A new reality competition television show starring pottery and ceramics, guest-judged and executive produced by Seth Rogen, debuted yesterday on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
Titled The Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down, the show features 10 amateur potters in weekly challenges, testing their skill and techniques, to determine the eventual winner. Canadian actress Jennifer Robertson is the host. Ceramicists Brendan Tang and Natalie Waddell serve as judges.
Tang, an accomplished multidisciplinary artist, was shortlisted for the Sobey Art Prize and was a finalist in the Loewe Foundation’s International Craft Prize; museums that hold his work include the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and the Seattle Art Museum.
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Waddell is a ceramic artist and educator based in Toronto who completed the Sheridan College Ceramic Craft and Design program in 2003.
Prior to The Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down, Rogen’s interest in ceramics became such a phenomenon that it prompted a profile in the New York Times in 2021. The feature detailed how Rogen developed his affinity for pottery during the pandemic, “posting endless photos of colorfully whimsical vases, soap dispensers and ashtrays” to his legion of Instagram followers (now 10.9 million). A ceramic ashtray was one of the first offerings from his company, Houseplant, which offers a range of home goods, including candles, vases, and sake sets that Rogen designed.
The Dumb Money and Freaks and Geeks star was introduced to clay through his wife, Lauren Miller Rogen, who signed him up for classes. By 2021 Rogen had three pottery wheels and two kilns in his garage studio, and even invited friends over to work on larger pieces.
Robertson told the CBC that Rogen even worked on pieces in between takes of the new show and used a blowtorch to dry them.
The show’s format follows that of The Great Pottery Throw Down, which was originally created and owned by the same British production company behind The Great British Baking Show.
Americans hoping to see the show will have to wait for now. A spokesperson told ARTnews, “the Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down is only available in Canada on CBC TV and CBC Gem.”