After eight weeks of fiery competition featuring some of Canada’s most talented amateur potters, Stonewall, Manitoba’s Jen Sonnenberg was announced as the winner of THE GREAT CANADIAN POTTERY THROW DOWN during an intense finale broadcast nationwide on CBC last night. Seth Rogen returned to the Granville Island studio to guest judge the finale alongside series judges Natalie Waddell and Brendan Tang, who determined that Sonnenberg had earned the top spot against runner-up competitors Kiefer Floreal from Winnipeg, Manitoba and Fredericton, New Brunswick’s Elsa Valinas. The first season of THE GREAT CANADIAN POTTERY THROW DOWN, including the finale episode is available to stream now on CBC Gem.
For the grand finale, the judges asked the three remaining ceramicists to create a tea set that demonstrated their pottery prowess and experience. For their final second throw down challenge, accuracy and speed were put to the test when the judges asked the potters to create identical bowls within a set time. Throughout the eight weeks and 16 challenges presented on THE GREAT CANADIAN POTTERY THROW DOWN, Sonnenberg was named Potter of the Week twice and won five of the second throw down challenges (including last night’s final second throw down challenge). When she was announced as the grand prize winner, Seth Rogen presented Sonnenberg with a ceramic crown that he had made himself to officially seal the honour.
Hailing from Stonewall, Manitoba, Jen Sonnenberg is a substitute teacher, hockey coach and mother of two boys. She has 15 years of experience as a potter, taking her first pottery class at the University of Manitoba. She aims to create a sustainable pottery practice one day, as well as teach pottery classes and sell her pieces.
Hosted by actor and comedian Jennifer Robertson (Schitt’s Creek, Ginny & Georgia), THE GREAT CANADIAN POTTERY THROW DOWN is filmed in the former Emily Carr College of Art and Design building on Vancouver’s Granville Island. The competition series sees potters from across the country facing creative challenges that test their skill and technique, with one ceramicist eliminated by the judges each week. Seth Rogen, award-winning actor, producer, director, and co-founder of Houseplant, serves as a guest judge and an executive producer alongside the series judges: Vancouver-based, award-winning artist and ceramics instructor Brendan Tang; and renowned ceramicist and educator Natalie Waddell from Toronto.
The Great Pottery Throw Down is a popular original British format originally created and owned by Love Productions, also behind the global smash-hit The Great British Baking Show. THE GREAT CANADIAN POTTERY THROW DOWN is a CBC original series produced by Frantic Films with the participation of Point Grey Pictures. For Frantic Films, Jamie Brown is CEO & Executive Producer and Stephanie Fast is President. For Point Grey Pictures, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver and Alex McAtee are Executive Producers. For CBC, Sally Catto is General Manager, Entertainment, Factual & Sports; Jennifer Dettman is Executive Director, Unscripted Content; and Susan Taylor is Executive in Charge of Production. The format is owned by Love Productions.
