– Bill Brioux talks to producer Brian K. Roberts about the cancellation of the TV version of The Debaters, and the CBC’s issues facing television in general. Roberts (who, in addition to his other credits, was editor of The Simpsons in its early years and wrote the “Mt. Splashmore” episode) argues that the show was designed to work with a low budget, a nonexistent promotion budget, and the vertically-integrated model of taping a show that can be used both on TV and radio.
– Bill Brioux talks to producer Brian K. Roberts about the cancellation of the TV version of The Debaters, and the CBC’s issues facing television in general. Roberts (who, in addition to his other credits, was editor of The Simpsons in its early years and wrote the “Mt. Splashmore” episode) argues that the show was designed to work with a low budget, a nonexistent promotion budget, and the vertically-integrated model of taping a show that can be used both on TV and radio.
– A list of winners from last night’s Writer’s Guild of Canada screenwriting awards, Bruce Smith for John A.: Birth of a Country and Mark McKinney receiving the “WGC Showrunner Award,” celebrating his work on shows like Less Than Kind (Part of the point of this award is not just to recognize the work of a first-rate showrunner like McKinney, but encouraging more recognition of the idea of a showrunner – a writer who is the one in charge of the show rather than a non-writing producer – in Canada. It’s an idea that does seem to have gained more acceptance at English-Canadian TV networks than it had a decade ago.) On the not-so-bright side, the creator/showrunner of one of the winning shows, Todd and the Book of Pure Evil, announced the show’s cancellation at the awards ceremony.