From a media release:
City Adds Seven Original Canadian Series to 2013-14 Prime-Time Schedule
- Newly commissioned reality series Meet the Family joins prime-time schedule this fall
- Multi-camera original comedy Package Deal gets new, fall prime-time timeslot
- Seed renewed for Season 2; returns with 13 half-hour episodes in 2014
- Mother Up! with Eva Longoria joins mid-season schedule in 2014
- Three OLN original series – Storage Wars Canada, The Project: Guatemala and returning hit The Liquidator – to also air on City this fall
Marking the most robust lineup of original Canadian programming the network has ever produced, City today announced seven original series – five new and two returning – join the network’s 2013-14 prime-time schedule.
The announcement was made today as part of Rogers Media’s 2013 Upfront presentation.
Scripted original comedy Package Deal is part of City’s winning comedy block on Mondays this fall, airing at 8:30 p.m. ET. Three all-new original reality series, Storage Wars Canada, The Project: Guatemala, and the newly commissioned Meet the Family, also air on City in prime time this fall, as does OLN’s hit returning original series The Liquidator. Beginning mid-season, new original animated adult comedy series Mother Up!, starring and executive produced by Eva Longoria, will air exclusively on North American television on City.
Along with the new schedule, City announced today it has greenlit Season 2 of its original single-camera, sperm-donor comedy Seed, with an additional 13 half-hour episodes from Vancouver-based Force Four Productions. Premiering to critical acclaim this past February, Seed returns to Halifax this summer to begin production. Recognized for its rich characters, quick-wit, and edgy writing, Seed has been nominated for an international 2013 Banff Rockie Award in the category of Best Sitcom.
For all its originals, City will have a strong digital presence with live chats, blogs, bloopers, and exclusive video content for web that will engage and enhance the viewing experience.
In addition to these seven original series, The Bachelor Canada – the #1 new Canadian show and a top 10 new show in Canada for last fall* – begins production on Season 2 in 2014. A guilty pleasure for all women, the show is slated to air in fall 2014 and will engage across multiple platforms with more co-viewing and dual-screen experiences.
Image by Derek Langer
WOOHOO for Seed !!!
Not to be cynical (okay, I lied: of course I’m a cynic) isn’t this indicative of the problems in Canadian TV (and what the CBC was lambasted for in its recent PR releases)?
Seed renewed…despite premiering to poor ratings that (so I understood) just went down from there. Admittedly, I’m uncharitable because I didn’t think it worked. But even if I did, the low ratings…
And promoting Packaged Deal as a “new” part of its fall line-up when I thought it was starting in the summer…
A lot of deck chair shuffling but not too much sense anyone’s patching leaks in the hull.
The reason people were hard on Cbc is due to there funded by the tax payer so people hold them to higher standards.
Many brilliant and long lasting series had poor ratings their first season including: Cheers (BOTTOM of the ratings!), Hillstreet Blues (lingering near the bottom), Mary Tyler Moore Show – these are some of the most honoured series of all time. Ratings don’t mean anything to begin with. A good network (which NBC was at the time it made these series) will give a quality show a chance to find its audience amidst the ‘noise’ of the crowded entertainment universe.
They are putting anything that moves in the Rogers family of channels onto City and claiming success. They’re slapping a bunch of OLN shows on City. I suspect they haven’t been fulfilling CanCon requirements and have to make up for it. I can’t complain that a scripted series was renewed but my usual complaint is ratings don’t matter because they aren’t seeing Canadian shows as a core business, but the cost of doing business. Still – that’s glass half empty. It’s been a long time since City had enough of a Canadian presence to even attempt to brag about. They used to say they couldn’t afford anything but Murdoch.
At least they have two new Canadian made shows in the works. Seed is fantastic and ratings these days are a bit of a joke considering many viewers don’t watch tv in a conventional way anymore. News for season 2 is a huge win for the industry.
I have to agree with you Diane. Also i just don’t like that show and wish a new fresh idea would takes its place.
Seed is awful. Meet the Family might be fun but Canadian TV comedy needs more scripted shows that are good and less reality shows. And way less American shows!!!
I enjoyed Seed, glad to see it coming back.
After seeing the great French-Canadian film “Starbuck” I couldn’t help but see this as a cheap spin-off. I am a Canadian, but I have to say, most of our TV shows are garbage.