It鈥檚 showtime.

The Hope episode of Still Standing will kick off the show鈥檚 seventh season on Jan. 5.

Host Jonny Harris and crew were in town this summer, spending time meeting with locals and exploring the area. At the end of the trip, they put on a live show for a select audience. The resulting episode will air on CBC at 8 p.m., and is also available on their app, CBC Gem.

鈥淟ocals like to say that 鈥渁ll roads lead to Hope,鈥� says the advertisement for the episode. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a place to gas up and a place to 鈥榞o,鈥� but locals want it to be known that the town is more than just a place to pee 鈥� it鈥檚 a place to be.鈥�

The seventh season was shot amid a pandemic and will cover nine towns from coast to coast. After the sixth season, the show was put on hold while the country grappled with the pandemic in early 2020.

鈥淚t was heartbreaking to have to put our production on hold,鈥� a message on the Still Standing website says. 鈥淏ut the safety of our crew and the incredible people we visit was paramount. After months of monitoring the situation and carefully re-imagining how we produce the show, we were proud to be able to recommence production with COVID-19 safety as our central focus.鈥�

Hope was the first town to have the crew visit. Film sets have had strict regulations during the pandemic, including Still Standing. They practised physical distancing, daily screenings and testings before, during and after each block of filming.

Guests to the shows had to complete a COVID-19 screening and were seated in physically distanced cohorts, and host Harris did not meet fans after the live shows.

鈥淲e want to thank everyone who worked with us to re-learn how to make a show in the middle of a pandemic, and to you, our audience, for waiting a little bit longer for a new season while we figured it all out,鈥� they said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e thrilled to finally be able to safely share Season 7 of Still Standing.鈥�

Two years ago, Still Standing was shot in Harrison Hot Springs.

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