CBC, Insight Productions and The Gurin Company have revealed more production details about the upcoming reality series Canada’s Ultimate Challenge, now shooting across the country. The CBC original series is executive produced by John Brunton and Mark Lysakowski for Insight Productions (a Boat Rocker company) and Phil Gurin for The Gurin Company; Jeff Thrasher is the series producer for Insight Productions.

The 8 x 60-minute factual competition format will feature challenges in Whitehorse, Yukon; Squamish, B.C.; Kelowna, B.C.; Hinton, Alta.; Sudbury, Ont.; Thousand Islands, Ont.; Québec City; and the the finale location of Confederation Bridge between New Brunswick and P.E.I.

Sports broadcaster Nikki Reyes (pictured right) and professional snowboarder and CBC Sports analyst Craig McMorris (pictured left) will host the series, which was announced at last month’s CBC upfront and is set to premiere in winter 2023. The 24 competitors from across Canada will be trained and mentored by six athlete coaches as they compete in cross-country obstacles.

Spark Animation Festival sets jury

The jury for the 14th annual 2022 Spark Animation Festival, set to return to in-person programming alongside online offerings from Oct. 27 to Nov. 30 in Vancouver, has been revealed. It includes Laura Brousseau, co-director of Animal Logic; Clara Chan, VFX supervisor at Sony Pictures Imageworks; and Jay Surridge, chief creative officer and studio director at Yeti Farm Creative.

Also on the jury is Babak Bina, director, character and creature designer at Zoic Studios, Gnomon Workshop, Centre for Entertainment Arts and Rooxter Films; and James Hursthouse, founder and CEO of Departure Lounge.

The jury is rounded out by producer-writer-directors Brenda Chapman, Kevin Lima, and Ron Clements; director and story artist Desirae Witte; producer Jinko Gotoh; animated film director Simone Giampaolo; and author and historian Mindy Johnson. Film submissions will be accepted until Sept. 16, through the Spark Computer Graphics Society’s FilmFreeway submission page.

CPAC anchor part of Christa Dickenson’s ‘broader vision’

More than a month before officially starting her new position as president and CEO of Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC), Christa Dickenson is already giving a sense of the direction she wants to take it in.

CPAC has announced it has hired seasoned broadcaster Michael Serapio as its new English anchor, making him the first Filipino-Canadian male to anchor a national newscast in this country, according to a news release. The hiring is “part of the broader vision” Dickenson will bring to her new role at CPAC, the outgoing CEO and executive director of Telefilm Canada tells Playback Daily. “It’s important that CPAC’s on-air talent reflects the diversity of Canadians,” Dickenson says. “Michael will connect with our audience in a whole new way as we begin shaping the channel for the next decade.”

Dickenson (pictured right) announced in April that she’s departing Telefilm after four years, effective Sept. 9, and moving on to a new challenge at another organization. That new challenge, as she revealed a week later, turned out to be the role at CPAC, which takes effect Sept. 12.