Canada’s Star System, Big Brother Secrets & The Nicest Celebrities
This week on Entertainment Is Broken, Richard Crouse and Sarah Hanlon open the mailbag and get into the big questions... and, because this is us, also several deeply specific side quests.
Is Canada finally building a real star system? Sarah makes the case that something is shifting, with shows like North of North, Heated Rivalry, and a new wave of Canadian storytelling helping audiences get over the old “good... for a Canadian thing” problem.
Richard talks about Canadian film, Last Night, Don McKellar, celebrity interviews, and why the biggest stars are often the ones who arrive with the smallest entourage.
And Sarah answers the question everyone secretly wants answered: what was the weirdest thing about Big Brother Canada that didn’t make it to air? The answer involves microphones, production secrecy, two bathrooms, laundry chaos, and men who apparently believed the shower was a suggestion box.
It’s a fun, loose mailbag episode about Canadian entertainment, reality TV, celebrity culture, and the strange machinery behind the things we watch.
28 May 2026
Theatres Are Back, Baby
Are movie theatres finally back?
This week on Entertainment Is Broken, Richard Crouse and Sarah Hanlon look at the return of audiences to cinemas, the rise of younger moviegoers, and why Canadian films may be benefiting from a renewed love of the big-screen experience.
From indie theatres as community hubs to Canadian success stories like Little Lorraine, Blue Heron, Nirvanna: The Band, The Show, The Movie, and Undertone, Richard and Sarah explore why shared moviegoing still matters in the streaming era.
They also talk about Canadian horror, Ginger Snaps, Black Christmas, post-lockdown theatre experiences, and the strange magic that happens when strangers sit together in the dark and watch something weird, funny, scary, or unforgettable.
Theatres are back, baby.
26 May 2026
LISTENER QUESTIONS AND ENTERTAINMENT INSIDER SECRETS
Richard Crouse and Sarah Hanlon open the Entertainment Is Broken mailbag to answer listener questions about the strange machinery behind show business.
Richard shares what celebrity junkets are really like, from exhausted movie stars answering the same question 40 times in a day to memorable encounters with Meryl Streep, Madonna, and Bill Murray. Sarah breaks down the reality TV machine from her own experience on Big Brother Canada, explaining what feels real, what gets shaped, and why pressure can create drama without producers needing to fake it.
Then they tackle the big one: if they could fix one thing about Hollywood or media, what would it be? The answer involves risk, weird movies, smaller budgets, and letting audiences miss things before the next franchise installment arrives.
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