Political Blind Date

Last updated

Political Blind Date is a Canadian television program, which premiered on TVOntario in 2017. [1] The series pairs two Canadian politicians with different ideological beliefs in a "blind date" situation to discuss their perspectives on a political issue; [2] participants are not informed of who they're being paired with until they arrive to begin taping. [3] The participants may already be professionally acquainted with their "date," sometimes even serving in the same political body, but typically do not already know each other very well outside of work, and thus may not previously have had an opportunity to discuss their political perspectives with each other in a non-partisan and non-adversarial way.

Contents

The show's fifth season, broadcast in 2022, was its last. [4]

Production

Each episode begins with the two politicians meeting in a neutral space, such as a coffee shop, to begin a basic discussion of their views on the issue, following which each takes the other to tour a facility, business or organization that helps to illuminate their position. [5] For instance, in a Season 1 episode on public transit that paired Doug Ford with Jagmeet Singh, Singh took Ford bicycling to demonstrate how dangerous the activity can be on streets without dedicated bike lanes, while Ford took Singh to Toronto's St. Clair West neighbourhood to illustrate the damage done to the community by the 512 St. Clair streetcar project. [6]

According to the show's producers, the goal is not necessarily to get either politician to change their minds on the issue, so much as to simply allow the participants to understand each other from a more human and less partisan perspective. [5] Several episodes of the series have resulted in the participants continuing to maintain social friendships outside of work; Toronto City Councillors Gary Crawford and Shelley Carroll noted that their Season 3 episode resulted in them learning things about each other's lives, including the commonality that they are both parents to a child with a disability, that they never previously knew even after having served together on council for a full decade. [5]

An episode in the fourth season, airing in 2021, featured the program's first non-Canadian politician, with an episode on clean water featuring former Flint, Michigan mayor Karen Weaver as one of the participants. [7]

The series is produced by Open Door and Nomad Films, [8] and was partially inspired by a similar print feature which ran in The Guardian during the 2017 United Kingdom general election. [8] It also incorporates the participation of the Toronto Star , which publishes background videos on the political issue under discussion before each episode, and followup interviews with the participants about their experience. [8]

The series received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Factual Program or Series at the 7th Canadian Screen Awards in 2019. [9] At the 8th Canadian Screen Awards in 2020, Mark Johnston received a nomination for Best Writing in a Factual Program or Series for the Season 2 episode on indigenous peoples in Canada.

Episodes

Season One (2017)

#TitleOriginal air date
1"Marijuana: Garnett Genuis and Nathaniel Erskine-Smith"November 7, 2017 (2017-11-07)
2"Transit: Doug Ford and Jagmeet Singh"November 14, 2017 (2017-11-14)
3"Safe Injection Sites: Matt Brown and Giorgio Mammoliti"November 21, 2017 (2017-11-21)
4"Corrections: Cheri DiNovo and Marie-France Lalonde"November 28, 2017 (2017-11-28)
5"Housing: Maria Augimeri and Adam Vaughan"December 5, 2017 (2017-12-05)
6"Carbon Taxes: Arthur Potts and Shannon Stubbs"December 12, 2017 (2017-12-12)

Season Two (2019)

#TitleOriginal air date
7"Guns in Canada: Marco Mendicino and Glen Motz"February 14, 2019 (2019-02-14)
8"The Urban-Rural Divide: Bonnie Crombie and Andrew Scheer"February 21, 2019 (2019-02-21)
9"Taxes: Lisa Raitt and Wayne Easter"February 28, 2019 (2019-02-28)
10"Improving Indigenous Communities: Romeo Saganash and Don Rusnak"March 7, 2019 (2019-03-07)
11"Opportunities for Newcomers: Jenny Kwan and Gary Anandasangaree"March 14, 2019 (2019-03-14)
12"Asylum Seekers: Pierre Paul-Hus and Rob Oliphant"March 21, 2019 (2019-03-21)

Season Three (2020)

#TitleOriginal air date
13"City Finances: Gary Crawford and Shelley Carroll"January 21, 2020 (2020-01-21)
14"Subways: Jim Karygiannis and Anthony Perruzza"January 28, 2020 (2020-01-28)
15"The Housing Crisis: Ana Bailão and Stephen Holyday"February 4, 2020 (2020-02-04)
16"The Food We Eat: Randy Pettapiece and Mike Schreiner"February 11, 2020 (2020-02-11)
17"The High-Tech Future: Donna Skelly and Kathryn McGarry"February 18, 2020 (2020-02-18)
18"Hydro Rates and Energy Policy: Bill Walker and Peter Tabuns"February 25, 2020 (2020-02-25)

Season Four (2021)

#TitleOriginal air date
19"Hallway Medicine: Sara Singh and Natalia Kusendova"January 19, 2021 (2021-01-19)
20"Pipeline Politics: Elizabeth May and Cathy McLeod"January 26, 2021 (2021-01-26)
21"Clean Water: Karen Weaver and Mitch Twolan"February 2, 2021 (2021-02-02)
22"Migrant Labour: Taras Natyshak and Dave Epp"February 9, 2021 (2021-02-09)
23"Religious Symbols: Michael Coteau and Christopher Skeete"February 16, 2021 (2021-02-16)
24"Cities and the Environment: Andrea Khanjin and Jennifer McKelvie"February 23, 2021 (2021-02-23)

Season Five (2022)

One fifth-season episode, featuring Monte McNaughton and Jerry Dias discussing trade unionism, was produced and scheduled, but was pulled from broadcast following the breach of trust allegations that were raised against Dias in March. [10]

The season and the series also closed with a new "date" between the same two politicians, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith and Garnett Genuis, who had appeared together in the show's very first episode. [11]

#TitleOriginal air date
25"Systemic Racism: Greg Fergus and Michael Thompson"March 15, 2022 (2022-03-15)
26"Veterans: John Brassard and Darrell Samson"March 22, 2022 (2022-03-22)
27"The Real History of Canada: Sol Mamakwa and Jeff McLaren"March 29, 2022 (2022-03-29)
28"Homelessness: Patrick Brown and Dan Carter"April 12, 2022 (2022-04-12)
29"The Opioid Crisis: Nathaniel Erskine-Smith and Garnett Genuis"April 19, 2022 (2022-04-19)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Kids in the Hall</span> Canadian comedy group

The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy troupe formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson. Their eponymous television show ran from 1989 to 1995, on CBC, in Canada. It also appeared on CBS, HBO and Comedy Central, in the United States.

<i>This Hour Has 22 Minutes</i> Canadian TV comedy series

This Hour Has 22 Minutes is a weekly Canadian television comedy that airs on CBC Television. Launched in 1993 during Canada's 35th general election, the show focuses on Canadian politics with a combination of news parody, sketch comedy, and satirical editorials. Originally featuring Cathy Jones, Rick Mercer, Greg Thomey, and Mary Walsh, the series featured satirical sketches of the weekly news and Canadian political events. The show's format is a mock news program, intercut with comic sketches, parody commercials, and humorous interviews of public figures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Walsh (actress)</span> Canadian actress, comedian, and writer (born 1952)

Mary Cynthia Walsh is a Canadian actress, comedian, and writer. She is known for her work on CODCO and This Hour Has 22 Minutes.

TVO, formerly known as TVOntario, is a publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It operates flagship station CICA-DT in Toronto, which also relays programming across portions of Ontario through eight rebroadcast stations. All pay television providers throughout Ontario are required to carry TVO on their basic tier, and programming can be streamed for free online within Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wendy Crewson</span> Canadian actress

Wendy Jane Crewson is a Canadian actress and producer. She began her career appearing on Canadian television, before her breakthrough role in 1991 dramatic film The Doctor.

Doctor Who in Canada and the United States refers to the broadcast history of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who in those countries.

<i>Degrassi</i> Canadian teen drama franchise

Degrassi is a Canadian media franchise originally developed by Kit Hood and Linda Schuyler. It is based around a long-running television series that portrays the lives of teenagers attending the titular fictional school. Since 1987, each entry takes place in the same timeline. Aside from the series, the franchise also comprises companion novels, graphic novels, documentaries, soundtracks, and non-fiction.

The Agenda with Steve Paikin, or simply The Agenda, is the flagship current affairs television program of TVOntario (TVO), Ontario's public broadcaster. Anchor Steve Paikin states that the show practices long-form journalism. Each hour-long program covers no more than two topics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Levy (Canadian actor)</span> Canadian actor (born 1983)

Daniel Joseph Levy is a Canadian actor, writer and producer. Born in Toronto to parents Eugene Levy and Deborah Divine, he began his career as a television host on MTV Canada. He received international prominence and critical acclaim for starring as David Rose in the CBC sitcom Schitt's Creek (2015–2020), which he co-created with his father and co-starred in with him and his sister, Sarah Levy.

<i>Murdoch Mysteries</i> Canadian television series

Murdoch Mysteries is a Canadian television drama series that premiered on Citytv on January 20, 2008, and currently airs on CBC. The series is based on characters from the Detective Murdoch novels by Maureen Jennings and stars Yannick Bisson as William Murdoch, a police detective working in Toronto, Ontario in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The series was titled The Artful Detective on the Ovation cable TV network in the United States, until season twelve.

<i>Survive This</i> Canadian reality television show

Survive This is a Canadian reality television show in which eight teenagers with limited survival skills training are taken into a forest and confronted with a number of survival challenges to test their skills and perseverance. The series aired on YTV in Canada and Cartoon Network in the United States. The show is hosted by Les Stroud, who narrates each episode, provides the teens with survival challenges, and assesses their performance. The show premiered on April 7, 2009, in Canada and on June 17, 2009, in the United States. Cartoon Network ceased to air Survive This after August 19, 2009, and screened the final three episodes only on the network's website.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Ford</span> 26th premier of Ontario

Douglas Robert Ford Jr. is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 26th and current premier of Ontario since June 2018 and leader of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party since March 2018. He represents the Toronto riding of Etobicoke North in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 New Democratic Party leadership election</span> Canadian federal party leader election

The 2017 New Democratic Party leadership election was won by Jagmeet Singh. The election was triggered by Tom Mulcair having lost a vote on leadership review at the party's federal convention held in Edmonton, Alberta, on April 10, 2016, which resulted in a majority of delegates voting in favor of holding a new leadership election. Mulcair declined to partake in the subsequent leadership election and stated that he would remain leader until the party chose a replacement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jagmeet Singh</span> Canadian politician (born 1979)

Jagmeet Singh Jimmy Dhaliwal is a Canadian politician who has served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) since 2017. Singh has sat as the member of Parliament (MP) for Burnaby South since 2019. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 2011, representing Bramalea—Gore—Malton until his entry into federal politics. A practicing Sikh of Punjabi descent, Singh is an Indo-Canadian, making him the first Sikh and first visible minority to be elected to lead a major federal political party in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Dias</span> Canadian trade unionist (born 1958)

Jerome P. Dias Jr. is a Canadian trade unionist who was elected the first national president of Unifor in August 2013 at the union’s founding convention following the merger between the Canadian Auto Workers and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada.

<i>Transplant</i> (TV series) 2020 Canadian medical drama television series

Transplant is a Canadian medical drama television series created by Joseph Kay, which premiered on February 26, 2020, on CTV. The series centres on Bashir "Bash" Hamed, a doctor from Syria who comes to Canada as a refugee during the Syrian Civil War, and is rebuilding his career as a medical resident in the emergency department at the fictional York Memorial Hospital in Toronto.

<i>Love Is Blind</i> (TV series) 2020 Netflix reality series

Love Is Blind is a reality television series created by Chris Coelen and produced by Kinetic Content that premiered on Netflix on February 13, 2020, as part of a three-week event. The show follows a social experiment where single men and women look for love and get engaged, all before meeting in person.

<i>This Being Human</i> Muslim art and culture podcast

This Being Human is an interview podcast hosted by Abdul-Rehman Malik that focuses on Muslim art and culture. The podcast was created by the Aga Khan Museum and produced by Antica Productions.

The following is a list of events affecting Canadian television in 2022. Events listed include television show debuts, finales, cancellations, and channel launches, closures and rebrandings.

The 44th Ontario general election is tentatively scheduled to be held on June 4, 2026. As of December 2016, Ontario elections are held on the first Thursday in June in the fourth calendar year following the previous general election, unless the Legislative Assembly of Ontario is dissolved earlier by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario due to a motion of no confidence. Such a dissolution is unlikely as the current government has a majority.

References

  1. Braun, Liz (November 12, 2017). "A political blind date with Jagmeet Singh and Doug Ford" . Toronto Sun . ISSN   0837-3175. OCLC   66653673. Archived from the original on 2020-11-09. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  2. Ballingall, Alex (April 13, 2018) [April 11, 2017]. "Political Blind Date series hopes opposites attract, or at least get along" . Toronto Star . ISSN   0319-0781. OCLC   137342540. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  3. Simmons, Galen (January 15, 2020). "Perth-Wellington MPP Randy Pettapiece featured in upcoming episode of TVO's Political Blind Date" . Stratford Beacon-Herald . ISSN   0834-4892. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  4. Victoria Ahearn, "Political Blind Date set for swan song season on TVO". Playback , March 4, 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 Markusoff, Jason (January 16, 2020). "Can TVO's 'Political Blind Date' help soften partisanship in Canada?" . Maclean's . ISSN   0024-9262. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  6. Edwards, Samantha (November 7, 2017). "New TVO show Political Blind Date sees rival politicians find common ground". Now . ISSN   0712-1326. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  7. David, Greg (January 14, 2021). "Season 4 of TVO Original series Political Blind Date dives deep into the issues that matter most, beginning January 19". TV, Eh?. Archived from the original on March 6, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 Reid, Regan (November 7, 2017). "TVO, Toronto Star swipe right on political dating series" . Playback . ISSN   0836-2114. Archived from the original on March 8, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  9. Brent Furdyk (March 26, 2019). "Canadian Screen Awards Presented For Non-Fiction TV Programming: The Complete List Of Winners". Entertainment Tonight Canada . Archived from the original on March 28, 2019.
  10. Liam McConnell, "TVO pulls Jerry Dias episode of ‘Political Blind Date’ amid breach of trust controversy". In Durham, April 5, 2022.
  11. "Local MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith discusses The Opioid Crisis in final episode of TVO’s Political Blind Date". Beach Metro Community News, April 12, 2022.