Monday January 20 is inauguration day in the US. So everybody raise your right hand, and for those listening here at home, hang onto those Canadian passports.

A dozen years ago The Donald was just another tanned game show host when I interviewed him in his 26th floor office at Trump Tower in New York. Now I've reached into the vault and fired up the time machine to bring you a conversation about TV, the world in general and why he feels both always need a bad guy.

The Apprentice host went directly into his signature charm offensive, saying he had checked me out with his friends at NBC who allegedly told him if he spoke with one reporter from Canada, I was “the guy.” (The same line he used on Elon Musk.)

Being played like this was a ton of fun, but that was then. Who could have known that this former real estate hustler would be a two-term US president and be seen by some as one of the most dangerous men on the planet?

Tune in to hear about The Apprentice, the late Joan Rivers (“she’s tough”), David Letterman (“great guy”), the Canadian economy at the time ("your banks were smart") and the war in Afghanistan (“a mess”).

The second season of the slick crime series Allegiance begins January 15 on CBC and CBC Gem. The shot-in-Surrey, B.C., drama stars Supinder Wraich (Sort Of), Enrico Colantoni and Samer Salem. I spoke with all three in Toronto at the CBC Winter Media Launch in December. 
Wraich plays Sabrina Sohal, a promising rookie police officer who fights to serve her hometown. Rico is the seasoned cop who mentors her past the hurdles of a flawed justice system. 
In Season Two, Sohal graduates to the Serious Crimes Unit and has six months to prove she's got what it takes to be a detective. She's paired in that task with a more experienced detective, played by series newcomer Salem. 
All three take part in this chatty podcast episode, taped live at CBC's Broadcast Centre in downtown Toronto. The discussion ranges from immigration and cultural clashes, fellow co-star David Cubitt (whom they all praise) and even which cast member caused the most outtakes. 

 No man is an island. Allan Hawco's new series, however, is shot and set on an archipelago of eight islands represented by the French government off the coast of Newfoundland.

Hawco, who played a detective on Republic of Doyle and was also on Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, plays Donny "Fitz" Fitzpatrick. He's a cop who gets too nosy about police secrets and is therefore banished to Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. There he is paired with local police officer Geneviève "Arch" Archambault (Joséphine Jobert from Death in Paradise). Sparks fly and plot lines ensue.

Hawco talks about creating the series with Robina Lord-Stafford and Perry Chaffe, and starting a TV production base pretty much from scratch with Saint-Pierre -- an even bigger challenge than getting Doyle off the ground years ago in Newfoundland. James Purefoy also stars in Saint-Pierre, which airs Monday nights after Murdoch Mysteries on CBC and CBC Gem. 

This Hour has, well, not just 22 Minutes but a full hour as I catch up with Mark Critch, this week's guest on brioux.tv: the podcast.
The conversation was taped last summer in St. John's, Nfld., during production on the fourth season of Son of a Critch (returning Tuesday, Jan. 7 on CBC and CBC Gem). What a trip that was, including a visit from a guy who was once Critch's snowboard instructor -- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Now both men are going downhill this winter!
Speaking of which, we also talk about Critch and the 22 Minutes cast tackling an hour-long New Year's Eve special this Tuesday, Dec. 31, at 8 p.m. ET on CBC.
As for Son of a Critch, look for it to be an emotional season. Young Mark (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) is off to high school, with scenes shot right in Critch's old alma mater. In fact, so much of Season Four is pulled from Critch's past, he was literally able to show the other actors video he shot in 1990 before certain scenes were shot.
All this and the latest Malcolm McDowell stories in a sweet and fun, on-location episode.

Genevieve Mushaluk, a 33-year-old corporate lawyer from Winnipeg, Manitoba, had her torch snuffed on last week’s two-hour, second-last episode of Survivor. Picked as the final member of the jury, she’ll be in LA watching the finale with the rest of the castaways when the season ends December 18 on CBS and Global.

Did she see her elimination coming? Does she have any regrets? Will she ever eat rice again? And what about all those snakes and spiders??

Mushaluk tells all in this shorter than usual episode of brioux.tv the podcast. Here she is, a true Canadian Survivor.

My guest this week has made over three dozen made for television movies, She also headlined Hallmark’s Aurora Teagarden series. Before that, as a child star, she was part of the long-running TGIF family series, Full House, as well as its streaming sequel, Fuller House.

Of course I’m talking about Candace Cameron Bure. In 2022, she broke away from Hallmark and joined the Great American Family network. There she is not just one of its busiest stars, she is also a very hands-on Chief Content Officer, making sure
these films touch on issues of faith and belief as well as on romance.

Many of these films are shot in Canada, including two premiering this month on Super Channel Heart & Home. “A Christmas Less Traveled” (Tuesday, Dec. 17) pairs her with Edmonton-born Eric Johnson, while another Canadian, Cameron Mathison, stars with Cameron Bure in "Home Sweet Christmas” (Monday, Dec. 23).

If all that isn’t Canadian enough, the California native is also married to a hockey player: former Canadiens and Flames sniper Valerie Bure. Hear her on all this and more this week on Brioux.tv: the podcast.

If you work in this industry you know how hard it is to keep ahead in a world that always seems to be pivoting. Streaming, fast channels, multi-platform media brands – who can keep up?

Well, one fella is Jamie Schouela, President, Global Channels and Media at Blue Ant Media. 

I caught up with Jamie a few weeks ago in Toronto when I was asked to moderate a CTAM panel on the future of the industry from a cable perspective. He leads the strategic direction and operations for the company's streaming and linear networks, as well as digital, print and consumer event properties. The companies' brands include Love Nature, BBC Earth, T+E, Makeful, HauntTV, Cottage Life and many more.

He's also busy spreading Blue Ant content around the world. Here he is, one of the good guys, Jamie Schouela.

As we head into another frigid  Canadian winter we bring you a podcast about a series that is set and shot in the hottest part of Australia. The series is called Troppo, a term used in north Queensland that means going mad from the heat. 

Troppo is based on the best selling novel from Candice Fox titled Crimson Lake and it is about a disgraced American ex-cop played by Thomas Jane (HBO's Hung) hired to help an Australian  private investigator. They are teamed together on murder cases in far north Queensland.

The actress playing the PI is Nicole Chamoun and we reached her half way around the world this week in Australia via a zoom call.  Seasons One and Two of Troppo are streaming now in Canada on Super Channel. 

 After 31 years as host of The Fifth Estate, plus another decade winning Emmys for CBS and NBC News, award-winning investigative journalist Bob McKeown is ready to retire.
The Ottawa native never shied away from his assignments, especially when it came to reporting on football and head injuries. Back in the '70s, he was a CFL all-star centre for the Ottawa Rough Riders. He is without a doubt the only three-time recipient of the Edward R. Murrow Award to have also won a Grey Cup.
On this episode of brioux.tv: the podcast, the 74-year-old talks about how he lined up opposite the best the CFL and American college football had to offer. That he later went head-to-head with Bill O'Reilly, Ann Coulter and even Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom host Marlin Perkins only added to his legend.
Then there's the time he got bitten by a shark! Sink your teeth into the whole story on this story-packed podcast episode. Then see the highlights as part of The Fifth Estate: 50 Years of Truth, premiering Friday, November 29 on CBC and CBC Gem.  

Tyler and Jordie Schwartz started their business of selling retro toys and gifts in 2007 as the Canadian Leg Lamp Company. The idea came after shooting their fan film “Road Trip for Ralphie,” an homage to the kid from the 1983 classic, “A Christmas Story.”

Next they introduced Moose Mugs from “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” (1989). Seventeen years later, they’ve branched out to all kinds of retro goodies, including toys, candy, books, games, ugly sweaters and much more.

You’ll find them all packed inside their Oakville store, or on-line at retrofestive.ca. 

Thanks to the Schwartz's, you’ll also find these nostalgic Christmas treats at the TV on Film Party screenings I’ve been hosting at The Westdale theatre in Hamilton. Awarded as TV trivia prizes, they make the perfect treats for fans who know all about A Charlie Brown Christmas, The Grinch and Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.

Tyler talks about how these retro reminders bring us back to an innocent time spent growing up in front of the TV. Hear him this week on brioux.tv: the podcast.