How ‘MILF Manor’ somehow led to CBC’s wholesome new rescue show ‘Must Love Dogs’

TORONTO - A wholesome dog rescue show isn’t the kind of project you'd expect to share DNA with one of reality TV’s most unhinged dating experiments.

And yet, that’s exactly where the story behind CBC's new docuseries “Must Love Dogs” begins, says one of the leads.

The show follows CFL running back Brady Oliveira and realtor Alex Blumberg — a Canadian power couple who moonlight as dog rescuers — as they race across Manitoba to save as many stray dogs as possible before winter comes.

But it has an unlikely origin story, as described by Oliveira: a chance encounter with some producers for “MILF Manor,” the TLC reality dating series based on an eyebrow-raising twist involving mothers and their sons.

Series that take us back to kinder, gentler TV

Since the debut of The Sopranos in 1999, the era of “peak television” is often associated with antiheroes, ethical ambiguity and the erosion of institutions.

Prestige dramas such as The Wire, Breaking Bad and Succession have charted moral collapse and corruption at the heart of modern life, while sprawling hits such as Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead trade in a worldview so relentlessly bleak it could have you reaching for a Xanax.

And let’s be honest, we love them for it.

But at a moment when reality often feels like it’s imitating prestige TV in all the worst ways, audiences may find themselves craving something different. Not necessarily lighter, but more humane.

From ‘SNL’ succession plan to Lorne Michaels’ quirky habits, here’s what to know about ‘Lorne’ doc

Lorne Michaels, the mastermind behind “Saturday Night Live," is pulling back the curtain and allowing Oscar-winning documentarian Morgan Neville into his inner circle.

The director says Michaels gave him unrestricted access to interview him and his closest friends, producers, writers and cast members.

In "Lorne," Michaels jokes about how he doesn’t even know himself, giving Neville quite the task of unravelling the inner thoughts of the "SNL" creator and executive producer.

New series offer comfort of escapist fare

A new lineup of recommended viewing leans heavily toward escapism. Except for the latest from Baby Reindeer creator and star Richard Gadd, from which some further escapism might be welcome. Onward!

‘Saturday Night Live’ moving to CTV/Crave in Canada after decades on Global

TORONTO - Live from CTV/Crave it's "Saturday Night Live."

The comedy-sketch show will be moving to Bell Media-owned properties this fall after a decades-long run on Global.

"SNL" will air in simulcast on CTV and NBC and stream live on Crave, with new episodes available next day on the streaming platform.

Crave also recently picked up the new British adaptation of the franchise called "Saturday Night Live UK."

Where ‘The Testaments’ stars hung out in Toronto: Le Swan, Trinity Bellwoods and Winners?

TORONTO -  

Stars of "The Testaments" took over Toronto last summer, watching the city's World Series-bound Blue Jays, becoming near-regulars at a French diner on Queen Street and meeting some knights in shining armour.

"We did a couple of Medieval Times days," said Chase Infiniti, who plays Agnes MacKenzie. 

The Chicago native called Toronto home for nearly six months while filming the new Disney Plus series that's based on Margaret Atwood's book, and she was joined by co-stars Ann Dowd and Lucy Halliday for bowling outings and "Superman" screenings.

‘Euphoria,’ returning for a third season, launched a generation of new stars

Few TV shows have served as a launchpad for an array of new talent quite like “Euphoria,” which returns for a third season Sunday on HBO Max.

Premiering in 2019, this is the series that showcased the rising careers of Zendaya, Jacob Elordi and Sydney Sweeney — all of whom have since become bona fide stars.

The dark suburban teen drama has also featured more established figures like Colman Domingo, who has received two best actor Oscar nominations in the last few years, and the late Eric Dane. And it’s given visibility and recognition to other actors: Hunter Schafer, Alexa Demie, Maude Apatow and Barbie Ferreira. Angus Cloud, another of its breakout performers, died in 2023.

Series creator Sam Levinson says it's a thrill to see many cast members thriving.

‘Malcolm in the Middle’ returns after 20 years with questions of legacy and its trademark craziness

NEW YORK (AP) — A very grown-up Malcolm turns to the camera at the beginning of the new “Malcolm in the Middle” revival and, weirdly, has nothing to complain about.

“Yeah, I look different, but, hey, everything about me is different. I’m happy. I’m successful,” he says. “My life is fantastic now. You want to know how I did it? All I had to do is stay completely away from my family.”

That's going to be very hard to do in Hulu's four-part return to “Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair,” which reunites one of the zaniest and chaotic families ever on prime time. The episodes premiere Friday.

Twenty years after the last episode aired, we learn that Malcolm — a nervous, sputtering Frankie Muniz — is now a father of a teen and desperate to shield her from his dysfunctional parents and siblings.

‘Ketamine Queen’ gets 15 years in prison for selling Matthew Perry the drugs that killed him

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday handed down a sentence of 15 years in prison to a woman who pleaded guilty to selling actor Matthew Perry the ketamine that killed him in 2023.

“You’re going to have to show some epic resilience,” Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett said to Jasveen Sangha, echoing the defendant's words earlier in the hearing about her self-improvement.

Citing the unique role Sangha admitted to playing in Perry’s death and her broader drug-dealing business, the judge gave the 42-year-old a sentence that will almost certainly be more than all four of her co-defendants combined.

The hearing Wednesday in a Los Angeles courtroom was in many ways the pinnacle of the 2 1/2-year investigation and prosecution that followed the overdose death of the 54-year-old actor, whose role as Chandler Bing on NBC’s “Friends” in the 1990s and 2000s made him one of the biggest television stars of the era.

Hulu’s ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ spinoff ‘The Testaments’ is about girlhood in Gilead

Throughout the six-season run of “The Handmaid's Tale,” dread hung over the series like a perpetual rain cloud. It made sense because the U.S. had turned into a totalitarian society called Gilead where women were stripped of their rights. In “The Testaments,” debuting Wednesday on Hulu, Gilead is still Gilead — but there are glimmers of hope as a through-line.

Like its predecessor, “The Testaments” is based on a novel by Margaret Atwood of the same name. It takes place five years after the events of “The Handmaid's Tale,” and follows privileged girls in Gilead who are on the cusp of adulthood. Viewers are reintroduced to Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) from the original, who now runs a school training girls to be proper young ladies who are ready for marriage and most importantly, babies. There is a class where the girls are tested in how they pour tea.

Lydia has become a bit softer since we last saw her. “At the end of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale,’ she’s in a deep state of remorse and begging for forgiveness when her life, as she knew it, collapses,” said Dowd of her character. “She’s come into this world a gentler human being. She’s still Lydia, but I think she’s had time to let go of the wall that was built around her.”

New story, new heroes

Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd reunite for ‘Charlie’s Angels’ 50th anniversary

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Once upon a time there were three little girls who starred as private detectives answering to a never-seen boss in a show that turned into a pop culture phenomenon called “Charlie's Angels.”

Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd reunited to mark the show's 50th anniversary at PaleyFest LA on Monday night. They were greeted with a standing ovation and whoops and cheers from an audience at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

The hour-long crime adventure series debuted on Sept. 22, 1976, in a pre-internet and streaming world when there were just three major television networks. It was a top-10 hit for ABC in its first two of five seasons, ending in 1981.

“I knew the show was different, special and unique,” Smith told the audience. “Three women chasing danger instead of getting rescued.”

“Oh My! Oh My!” Longtime TSN curling broadcaster Vic Rauter to retire

Brad Gushue still gets chills every time he watches the clip — with TSN's Vic Rauter on the call — of his famous shot to win his first Canadian men's curling championship in 2017.

"He really did a very good job of explaining the moment, explaining what was going on in the building. And he built it up even before I stepped in the hack," Gushue said. "Like it was just such a professional job. Not everybody can step in there and do what Vic did.

"Sometimes when you're just talking on TV, people think it's easy. But it only looks easy because he's so good."

Rauter, the voice of the network's curling coverage for more than 40 years, will retire after calling this week's world men's curling championship in Ogden, Utah.

Dan Levy teams up with Canadian musician Peaches for score on Netflix’s ‘Big Mistakes’

TORONTO - Dan Levy is ready to grab the attention of Netflix audiences with his first original scripted series since "Schitt's Creek" and he's combining his comedy prowess with the avant-garde sounds of Canadian electroclash musician Peaches for the score.

"There is a euphoria that comes when you're creating things and a piece of the puzzle comes in and just blows your expectations out of the water."

The heartbeat of the show is the music, with Levy's sonic story pulsating in sync with an anxiety-inducing rhythm.

Levy said a lot of Peaches music was on the mixtape he was listening to while writing the series and crafting the tone.

Max Thieriot is on fire. Meet the man behind TV hits ‘Fire Country’ and ‘Sheriff Country’

NEW YORK (AP) — Max Thieriot is carving out a role as the King of Friday TV.

He's the star, co-creator and an executive producer of CBS and Paramount+'s “Fire Country” and a co-creator and executive producer of the spinoff freshman drama “Sheriff Country,” which both rule Friday nights as the No. 1 and No. 2 top-rated shows.

“It still feels a little surreal, for sure,” he says. “I didn’t feel like I was as smart as a lot of other writers, but the thing that I also realized early on is the biggest thing is you just need to connect with people. If you can move people, then you have them.”

“Fire Country” — the most watched freshman show of the 2022-23 season and now in its fourth season — and “Sheriff Country” are both set in the fictional California town of Edgewater, a rural community where everyone knows everyone else's business.