TV criticized as far from colour-blind

There are still barriers to people of different ethnicities and racial backgrounds getting roles on TV, according to two people involved in casting for Canadian programs. "Network television has such a long way to go in terms of actually reflecting the lives of people who are not white male-female between the ages of 18 and 34," Floyd Kane, a vice-president at Halifax Films, said in an interview with CBC's cultural affairs show Q. "Most of the leads, if not all of the leads, on the major network shows fit into that demographic," said Kane, who is producing a drama for Vision TV with an all-black cast. Jenny Lewis, a Toronto casting director in Toronto who has found actors for TV projects including Fringe, Falcon Beach and Cheaters, says networks are calling for greater diversity. American network NBC recently hosted an open... [read full story]