‘Big Brother Canada,’ host Arisa Cox picks up Canadian Screen Awards nominations

Since “Big Brother Canada” is not set to premiere on Slice until early March, we are still in that anxious time where we are forced to sit around and wait to see what some sort of houseguests are thrown into this crazy experience. Know this: There will be twists, there will probably be tears, and someone is probably going to do something they regret later.

Luckily, there is still some great “Big Brother Canada” news to report this week when it comes to the 2014 Canadian Screen Awards! Not only was the show nominated for Cross-Platform Project, Nonfiction (thank the integration of the live feeds and the social-media team for that) and for Art Direction for its “Evil Dead”-themed challenge, but host Arisa Cox picked up a hosting nod for her role in the season finale.

As someone who was there in the audience for the “Big Brother Canada” finale, we can tell you that it was about five times more insane than you even saw at home the moment that it was revealed that Topaz voted for the wrong person to win. It would have been very easy for the entire production to go completely off the rails if there was a different host or production involved, since you had to deal with not only pressure from the contestants, but also a confused, emotional studio audience. But Arisa kept her cool, reiterated the rules, and told Topaz that there was nothing that could be done in a way that was firm, but also respectful and fair. Looking back on it, the show handled it in really the only way that they could have, and they did a good job not exploiting Topaz or making her feel awful for making a mistake.

This awards ceremony is going to air on Sunday, March 9 on CBC, and the irony here is that it wouldn’t shock us if it actually competes with a new “Big Brother Canada” episode. Martin Short will serve as the host for the gala, which is going to be held at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto.

So congrats to both the show and to Arisa, and we cannot wait for “Big Brother Canada” season 2 to start!