Take Isabella Rossellini, dress her up as a giant praying mantis, and have her simulate acts of six-legged sex. What do you get? In Jody Shapiro’s case, an order for more of the same from Sundance Channel

New contestants will take on a fresh group of Gladiators in classic gladiatorial games like ‘the joust’ and ‘the wall’

Millions of people went online last weekend to check the weather as a major winter storm hit Ontario and Quebec

Red ink gets the better of ‘black sheep’ network in Quebec, which is seeking 30 days to set its affairs in order. Blame pinned on specialty channels, Internet and CRTC ruling against fee-for-carriage

Away From Her takes nods for best actress, Canadian film and first feature, though it trails No Country For Old Men. Kudos come with surprising news that prominent NOW Magazine film critic has died

Cable and on-demand outfits pick up lifestyle and kids series including Cowboy Country and Groundling Marsh

January schedule of cable channel and its HD sideshow includes U.S.-made reality about man-made wonders and six-part Far North adventure Out in the Cold

Christina Jennings wakes up at 5:30 a.m. to read scripts and she goes to bed at 9:30 p.m. watching screeners. However, if 20th century labels like ‘workaholic’ or ‘micro-manager’ come to mind, hit the ‘delete’ button. Playback’s Person of the Year is a new hybrid.

As the year draws to a close, the service production sector must cope with a double dose of hardship.

A former Ottawa mandarin, outgoing CBC president and CEO Robert Rabinovitch found himself over the last eight years thrust into the public eye to battle regulators and union bosses.

• Shawn Redmond is now VP of marketing at TSN, overseeing all consumer marketing strategies for the cable caster and its digichannels NHL Network and ESPN Classic. His new responsibilities include consumer advertising, on-air promotions, communications, research and special events. Since 2005, Redmond has been TSN’s senior marketing manager, and led the integration of the marketing team.

• Microsoft has closed deals with Maple Pictures, Warner Bros. and U.S.-based MPI Home Video to provide titles for its video-on-demand system Xbox Live, which made its north-of-the-border debut earlier this month. The multiyear deal with Maple allows Microsoft to pick and choose among titles for which the Toronto distributor holds the VOD rights, including the recent Jet Li punch-up War, the romantic-comedy Good Luck Chuck and the docu-drama Air Guitar Nation.