Barris and Company was a Canadian

Television in Canada

Television in Canada officially began with the opening of the nation's first television stations in Montreal and Toronto in 1952. As with most media in Canada, the television industry, and the television programming available in that country, are strongly influenced by the American media, perhaps...

 variety and talk television series which aired on CBC Television

CBC Television

CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...

 from 1968 to 1969.

Premise

Host Alex Barris

Alex Barris

Alex Paul Barris, CM was an American-born Canadian television actor and writer. He was a writer and panelist for the game show Front Page Challenge. He was born in New York City. He was 81 when he died due to complications from a stroke he suffered a year earlier.Alex Barris left behind a wife and...

 conducted this live variety broadcast following CBC's hockey games. Alex Trebek

Alex Trebek

George Alexander "Alex" Trebek is a Canadian American game show host who has been the host of the game show Jeopardy! since 1984, and prior to that, he hosted game shows such as Pitfall and High Rollers. He has appeared in numerous television series, usually as himself...

 was Barris' partner, replaced later on the series run by Janet Baird.

Production

The initial producer, Stan Jacobson, left the series for work in Hollywood during the series run and was replaced by Bob Jarvis. Initial writers Lorne Michaels

Lorne Michaels

Lorne Michaels, CM is a Canadian-American television producer, writer, and comedian best known for creating and producing Saturday Night Live and producing the various film and TV projects that spun off from it.-Early life:...

 and Hart Pomerantz

Hart Pomerantz

Hart Pomerantz is a Canadian lawyer and television personality, best known for his collaboration with Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels in The Hart and Lorne Terrific Hour....

 also left mid-series for California. Guido Basso

Guido Basso

Guido Basso, CM is a jazz musician from Montreal. He started playing the trumpet when he was nine. Settling in Toronto in 1960, he became a studio trumpeter. He also occasionally played harmonica in-studio. In 1963, he became a music director for CBLT, a post he held until 1967...

 led the show's band.

Scheduling

The half-hour series aired Saturdays at approximately 10:30 p.m. following Hockey Night in Canada

Hockey Night in Canada

Hockey Night in Canada is the branding used for CBC Sports' presentations of the National Hockey League...

from 21 September 1968 to 25 January 1969. The cancellation followed poor critical reviews, substantial turnover of writing and production staff and other complications such as pre-emptions due to the 1968 Summer Olympics

1968 Summer Olympics

The 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Mexico City, Mexico in October 1968. The 1968 Games were the first Olympic Games hosted by a developing country, and the first Games hosted by a Spanish-speaking country...

broadcasts.