Your Morning to focus on what’s trending
TORONTO — When CTV’s Your Morning debuts Monday, co-host Ben Mulroney hopes it will challenge viewers’ opinions of what is newsworthy — and of who he is.
“The definition of news to me is a little broader than the way some people have seen it in the past,” said Mulroney, who also co-hosts CTV’s entertainment program eTalk.
“And so I think we’re going to have a lot of fun playing with the notion of what is newsworthy and how can we tell those stories, and demonstrate to people that: ‘You might not think that #OscarsSoWhite was a story that mattered to you. Here’s why it matters to you, and here’s the impact of this sporting event or that fashion show.”’
He also hopes the show will help Canadians see a different side of him.
“I think there’s perhaps an assumption by some that what I do for a living perhaps defines the things that interest me, and that would be foolish. This is going to be a show that allows me to explore [other] interests and by extension, bring Canada along for the ride.”
Your Morning replaces Canada AM, which was abruptly pulled off the air with one day’s notice for viewers in June after a 43-season run.
Set at Bell Media’s downtown Toronto headquarters, it has a new set with windows that open up to the street.
Mulroney and Anne-Marie Mediwake will host alongside meteorologist Kelsey McEwen and anchors Lindsey Deluce and Melissa Grelo.
Mulroney will interview Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday’s première episode, a meeting of sons of former prime ministers.
Other guests in the first week include Toronto-born NBA player Tristan Thompson, Oscar-winning actor Emma Thompson and sportscaster Brian Williams.
“What I hope to be able to do for this show is bring something to Canadian morning television maybe that doesn’t exist right now,” said Mediwake, “and that is, to bring people the news the way that they consume it currently — so on more than one platform and on more than one topic.”
Mediwake said in their first week, each team member will be seen in pre-taped segments visiting a different place in Canada that’s significant to them.
“Viewers will be able to expect and appreciate that there will be news from their parts of Canada in Your Morning, because it’s part of your morning,” she said.
Mulroney said they’ll focus on the biggest trending story of the day, whether that’s hard or soft news or sports.
He’s looking “forward to showing Canadians that fun doesn’t necessarily mean frivolous, that you can have fun in the morning and still do serious work, just as they do on a lot of the American shows.”