Ken Finkleman

Ken Finkleman is a Canadian filmmaker, writer, and actor known for his contributions to television and film. Finkleman is notably recognized for creating and starring in the satirical television series "The Newsroom." The show, which aired in the 1990s, offered a sharp and humorous critique of the media industry and gained critical acclaim for its incisive commentary. His work extends beyond "The Newsroom" series. Finkleman has been involved in various film and television projects, showcasing his talents as a writer, director, and actor. He often brings a satirical and thought-provoking approach to his work, addressing societal and cultural themes with wit and insight.

Works

An American Dream: The Education of William Bowman

William Bowman is a small town boy with small town dreams. And like any average teenager, when approached with the subject of his future, Bowman would often retreat into the safe recesses of his mind. When a concussion seemingly sends William to an uncertain future, what follows is a series of hilarious capers from William’s status as an average teenager to a nationwide media phenomenon. Is William a product of bad luck? Good luck? Or is his future subject to miracles and unlikely circumstances?

Release Date:2016-12-01

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:2

Good God

Good God is a Canadian television comedy-drama series which premiered in April 2012 on HBO Canada. The show follows the life of character George Findlay, a role that Ken Finkleman reprised from The Newsroom and subsequent television projects. The series was originally slated to be the second season of Finkleman's previous HBO Canada project Good Dog, but was retitled in accordance with a change in the show's setting. The show was described in early media coverage as having been inspired in part by the launch of Sun News Network. In the show's first episode, for example, Findlay is forced to respond to allegations that his new venture is aspiring to be "Fox News North", an epithet which the real Sun News Network also faced both before and after its launch. The series was nominated for several awards at the 2013 Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Comedy Series, Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for Jason Weinberg and Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series nods for both Samantha Bee and Jud Tylor.

Release Date:2012-04-09

Department:Creator

Job:Creator

Character:George Findlay

Episode Count:[ 10 ]

Vote Count:1

Good Dog

Award-winning writer and producer Ken Finkleman (The Newsroom) returns to television in Good Dog, his highly anticipated new comedy. Starring Finkleman and Lauren Lee Smith (CSI; The L Word), the sharply ironic series focuses on the life of George, a self-absorbed, neurotic TV producer. After hooking up with Claire, a gorgeous model half his age, George negotiates his new reality dating a younger woman by pitching a reality show about his high concept, highly coveted, seriously volatile life. But when network executives insist that Claire move into his house, George is forced to escalate the relationship and consequently, his fears of commitment. When the pitch and his life go sideways, he frets, vents and reevaluates by soliciting questionable advice from his best friend Doug (Jason Weinberg).

Release Date:2011-03-06

Department:Production

Job:Executive Producer

Character:George

Episode Count:13

Vote Count:1

At the Hotel

At the Hotel is a Canadian drama-comedy-musical mini-series concerning the goings-on at an illustrious Montreal hotel, known for its favourable treatment of struggling artists. Created by Ken Finkleman and produced by One Hundred Percent Television, the series aired on CBC Television in 2006. The music is composed by Robert Carli. This is the only Ken Finkleman production in which he did not cast himself as a character. He does however make a very brief on-screen appearance as a member of the crew shooting a music video in the hotel.

Release Date:2006-03-07

Department:Creator

Job:Creator

Escape from the Newsroom

It's a strange movie that you have to watch beginning to end, or you'll find yourself completely lost. Based on the Toronto-made TV series "Newsroom," this made-for-TV movie has many well-recognized Canadian actors and comedians. It's a modest comedy that has its "short chuckle of laughter" moments, but the real highlight is similar to the highlight of 12 Angry Men. They obviously endeavoured to make the acting look as real and natural as possible when making this show, and most of the entertainment comes from listening in on their conversations and being convinced by the good acting. This is the similarity to 12 Angry Men.

Release Date:2002-10-28

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Character:George Findlay

Vote Count:3

Foolish Heart

Foolish Heart was a Canadian television series, which aired on CBC Television in 1999. The series, a short run dramatic anthology, was produced and written by Ken Finkleman following his earlier series The Newsroom and More Tears. Although the episodes were linked by character interactions, each of the series' six episodes focused on a different character's family or romantic relationship problems. Finkleman also starred in the series as George Findlay, the same character he had played in The Newsroom and More Tears. The series won Finkleman a 1999 Gemini Award for Best Direction in a Dramatic Series. The cast also included Arsinée Khanjian, Sarah Strange, Tom McCamus, Nancy Beatty and Patricia O'Callaghan. Finkleman's next project for the CBC was the series Foreign Objects.

Release Date:1999-03-03

Episode Count:6

Vote Count:1

More Tears

More Tears is a seriocomedy television series that was broadcast by CBC Television, as a short run programme; it was written and produced by Ken Finkleman following the success of The Newsroom, and was partly a remake of 8½, by Federico Fellini. As in The Newsroom, George Findlay is the protagonist of More Tears, as a documentary producer, who manipulated his subjects in order to create better television drama. In the final installment, Findlay abandoned the documentary form to film a satire of the neo-conservative government of Mike Harris, the Premier of Ontario. The programme also explored the personal life of George Findlay, his unhappy marriage, and his unhappy extra-marital affairs. The cast of More Tears also included Hrant Alianak, Yank Azman, Arsinée Khanjian, Leah Pinsent, Evan Solomon, and Kenny Vadas. Finkleman's next project for the CBC was the series Foolish Heart.

Release Date:1998-03-30

Episode Count:4

The Newsroom

The tumultuous TV newsroom world of overbearing regional news director George Findlay, who is solely motivated by casualty statistics which will improve his ratings.

Release Date:1996-10-21

Department:Production

Job:Producer

Character:George Findlay

Episode Count:32

Vote Count:2

Married Life: The Movie

This satiric comedy concerns a documentary filmmaker (Ken Finkleman) who has brought a camera crew into the home of a typical couple (Robert Cait and Karen Hines) to record the drama of their daily lives. However, the filmmaker soon discovers their daily lives aren't especially interesting, and soon he finds himself deliberately throwing chaos into their path in hopes of making for a more exciting movie. Married Life: The Movie was originally produced as a weekly television series, with four episodes re-edited into this feature; the show's director and star, Ken Finkleman, later went on to create the award-winning Canadian sitcom The Newsroom.

Release Date:1994-01-01

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Character:

Illegally Yours

Called up for jury duty, Richard Dice finds his first crush and only real, but unrequited love, on trial for murder. Richard desperately tries to prove Mollys innocence while untangling a complicated web of murder, blackmail and perjury, and still trying to win over the girl of his dreams.

Release Date:1988-05-13

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Vote Count:14

Who's That Girl

An uptight New York tax lawyer gets his life turned upside down, all in a single day, when he's asked to escort a feisty and free-spirited female ex-convict whom asks him to help prove her innocence of her crime.

Release Date:1987-08-07

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Vote Count:229

Head Office

In this comic take on big-business wheelings and dealings, an ambitious senator's son moves up the corporate ladder through undeserved promotions. But against his better judgment, he falls for a woman (the chairman's daughter, no less) who's leading a protest against the company's shady business practices.

Release Date:1985-06-06

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:28

Airplane II: The Sequel

A faulty computer causes a passenger space shuttle to head straight for the sun, and man-with-a-past Ted Striker must save the day and get the shuttle back on track – again – all the while trying to patch up his relationship with Elaine.

Release Date:1982-12-10

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Vote Count:1116

Callahan

Indiana Jones spoof, an unsold pilot. Callahan and his new assistant try to solve the world's problems through science.

Release Date:1982-09-09

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Grease 2

It's 1961, two years after the original Grease gang graduated, and there's a new crop of seniors and new members of the coolest cliques on campus, the Pink Ladies and T-Birds. Michael Carrington is the new kid in school - but he's been branded a brainiac. Can he fix up an old motorcycle, don a leather jacket, avoid a rumble with the leader of the T-Birds, and win the heart of Pink Lady Stephanie?

Release Date:1982-06-11

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Vote Count:682

1980

Unseen for decades, 1980 is Ken Finkleman and Rick Moranis’ enormously funny CBC pilot that was way ahead of its time. A send up of a current-affairs show, 1980 pokes fun at subjects ranging from the current state of the Canadian film industry, academics, the student radicals of the 60s to Hollywood depictions of the Holocaust. Steven Kampmann stars along with Finkleman and Moranis. Also featuring Toronto salesman Phil Givner, Andrew Gilles, Caroline Yeager and the late comedy producer, Joe Bodolai. 1980 shown courtesy of CBC.

Release Date:1979-12-31

Department:Directing

Job:Director

Character:

Van Dyke and Company

Short-lived variety show starring Dick Van Dyke and assorted guests. The show was best known for Dick's pantomime acting and a recurring skit about the dumbest family in the world, coincidently named "The Bright Family". Van Dyke & Co also featured appearances by the Los Angeles Mime Company.

Release Date:1975-10-30

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Episode Count:12

Vote Count:1

There's a Bone in the Mill

Two unemployed actors accept what they believe to be an acting job from a wealthy man without realizing that he needs two real private detectives.

Release Date:1974-06-20

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Vote Count:7