Tag: Crave

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Streaming in Canada on Prime Video, Apple TV+, Crave, Disney+ and Netflix [Jan. 30-Feb. 5]

Every week, MobileSyrup outlines some of the most notable movies and TV shows that recently hit Canadian streaming platforms.

Our ‘Streaming in Canada’ column typically focuses on new content from Amazon Prime Video, Crave and Netflix, but other services like Apple TV+ and Disney+ are mentioned when relevant. Premium video on demand (PVOD) platforms are also fair game as movies continue to come to digital early.

Finally, we’ll highlight shows or movies that are made by Canadian companies, involve notable Canadian cast or crew and/or are filmed in Canada.

Amazon Prime Video

Bodies Bodies Bodies

Original theatrical release date: August 5th, 2022
Amazon Prime Video Canada premiere date: February 1st, 2023
Genre: Black comedy, horror
Runtime: 1 hour, 34 minutes

A group of 20-somethings plan a party at a remote mansion, only to discover there’s a killer among them.

Bodies Bodies Bodies was directed by Halina Reijn (Red Light) and stars Amandla Stenberg (The Hate You Give), Maria Bakalova (Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm), Myha’la Herrold (Industry), Chase Sui Wonders (Generation), Rachel Sennott (Shiva Baby), Lee Pace (Halt and Catch Fire) and Pete Davidson (The King of Staten Island).

Stream Bodies Bodies Bodies here.

An Amazon Prime Video subscription is included at no additional cost with an Amazon Prime membership, which is priced at $99/year.

The full list of movies and shows that hit Amazon Prime Video Canada in January can be found here. A round-up of February’s new content is available here.

Apple TV+

Dear Edward [Apple Original]

Apple TV+ Canada premiere date: February 3rd, 2023 (first three episodes, new episodes every Friday)
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 10 episodes (around one hour each)

After losing his family to a plane crash, a young boy connects with others affected by the tragic incident.

Based on Ann Napolitano’s 2020 novel of the same name, Dear Edward was created by Jason Katims (Friday Night Lights) and stars Colin O’Brien (S.W.A.T.), Connie Britton (Nashville) and Taylor Schilling (Orange is the New Black).

Stream Dear Edward here.

An Apple TV+ subscription costs $8.99/month in Canada.

Find out what’s coming to Apple TV+ in January and February here.

Crave

Black Ice [Crave Original]

Crave premiere date: February 2nd, 2023
Genre: Sports documentary
Runtime: 1 hour, 35 minutes

Toronto’s Hubert Davis (Hardwood) examines the marginalization of Black players in hockey. Some of the featured athletes include Hamilton’s Sarah Nurse, Toronto’s Akim Aliu and Toronto’s P.K. Subban.

Stream Black Ice here.

The Other Two (Seasons 1 and 2)

HBO Max premiere date: 2019 (Season 1), 2021 (Season 2)
Crave premiere date: February 3rd, 2023
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 20 episodes (around 30 minutes each)

Two siblings who are struggling to find their place in the world find their lives turn upside-down when their younger brother becomes incredibly famous overnight.

The Other Two was created by Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider (Saturday Night Love) and stars Vancouver-born Heléne Yorke (Graves), Drew Tarver (Bajillion Dollar Propertie$), Case Walker (Monster High: The Movie) and Molly Shannon (Saturday Night Live). It’s worth noting that Brampton, Ontario’s Alessia Cara (The Pains of Growing) appears as herself in one episode.

Stream The Other Two here.

A standard Crave subscription is priced at $19.99/month, with Starz costing an additional $5.99/month. A mobile-only subscription is also available for $9.99/month.

The full list of movies and shows that hit Crave in January can be found here. A round-up of February’s new content is available here.

Disney+

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Original theatrical premiere date: November 11th, 2022
Disney+ Canada premiere date: February 1st, 2023
Genre: Superhero
Runtime: 2 hours, 41 minutes

The people of Wakanda must grapple with the loss of King T’Challa while protecting their country from invading forces.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was co-written and directed by Ryan Coogler (Black Panther) and features returning Marvel stars Letitia Wright (Shuri), Lupita N’yongo (Nakia), Danai Gurira (Okoye), Winston Duke (M’Baku), Martin Freeman (Ross) and Angela Bassett (Ramonda), while Dominique Thorne (Judas and the Black Messiah) and Tenoch Huerta (Narcos) join the cast.

Stream Black Panther: Wakanda Forever here.

The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder (Season 2) [Disney+ Original]

Disney+ Canada premiere date: February 2nd, 2023
Genre: Animated comedy
Runtime: 10 episodes (28 to 32 minutes each)

African-American teen Penny Proud and her family get up to more misadventures.

The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder hails from original Proud Family creators Bruce W. Smith (Tarzan) and Ralph Farquhar (South Central) and features the returning voice talent of Kyla Pratt (Penny), Tommy Davidson (Oscar), Paula Jai Parker as (Trudy), JoMarie Payton (Suga Mama) and Alisa Reyes (LaCienega).

Stream The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder here.

A Disney+ subscription costs $11.99/month or $119.99/year.

The full list of movies and shows that hit Disney+ Canada in January can be found here. A round-up of February’s new content is available here.

Netflix

Pamela, a love story [Netflix Original]

Netflix Canada premiere date: January 31st, 2023
Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 1 hour, 52 minutes

Directed by Ryan White (Good Night Oppy), this documentary looks the life and career of Ladysmith, B.C.’s Pamela Anderson, including her time on Baywatch, rocky romances and sex tape scandal.

Stream Pamela, a love story here.

The full list of movies and shows that hit Netflix Canada in January can be found here. A round-up of February’s new content is available here.

Shudder

Skinamarink

Genre: Horror
Runtime: 1 hour, 40 minutes

This viral horror movie follows two children who cannot find their father and must deal with mysterious happenings in their home.

Skinamarink was written and directed by YouTuber Kyle Edward Ball in his childhood home in Edmonton.

Stream Skinamarink on Shudder (costs $5.99 CAD/month on the web or as a Prime Video channel).

What are you planning on streaming this week? Let us know in the comments.

For more suggestions, check out last week’s Streaming in Canada column.

Image credit: Marvel Studios

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Here’s what’s coming to the hottest streaming services in Canada this February

Each month MobileSyrup does separate rundowns of what’s coming to streaming services. We also so a curated guide of the hottest shows and movies coming to streaming services each week.

However, if you don’t want to go through each and every one of our links, here is your television guide-like list of everything coming to Netflix, Crave, Prime Video, Paramount Plus and Disney Plus this month.

If you want a more curated list, check out our weekly roundups here.

In Canada, a Disney+ subscription costs $11.99/month or $119.99/year. While a Paramount Plus subscription costs $9.99 CAD/month.  Crave subscriptions start at $9.99/month for a Mobile plan, which includes access to HBO content. A $5.99 Starz add-on is also available.

In this article, we didn’t separate Starz from other Crave content, so it’s worth noting some of the content will cost an extra $5.99. A Prime Video subscription costs $8.25 per month, and lastly, Netflix starts at $5.99, but plans increase depending on whether you want multiple viewers, ad-free, and 4K content.

February 1st

  • Gunther’s Millions — Netflix 
  • American Assassin — Netflix 
  • Blow — Netflix 
  • Blue Valentine — Netflix 
  • Closer — Netflix 
  • Crazy, Stupid, Love — Netflix 
  • Fury — Netflix 
  • Girls5eva: Season 1 — Netflix 
  • John Q — Netflix 
  • Legend — Netflix 
  • Legion — Netflix 
  • Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous — Netflix 
  • Mystic River — Netflix 
  • Resident Evil: Retribution — Netflix 
  • Resident Evil: The Final Chapter — Netflix 
  • Spawn — Netflix 
  • The Wedding Planner — Netflix 
  • Vacation — Netflix 
  • Bodies, Bodies, Bodies — Prime Video
  • The Mummy — Prime Video
  • Schindler’s List — Prime Video
  • Before 30 — Prime Video
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — Disney+
  • The Chorus: Success, Here I Go (O Coro: Sucesso, Aqui Vou Eu): Season 1 — Disney+
  • The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder: Season 2 — Disney+
  • The Challenge: Season 1 — Paramount Plus 
  • Coal Miner’s Daughter: A Celebration of the Life and Music of Loretta Lynn (special) — Paramount Plus 
  • That Girl Lay: Season 1 — Paramount Plus 

February 2nd

  • Freeridge — Netflix
  • Black Ice @9pm ET — Crave
  • Gary and His Demons: Season 1-2 — Prime Video
  • Mendarat Darurat — Prime Video
  • Beyond The Light Barrier — Prime Video
  • South Park: Season 25 — Paramount Plus 

February 3rd

  • Class — Netflix
  • Infiesto — Netflix 
  • Stromboli — Netflix 
  • True Spirit — Netflix 
  • Viking Wolf — Netflix 
  • The Other Two: Seasons 1-2 — Crave
  • Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon — Crave
  • Firestarter — Crave
  • The Games Maker — Crave
  • Escaping the Taliban: Reporter’s Notebook By Genevieve — Crave
  • Bauchemin — Crave
  • The Colony — Crave
  • The Dirties — Crave
  • The Inhabitant — Crave
  • Get On Up — Crave
  • Madea’s Family Reunion — Crave
  • Madea Goes Jail — Crave
  • 120 BPM — Crave
  • Beginners Guide to Endings – — Crave
  • Born to be Blue — Crave
  • Closet Monster — Crave
  • Toppen — Prime Video
  • The Estate — Prime Video
  • Harlem: Season 2 — Prime Video
  • Sing — Prime Video
  • Norman Lear: 100 Years of Music and Laughter — Disney+
  • Soul of a Nation Presents: Mi Gente: Groundbreakers and Changemakers — Disney+
  • As Seguidoras (The Followers): Season 1 — Paramount Plus 
  • Infamously in Love — Paramount Plus 
  • Murder in Big Horn: Season 1 — Paramount Plus 
  • Stepping Into Love — Paramount Plus 

February 4th

  • Lyle, Lyle Crocodile — Prime Video

February 5th

  • The Spectacular Now — Netflix 

February 6th

  • Outlander: Season 6 — Netflix 
  • Vinland Saga: Season 2 — Netflix 
  • C.B. Strike: Troubled Blood: Season 1 @9pm ET — Crave

February 7th

  • Medieval — Netflix 
  • All That Breathes @9pm ET — Crave
  • Baby Shark’s Big Show: new episodes — Paramount Plus 
  • Coach Carter — Paramount Plus 
  • A Crime on the Bayou — Paramount Plus 
  • House of Lies (all seasons) — Paramount Plus 
  • The Last Black Man in San Francisco — Paramount Plus 
  • Polyamory (all seasons) — Paramount Plus 
  • Selma — Paramount Plus 
  • SpongeBob SquarePants: New episodes — Paramount Plus 
  • Vanilla Sky — Paramount Plus 

February 8th

  • Bill Russell: Legend — Netflix 
  • The Exchange — Netflix 
  • Alone: Season 6 — Disney+
  • American Pickers: Seasons 3-4 — Disney+
  • American Pickers: Seasons 21-23 — Disney+
  • Arranged: Season 1 — Disney+
  • Atlanta Plastic: Season 1 — Disney+
  • Broke-Ass Bride: Season 1 — Disney+
  • Dance Moms: Miami: Season 1 — Disney+
  • Dance Moms: Season 7 — Disney+
  • Empire of Light — Disney+
  • The First 48: Seasons 17-18, — Disney+
  • Forged in Fire: Seasons 2-3 — Disney+
  • Ice Road Truckers: Season 11 — Disney+
  • Intervention: Seasons 19, 21-22 — Disney+
  • Kindred — Disney+
  • Love at First Flight: Season 1 — Disney+
  • Me and Mickey: Season 1 — Disney+
  • Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir: Seasons 1-3 — Disney+
  • Santo Maldito: Season 1 — Disney+
  • Storage Wars: Season 2 and 14 — Disney+
  • Storage Wars: Unlocked: Season 1 — Disney+
  • Oasis — There We Were… Now Here We Are (special) — Paramount Plus 

February 9th

  • The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem — Netflix
  • Dear David — Netflix 
  • My Dad the Bounty Hunter — Netflix 
  • You: Season 4, Part 1 —  Netflix

February 10th

  • 10 Days of a Good Man — Netflix 
  • Forgetting Sarah Marshall — Netflix 
  • Love Actually — Netflix 
  • Love is Blind: After the Altar: Season 3 — Netflix
  • Love to Hate You — Netflix
  • Your Place or Mine — Netflix 
  • Pleasure — Crave
  • Downton Abbey: A New Era — Crave
  • Milton’s Secret — Crave
  • The Swearing Jar — Crave
  • Leverage: Redemption: Season 2 — Crave
  • Mr. A & Mr. M: The Story of A&M Records: Episodes 1-2 — Crave
  • Stephen Colbert Presents Tooning Out The News: Season 1 — Crave
  • Transplant: Season 3 — Crave
  • The Grand Seduction — Crave
  • Into The Forest — Crave
  • Leap Year — Crave
  • Mack & Rita — Crave
  • Madea’s Witness Protection — Crave
  • Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas — Crave
  • Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween — Crave
  • Good Neighbors — Crave
  • Let Me In — Crave
  • Mean Dreams — Crave
  • Men With Brooms — Crave
  • Milton’s Secret — Crave
  • My Awkward Sexual Adventure — Crave
  • Somebody I Used to Know — Prime Video
  • Clarkson’s Farm: Season 2 — Prime Video
  • Farzi — Prime Video
  • Montana Story — Prime Video
  • For One Night Only — Prime Video
  • Palava — Prime Video
  • Crocodiles Revealed — Disney+
  • Dug Days: Carl’s Date — Disney+
  • Marvel Studios Legends: Season 2 — Disney+
  • Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine For You — Disney+
  • At Midnight — Paramount Plus 
  • Boys in Blue (docuseries) — Paramount Plus 
  • Orphan: First kill — Paramount Plus 

February 11th

  • Marc Maron: From Bleak to Dark @10pm ET — Crave
  • Chupke Chupke — Prime Video

February 13th

  • Squared Love All Over Again — Netflix 
  • Jodi — Prime Video

February 14th

  • All the Places — Netflix 
  • A Sunday Affair — Netflix 
  • In Love All Over Again — Netflix
  • Jim Jefferies: High n’ Dry — Netflix 
  • Perfect Match — Netflix 
  • Re/Member — Netflix 
  • Planet Sex — Prime Video
  • Divorce Mubarak — Prime Video
  • Wild Wild Punjab — Prime Video
  • Lights Guns and Actions Season 2 — Prime Video
  • Dollface: Season 2 — Disney+
  • The Hair Tales: Season 1 — Disney+
  • Mila in the Multiverse (Mila No Multiverso): Season 1 — Disney+
  • Prime Time (Horario Estelar): Season 1 — Disney+
  • Wu-Tang: An American Saga: Season 3 — Disney+
  • American Gigolo (1980) — Paramount Plus 
  • Failure to Launch — Paramount Plus 
  • Gigolos (all seasons) — Paramount Plus 
  • How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days — Paramount Plus 
  • La La Land — Paramount Plus 
  • The Loud House: The Really Loud House: new episodes — Paramount Plus 
  • United States of Tara (all seasons) — Paramount Plus 

February 15th

  • #NoFilter — Netflix
  • African Queens: Njinga — Netflix 
  • CoComelon: Season 7 — Netflix 
  • Eva Lasting — Netflix
  • Full Swing — Netflix 
  • Hubert & Fanny: Season 1 — Netflix 
  • The Law According to Lidia Poët — Netflix
  • The Mummy — Netflix 
  • The Purge — Netflix 
  • Red Rose — Netflix
  • The Nanny: Seasons 1-6 — Prime Video
  • Nasha– Prime Video
  • Manes — Prime Video

February 16th

  • The Upshaws: Part 3 — Netflix
  • Star Trek: Picard: Season 3 — Crave
  • Drag Race Belgique: Seaosn 1, Episode 1 @3:30pm — Crave
  • The Shield: Seasons 1-7 — Prime Video

February 17th

  • A Girl and an Astronaut — Netflix
  • Community Squad – Netflix
  • Ganglands: Season 2 — Netflix
  • Unlocked — Netflix 
  • Thunder Bay — Crave
  • Mia and the White Lion — Crave
  • Wolfhound — Crave
  • The Nutcracker (2010) — Crave
  • Pil’s Adventure — Crave
  • Ozzy — Crave
  • Showtime! — Crave
  • Quentin Blake’s Clown — Crave
  • The Woman King — Crave
  • Just for Laughs 2022: The Gala Specials – Russell Peters — Crave
  • Gigi & Nate — Crave
  • Tyler Perry’s A Madea Family Funeral — Crave
  • Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls — Crave
  • 50/50 — Crave
  • Tyler Perry’s The Family That Preys — Crave
  • Carnival Row: Season 2 — Prime Video
  • A Spy Among Friends– Prime Video
  • Drinkwater — Prime Video
  • An Ordinary People — Prime Video
  • Run & Gun

February 18th

  • Pokémon Animation on Crave — includes Pokémon: The First Movie, Pokémon The Movie: I Choose You! and more — Crave
  • Cloverfield — Prime Video
  • 10 Cloverfield Lane — Prime Video

February 19th

  • I Care a Lot — Netflix 
  • Whindersson Nunes: Preaching to the Choir — Netflix 
  • Last Week Tonight With John Oliver: Season 10, Episode 1 @11pm — Crave

February 20th

  • Rocketman — Netflix 
  • Jumanji — Crave
  • Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle — Crave
  • Marc Marquez: All In — Prime Video

February 21st

  • Altar Boy — Netflix 
  • Perfect Match — Netflix 
  • Hell of High Water — Paramount Plus 
  • The Massively Mixed-Up Middle School Mystery– Paramount Plus 
  • Sicario– Paramount Plus 
  • Winchester– Paramount Plus 
  • Wind River– Paramount Plus 
  • Young Dylan: new episodes — Paramount Plus 
  • Ze Network: Season 1 — Paramount Plus 

February 22nd

  • Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal — Netflix 
  • The Strays — Netflix 
  • Triptych — Netflix
  • The Low Tone Club (El Club De Los Graves) — Disney+
  • Trafficked with Mariana Van Zeller: Season 3— Disney+
  • Oasis — 10 Years of Noise and Confusion: Live at Barrowlands (Special) — Paramount Plus 

February 23rd

  • Call Me Chihiro — Netflix 
  • Outer Banks Season 3 — Netflix
  • That Girl Lay Lay: Season 2 — Netflix
  • The Infernal Machine — Paramount Plus 

February 24th

  • Formula 1: Drive to Survive Season 5 — Crave
  • Oddballs: Season 2 — Crave
  • We Have a Ghost — Crave
  • Who Were We Running From? — Crave
  • The Marksman — Crave
  • 1Up — Crave
  • Lignes de Fuite — Crave
  • Lord of the Rings (1978) — Crave
  • Sing — Crave
  • MTV Cribs: Season 19 — Crave
  • MTV’s Deliciousness: Season 3B — Crave
  • Children Ruin Everything: Season 2 — Crave
  • A Beautiful Mind — Crave
  • Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds — Crave
  • Gulliver Returns — Crave
  • Source Code — Crave
  • Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man — Crave
  • Remember Me — Crave
  • Secretary — Crave
  • Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising — Crave
  • Cool Hand Luke  — Crave
  • Die Hart — Prime Video
  • The Consultant: Season 1 — Prime Video
  • Brusier — Disney+
  • Growing Up Wild — Disney+
  • Margaux — Paramount Plus 
  • Peppermint: So-Sigh-Ety Effect (Special) — Paramount Plus 
  • Resistance: 1942 — Paramount Plus 

February 25th

  • One Fight Night 7: Lineker vs Andrade II (Live Event) — Prime Video
  • The Challenge: UK (Season 1) — Paramount Plus 

February 26th

  • French Exit — Netflix 
  • Our Friend — Netflix 

February 27th

  • The Grizzlie Truth — Crave

February 28th

    • A Whole Lifetime with Jamie Demetriou — Netflix 
    • Too Hot to Handle Germany — Netflix
    • I, Tonya — Paramount Plus 
    • Interstellar — Paramount Plus 
    • No Escape — Paramount Plus 
    • The Loudest Voice — Paramount Plus 
    • Santiago of the Seas (new episode block) — Paramount Plus 
    • 100 Things to Do Before High School — Paramount Plus 
    • The Wolf of Wall Street — Paramount Plus 
Categories
Mobile Syrup

Nick Offerman didn’t play The Last of Us because of a Banjo-Kazooie addiction

Nick Offerman has a confession: he doesn’t play video games.

But unlike several of his The Last of Us co-stars, who were advised to avoid the PlayStation game upon which it’s based, Offerman has a surprisingly different reason for not being a gamer.

Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Monday to promote his acclaimed January 29th episode of the HBO series, “Long, Long Time,” Offerman revealed that he has a history with games. When Kimmel asked if Offerman had played The Last of Us, the Parks and Recreation star said that an addiction to Nintendo 64 classic platformer Banjo-Kazooie actually made him quit games entirely:

“Twenty-five years ago, I played my last video game and I’m very indulgent. I lost a couple of weeks to a video game called Banjo-Kazooie. Two weeks went by and I was like, ‘oh my god, the slow dopamine drip is so delicious,’ then it’s over and you’re like ‘yes, I won!’ and immediately I’m like, ‘what have I done with my life?’ So I decided I was never going to do that again. And so thankfully, because games have gotten so good, like The Last of Us, that I think I’d be in a basement and I wouldn’t even be going to audition for shows like this.” 

Elsewhere in the interview, Kimmel showed amusing clips of people reacting emotionally to “Long, Long Time.” Both Offerman and co-star Murray Bartlett have garnered significant praise for their respective roles of Bill and Frank, two partners surviving together over the years during the post-apocalypse. In fact, many of those who have seen all nine episodes of the series have said it’s the best of the bunch.

Overall, The Last of Us has already become one of HBO’s most popular shows, and its second-biggest premiere after House of the Dragon. The massive early success has led HBO to already renew the series for a second season, which will adapt The Last of Us Part II video game.

Co-created by Neil Druckmann (the original The Last of Us game) and Craig Mazin (Chernobyl), The Last of Us follows Joel (The Mandalorian‘s Pedro Pascal, a hardened man who’s hired to smuggle a young teenager, Ellie (Game of Thrones’ Bella Ramsey), across a pandemic-ravaged U.S.

Despite that American setting, though, the series was actually filmed entirely in Alberta, a fact that Mazin, Pascal and Ramsey raved about to MobileSyrup in a recent interview. The series’ production designer even said he was surprised at how “clean” the province ended up being. And to promote the province, Travel Alberta has also created an interactive map to let you view exact filming locations from the series.

The Last of Us is now streaming on Crave. Banjo-Kazooie, meanwhile, is available in the Rare Replay collection on Xbox and on Nintendo Switch via a Switch Online Expansion Pack membership.

Image credit: HBO, Xbox

Categories
Mobile Syrup

This tool shows you how much Alberta resembles The Last of Us’ post-apocalyptic world

Travel Alberta has created an interactive map to showcase where HBO’s hit The Last of Us series was shot in the province.

Powered by Google Maps, the tool features per-episode breakdowns of the post-apocalyptic drama show’s filming locations. A brief description of what the location stood in for in the series will be listed, while the map will be updated weekly after each new episode.

For example, pre-pandemic scenes in the pilot with Sarah (Nico Parker) at school were filmed at Calgary’s Western Canada High School. Meanwhile, the Home Depot that Bill (Nick Offerman) visits in the highly acclaimed third episode was actually a Lowe’s in Calgary.

Speaking to CBC News, Travel Alberta noted that it’s been a challenge to get some of this data, given that some scenes were shot on private land. But the goal is to eventually have an itinerary throughout all nine episodes that you can use to track the trajectory of the entire series.

With a reported Game of Thrones-esque budget, The Last of Us is believed to be biggest TV production in Canadian history, making it particularly notable for the province. This meant that the series shot over the course of an entire year in cities like Calgary, Edmonton, High River, Lethbridge and Canmore.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Canada’s Alberta (@travelalberta)

Speaking to MobileSyrup last month, series co-creator Craig Mazin praised Alberta’s scenery for perfectly capturing the seasonal passage of time that our lead characters, Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey), go through. Pascal and Ramsey also raved to us about filming in Alberta and specifically shouted out Canmore. The series’ production designer also recently said that he was “shocked” that the province was so “clean,” especially compared to the U.S.

The Last of Us is now streaming on Crave.

Via: CBC News

Categories
Mobile Syrup

The Last of Us production designer says he was ‘shocked’ at ‘clean’ Alberta

Ever since it was revealed that Alberta would be home to the production of HBO’s The Last of Us series, many have made jokes about how the Canadian province is the perfect fit for a post-apocalyptic setting.

However, one of the key players behind bringing the PlayStation video game’s zombie-infested world to life feels differently.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, John Paino, production designer on The Last of Us, praised Alberta for its beauty. Over the course of a year, the series was shot all around the province, including in Edmonton, Calgary, Fort River and Canmore, so he clearly spent a lot of time there.

Neil Druckmann on The Last of Us set

Co-creator Neil Druckmann on the set of The Last of Us.

To start, Paino notes that it was easy to find Western-looking towns around Alberta to stand in for Texas during the show’s pre-pandemic opening scenes. But for many of the parts of the show that required run-down areas, Paino said they ran into some challenges:

When you go to major areas, cities, states, there’s always a liminal area that used to be an army base, or maybe it was an old factory. Children of Men, they shot a lot of that in old factory areas and old shipping yards. And I thought, Oh, Canada’s got lots of that, there’ll be a bunch of places that we’re going to just run around and augment it. We couldn’t find any of that. I swear to you, we couldn’t even find an abandoned gas station. We had a slow realization that many things that we thought we would just shoot on location, we would be building. Also, the architecture just wasn’t there. If we’re careening down streets and knocking things down—I was really shocked. It’s a very clean country. There’s like no, “Oh, yeah, over there, there’s all these abandoned buildings.” No American, uh, grit. [Laughs]

Therefore, this meant that he and his team had to actually build a lot of the sets from scratch. Given that the series is believed to be the biggest TV production in Canadian history with a Game of Thrones-level budget, they certainly had the resources to do so.

Joel (Pedro Pascal), Tess (Anna Torv) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) in The Last of Us.

Joel (Pedro Pascal), Tess (Anna Torv) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) in The Last of Us.

This work includes the construction of a 20-foot (6.1-metre) wall for the quarantine zone (QZ) that’s featured in the pilot. Of the QZ, Paino said the following:

I would say that that was at least two or three acres of scenery, and that was just one backlot. Just the amounts of things we had to order! And in Calgary, you’re kind of in the middle of Canada, so there’s not a lot there. It’s kind of like if you were working in the middle of the United States; you’d go to the coasts to get things. Canada is cold and rainy and a lot of our sets are outdoors. In the QZ, there is electricity for certain times of the day because it’s a bastion of civilization, for what it’s worth. So making the hodgepodge lights and things like that, making them feel like they’ve been reworked and repaired—kind of like the chairs, that idea, that metaphor was throughout. 

Overall, the interview is a really interesting read, offering a lot of insight into the kind of work that goes into creating the look and feel of a big-budget show. In particular, Paino mentions how he played some of the game for reference but looked more towards images from real-life refugee camps, slum areas and council housing in the likes of England, India and France. He also notes that there wasn’t “an extensive amount of green screen” on sets, so what you see was, often, actually hand-crafted.

Paino isn’t the only person from The Last of Us creative team who’s praised Alberta. Last month, stars Pedro Pascal (Joel) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey), as well as creators Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin, raved to MobileSyrup in an interview about the experience of filming there.

In other The Last of Us news, the series was just renewed for a second season, which is set to adapt The Last of Us Part II. However, Mazin has previously stated that they’d likely need multiple seasons to fully cover the sequel, so it remains to be seen whether HBO will give them the greenlight. (Given its massive success so far, though, that seems likely.) In the meantime, fans are celebrating the series’ third episode, “Long Long Time,” which has received widespread acclaim.

The Last of Us is now streaming on Crave.

Image credit: HBO

Source: Vanity Fair

Categories
Mobile Syrup

What’s leaving Netflix Canada, Crave and Prime Video in February 2023

As is the case every month, several shows and movies are leaving Netflix Canada, Crave and Prime in February.

It’s worth noting that the streaming services may only be removing certain shows and movies for a specific amount of time.

Series like Avatar: The Last Airbender and Gossip Girl and movies like Mean Girls have all left Netflix and then returned to the service months or years later. If you’re more interested in what’s coming to Crave, Prime Video, and Netflix, check out our respective ‘what’s coming to’ posts.

Below are all the shows and movies leaving Netflix, Prime Video and Crave in February.

Everything leaving Amazon Prime Video

  • Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (February 1st)
  • Backdraft (February 1st)
  • Steve Jobs (February 1st)
  • The Game (February 1st)
  • Salt (February 1st)
  • City of Lies (February 1st)
  • Grown Ups 2 (February 1st)
  • Falling Water (February 14th)

Here’s what’s leaving Netflix

  • Wonder Woman 1984 (February 12th)
  • The Departed (February 13th)
  • Hereditary (February 14th)
  • New Amsterdam: Seasons 1-2 (February 14th)
  • Heartland: Seasons 1- 15 (February 28th)
  • Kim’s Convenience: Seasons 1-5 (February 28th)
  • Murdoch Mysteries: Seasons 1-15 (February 28th)
  • Schitt’s Creek (February 28th)
  • The Great Canadian Baking Show: Seasons 1-5 (February 28th)
  • When Calls the Heart: Seasons 1-5 (February 28th)

Leaving Crave in February

  • David Crosby: Remember My Name (February 2nd)
  • High Fidelity: Season 1 (February 13th)
  • Supervillain: The Making Of 6IX9INE (February 20th)
  • The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts the Tonight Show (February 21st)
  • We Broke Up (February 21st)
  • Another Day (February 24th)
  • Casino Royale (February 24th)
  • Diamonds Are Forever (February 24th)
  • Dr. No (February 24th)
  • For Your Eyes Only (February 24th)
  • From Russia With Love (February 24th)
  • GoldenEye (February 24th)
  • Goldfinger (February 24th)
  • License to Kill (February 24th)
  • Live and Let Die (February 24th)
  • The Living Daylights (February 24th)
  • The Man with the Golden Gun (February 24th)
  • Moonraker (February 24th)
  • Never Say Never Again (February 24th)
  • Octopussy (February 24th)
  • On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (February 24th)
  • Quantum of Solace (February 24th)
  • Skyfall (February 24th)
  • Spectre (February 24th)
  • The Spy Who Loved Me (February 24th)
  • Thunderball (February 24th)
  • Tomorrow Never Dies (February 24th)
  • A View to Kil (February 24th)
  • The World Is Not Enough (February 24th)
  • You Only Live Twice (February 24th)
  • French Exit (February 24th)
  • Four Weddings and a Funeral (February 25th)
  • Detroit (February 27th)
  • The Fighter (February 28th)
  • News of the World (February 28th)
  • Ottolenghi & The Cakes of Versaille (February 28th)
  • Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns (February 28th)
  • I Am Paul Walker (February 28th)
  • Hilarious House of Frightenstein: Season 1 (February 28th)
  • Aliens Stole My Body (February 28th)
  • Candyman (1992) (February 28th)
  • Come Play (February 28th)
  • Creation Stories (February 28th)
  • Curious George: Go West, Go Wild (February 28th)
  • Four Good Days (February 28th)
  • Golden Arm (February 28th)
  • Who Let Dogs Out (February 28th)
  • Phantom Boy (February 28th)
  • Promising Young Woman (February 28th)
  • Safer At Home (February 28th)
  • Battle Royale (February 28th)
  • Confidence (February 28th)
  • Draft Day (February 28th)
  • Feris Bueller’s Day Off (February 28th)
  • Next Day Air (February 28th)
  • Pitch Perfect (February 28th)
  • Supergirl (February 28th)
  • Three Kings (February 28th)
Categories
Mobile Syrup

Streaming in Canada on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Disney+ and Netflix [Jan. 23-29]

Every week, MobileSyrup outlines some of the most notable movies and TV shows that recently hit Canadian streaming platforms.

Our ‘Streaming in Canada’ column typically focuses on new content from Amazon Prime Video, Crave and Netflix, but other services like Apple TV+ and Disney+ are mentioned when relevant. Premium video on demand (PVOD) platforms are also fair game as movies continue to come to digital early.

Finally, we’ll highlight shows or movies that are made by Canadian companies, involve notable Canadian cast or crew and/or are filmed in Canada.

Amazon Prime Video

Shotgun Wedding [Amazon Original]

Amazon Prime Video Canada premiere date: January 27th, 2023
Genre: Romantic action-comedy
Runtime: 1 hour, 40 minutes

When their wedding party is taken hostage, Tom and Darcy have to work together to save their loved ones.

Shotgun Wedding was directed by Jason Moore (Sisters) and stars Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers), Josh Duhamel (Las Vegas), Sônia Braga (Kiss of the Spider Woman), Jennifer Coolidge (The White Lotus) and Lenny Kravitz (The Hunger Games).

Stream Shotgun Wedding here.

Poker Face

Amazon Prime Video Canada premiere date: January 27th, 2023 (Citytv+ exclusive)
Genre: Mystery-comedy
Runtime: 10 episodes (around one hour each)

Armed with an extraordinary ability to determine whether someone is lying, Charlie hits the road in her Plymouth Barracuda to solve mysteries with different casts of characters.

Poker Face was created by Rian Johnson (Knives Out series) and stars Natasha Lyonne (Russian Doll), Benjamin Bratt (Star), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (500 Days of Summer), Adrian Brody (The Pianist), Lil Rel Howery (Get Out), recent Oscar nominees Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All At Once) and Hong Chau (The Whale) and more.

Stream Poker Face here. Note that a $4.99/month Citvtv+ add-on is required.

An Amazon Prime Video subscription is included at no additional cost with an Amazon Prime membership, which is priced at $99/year.

The full list of movies and shows hitting Amazon Prime Video Canada this month can be found here.

Apple TV+

Shrinking [Apple Original]

Apple TV+ Canada premiere date: January 27th, 2023 (first two episodes, new episodes every Friday)
Genre: Comedy-drama
Runtime: 10 episodes (around 30 minutes each)

A grieving therapist begins to reveal his full unfiltered thoughts to his patients, changing everyone’s lives in the process.

Shrinking was created by Ted Lasso‘s Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein and How I Met Your Mother‘s Jason Segel and stars Segel, Jessica Williams (Fantastic Beasts series), Luke Tennie (Players), Michael Urie (Ugly Betty), Lukita Maxwell (Generation), Christa Miller (Cougar Town) and Harrison Ford (Star Wars series).

Stream Shrinking here.

An Apple TV+ subscription costs $8.99/month in Canada.

Find out what’s coming to Apple TV+ in January and February here.

Crave

Grind Now, Shine Later: The Chris Boucher Story [Crave Original]

Crave premiere date: January 25th, 2023
Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 47 minutes

This documentary tells the story of Canadian-Saint Lucian basketball player Chris Boucher, who grew up in poverty in Montreal and rose to stardom with the Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors.

Stream Grind Now, Shine Later: The Chris Boucher Story here.

A standard Crave subscription is priced at $19.99/month, with Starz costing an additional $5.99/month. A mobile-only subscription is also available for $9.99/month.

The full list of movies and shows hitting Crave this month can be found here.

Disney+

Extraordinary [Disney+ Original]

Disney+ Canada premiere date: January 25th, 2023
Genre: Superhero comedy
Runtime: Eight episodes (28 to 33 minutes each)

In a world where every adult has superpowers, Jen has to cope with being the only one who doesn’t.

Extraordinary was created by Emma Moran (Have I Got News For You) and stars Máiréad Tyers (Belfast), Sofia Oxenham (Poldark), Bilal Hasna (Screw) and Luke Rollason (Jack).

Stream Extraordinary here.

A Disney+ subscription costs $11.99/month or $119.99/year.

The full list of games hitting Disney+ Canada this month can be found here.

Netflix

You People [Netflix Original]

Netflix Canada premiere date: January 27th, 2023
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 1 hour, 58 minutes

Two LA professionals from different backgrounds fall in love and have to deal with each others’ parents.

You People was directed by Kenya Barris (black-ish) and stars Jonah Hill (Moneyball), Lauren London (The Game), Eddie Murphy (Beverly Hills Cop), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep), Nia Long (NCIS: Los Angeles) and David Duchovny (The X-Files).

Stream You People here.

Netflix’s ‘Basic with Ads’ subscription costs $5.99/month, a ‘Basic’ subscription costs $9.99/month, a ‘Standard’ subscription (HD-supported) costs $16.49/month and a ‘Premium’ membership is priced at $20.99/month (4K-supported).

The full list of movies and shows hitting Netflix Canada this month can be found here.

What are you planning on streaming this week? Let us know in the comments.

For more suggestions, check out last week’s Streaming in Canada column.

Image credit: NBC Universal

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Crave brings back classic Pokémon content in February

If you’ve been watching the first collection of Pokémon: Indigo League episodes on Netflix, you’ll be happy to know that the second collection is coming to Crave alongside some classic movies.

On Saturday, February 18th, the following Pokémon content is hitting crave:

  • Pokémon: The First Movie
  • Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!
  • Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands (season two)
  • Pokémon the Series: XY
  • Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest
  • Pokémon the Series: XYZ

At the bottom of the Bell Media press release, it says that more Pokémon content on crave is slated to come later. My fingers are crossed for Pokémon 2000 and the third season of the show Pokémon: The Johto Journeys.

If you feel like watching Classic Pokémon episodes, the first season is on Netflix. Other interesting spinoffs like Pokémon Generations and later seasons are free with the Pokémon TV app.

Source: Bell Media

Categories
Mobile Syrup

Succession Season 4 hits Crave in late March 2023, first trailer released

HBO has confirmed that the Succession‘s highly anticipated fourth season will premiere on March 26th.

The date was revealed alongside the first teaser for the upcoming season, which offering a glimpse at the Roy kids as they plot against Logan (Brian Cox).

Season 3 of the acclaimed black comedy-drama ran from October to December 2021. All three seasons, as well as the upcoming fourth, stream exclusively on Crave in Canada.

It’s been a strong year for HBO already, as the network just released The Last of Us, its second-biggest premiere of all time after House of the Dragon. Notably, the PlayStation video game adaptation was filmed in Alberta, which the cast and crew raved to us about in an interview.

Categories
Mobile Syrup

The Last of Us takes over Google Search with creepy easter egg

Google now features a little fungal easter egg to celebrate HBO’s new The Last of Us series.

When you search “The Last of Us” on Google, a little mushroom will pop up. Clicking the fungus will then cause an outgrowth to appear on your screen. Amusingly, you can keep clicking the icon and the infection will grow and spread to cover more and more of the Google page.

Of course, the easter egg is referencing the Cordyceps infection that decimates humanity in The Last of Us. Notably, Cordyceps is a real life fungus that affects insects and arthropods, but The Last of Us takes creative liberty and extends that to humans.

Based on PlayStation’s 2013 game of the same name, HBO’s The Last of Us just premiered its second of nine episodes on January 22nd. In the series, a hardened smuggler is hired to escort a teenager across a pandemic-ravaged U.S.

The Last of Us was created by Neil Druckmann (the original PlayStation game’s writer/co-director) and Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and stars Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) and Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones).

The series is currently streaming on Crave. For more on The Last of Us, check out our interview with Druckmann, Mazin, Pascal and Ramsey.

Image credit: HBO