30th December

Comedy Gold, a two-part documentary narrated by Paul Gross, airs at 8 pm ET on CBC-TV on 1st and 2nd January as part of Comedy Week. Thanks to Maria and Wendy for the news!

24th December

Happy Christmas! Many thanks to Maria for this news: "While many are celebrating the holiday season, Paul Gross and a number of other familiar Canadian names, including Sonja Smits and Gordon Pinsent, are participating in the yearly Night of Miracles for Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto. A 2 hr broadcast appealing for donations will be shown on CTV at 2pm ET on Dec 28."

And if you haven't yet made your donation to our own seasonal fund-raiser, there are only seven days left in which to contribute and leave your message for Paul!

11th December

The response to our "Swords Into Ploughshares" appeal has been amazing - thank you kindly to everyone who has contributed so far to our Christmas present for Paul "Tank Commander" Gross. We already have 40% 45% of the cost of a tank!

7th December

Many thanks to Julie for this Toronto Star article about Slings & Arrows III, which is currently filming. Beware of a big spoiler towards the end of the article, though!

30th November

Paul Gross will play John Diefenbaker in Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story, to air on CBC-TV on 12th and 13th March. Thanks to Bryan for the news!

28th November

Want to help buy Paul a Kalashnikov ... or a rocket launcher ... or even a tank for Christmas? Click here for details! [Charity appeal now closed]

24th November

Spotted in alt.tv.due-south:

"Just in time for Valentine's Day is Larry Weinstein and Rhombus Media's deliciously comic opera Burnt Toast, on Feb. 9. It boasts an all-star Canadian cast, including Colm Feore, Colin Mochrie, Dan Redican, Leah Pinsent, Paul Gross, Jessica Holmes, Scott Thompson, Deborah McGrath, Cathy Jones, Sean Cullen and Mark McKinney among others."

We don't know much about this yet, but it seems Burnt Toast will air on CBC's Opening Night, and possibly on Bravo! too.

13th November

Thank you to Wendy for sending links to some press conference photos (here) and a CanWest article about the Passchendaele project (here).

9th November

The CTV website has a 9 minute video of yesterday's Passchendaele press conference in Calgary. Tune in to hear the Premier of Alberta announce his government's financial support for the project, and listen to Paul telling his grandfather's story.

8th November

Here is the news we've all been waiting for!

Alberta's military history to come alive via Passchendaele film

Highlighting the province's proud military history is the focal point of a new film receiving funding as part of Alberta's centennial.

The film, to be directed by Paul Gross, follows a Calgary soldier's experiences at home and on the front lines of World War I. It culminates at the battle of Passchendaele, considered by many to be a defining moment in Canada's military identity. Canadian soldiers successfully took the Belgian town in a 16-day offensive, after almost three months of allied fighting failed to make progress. Twenty thousand Canadian soldiers entered the offensive; 5,000 never came home. Nine Canadians were awarded the Victoria Cross.

Passchendaele will be filmed in May and August in Calgary, around the Suffield Base and in Europe. The anticipated release date is November 11, 2006. The total cost of the project is over $16 million, with the Government of Alberta committing $5.5 million.

"The Battle of Passchendaele was one of the great crucibles of the First World War in which thousands of Albertans took part. My grandfather was one of them," said Paul Gross. "His stories about the war have resonated throughout my life and it's our hope that Passchendaele will ignite a similar interest and justifiable pride in the grit and valour of all the Canadians who fought for their country."

Passchendaele is an historic movie that follows the life of Sergeant Michael Dunne, a soldier who is transferred from France during World War I to recover from injuries in a Calgary hospital. While recovering, he meets Sarah, whose family has also been affected by the war. Sergeant Dunne leads Sarah's reluctant brother David back into the gruesome battlefield in Passchendaele, Belgium.

There's more at the website of the Government of Alberta. See also our Passchendaele page.

30th October

The transcript from yesterday's IRC with Paul is now here and it's a great read!

Many thanks to Lee for this reminder that Slings & Arrows is listed at amazon.com - clearly, the release date is still to be decided upon, but it's a hopeful sign.

27th October

REGION 2 DVD of due South! (Europe, Japan, South Africa and the Middle East including Egypt) - amazon.co.uk finally has a listing for the first series, and a release date of 30th January 2006. Thanks to Ang for this news.

19th October

Paul has very kindly agreed to a second IRC Q & A! It's on Saturday 29th October at 14.30 hrs GMT. That's ...

• 10.30 am in Toronto
• 3.30 pm in London
• 4.30 pm in Vienna
• 11.30 pm in Tokyo
• 00.30 am in Sydney (Sunday)

17th October

A reminder to those able to receive the UK's Sky digital satellite feed - series 1 of Slings & Arrows is currently being repeated on the Artsworld channel.

12th October

The 2005 Gemini nominations were announced yesterday and H2O has been nominated in five categories:

• Best Dramatic Mini-Series
• Best Writing in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series
• Best Sound in a Dramatic Program
• Best Costume Design
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series

You can also vote for Paul as your favourite "lifestyle host" for his commentary on The Greatest Canadian: Lester B. Pearson.

Thanks to Lee and Julie for the heads up!

10th October

Thanks to Julie for a reminder to Paul's US fans that Slings & Arrows series 1 continues to play on the Sundance Channel. They also have the rights to Series 2, which has already aired in Canada, and to Series 3, which starts filming in November.

4th October

Paul Gross and Jeff Seymour, presenters at the DGC Awards ceremony

Another award for H2O - this time "Outstanding Team Achievement in a Television Movie or Mini-Series" from the Directors Guild of Canada. (Thanks to Mary Beth for this news)

1st October

Thanks to Mary Beth for spotting an article at channelcanada.com which indicates that Paul won't, after all, be playing Conrad Black in Shades of Black.

22nd September

Good news for UK viewers from Cally!

"The Hallmark Channel in the UK is repeating H2O on 24th and 25th of October. And Artsworld is repeating Slings and Arrows [first series] from 8th October."

Artsworld has recently been added to the basic Sky digital Family package on channel 157.

19th September

Kay has written to say that amazon.com are counting votes from customers in order to lobby for a US release of Slings & Arrows on DVD.

15th September

Amazon.ca have put up more details about the imminent release on DVD of due South season 4 and if you click on "See larger picture" you will notice that there are commentary tracks by Paul Gross.

12th September

A Region 2 DVD release of due South? Can it be true after we've waited so long? We certainly hope so! This is from www.networkdvd.co.uk/:

" ... Also upcoming but not yet scheduled are the complete Roger Moore version of The Saint [...], The Feathered Serpent, One Summer, The Adventurer, Due South, Dempsey and Makepeace and Budgie, among others."

2nd September

Many thanks to Kay who wrote to tell us she's heard from the Showcase Boutique that they hope to have Slings & Arrows out on DVD by Christmas! (We presume that's Series 1.)

29th August

From The Stage, a UK magazine:

"Indie Box TV is working with Canadian broadcaster CTV to produce a drama about disgraced tycoon Conrad Black. Due North [yes, really!] star Paul Gross and NYPD Blue actor Currie Graham have been shortlisted to play the former Telegraph owner with a final decision expected within the month. The two-hour drama is based on the biography Shades of Black by Richard Siklos. The BBC is in talks to broadcast the programme in the UK."

1st August

Great news for due South fans waiting to complete their collection - the Final Season DVD will be released on 27th September and is now available to pre-order from amazon.ca!

5th July For days we have been trawling the web trying to find out the results of the 45th Monte Carlo Television Awards - and at last we can confirm that the prize for "best performance by an actor in a mini series" went to .... PAUL GROSS! Congratulations Paul! (There's more here.)

4th July

More good news from Kim in The Netherlands! Due South starts again from today on RTL5 (www.rtl.nl then TV gids) Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays at 5:57 pm, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 5:55 pm.

And thanks to Susan for the news that H20 is being shown again in the UK on the Hallmark Channel on the 11th and 12th July at 11pm.

1st July

Paul Gross and Leslie Hope (H2O) have been nominated for awards at the prestigious Monte Carlo Television Festival - results will be announced tonight at the Gala Awards Ceremony!