney Tunes franchise and beyond, Scarborough’s own Eric Bauza continues to make a splash on the world stage. He brings it back home in new limited Docu-Series STAY TOONED, exploring some of the most iconic Animated Series and Films they have defined a generation. But what’s unique about this Seris is that with subject matter experts and notables like Ben Schwartz, Ken Jeong, Tara Strong, Bobby Moynihan and more, he explores these classics through a fresh lens of today, looking at their cultural impact and how the narrative has changed since.
But which is his favourite of all to voice we wonder? He tells us, it’s Marvin the Martian.
Bauza explains what he hopes his viewers will take away from this Series. “We definitely had an entire list of things we could’ve talked about, but the six episodes we have are the hot ones. Let’s get them out and then we can continue and do a continuation of them. 22 mintues isn’t a long time, but it’s a great time to punch you with subject, have you think about it and move onto the next one. I really do hope it drives conversation and hope that it gives people hope when they thought maybe there was none.”.
All six episodes of Stay Tooned premiere Friday, December 2, 2022 on CBC Gem.
(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)
Stay Tooned, a six-part series starring prolific voice actor Eric Bauza and produced by the award-winning team at Fathom (A.rtificial I.mmortality, Smart Drugs, My Enemy, My Brother), launches on the free CBC Gem streaming service on December 2, 2022.
Bauza, a Filipino Canadian who voices legendary characters including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety, Marvin the Martian and more, takes audiences on a deep dive through cartoon favourites to see how they shape society and help us understand the social and political worlds we live in. Each episode Bauza meets with friends and experts such as Tara Strong, Cree Summer, Lake Bell, Ken Jeong, Ben Schwartz, Bobby Moynihan, Lamorne Morris and James Adomian to explore race, sexuality, consumerism and political philosophy through the lens of animated storytelling.
“Cartoons have played an enormous role not only in defining my career path but also in helping to mold my understanding of the world around us,” said Eric Bauza. “We all remember the simpler times, when we thumped down the stairs on Saturday morning to watch our favourite cartoons, these magical portals into worlds of imagination and joy. Stay Tooned is both an homage to the cartoons we deeply love and also a deeper look at what they got right and how they could have done better.”
The six episodes will launch at once on CBC Gem on December 2. The episodes are:
Episode 1 – MASTERMINDS, GOONS, & HENCHMEN
Cartoon Villains! We love to hate them, but do we also love… to love them? Ben Schwartz, Angelo Muredda and Lake Bell discuss our love affair with villains in M.O.D.O.K. Batman and Harley Quinn.
Episode 2 – AFTER THESE MESSAGES
Cartoons have tried to sell us stuff since the beginning. Russell Peters, Selma Purac and Lauren Faust discuss how consumerism in shows like Transformers and My Little Pony shaped our childhoods.
Episode 3 – THE RAINBOW WAVE
There has always been queerness just under the surface of cartoons. James Adomian, Nic Sammond and N.D. Stevenson explore queer characters and caricatures in shows like He-Man, Bugs Bunny and She-Ra.
Episode 4 – KNOWING IS HALF THE BATTLE
Stay in school, don’t do drugs, and definitely don’t talk to strangers! Bobby Moynihan, Natalie Coulter and Elamin Abdelmahmoud explore PSAs and messages in G.I. Joe, Jem and Paw Patrol.
Episode 5 – SATURDAY MORNING RACISM
Remember meeting Cleveland on Family Guy or Apu in The Simpsons? Lamorne Morris, Jesse Wente and Domee Shi unpack the past, present, and future of representation in these shows and more.
Episode 6 – AWOOGA
Whether it was Jessica Rabbit or Ned Flanders, cartoons likely shaped your sexual awakening. Tara Strong, Kim Wilson and Cree Summer explore sex and sexiness in The Powerpuff Girls and Drawn Together.
By Mr. Will Wong
1996’s SPACE JAM not only had the distinction of being Warner Bros. Feature Animation‘s first ever film, but went on to become the highest-ever -grossing Basketball film and won several awards including ANNIEs and GRAMMYs, among others. To say it was a cultural phenomenon is by no means an exaggeration. 25 years later comes Malcolm D. Lee‘s SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY, coming to audiences with a new message, a new Cast, Lebron James, and of course some of the most beloved Warner Bros. characters of all time!
We had the pleasure of chatting with Scarborough’s very own Eric Bauza, a Voice Actor, Animator and also Co-Founder of Retrokid, a nostalgia-based apparel brand which right now has several exclusive and licensed Space Jam-inspired pieces. We ask him about what Space Jam means to him and voice multiple characters in the Film including Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn and Marvin the Martian.
What does the legacy of SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY mean to you?
Eric: “Being a part of SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY is so important to me. I could be here all day doing all the press in the world and still not be able to describe how thrilled I am that I get to be a part of this and that my son gets to watch it with me! It is definitely a laundry list of characters that everyone knows so well, so the pressure is on. Not just to win a cyberspace Basketball game, but to make sure that these characters live on the way that we all remember them.”.
We all know Nike‘s message of “Just Do It”, but the Film has a unique message to us to “Just Do You”. What do you hope the audience will take away from the Film?
Eric: “The nugget of the Film is that it has such a family aspect to it that I think will be the biggest surprise. It’s not just this big fireworks show. It really has heart and meaning behind it. I think it does it well. I found myself a little choked-up watching the first screening. I was watching of course, to make sure that I did my job well, but I was really pleasantly surprised with how it all wrapped-up in the end. I hope the audience experiences that.”.
You were a Scarborough boy growing-up watching Mr. Dressup and drawing sketches. Walk us through how you got to fulfill your dream today being a part of Space Jam and also co-owning Retrokid?
Eric: “It’s a crazy journey that did start in Canada and will always be a part of me. I live here in Los Angeles now, but in any given year I’m back at least three to four times. Being part of Canada, there’s just something in the water that keeps us humble, but funny at the same time. Maybe it’s those long winters. I haven’t forgotten how to shovel a driveway! But it really was just being in a country that is very multi-cultural. And I think that’s the one big thing, that you really do feel welcome in Canada. I feel we’re in this secret club not only being from Toronto, but being from Scarborough. There’s something about being from that town. Mike Myers, Jim Carrey, John Candy – there’s something in the water in Scarborough that makes us a little Schizophrenic. Being able to capitalize on that is something.”.
“Retrokid is really a love letter to Toronto. It is a nostalgic apparel brand, but it ties into this too. I grew-up watching this Movie in Scarborough, seeing the ads at Kennedy Station. To now fast-forward 25 years later and know that I got to be a part of this, there’s no better way to celebrate than producing this line.”.
See Video from our Chat:
Warner Bros. Canada release SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY in theatres on Premium Video-on-Demand Friday, July 16, 2021.
Don’t forget, we’re giving away a SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY Prize Pack to one lucky winner, which includes a pass for two to see the Movie!
Head-on over to MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK for details how to win!
Don’t forget to check-out Retrokid‘s exciting Giveaway here where you can win a Space Jam: A New Legacy BMX bike! Built and designed by local artist Duro The Third.
(Photo/video credit: Warner Bros. Canada)
We are thrilled to give our Readers a chance to win a SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY Prize Pack, which includes a pass to see the Movie!
Synopsis:
Welcome to the Jam! Basketball champion and global icon LeBron James goes on an epic adventure alongside timeless Tune Bugs Bunny with the animated/live-action event “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” from director Malcolm D. Lee and an innovative filmmaking team including Ryan Coogler and Maverick Carter. This transformational journey is a manic mashup of two worlds that reveals just how far some parents will go to connect with their kids. When LeBron and his young son Dom are trapped in a digital space by a rogue A.I., LeBron must get them home safe by leading Bugs, Lola Bunny and the whole gang of notoriously undisciplined Looney Tunes to victory over the A.I.’s digitized champions on the court: a powered-up roster of profes-sional basketball stars as you’ve never seen them before. It’s Tunes versus Goons in the high-est-stakes challenge of his life, that will redefine LeBron’s bond with his son and shine a light on the power of being yourself. The ready-for-action Tunes destroy convention, supercharge their unique talents and surprise even “King” James by playing the game their own way.
James stars alongside Oscar nominee Don Cheadle (the “Avengers” films, “Hotel Rwanda”), Khris Davis (“Judas and the Black Messiah,” TV’s “Atlanta”), Sonequa Martin-Green (TV’s “The Walking Dead,” “Star Trek: Discovery”), newcomer Cedric Joe, Jeff Bergman (“Looney Tunes Cartoons”), Eric Bauza (“Looney Tunes Cartoons”), and Zendaya (upcoming “Dune,” “Malcolm & Marie”).
To enter for a chance to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK. Re-Tweet this Contest Tweet below for an extra chance!
Enter for a chance to #win a #SpaceJam: #ANewLegacy Prize Pack, which includes a screening pass to see the Movie!
— MR. WILL WONG 📸 (@mrwillw) July 12, 2021
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Warner Bros. Canada release SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY Friday, July 16, 2021 in theatres and Premium-Video-on-Demand.
Stay tuned for our chat with star Eric Bauza!
(Photo/video credit: Warner Bros. Canada)
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