Speaking of sex

Toronto – Breakthrough Films & Television is getting busy with its latest series and later this year will hand six half-hours of Between the Sheets over to W Network. Last year, the company put out a call for couples willing to re-examine their sex lives on screen and – having weeded out the loonies – has now wrapped episode one, says exec producer Jim Erickson.

Each ep features two couples, both of which are looking to improve upon a particular aspect of their sex lives. First up? Oral sex.

‘Everyone wants to improve their sex lives; no matter how good it is there’s always room for improvement,’ says Erickson. Maya Gallus (Punch Like A Girl) directed, working with editor Pete Watson.

Another of Erickson’s lifestyle/doc projects will roll out in February when Global test airs his one-hour pilot War of the Wheels, a sort of competitive Pimp My Ride. The series hopeful was developed in cooperation with Global Labs, the net’s new effort to turn out higher-quality homemade shows.

The development process was fast and relatively painless, he says. ‘It was quicker and easier to get a ‘go’ because they brought the idea to us… We had a commitment from Global that it would at least go to air as a special.’ Sean Davidson

Pink passport

Vancouver – Season two of Pink Planet: A Global Search for Gay Culture – called one of the first gay-oriented travel shows – is underway, while its first season of 13 half-hours debuts Feb. 5 on Citytv Vancouver.

Vancouver-based host Bill Mantas, who is a Citytv Vancouver ‘trends’ reporter, and executive producer John Thornton are planning new shows on gay vacation hotspots including Puerto Vallarta and the World Pride 2005 festival in Jerusalem. Season one travels from the most-secluded gay nude beach in Hawaii to the hardcore leather festival in San Francisco and the bronco-bucking Gay Rodeo in Calgary.

‘We realized this type of series had never been done before,’ says Thornton. ‘More and more businesses understand that gays and lesbians are a major marketing force and cities are waking up to ‘pink’ tourism.’

VanCity Credit Union and Harmony Airlines of Vancouver are sponsors of the program. Ian Edwards