CBC sets 2017-18 primetime schedule; plus new, returning and cancelled series

Under-21 soccer players, life-altering legal cases, the true cases taken on by Canadian detectives and adaptations of three Canadian novels are among the new series coming to CBC’s broadcast lineup during the 2017-18 season. Familiar faces returning to Canadian screens this year include Kristin Kreuk, Allan Hawco, Paul Gross, Charlotte Sullivan, Enuka Okuma and Eric Johnson.

Today’s latest new and returning list follows earlier announcements, including new CBC project Crawford, created by Mike Clattenburg; and cooking competition The Great Canadian Baking Show. 

Also announced are the returns of Baroness Von Sketch Show and Still Standing on June 27. Previously renewed CBC shows include Kim’s Convenience, Mr. D, Heartland, Murdoch Mysteries, Rick Mercer Report, 22 Minutes, Dragons’ Den, Schitt’s Creek, Workin’ Moms, Exhibitionists, The Goods, Firsthand, The Nature of Things, Marketplace, Hello Goodbye and The Fifth Estate.

Cancelled CBC programs include Pure, The Romeo Section, Shoot the Messenger, Michael: Every Day, Bellevue, This Life, X Company and Four in the Morning.

Here’s a description of the new programs coming to CBC this summer, fall and winter followed by the primetime schedule:

SUMMER

21 THUNDER (Drama; 8 episodes)
Premieres July 31 
21 Thunder takes viewers into the fiercely competitive and high-stakes world of the Montreal Thunder under-21 soccer team, following the players and coaches who risk it all for a shot at the pros.
Cast: Stephanie Bennett, Emmanuel Kabongo, Ryan O’Leary, RJ Fetherstonhaugh, Andres Joseph and Conrad Pla
Co-creators and executive producers: Kenneth Hirsch (Extraordinary Canadians; Outbreak: Anatomy of a Plague), Riley Adams (Crossing the Rubicon: The Journey, Flashpoint), Adrian Wills (The Surrogacy Trap, All Together Now)
Showrunner and executive producer: Malcolm MacRury (Republic of Doyle, Saving Hope)
Executive producer: Michael Levine
From: PMA Productions and Generic Productions

FALL

FRANKIE DRAKE (Drama; 11 episodes) 
Premieres fall 2017
Set in 1920s Toronto, Frankie Drake follows Toronto’s only female private detective (Lauren Lee Smith) as she takes on the cases the police don’t want or can’t handle, along with her partner Trudy (Chantel Riley).
Cast: Lauren Lee Smith (This Life, The Listener) and Chantel Riley (Race)
Creators and executive producers: Carol Hay and Michelle Ricci (Murdoch Mysteries)
Executive producers: Christina Jennings, Scott Garvie and Cal Coons. Coons is showrunner.
Producers: Jonathan Hackett, Julie Lacey
From: Shaftesbury

THE DETECTIVES (Factual; 8 episodes) 
Premieres fall 2017
The real stories of cases solved by Canadian detectives is re-enacted and recalled by the people who brought criminals to justice.
Showrunner: Petro Duszara
Producers: Duszara, Scott Bailey, Hans Rosenstein, Debbie Travis and Jennifer Gatien
From: WAM Media GRP Inc.

THE STATS OF LIFE (Factual; 5 episodes) 
Premieres fall 2017
Fun facts and graphics drill down to tell the real story behind Canadian statistics.
Executive producers: Jamie Brown, Jeff Peeler and Kip Spidell
From: Frantic Films

WINTER

BURDEN OF PROOF (Drama; 10 episodes)
Premieres winter 2018 
Starring Kristin Kreuk, Burden of Proof is an investigative drama about life-altering legal cases—the helpless plaintiffs searching for answers while lead attorney Joanna Hanley (Kreuk) fights incredible odds to deliver justice.
Creator, writer and executive producer: Brad Simpson (Rookie Blue, King, Blackheart)
Showrunners: Adriana Maggs (Frontier, Rookie Blue) and Noelle Carbone (Saving Hope, Rookie Blue)
Cast: Kristin Kreuk
Executive producers: Ilana Frank (Rookie Blue, Saving Hope), Linda Pope (Saving Hope, Rookie Blue), Jocelyn Hamilton (Mary Kills People, Cardinal) and Kreuk (Smallville). Co-executive producers are Kyle Irving and Lisa Meeches (Taken, Ice Road Truckers).
From: ICF Films and Entertainment One

CAUGHT (Drama; 5 episodes)
Premieres winter 2018 
It’s 1978. Locked up after a drug deal goes wrong, David Slaney (Allan Hawco) makes a daring break from a Nova Scotia prison to attempt one more deal with his former partner (Eric Johnson) with a police officer named Patterson (Paul Gross) in hot pursuit. Caught is an adaptation of Lisa Moore’s acclaimed novel.
Executive producer and showrunner: Allan Hawco (Republic of Doyle)
Cast: Allan Hawco, Tori Anderson (No Tomorrow, Open Heart), Paul Gross (Alias Grace), Enuka Okuma (Rookie Blue), Charlotte Sullivan (Mary Kills People), Greg Bryk (Bitten, Frontier) and Eric Johnson (Rookie Blue, The Knick)
Executive producers: Perry Chafe, John Vatcher, Alex Patrick, Peter Blackie, Rob Blackie and Michael Levine.
From: Take the Shot Productions

LITTLE DOG (Comedy; 7 episodes)
Premieres winter 2018
Set in Newfoundland, this darkly hilarious creation of actor/novelist Joel Thomas Hynes (We’ll All Be Burnt in Our Beds Some Night: A Novel) is the story of lightweight boxer Donny “Little Dog” Ross (Joel Thomas Hynes) and his haphazard quest for redemption after he drops his gloves in the middle of a round and quits the fight, dumping a promising career down the drain.
Creator, executive producer, writer and actor: Joel Thomas Hynes (Mary Kills People, Orphan Black, Republic of Doyle)
Showrunner and executive producer: Sherry White (Rookie Blue, Saving Hope)
Executive producers: Amy Cameron and Tassie Cameron (Mary Kills People), Rob Blackie, Alex Patrick, John Vatcher and Perry Zimel.
From: Cameron Pictures and Elemental Pictures

CBC’s Primetime Schedule

MONDAY
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) – Murdoch Mysteries *NEW SEASON*
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) – Alias Grace *NEW SERIES*(Sept.)/Frankie Drake *NEW SERIES*(Nov.)

TUESDAY
8 p.m. (8:30 NT)- Rick Mercer Report *NEW SEASON*
8:30 p.m. (9 NT) – This Hour Has 22 Minutes *NEW SEASON*
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) – Kim’s Convenience *NEW SEASON*
9:30 p.m. (10 NT) – Mr. D *NEW SEASON*

WEDNESDAY
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) – The Great British Baking Show/The Great Canadian Baking Show *NEW SERIES*
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) – The Durrells *NEW SERIES*(Sept.)/Top of the Lake: China Girl *NEW SERIES*(Oct.)

THURSDAY
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) – Dragons’ Den *NEW SEASON, NEW NIGHT*
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) – The Detectives *NEW SERIES*

FRIDAY
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) – Marketplace *NEW SEASON*
8:30 p.m. (9 NT) – Interrupt This Program *NEW SEASON*(Oct.)/The Stats of Life *NEW SERIES* (Nov.)
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) – the fifth estate *NEW SEASON*

SATURDAY
Daytime: Road to the Olympic Games
6:30 p.m. ET – Hockey Night in Canada

SUNDAY
Daytime: Road to the Olympic Games
7 p.m. (7:30 NT) – Heartland *NEW SEASON*
8 p.m. (8:30 NT) – The Nature of Things *NEW SEASON, NEW NIGHT*
9 p.m. (9:30 NT) – Firsthand *NEW SEASON, NEW NIGHT*

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13 thoughts on “CBC sets 2017-18 primetime schedule; plus new, returning and cancelled series”

  1. How much were they spending on Pure? Ratings seemed decent for a midseason series.

    Sad, but not surprised about The Romeo Section.

    Anne renewal contingent on Netflix?

  2. I’m really sad about Bellevue being cancelled. A really good, quality show that deserved another season. It had great social media buzz during its run, but I guess it didn’t get enough TV eyeballs.

  3. More due to money. Unfortunately. But the fact is you have to build a show that you hope viewers will catch on to somewhere around ep 8 (specially against the US marketing machine). These new shows will already be wrapped by then

  4. More episodes of less shows. The way financing works, even if a short run show caught on you couldn’t take advantage of it because of the long delay in securing money to shoot more episodes. By the time you were ready to begin a second series of episodes the fire would have gone out

    1. How does the U.K. manage to make it work? They have lower episode orders and manage to keep the momentum going. Is it fair to compare the two countries?

      1. The market in the UK isn’t identical. The most popular networks dominate with homegrown programming. They don’t have a large group of people immediately apprehensive about watching anything made in their own country like we do.

        1. I don’t believe ‘immediately apprehensive’ is a fair assessment of today’s Canadians. This isn’t the 70s or 80s. With production values steadily rising over the past fifteen years or so, the quality of Canadian TV has never been better and easily rivals American TV. Canadians are becoming more and more invested in, and proud of, homegrown programming. Now, if only the CRTC would start backing Canadian media we’d be golden.

  5. I think you missed the boat on Last Man Standing. It was cancelled due to its conservative nature. The liberals at ABC just couldn’t take it anymore. Just look at the backlash of fans who are boycotting the network. We hope perhaps FOX will pick it up.

  6. Every time there is a decent show It is cancelled. I do not understand how any of us consumers can be expected to keep up with series that are 6-10 episodes long And it is not just CBC that is doing this. Too many choices. Almost like the world we live in where in a blink of an eye technology changes. Goodbye Pure. Great show. Great acting. And Ozark is on now on Netflix with a very similar story line. At least series are staying on Netflix so it is worth investing time to watch them

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