Michael J. Fox and father of Nickelodeon slime among Order of Canada appointments

Michael J. Fox wears his Order of Canada pin everywhere.

He wears the little white pin on talk shows; he wears it to meet up with friends — his fellow Canadian New Yorkers Martin Short and Lorne Michaels make sure of it, he quips. And he wore it when he accepted the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the final days of Joe Biden's presidency.

"My intrinsic Canadianism is a bigger part of me than my relationship with the States," he says on a video call from New York, Emmy Awards lined up on the shelf behind him.

The actor and Parkinson's advocate has worn the white pin for 16 years, since he was first named an officer of the Order of Canada. But he'll soon be able to upgrade to the red version of the snowflake-shaped insignia as he's promoted to companion, a higher rank within the order, whose living membership is capped at 180.

CRTC should reject Corus’ recapitalization plan, minority shareholders say

TORONTO - A group of minority shareholders is urging the CRTC to reject Corus Entertainment Inc.'s proposed recapitalization plan if the floundering broadcaster doesn't commit to maintaining its editorial diversity and local news coverage, nor share other key details surrounding its future.

The group, which says it holds more than 10 million shares in the company, filed a formal intervention with the CRTC on Monday as the regulator reviews the proposed transaction. The commission launched a consultation into the deal last month, setting a deadline of this Thursday for parties to submit comments.

In March, Corus received an order from the Ontario Superior Court to proceed with its recapitalization plan, but still awaits regulatory approval. It formally applied to the CRTC for that green light in February.

The deal, if approved, would see a change in ownership shifting effective control of all licensed programming services operated by Corus and its subsidiaries.

Justin Trudeau’s youngest son joins ‘Son of a Critch’ as an extra

TORONTO - Former prime minister Justin Trudeau stopped by the set of "Son of a Critch" earlier this month with his youngest son, who, like his father, is a superfan of the show.

Eagle-eyed viewers may even spot Hadrien Trudeau when Season 5 of the CBC comedy debuts in the fall, as creator Mark Critch says the 12-year-old appears as an extra.

In the scene, classmates of the main character learn what role they got in a school play.

Critch says he did not put the elder Trudeau in any scenes, joking "sadly we already had a drama teacher" on the production.

Cutting comedy, frilly diversions

Do not go gentle into that good small-screen summer. There are difficult decisions to be made, philosophically and narratively, and intense Bear-ish drama to be endured.

Kevin Alves on the emotional Vancouver set of ‘Yellowjackets” final season

"Yellowjackets" actor Kevin Alves says there's been "lots of tears of joy" since he and his co-stars received the final two scripts for the survival saga last week.

"Reading that was a lot of emotional stuff for everybody," the Toronto-born Alves says by phone from Vancouver, where the series has been shooting since February. 

"You know, seeing how the show's ending and that was really beautiful.... The environment on set has been incredible with the support people have given each other."

Alves says filming is expected to continue for another month-and-a-half, but he's coy about what that could involve for the stranded teen characters who appeared to finally make contact with the outside world in the Season 3 finale.

When gruesome injuries happen, TV producers have to make tough calls on the fly

Television producers are always thinking on their feet during a live sporting event. It's when unexpected developments happen — like a gruesome injury — when they're forced to make really tough decisions on the fly. 

"There's no real playbook per se," longtime Canadian sports television producer Curtis Saville said Friday. "I think every situation is different. It needs a quick but careful consideration." 

TSN played it safe Thursday when Canadian midfielder Ismael Kone broke his left leg in a 6-0 victory over Qatar in Vancouver. He underwent successful surgery and has been ruled out for the rest of the tournament.

Assim Madibo tackled Kone from behind early in the second half. The 24-year-old fell to the ground and held his wobbly leg up in disbelief. 

Brand Refresh? CBC mulling options for potential new ‘Hockey Night in Canada’ chapter

TORONTO - As the CBC mulls over how to fill a vacated Saturday night block now that NHL games won't return to its schedule this fall, another question remains at the forefront.

How best to potentially incorporate the "Hockey Night in Canada" brand it retained when the broadcaster's sub-licensing agreement with Rogers Communications ended last weekend?

"It could very well be the PWHL," said Mike Naraine, an associate sport management professor at Brock University. "And I think that is obviously a very strong play for the CBC.

"I think if they were smart, they would truly invest into that and really start to position the PWHL as its prime-time Saturday night Hockey Night in Canada broadcast."

British TV personality Jeremy Clarkson reveals prostate cancer in final ‘Clarkson’s Farm’ episodes

LONDON (AP) — British television personality Jeremy Clarkson revealed on his farm reality show that he has prostate cancer.

Clarkson, 66, said that the disease is “aggressive,” but was detected early.

He gave advance warning on social media Tuesday that he would share somber news on the final episodes of the fifth season of “Clarkson’s Farm,” the show based on the challenges of running Diddly Squat Farm in Oxfordshire. The episodes were released on Wednesday.

“Ordinarily we try to keep the show bucolic and charming, and cheerful, but two episodes which drop in the middle of the night tonight are, they’re none of those things,” he said on Instagram. “They’re a difficult watch, they’re really, really difficult.”

New-look Saturday Nights: CBC plans to ‘lean in harder’ on sports with HNIC deal over

TORONTO - The NHL's long, storied tradition on the CBC is over now that the venerable "Hockey Night in Canada" television program has been iced after a near 75-year run.

While noting it was "an end of an era," CBC Sports executive director Chris Wilson said the change gives the broadcaster an opportunity to take its sports coverage "to the next level."

"Nothing has changed in our strategy," Wilson said. "We're just going to lean in harder and do even more for Canadian athletes to share their stories."

Rogers Communications and the CBC did not extend their sub-licensing agreement that expired when the NHL playoffs ended last weekend. The public broadcaster instead plans to "significantly increase sports coverage of high-performance athletes and events" as it plans for new-look programming on Saturday nights.

End of NHL broadcasts on CBC raises public access questions, advocacy group says

A media advocacy group says the end of NHL broadcasts on CBC television raises concerns about public access to a cherished Canadian tradition.

Friends of Canadian Media says “Hockey Night in Canada” has been a shared national experience for generations and is calling on policy-makers to consider rules to prevent major cultural and sporting events from moving exclusively behind paywalls.

Sportsnet and the CBC announced Tuesday that NHL broadcasts will not return to the public broadcaster next season, ending a nearly 75-year run on the network.

“Its departure from free television raises important questions about whether Canada should adopt anti-siphoning rules, similar to those used in other countries, to ensure that events of exceptional cultural and national significance remain accessible to all Canadians rather than exclusively to paying subscribers,” Friends of Canadian Media, a non-partisan advocacy group founded in 1985, said in a statement.

Some ‘Hockey Night in Canada’ highlights from the show’s long, storied history

TORONTO - For the first time in the long, storied history of "Hockey Night in Canada," the program will not air on the CBC when the NHL season begins this fall. In a joint statement Tuesday, Rogers Sportsnet and the CBC said that the public broadcaster will no longer carry NHL broadcasts.

Here are a few HNIC highlights from over the years:

Oct. 11, 1952: Canada’s first televised NHL game airs. René Lecavalier handles play-by-play in French for the matchup between the Montreal Canadiens and the Detroit Red Wings.

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Tradition Gone: ‘Hockey Night in Canada’ NHL broadcasts won’t return to CBC next fall

TORONTO - "Hockey Night in Canada," a program featuring National Hockey League games that has been part of the national fabric for nearly 75 years on CBC television, will not return to the public broadcaster next season.

A sub-licensing agreement between Rogers Communications and the CBC that allowed HNIC to air on the network expired at the end of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The two sides did not extend the partnership for the 2026-27 campaign, the first year of Rogers' 12-year, $11-billion broadcast rights deal with the NHL. The CBC previously aired national games on Saturdays, along with all four playoff rounds each year.

"After a successful 12-year partnership, Sportsnet and CBC today announced the public broadcaster will no longer carry NHL broadcasts after the current season as it moves forward with a new sports programming strategy following the unprecedented success of the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games," Sportsnet and the CBC said Tuesday in a joint statement. "Watching hockey on Saturday night is a time-honoured tradition for Canadians, and Sportsnet is privileged to continue delivering that tradition. 

Upcoming TV production spotlights Winnipeg artisans

Think Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, but for Winnipeg artisans instead of U.S. eateries.

That was Amanda Buhse’s pitch to Rogers. Television executives approved.

Now Buhse, whose Coal and Canary candles have landed in Hollywood swag bags and Manitoba markets, is hitting the road with a camera.

She aims to produce an eight-episode series called Made in Winnipeg. It will air on Rogers TV this fall, by current timelines.

CRTC aims to combine consumer protection codes for internet, phone and TV services

GATINEAU - Canada's telecommunications and broadcasting regulator is launching a consultation to review its consumer protection codes, with the goal of simplifying and combining them into one.

The CRTC says those regulatory documents — which individually cover wireless, internet and TV providers as well as disconnection terms — include consumer protections that are not consistent across services due to having been implemented at different times.

It says this has created confusion for customers while being administratively burdensome for companies, especially since Canadians often purchase bundled internet, phone and television services.

Through its consultation, the regulator hopes to make consumer protections easier to understand, reduce billing surprises and help Canadians make informed choices, while also improving consistency for service providers and resolving customer complaints faster.

Disney Plus orders Bruce McCulloch comedy and a doc about one of Canada’s largest manhunts

Disney Plus says it has ordered two made-in-Canada series, marking the first time the U.S. streaming giant has ordered original, locally produced content north of the border.

One of the shows is a scripted comedy executive produced by Bruce McCulloch of "Kids in the Hall" fame.

The eight-episode series is called "Knighted" and is described as an absurd, docu-style look at the secrets in a medieval-themed dinner-theatre company.

It's produced by Heavy Lifting Productions, who are also behind the upcoming P.K Subban drama "Junior" that was recently ordered by CBC.