California prosecutors have dismissed felony domestic violence charges against Justin Roiland, co-creator of the animated comedy Rick and Morty, almost two months after he was dropped from the show.

“We dismissed the charges today because there was insufficient evidence to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt,” said Orange County district attorney’s spokeswoman Kimberly Edds on Wednesday.

Roiland, 43, was facing one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury and one felony count of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud or deceit in connection with an alleged January 2020 incident involving a former girlfriend. After the charges came to light, Roiland was dropped by Adult Swim and Hulu Originals, affecting a variety of television shows he was involved in.

Roiland celebrated the dismissal, tweeting “justice” along with a statement.

“I have always known that these claims were false — and I never had any doubt that this day would come,” he wrote. “I’m thankful that this case has been dismissed but, at the same time, I’m still deeply shaken by the horrible lies that were reported about me during this process.”

Roiland added that he was “disappointed that so many people were so quick to judge without knowing the facts, based solely on the word of a bitter ex trying to bypass due process and have me ‘canceled.’”

Roiland was charged back in May 2020 and pleaded not guilty. The charges went unnoticed by media outlets until Roiland’s case went to a pre-trial hearing this January.

When the domestic violence charges became public, Adult Swim, which airs Rick and Morty, announced it had cut ties with Roiland. Along with being a co-creator with Dan Harmon, Roiland also provided the voice acting for the show’s two titular characters. The network said they would recast his roles and Rick and Morty would continue without him.

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Hulu Originals, which produced two other animated series that Roiland worked on, Solar Opposites and Koala Man, announced at the time that it had also dropped Roiland and would recast his roles.

Adult Swim and Hulu Originals have both declined to comment on Roiland’s charges being dropped.

Roiland’s lawyer, T. Edward Welbourn, wrote that he’s “thankful justice has prevailed.”

“I commend the Orange County district attorney’s office for conducting a thorough review of the facts and deciding to dismiss the case against Justin,” he added in a statement to Variety.

Roiland noted on Twitter that he is “determined to move forward and focus both on my creative projects and restoring my good name.”

— With files from The Associated Press

—

Global News and Adult Swim (Canada) are both properties of Corus Entertainment. 

&copy 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

It’s been a minute since Bachelor in Paradise Canada‘s inaugural season, but a new cast of singles is already heading back to the beach for the show’s second season.

The show, an offshoot of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, features singles from the franchise in a more “relaxed” environment as they continue to search for love. Much like its American counterpart, Bachelor in Paradise, there’s plenty of drama, drinking and dates, but also feels quintessentially Canadian in a way, with a more laid-back vibe.

This season’s cast of 27 eligible singles features a mix of 13 Canadian and U.S. Bachelor alumni and 14 Canadian fans from #BachelorNation.

Bachelor alum Kevin Wendt returns as bartender and Ottawa’s Sharleen Joynt, an alum from Juan Pablo’s season of The Bachelor, signs on as host for the upcoming season.

Fans will also be treated to guest appearances by Bachelor alumni Demi Burnett, Abigail Heringer and Noah Erb, and Astrid Loch, Canadian singer-songwriters Lindsay Ell and Tyler Shaw, and Canadian drag superstar The Queen Priyanka.

Scroll to check out the cast below.

Tessa

Age: 27
Job: HR Strategist
Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Fun Fact: At the top of Tessa’s bucket list are playing at the Grand Ole Opry, going to space and meeting Stevie Nicks.

Shaz

Age: 24
Job: Yoga instructor/model
Hometown: Toronto
Fun Fact: Shaz once had Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield record a personalized video for a boyfriend.

Sam

Age: 33
Job: Entrepreneur
Hometown: St. John’s, N.L.
Fun Fact: Sam’s top fears are spiders, tornadoes and commitment.

Rianna

Age: 27
Job: Registered nurse
Hometown: Mount Pleasant, Texas
Fun Fact: Rianna is obsessed with Greek mythology.

Quartney

Age: 28
Job: Supplement brand owner
Hometown: Dallas
Fun Fact: Quartney knows how to play the baritone.

Paige

Age: 31
Job: Director of talent acquisition
Hometown: Toronto
Fun Fact: These Boots Were Made for Walking by Nancy Sinatra would be Paige’s walk-up song.

Nithisha

Age: 26
Job: Insurance company manager
Hometown: Stouffville, Ont.
Fun Fact: Nithisha describes herself as a huge germophobe.

Meagan

Age: 28
Job: Interior designer/actor
Hometown: Vancouver
Fun Fact: Meagan’s most romantic gesture was buying a star for her ex-fiancé.

Matia

Age: 28
Job: Fitness coach
Hometown: Toronto and Miami
Fun Fact: When he was younger, Matia used to build computers as a hobby.

Marilyn

Age: 26
Job: Executive assistant
Hometown: Toronto
Fun Fact: Marilyn has appeared on the cover of two romance novels.

Maria

Age: 30
Job: Apparel and textile designer
Hometown: Toronto and Cartagena, Colombia
Fun Fact: Maria’s first kiss took place on a bridge in Venice during a high school class trip to Italy.

Lisa

Age: 29
Job: Cosplay artist
Hometown: St. Catharines, Ont.
Fun Fact: Lisa can summon squirrels on demand.

Linda

Age: 23
Job: Construction worker/model
Hometown: Yellowknife, N.W.T.
Fun Fact: Linda’s celebrity crush is 50 Cent.

Krissy

Age: 27
Job: Model
Hometown: Vancouver
Fun Fact: Krissy’s first kiss was during a game of “spin the bottle” and she was so nervous that she banged heads with the recipient of the kiss.

Juan Pablo

Age: 32
Job: Fitness coach
Hometown: Toronto
Fun Fact: Juan Pablo can beatbox with his hands.

Josh

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Age: 29
Job: Filmmaker
Hometown: Vancouver
Fun Fact: Josh’s biggest deal-breaker is an inconsistent personality.

Joey

Age: 32
Job: Actor/model
Hometown: Redcliff, Alta.
Fun Fact: Joey says the most romantic thing he’s ever done is give someone the last bite of his meal.

Jake

Age: 22
Job: Holistic nutritionist
Hometown: Toronto
Fun Fact: Jake’s celebrity crush is Megan Fox.

Godfrey

Age: 29
Job: Boxing trainer
Hometown: Toronto
Fun Fact: Becoming a billionaire and finding true love are at the top of Godfrey’s bucket list.

Garrett

Age: 34
Job: Tech CEO
Hometown: Salt Lake City, Utah
Fun Fact: Garrett lists ballroom dancing and spearfishing as two of his hidden talents.

Edward

Age: 28
Job: Fitness coach
Hometown: Los Angeles
Fun Fact: Cheesecake, ice cream and avocados are the three foods you can always find in Edward’s fridge.

Connor

Age: 30
Job: Musician
Hometown: Nashville, Tenn.
Fun Fact: You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon would be Connor’s walk-up song.

Cole

Age: 28
Job: Adventure guide
Hometown: Los Angeles
Fun Fact: Cole is afraid of the deep open ocean.

Chelsea

Age: 29
Job: Model/content creator
Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Fun Fact: Chelsea says Zendaya would play her in a movie about her life.

Céline

Age: 25
Job: Flight attendant
Hometown: Winnipeg
Fun Fact: Mama’s boys are a deal-breaker for Céline.

Austin

Age: 26
Job: Real estate agent/personal trainer
Hometown: Orange County, Calif.
Fun Fact: Austin’s first kiss happened at a school dance while slow dancing to Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’.

Ana

Age: 27
Job: Talent agent
Hometown: Montreal
Fun Fact: Skydiving and visiting each continent are at the top of Ana’s bucket list.

—

Bachelor in Paradise Canada premieres Monday, May 8 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Citytv, Citytv+ and Citytv.com, and through the Citytv app.

&copy 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Parks Canada has begun opening up bookings for national parks in Alberta using its updated online reservation system.

“The updated platform that we’re running with functioned very well and as expected,” said Pamela Clark, who runs visitor experience for Jasper National Park. “The queuing, the site selection and the payment process operated very smoothly, even with the increased volumes that we experienced.”

Demand for campsites continues to increase and has been going up significantly for the last three or four years.

“When we launched (the Parks Canada online reservation system) back in 2015, we had about 1,800 reservations on launch day,” Clark said of Jasper. “Now, fast-forward to 2023, we’re over 20,000 reservations on launch day.

“People know we have a reservation system. They understand it’s the best way of ensuring that they have a site that meets their needs,” she said.

“What we’ve seen in the last four or five years, when it really started to pick up in 2019 and 2020 — even the use of our national parks — is people are gravitating towards the outdoor opportunities and just the natural escapes.”

For Jasper National Park, reservations for front-country (serviced) sites launched March 16. Bookings for back-country sites launched March 20.

“When users logged in at 8 a.m. last Thursday morning, there were about over 22,000 people in our waiting room but we were able to manage those volumes, and the average wait time was about 30 minutes,” Clark said.

The phased approach to site bookings reduces overall volume and helps the reservation site operate more smoothly. Clark said Parks Canada uncoupled backcountry reservations for Banff and Jasper because the combined volumes created issues in the booking system.

“The older system really wasn’t able to keep up with the volumes that we’ve been experiencing, especially in the last three or four years, volumes have increased substantially,” Clark said. “Even from last year to this year, we experienced a volume increase for reservations of over 6,000.”

For Banff National Park, reservations for front-country sites launch on Thursday, March 23. Back-country bookings opened Wednesday morning.

As other areas open up, Clark has some tips for people looking to book a spot.

“They should get onto our website — Parks Canada reservations — and look through all the tips on there. They should open up a profile if they don’t have one yet or update their profile if they’ve been on the system before. And they should get acquainted with the areas they want to be camping in.

“Have a plan. Have a couple backup plans, that’s really important.”

Jasper National Park has more than 2,000 campsites, the second-largest inventory of campgrounds managed under one park in North America, Clark said. Together, the mountain national parks have about 5,000 campsites. Despite an “abundant” inventory, there’s just so much demand in July and August.

Serviced, front-country campsites in Jasper National Park for dates in those peak months get snapped up within hours.

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“After our launch day, there really is no availability in July and August, but there’s still lots of availability in May, June, September for campers who are looking and can be a little more flexible in their departure dates and aren’t looking for serviced sites.

“At this point, for service sites, you’re looking at October. There’s really no availability in serviced sites from May until September,” Clark said. “They’re really popular.”

If you were unable to book a campsite in the area you want at the time you were hoping for, Parks Canada suggests looking at less-peak times or staying just outside the national parks.

“There are also campgrounds on the outskirts of the (Jasper National) park — in Mt Robson Provincial Park, also in the Hinton area.”

Alberta Parks opens provincial campsite bookings 90 days before the scheduled stay. For instance, on March 22, reservations would be open for a late June camping trip.

“And, if you really have these dates in mind, you can check back to see if there are cancellations because from time to time there are, and you might be the fortunate one who gets a cancellation.”

For the more adventurous camper, backcountry sites are an option too.

“There’s still availability along some of the lesser-known backcountry trails,” Clark said. “The ones that quickly get booked up are the iconic classics — so Skyline and Maligne — there is no availability left for the summer. But there is availability in almost all the other trail areas that we manage.”

And one more great tip for anyone visiting a park in Alberta?

“When they’re coming to a national park, they take on the stewardship of these areas, they follow the special rules, they put the garbage where it belongs and they follow that wildlife-watching etiquette,” Clark said.

“It’s really super important that we all share in taking care of these wild spaces.”

&copy 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.