Sunday (Canadian TV series)

Sunday is a Canadian current affairs television series which aired on CBC Television from 1966 to 1967.

Sunday
GenreCurrent affairs
Presented byRobert Hoyt
Larry Zolf
Peter Reilly
Leonard Cohen
Ian Tyson
Country of originCanada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
Production
Executive producerDaryl Duke
Running time60 minutes
Original release
NetworkCBC Television
Release6 November 1966 (1966-11-06) –
16 April 1967 (1967-04-16)

Premise

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This series was created to replace the This Hour Has Seven Days which the CBC cancelled amid significant controversy. Sunday was hosted by journalists Robert Hoyt, Larry Zolf, and Peter Reilly, accompanied by musicians Leonard Cohen and Ian Tyson. Hoyt and Zolf were previously with This Hour Has Seven Days while Reilly returned to the CBC after dissatisfaction with the private network CTV where he helped establish W5. Executive producer Daryl Duke returned to the CBC after a stint in the United States producing talk shows for Les Crane and Steve Allen.

Sunday resembled This Hour Has Seven Days in the use of music, a studio audience and a combination of satire, interviews and information. Musical guests included Joan Baez, Ian and Sylvia, Phil Ochs, Otis Redding, The Staple Singers and the Metropolitan Toronto Police Choir. The series included controversial subjects such as sexuality, including the documentary "Exit 19" on the sexual revolution.[1] Another episode featured an interview with German Neo-Nazi leader Adolph von Thadden who claimed he was merely misunderstood.[2]

Viewership of Sunday was limited and the series was cancelled after its only season. Its last episode featured an interview with Martin Luther King Jr. The CBC created a new public affairs series, The Way It Is, for the 1967–68 season.[1]

Reception

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Senator Grattan O'Leary objected to the high cost of what he considered a "third-rate program" as Sunday's production consumed approximately $50,000 per episode. Prior to O'Leary's comments, CBC president Alphonse Ouimet stood before the Senate's finance committee to defend the series.[3][4]

Scheduling

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This hour-long series was broadcast on Sundays at 10:00 p.m. (Eastern time) from 6 November 1966 to 16 April 1967.

References

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  1. ^ a b Corcelli, John (May 2005). "Sunday". Canadian Communications Foundation. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  2. ^ "Sunday to be dumped at end of TV season". The Globe and Mail. 18 March 1967. p. 18.
  3. ^ The Canadian Press (18 March 1967). "O'Leary protests Sunday's cost". The Globe and Mail. p. 18.
  4. ^ Rutherford, Paul (1990). When Television Was Young: Primetime Canada 1952-1967. University of Toronto Press. pp. 128–129. ISBN 0-8020-5830-2.
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