The More, The Mary-er! Energetic Host Spreads Her Wings Even Further as THE GOOD STUFF WITH MARY BERG Premieres

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede Mary Berg’s apparent quest to have zero spare time reaches new heights on Tuesday, Sept. 5, with the premiere of CTV’s THE GOOD STUFF WITH MARY BERG at 10 a.m. ET on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app. That’s also the date that Season 3 of Berg’s cooking series MARY MAKES IT EASY debuts, at 8 p.m. ET on CTV Life Channel. Berg’s work ethic is unquestioned, but on top of everything else she’s doing, does she realize that THE GOOD STUFF WITH MARY BERG is a daily show, Monday to Friday? “I do!” Berg replied with a big laugh. “Yes, I know it’s a daily show! And I’m honestly very thrilled about it. On MARY MAKES IT EASY, we take a full day to film a 30-minute episode, but THE GOOD STUFF WITH MARY BERG is an hour-long TV show, every single day. I’m so honoured to work with the team we have. They are so good. They are all veterans in making daily lifestyle shows for Canada, so I’m truly in the best hands, and I’m excited to do my best to make them proud.” Berg, of course, is a multiple Canadian Screen Award winner who first became known to the public through her win in Season 3 of MASTERCHEF CANADA. Her bubbly personality and culinary skills have been on display through cooking series, books, podcasts, and more, but philosophically speaking, what does a daytime Mary Berg television show look like? “Well, part of it is based in the kitchen – we know that, obviously – but there’s going to be more, lots more,” Berg said. “I think philosophically, when we first started talking about this, about the hook, or I guess the vibe of it, we kept coming back to the word ‘full.’ Whether that’s small scale, someone doing something in their hometown to make lunches for kids, to authors and big names and politicians who are kind of making more broad changes, I want to offer an hour of just good TV that’ll fill you up at the end. Maybe we’re going to try something new, and I’m going to be with you the whole time. Because I want to try new things, too. I hope I make a fool of myself every once in a while on this show.” Berg’s version of “making a fool of herself” surely will always come with a smile. “Sometimes we pigeonhole ourselves, or we box ourselves off into whoever we are, or whatever we like, and sometimes that means not branching out to try or learn a new thing,” Berg explained. “But I think one of the biggest joys in life is trying something new. Maybe you’re not going to be great at it the first time. Maybe you’ll love it, maybe you’ll hate it. But at least you found something out. You tried. I’m a lifelong trier. And I truly think that’s what makes days better, giving something the ol’ go.” The trial-and-error aspect of “giving something the ol’ go” often makes for the best TV. “Maybe we can make someone feel more comfortable making that little mistake,” Berg said. “I love it when we keep in the mistakes I make on MARY MAKES IT EASY. And I’ve been a guest expert on shows such as THE MARILYN DENIS SHOW, when I almost burned down the studio making a grilled cheese sandwich. It was kept in, and I think that’s so good. Because that’s life. It’s messy. We make mistakes. It doesn’t have to be perfect. We just should try.” So you got the job on THE GOOD STUFF WITH MARY BERG even after “grilled cheese sandwich-gate?” “I feel like their insurance is going to go through the roof,” Berg admitted. Finally, with the whirlwind of her career over the past seven years, and as she embarks upon her biggest project yet with THE GOOD STUFF WITH MARY BERG, does Berg – despite being so busy – ever get the chance to step back and just sort of say to herself, “what the heck? How has all this happened?” “I have little moments,” she said. “Every few days, a little giggle escapes me. You get kind of shocked by it. There is a lot going on, and I love working hard on all of it, but I allow myself those little moments that are just for me. I think back to when I was 19 or 20 in university, wondering what I was going to do when I grew up, and being nervous. What if it’s not right? I always wished … I’m getting a little welled up … but I always wished that I could see 10 years into the future, to see if I was just happy, or doing something that was fulfilling. And now, finally being here, I count myself so lucky that I get to do something that makes me feel full. That’s what I want to help other people do.” billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv