What's On (Canadian TV program)
What's On (Traditional Chinese: 熒幕八爪娛) is a Canadian weekly half-hour infotainment TV program that airs on Fairchild TV.
| What's On 熒幕八爪娛 | |
|---|---|
 Title card of What's On, circa 2006. | |
| Presented by | see Past and current hosts |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Clarisa Tsun (Vancouver) Alice Ngan (Toronto) |
| Production location(s) | Vancouver, British Columbia; Toronto, Ontario |
| Running time | 30 minutes (including commercials) |
| Production company(s) | Fairchild TV |
| Distributor | Fairchild TV |
| Release | |
| Original network | Fairchild TV |
| Picture format | 480i (NTSC) |
| Original release | July 1, 1996 – present |
Format
Originally started in 1996, the program is currently the longest-running program in Fairchild Television history. What's On is a 30-minute informative program that introduces viewers to events happening in and around Vancouver, British Columbia and Toronto, Ontario. It also runs short interviews with local celebrities, politicians and social figures for events they are contributing to, as well as interviews with international celebrities as they arrive in the city to promote or to perform.
Originally, there were two versions of the program. The Vancouver version and Toronto version ran in the same time slot in their respective cities on Thursday nights at 10:00 p.m. while the version of the opposite city ran on Saturdays at 6:00 p.m. However, because of the CRTC's ruling requiring Fairchild TV to air the same programming throughout the country, the two programs combined into one in July 2001 with each city getting 15 minutes of airtime. This also meant the start of the "interactive" format of the program where the hosts from the two cities shared a brief interaction as the scenes change from one city to another.
In November 2002, Fairchild Television moved the program from its Thursday timeslot to its current Sunday at 7:30pm time.
Past and current hosts
What's On is seen as a training ground for a lot of Fairchild Television personalities. The following is a partial list of past and present hosts for the program:
| Host Name | Edition Hosted | Years Hosted |
|---|---|---|
| Eva Yang 楊宜文 | Vancouver | 1996–1998 |
| Walter Ngai 倪啟瑞 | Vancouver | 1996–1998 |
| Sunny Shum 岑恩鎏 | Toronto | 1997–2000 |
| Eric Li 李潤庭 | Vancouver | 1998–2002 |
| Millie Leung 梁敏賢 | Vancouver | 1998–2002 |
| Natalie Au 區念慈 | Vancouver | 1998–2003 |
| Prudence Yim 嚴峻 | Vancouver | 1999–2000 |
| Benny Yau 邱穟恆 | Vancouver | 2000–2002 |
| Leslie Tsang 曽穎妍 | Vancouver | 2000–2002 |
| Jackson Ho 何紹文 | Vancouver | 2000–2001 |
| Maggie Hou 侯佳慧 | Vancouver | 2001–2003 |
| Kenny Wong 黃子俊 | Vancouver | 2001–2003 |
| Anita Lee 李慧雅 | Toronto | 2001–2005 |
| Leo Siu 蕭嘉俊 | Toronto | 2001–2004, 2006–2007 |
| Joanne Kwan 關曉彤 | Toronto | 2001–2003 |
| Georgia Leung 梁耀寧 | Toronto | 2001–2004 |
| Jenny Pat 畢蕾蕾 | Vancouver | 2001–2002 |
| Janis Chan 陳貝兒 | Vancouver | 2002–2003 |
| Melody Liu 劉亮 | Vancouver | 2002–2003 |
| Clifton Kwan 關逸揚 | Vancouver | 2002–2003 |
| Jing Lu 盧婧 | Toronto | 2002–2004, 2010–present |
| Cleo Ng 吳嘉栩 | Toronto | 2003–2007 |
| June Tang 鄧芷茵 | Toronto | 2003–2008 |
| Johnson Cheung 張立熙 | Toronto | 2003–2005 |
| Cindy Cheung 張瑋恩 | Vancouver | 2003–2006 |
| Sandy Cheung 張梓欣 | Vancouver | 2003–present |
| Eunice Ho 何詠雯 | Vancouver | 2003–2006 |
| Caroline Chang 張雅淇 | Vancouver / Toronto | 2003–2006 |
| Kenneth Lau 劉家逸 | Vancouver | 2004–present |
| Ming Fai Lee 李明輝 | Vancouver | 2004–2008 |
| Aimee Chan 陳茵媺 | Toronto | 2004–2005 |
| Janet Chow 周家蔚 | Toronto | 2004–2006 |
| Thomas Chong 莊子軒 | Toronto | 2005–present |
| Jessica Cheung 張葆頤 | Vancouver | 2006–present |
| Kayi Cheung 張嘉兒 | Vancouver | 2006–2007 |
| Susan Wong 黃潔華 | Vancouver | 2006–2007 |
| Sunny Chan 陳星南 | Vancouver | 2006–2008 |
| Daryl Doo 杜光庭 | Toronto | 2006–2007 |
| Elva Ni 倪晨曦 | Toronto | 2006–2009 |
| Belinda Yan 顏子菲 | Toronto | 2006–2009 |
| Caroline Khuu 丘嘉玲 | Toronto | 2007–2009, 2011–present |
| Ivy Hou 侯薔薔 | Toronto | 2007–2009 |
| Susanna Chan 陳銘莉 | Toronto | 2007–2010 |
| Alan Ho 何偉圖 | Toronto | 2007–present |
| Amy So 蘇家慧 | Vancouver | 2007–2008 |
| Ca Lee Mo 毛嘉利 | Vancouver | 2007–present |
| Rikko Lee 李靄璣 | Vancouver | 2007–2008 |
| Brian Chan 陳本岡 | Vancouver | 2008–present |
| Cherry Kwok 郭鈺淳 | Vancouver | 2008–present |
| Gary Yan 甄嘉亮 | Vancouver | 2008–present |
| Jackie Tse 謝展基 | Vancouver | 2008–present |
| Vincent 阿晨 | Vancouver | 2008–2009 |
| Bernard Siu 蕭康迪 | Toronto | 2008–present |
| Cleone Ip 葉小寒 | Toronto | 2009–present |
| June Ng 吳珮如 | Toronto | 2010–present |
| Angel Wang 王倩 | Toronto | 2010–present |
| Cecilia Xu 徐顯雅 | Toronto | 2010–present |
| Kelly Tai 戴昭彤 | Toronto | 2010–present |
| Natalie Wong 黃煦齡 | Toronto | 2010–present |
| Jerry Lau 劉致理 | Toronto | 2010–present |
| Carat Cheung 張名雅 | Vancouver | 2010–present |
| Hilary Tam 譚曉榆 | Toronto | 2011–2012 |
| Wendy Wen 全家欣 | Toronto | 2011–present |
What's On alumni
- Eva Yang 楊宜文 was a popular television presenter for Fairchild Television, hosting another long-running talk show Leisure Talk, until late 2006, when she left the station. She also hosted the annual Miss Chinese (Vancouver) Pageant for several years.
- Walter Ngai 倪啟瑞 went on to become a Promotional Executive for Fairchild Television until 2002, when he returned to Hong Kong and is now working for Metro Broadcast Corporation Limited.
- Eric Li 李潤庭 returned to Hong Kong and became a news anchor for Asia Television and more recently, Cable TV Hong Kong.
- Benny Yau 邱穟恆 continues to host various programs for Fairchild Television including New Talent Singing Awards Vancouver Audition.
- Maggie Hou 侯佳慧 returned to Hong Kong and is now a presenter for Hong Kong TVB's entertainment news channel.
- Johnson Cheung 張立熙 has since returned to Hong Kong and has won awards from various singing competitions.
- Kenny Wong 黃子俊 returned to Hong Kong and is now a TV presenter for Cable TV Hong Kong's entertainment channel.
- Anita Lee 李慧雅 currently co-hosts the Toronto leg of Leisure Talk for Fairchild Television.
- Leo Siu 蕭嘉俊 returned to Hong Kong and is presenter for Hong Kong TVB's entertainment news channel in 2005. He returned to Toronto in 2007 and is currently hosting Toronto leg of Leisure Talk.
- Janis Chan 陳貝兒 returned to Hong Kong and is now a TV presenter for Cable TV Hong Kong's entertainment channel.
- Aimee Chan 陳茵媺 returned to Hong Kong to enter the Miss Hong Kong Pageant 2006 where she won the crown, Miss International Goodwill, and Audience Favorite.
- Janet Chow 周家蔚 entered the Miss Hong Kong Pageant 2006 as an overseas contestant from Toronto and garnered the first runner-up title.
- June Tang 鄧芷茵 returned to Hong Kong to become a singer in 2009.
- Eunice Ho 何詠雯 became a Promotion Executive for the station until March 2006. She is currently a presenter for Hong Kong TVB's entertainment news channel.
- Kayi Cheung 張嘉兒 entered the Miss Hong Kong Pageant 2007 as an overseas contestant from Vancouver and won the crown and garnered the Miss Energetic Award.
- Sandy Cheung 張梓欣 currently hosts the Vancouver leg of Leisure Talk for Fairchild Television. However, in 2008, she resumed hosting What's On again.
- Rikko Lee 李靄璣 is currently signed to TVB as an artist and was a reporter for the 2008 Summer Olympics.
- Daryl Doo 杜光庭 is currently working at Commercial Radio Hong Kong (CRHK) as a radio program host.
Special segments
Whenever Fairchild TV has a major event coming up such as the annual New Talent Singing Awards Vancouver Audition (NTSA Vancouver) or the Miss Chinese (Vancouver) Pageant (MCV), What's On will run special segments within the program over several weeks to feature the event as a preview to the event. Sometimes, a company would sponsor a segment to be aired during "What's On". These segments usually feature one or two hosts which may or may not be the regular What's On presenters at that time. Some notable past segments include:
- "Why is Mexico So Much Fun? (點解墨西哥咁好玩)"
- Number of episodes: 6 episodes
- Airdates: February 2002 - March 2002
- Hosted by: Dominic Lam 林嘉華 and Jacqueline Ko 高惠鈱
- "Beautiful Episode (芳華集)" preview of MCV 2002; MCV 2003
- Number of episodes: 6 - 8 episodes
- Airdates: October 2002 - December 2002; November 2003 - December 2003
- Hosted by: Kenny Wong 黃子俊
- "The Tale of Finding New Talents (尋找新丁的故事)"preview of NTSA Vancouver 2005
- Number of episodes: 11 episodes
- Airdates: May 2005 - July 2005
- Hosted by: Kenneth Lau 劉家逸 ( as Inspector Octopus (八爪神探) )
- "Pure Beauty Premiere (純美搜影)" preview of MCV 2005; MCV 2006; MCV 2007
- Number of episodes: 6 - 8 episodes
- Airdates: October - December 2005, 2006, 2007
- Hosted by: Jessica Cheung 張葆頤 (2005); Kayi Cheung 張嘉兒 (2006); Natalie Zhang 張譯文 (2007)
- "Mr. Sing Searches for Stars (Sing仔尋星)" preview of NTSA Vancouver 2006
- Number of episodes: 5 episodes
- Airdates: June 2006 - July 2006
- Hosted by: Benny Yau 邱穟恆 ( as Mr. Sing (Sing仔) )
- "Tips for Winter Driving (冬日駕駛錦囊)"
- Number of episodes: 10 episodes
- Airdates: October 2006 - December 2006
- Hosted by: Daryl Doo 杜光庭
- "Dou Dou Diary (豆豆日記)" preview of NTSA Vancouver 2007
- Number of episodes: 7 episodes
- Airdates: May 2006 - July 2006
- Hosted by: Sunny Chan 陳星南 ( as Dou Dou (豆豆) )