JASMEET RAINA + SHAMIER ANDERSON + NICHOLAS BRAUN

MARK O'BRIEN + KEVIN HARDCASTLE

On the Saturday June 13, 2026 edition of The Richard Crouse Show we’ll meet award-winning actor, writer, and director Mark O’Brien. You know him as Des Courtney on Republic of Doyle and ambitious Deputy District Attorney Thomas Milligan on HBO’s Perry Mason. On the big screen he’s delivered standout performances in films like Arrival, Ready or Not, Marriage Story, and Goalie — for which he won a Canadian Screen Award. More recently, he’s been behind the camera with his acclaimed directorial debut The Righteous, and now his chilling new supernatural horror film The Voices of Our Mother, which he wrote, directed, and stars in. Then, we’ll meet Kevin Hardcastle, an award-winning Canadian author whose debut short story collection Debris won the Trillium Book Award and ReLit Award, while his first novel In the Cage established him as a powerful voice in contemporary fiction.  In his highly anticipated new novel County Road Six, Hardcastle delivers a taut, propulsive family drama about four O’Hare sisters forced to confront their violent father’s legacy and a long-buried secret on a decaying farmstead in rural Ontario.

KEVIN GILLIS + LINDSAY MERBAUM

On the Saturday June 6, 2026 edition of The Richard Crouse Show we’ll meet singer-songwriter, TV host, producer, director and composer Kevin Gillis, creator of the beloved and legendary animated show “The Raccoons.” He is ushering in a new era for the beloved franchise as its iconic music is released digitally for the first time. Last month, the original version of the beloved theme song “Run With Us,” performed by Lisa Lougheed, arrived on streaming services for the first time ever. This leads into the release this month of “Evergreen Nights,” the first full album in the collection, featuring newly remastered originals with fresh interpretations from contemporary artists as part of a larger, multi-phase expansion. “Evergreen Nights” is available now wherever you legally buy, download and stream music. Then, we’ll meet queer feminist author and high priestess of home mixology Lindsay Merbaum. She is an author and mixologist specializing in custom and themed drink recipes like the themed drinks she creates for her books! Today we talk ablout her new book, “Vampires at Sea,” which is a kind of an Anne Rice / Love Boat romp featuring two ageless vampires on a cruise.

MAGDALENA KAISER + ANDREW LOWNIE

On the Saturday May 30, 2026 edition of the Richard Crouse Show we meet Andrew Lownie, renowned royal biographer and literary agent. A Cambridge history graduate and President of the Union, Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and founder of the Andrew Lownie Literary Agency, he’s known for his meticulously researched biographies that have reshaped our understanding of key 20th-century figures. His previous works include the acclaimed Stalin’s Englishman on Guy Burgess, The Mountbattens, and Traitor King on Edward VIII. His latest book, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, is already being called one of the most explosive royal biographies in years. Today we’re talking about his latest book, “Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York,” a book The Times called, “A catalyst for Andrew’s de-princing.” It is first joint biography of the Duke and Duchess of York, that’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, and the first full biography of either of them. Chronicling their lives in parallel, the picture that emerges is of a spoilt prince unable to connect and a duchess pushed by her insecurities into a desperate need to maintain the attention her ‘royal’ status brought. Rigorously researched and packed full of revelations, this is a royal biography Camilla Long, writing in the Sunday Times called, “a case for revolution.” Then, we meet Niagara-based wine, food, and travel expert Magdalena Kaiser. Daughter of the late Karl Kaiser (co-founder of Inniskillin Wines), she grew up immersed in Ontario’s wine scene—starting with tours and tastings as a teen and even helping bottle wine at age five. She serves as Director of Public Relations for Wine Country Ontario (formerly Ontario VQA), where she has spent the past 15+ years elevating the region’s international profile through media, trade, and export initiatives. Today we talk about her new book “Niagara Wine + Food: Signature Recipes from Ontario’s Iconic Terroir—A Cookbook” which highlights the region's terroir, varietals, and unique features, and profiles 44 of the region's best and most promising producers alongside 88 delectable wine-pairing recipes featuring iconic wine styles from the region.

JESS GIBSON + NICK FRADIANI

On the Saturday May 16, 2026 edition of The Richard Crouse Show we’ll meet Jess Gibson. She is a Canadian-born writer (daughter of Margaret Atwood and the late Graeme Gibson), art historian with a Yale PhD, who has lived all over the world. Her first book "The Good Eye" is already generating buzz as a sharp, original, and "bewitching" debut. The stories explore themes like perception vs. reality, the limits of what we "see," betrayal, revenge, and everyday life tilting into the strange or magical. Then, we get to know Nick Fradiani. He rose to national fame in 2015 as the winner of Season 14 of American Idol. His debut album Hurricane featured the hit single “Beautiful Life,” and he has since built a thriving independent career with albums like Past My Past, multiple tours, and heartfelt original music. He is currently bringing Neil Diamond to life in A Beautiful Noise – The Neil Diamond Musical, now playing at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto until June 7. See Mirvish.com for more details.

JASMEET RAINA + SHAMIER ANDERSON + NICHOLAS BRAUN

On the Saturday May 9, 2026 edition of The Richard Crouse Show we meet YouTuber, actor, screenwriter, comedian, and musician Jasmeet Raina. His series “Late Bloomer,” a dramedy about a millennial Sikh content creator balancing online ambitions, family expectations, community pressures, and personal growth, is in its third season on Crave right now. Critics call it funny, heartfelt, and eye-opening. He rose to fame in the late 2000s/early 2010s on YouTube with sharp, satirical sketches about growing up in a Punjabi immigrant family in Guelph, Ontario. His irreverent humor on culture, family, and identity earned him millions of views and a loyal following but he stepped back from YouTube around 2018, to created, write, produce, and star in the semi-autobiographical “Late Bloomer.” Then, we’ll meet actor Shamier Anderson. He’s best known for roles like Deputy Marshal Xavier Dolls in Wynonna Earp, Trevante Cole in Invasion (Apple TV+), and the memorable Mr. Nobody / The Tracker in John Wick: Chapter 4. He’s also involved in initiatives supporting Black Canadian talent, like co-founding awards and events with his brother, actor Stephan James. Today we’re talking about how he made the switch from law enforcement to acting, studying kung fu and his latest role, playing controversial Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson. “Hate the Player: The Ben Johnson Story” is a satirical comedy miniseries for Paramount+ and GameTV that focuses on Johnson’s 1988 Seoul Olympics 100m gold medal win (and world record), the subsequent doping scandal that stripped him of it, and a “definitely-not-biased” retelling that explores the legacy, the pressure, and perhaps the bigger picture of athletics in that era. Finally, we spend some time with Nicholas Braun. You’ve seen him in supporting roles in films like “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” “How to Be Single” and “Zola,” although the  6'7" actor is best known as the awkward, ambitious Cousin Greg Hirsch on Crave’s “Succession,” a role that earned him three Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Today, we’re talking about his latest project, “The Sheep Detectives,” a new, all-star whodunnit comedy now playing in theatres, about a flock of sheep attempt to solve a murder mystery. You heard me right. This bizarre but crowd-pleasing murder mystery for the whole family that could have been titled “CSI: Livestock.” Murder, talking sheep and philosophy intertwine to create echoes of “Babe: A Pig in the City” and “Old Yeller.” Nicolas Braun plays Tim, the only, and rather clumsy, police officer in a small town, who investigates the murder of the local shepherd played by Hugh Jackman, as a flock of crime-solving sheep try to crack the case first.