Popular broadcaster Brandon Gonez named as season two host
Shooting is underway in St. John’s, Newfoundland
Brandon Gonez, host of Canada’s Ultimate Challenge S2, photo credit: Jag Gundu, courtesy of CBC
ST. JOHN’S, NL, September 28, 2023 – CBC, Insight Productions, and The Gurin Company today announced production details for the second season of the original reality competition format CANADA’S ULTIMATE CHALLENGE, with Canadian broadcaster Brandon Gonez on board to host. Shooting this September and October, CANADA’S ULTIMATE CHALLENGE (7x60) turns the entire country into a giant obstacle course with challenges taking place from coast-to-coast. Kicking off in St. John’s, Newfoundland, the series is set to premiere on CBC Gem and CBC in 2024. More details, including the Players and locations, will be announced in the coming months.
“We’re delighted that Brandon has joined the team– he’s a total pro,” said John Brunton, Chair and CEO of Insight Productions. “His interview skills and live broadcast experience combine perfectly to connect viewers right to the heart of the competition. We know that audiences really want to get to know the Players – who they are and what drives them to win. This season viewers will see more of those stories and be blown away by the epic challenges that showcase the astonishing beauty of Canada.”
“This is the job of a lifetime – I get to travel across this country that I love and see the transformation of iconic locations into epic challenges that will test the limits of this new crop of Players,”said Brandon Gonez, Host, Canada’s Ultimate Challenge.
Each episode of CANADA’S ULTIMATE CHALLENGE takes place at an awe-inspiring location where the Players – 20 people from across the country competing in teams of four – compete in spectacular team challenges that put their skills to the test.
Brandon Gonez Bio
Brandon Gonez is one of the country’s most beloved broadcasters and the CEO/Founder of Gonez Media (GMI), Canada's fastest-growing online news and entertainment company. Prior to the launch of GMI, Gonez was a reporter and anchor at CP24 and Your Morning and began his career in Northwest British Columbia as a video journalist for CFTK-TV News. Born in Toronto and raised in Brampton, ON, Gonez is a graduate of York University with a B.A. in Communications and has a certificate in Television and Radio broadcasting from Seneca College.
Commissioned by CBC, CANADA’S ULTIMATE CHALLENGE is executive produced by Erin Brock, John Brunton, Mark Lysakowski, and Jeff Thrasher for Insight Productions (A Boat Rocker Company) and Phil Gurin for The Gurin Company. For CBC, Sally Catto is General Manager, Entertainment, Factual & Sports; Jennifer Dettman is Executive Director, Unscripted Content; and Ann-Marie Redmond is Executive in Charge of Production. The format was co-created by CBC and The Gurin Company. International format rights are handled by TGC Global Entertainment.
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About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster. Through our mandate to inform, enlighten and entertain, we play a central role in strengthening Canadian culture. As Canada’s trusted news source, we offer a uniquely Canadian perspective on news, current affairs and world affairs. Our distinctively homegrown entertainment programming draws audiences from across the country. Deeply rooted in communities, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. We also deliver content in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Punjabi and Tagalog, as well as both official languages, through Radio Canada International (RCI). We are leading the transformation to meet the needs of Canadians in a digital world.
About Insight Productions (A Boat Rocker Company)
Insight Productions is known for its award-winning ratings juggernauts and is Canada’s most established content producer and an industry leader in the development, financing, and production of hit programming. The company has created some of the most dynamic and top-rated programs including The Amazing Race Canada (the most watched Canadian show on record), Big Brother Canada, Stronger Together/Tous Ensemble, Canada’s New Year’s Eve: Countdown, and The Tragically Hip: A National Celebration, a live concert special on CBC watched by one in three Canadians. Insight has also collaborated with the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation as executive producers on Every Child Matters: Reconciliation Through Education and National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. Insight Productions was founded in 1979 and has since created thousands of hours of ground-breaking content. For more information on Insight Productions, please visit www.insighttv.com or on Twitter @insightprod or Facebook at www.facebook.com/InsightProductions
About The Gurin Company
With the world as its market, The Gurin Company is one of the leading independent creators, producers and distributors of non-scripted television, focusing on entertainment, game shows, live events and factual formats. The Gurin Company is led by award-winning Producer/Writer/Creator Phil Gurin, who has won four Prime Time Emmy Awards as an Executive Producer on ABC’s Shark Tank, and an international Rose d’Or (Golden Rose) for the comedy game show Oh Sit!, which he co-created for The CW. His The Singing Bee (NBC/CMT) is one of the Top 30 most produced original formats in the world. He has also produced and written over 3000 hours of television that have been seen in more than 185 countries, and many other formats, including Fridge Wars (CBC, CW and Sat.1), Weakest Link, Lingo, Test The Nation, Candid Camera, Double Dare, Remote Control, Your Chance To Dance, Wanna Bet?, All-New 3’s A Crowd, Make The Grade, Win Lose or Pawn, So You Think You’d Survive, FOX’s New Year’s Eve Live, Women Rock, US Olympic Hall of Fame, KISS: Live, Miss America, Miss Teen USA, Miss USA and Miss Universe. Gurin has Executive Produced 9 NAACP Image Awards and he recently Executive Produced Friday Night Vibes with Tiffany Haddish and Deon Cole for TBS, and Honoring Our Kings: A Celebration of Black Fatherhood starring Oprah Winfrey and Sterling K. Brown for OWN. Gurin is also Co-Chair of FRAPA and serves on the Board of NATPE. He speaks, moderates panels and writes frequently about the world of formats and the international television business.
Media Contacts
Gabrielle Free (for Insight Productions)
416-220-0201
Joanna Landsberg (for CBC)
647-628-4788
