Travelling game show makes stops in northern Ontario
It’s not often that a game show comes to the north, but teens around the region have been getting the chance to show off their pop culture knowledge.
New Canadian game show 'Pop Whiz' recently made stops in North Bay and Timmins, giving small-town teens aged 13 to 17 a taste of stardom and the chance to win cash.
For youth like Mathieu Robert, he normally would have been off to summer camp but with that cancelled due to the pandemic, he decided to audition for the show online.
"I was just kind of reading through the newspaper and I saw that there was a show coming to Timmins," Robert said. "I guess it was more, just, I wanted to be on TV and see what it was like."
A sentiment shared by fellow contestant Kaisha Lougheed, who felt confident after answering a series of pop culture questions on what the production crew call ‘the Dome.’
"I always liked watching game shows when I was little, so I felt like it would be fun to be on one," Lougheed said. "I think I did pretty good."
This being the first season of the travelling show, production staff said the goal is to meet young people from across the country and they wanted to start by featuring northern Ontario, as well as other small to medium-sized towns across the province.
For producer Sergio Gallinaro, the best part is watching excited and nervous teens break out of their shells and see their reactions to being on a TV show.
"We’ve got this travelling studio for one, that I call it, but inside it really does have the look and feel of a big-studio, shiny-floor game show and I think the kids are really responding to that," Gallinaro said.
With most of them likely being on TV for the first time, the show’' host, Andrew 'Gunnarolla' Gunadie, said the teens he’s met so far have been handling it surprisingly well.
"When they’re in the cube, it’s intimidating. You got lights, you got a crew," Gunadie said. "They are keeping their cool, they’re giving the best answers possible … I think they’re making friends too. A lot of them don’t actually know each other. It’s a real community spirit here."
'Pop Whiz' has three elimination rounds, eventually crowning one winner — but Gallinaro said really as long as people have fun, everyone wins.
Production officials said the show is scheduled to premier on GameTV early next year.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It’s discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
RCMP uncovers alleged plot by 2 Montreal men to illegally sell drones, equipment to Libya
The RCMP says it has uncovered a plot by two men in Montreal to sell Chinese drones and military equipment to Libya illegally.
Government agrees to US$138.7M settlement over FBI's botching of Larry Nassar assault allegations
The U.S. Justice Department announced a US$138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Man wanted in connection with deadly shooting in Toronto tops list of most wanted fugitives in Canada
A 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of Toronto resident 29-year-old Sharmar Powell-Flowers nine months ago has topped the list of the BOLO program’s 25 most wanted fugitives across Canada, police announced Tuesday.
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.