Everything about Dragons’ Den, eh?

Dragons' Den, Heartland, Little Mosque on the Prairie, Rick Mercer Report

CBC’s fall schedule

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A media release from CBC:

CBC Television today announced its fall 2007 television schedule, featuring new home-grown drama, a riveting historical epic, a strengthened sports offer, great new reality shows, as well as the return of the best shows from last year.

Among the many new shows that Canadian viewers can look forward to: the much-anticipated, sweeping and sexy historical miniseries The Tudors, which documents the life of a young Henry VIII and stars Jonathan Rhys-Myers and Henry Czerny; veteran TV personality Phil Keoghan of The Amazing Race gives Canadians the chance to ditch the excuses, face their fears and seize a life-changing experience in No Opportunity Wasted (NOW); Heartland, a gripping family drama set in the Alberta Rockies; Mordecai Richler’s St. Urbain’s Horseman, the first television miniseries of a Richler book, starring David Julian Hirsh, Elliott Gould and Andrea Martin; Triple Sensation, a nation-wide search for Canada’s next stars – the most promising young performers from 16 to 26 who can act, sing and dance; and a groundbreaking documentary series on the geology of Canada from The Nature of Things – Geologic Journey.

Following last season’s smash success, international sensation Little Mosque on the Prairie returns for a second season and 20 episodes, with the residents of Mercy in a whole new set of hilarious situations. Chris Haddock’s critically acclaimed and gripping drama series Intelligence also returns with stars Ian Tracey and Klea Scott. After a successful 2006 fall-season debut, Dragons’ Den returns with 10 new one-hour episodes, giving aspiring entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their ideas to a panel of wealthy business people – the Dragons. A feisty new Dragon, Arlene Dickinson, President and CEO of Calgary-based Venture Communications, joins the panel this season. The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos also returns for a new season of guest interviews, musical performances and news served straight up.

“We’ve built a schedule that delivers something for everyone,” said Kirstine Layfield, executive director of network programming, CBC Television. “From Little Mosque on the Prairie to Test the Nation, from our all-new reality show No Opportunity Wasted to long-standing favourites like Rick Mercer Report, we’re really excited about what’s coming this Fall.”

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Dragons' Den

In the news: CBC’s ‘self-destruction’

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Ira Wagman writes in Geist (via The Tyee) about CBC’s change in direction in order to attracte younger viewers:

  • The Self-Destruction of the CBC
    “The result of this new strategy has been as embarrassing and awkward as an old person in a Fubu sweatsuit. Reality shows such as Dragon’s Den and the recently unveiled Fashion File Host Hunt are pale imitations of programs airing on other networks, like The Apprentice or MuchMusic VJ Search. Speaking of MuchMusic, former VJ George Stroumboulopoulos delivers news with a punk aesthetic on The Hour, which consciously incorporates nose rings, stuff from YouTube and contests sponsored by Doritos. Another example of product integration, Kraft Hockeyville, united Canada’s hockey-crazy communities and the purveyor of ‘KD,’ a prized Canadian foodstuff.”
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Dragons' Den, Little Mosque on the Prairie

In the news: CBC’s scheduling announcement ‘astonishing’

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From John Doyle of the Globe and Mail:

  • CBC takes the safe road to the ordinary
    “Without seeing any of these shows, it’s impossible to make a definitive judgment. But the problem is that the shows sound ordinary and machine-made rather than unconventional or idiosyncratic in any way. CBC is a public broadcaster and should stand out as a home for the challenging, the weird and the provocative shows.”
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Dragons' Den, Heartland, Little Mosque on the Prairie, Rick Mercer Report, This Hour Has 22 Minutes

CBC announces 2007/08 programming

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From CBC:

Building on the success of this season, CBC Television today offered a sneak peek at some of the exciting new programs Canadians can look forward to in 2007/08.

“Today is just the first look at what promises to be an extraordinary season for CBC Television,” says Kirstine Layfield, executive director, network programming. “We’ve got an exciting slate of programming that is distinctly Canadian, that is entertaining, informative and we’re confident will appeal to a broad range of Canadians throughout the country.”

CBC Television will continue to build on the remarkable successes this season of Little Mosque on the Prairie, Test the Nation, Canada’s Next Great Prime Minister, The Greatest Canadian Invention, Dragons’ Den and others.

“Our audiences have responded well to innovative, intelligent and entertaining programming and we’re going to give them more of that this coming year,” Layfield adds.

The Tudors is an Irish-Canadian co-production in which an all-star cast revives the sensational life of Henry VIII in an epic prime-time soap filled with sex, romance, murder, war and rolling heads. Jonathan Rhys Meyers plays Henry as a strapping, mercurial young king, while Sam Neill (Jurassic Park), Jeremy Northam (An Ideal Husband) and Canadian Henry Czerny (Mission Impossible, Boys of St. Vincent) play his courtiers;

Drawn from today’s headlines, The Border is a fast-paced, hard-driving series set in Toronto in a paranoid post-Sept. 11 world concerned with security crises, terrorist infiltrations, cross-border police actions and trafficking in everything from enriched uranium to abducted children;

Heartland is a multi-generational family series set in the foothills of Alberta. The series follows the excitement, humour and drama of the Fleming family as members struggle to run a horse ranch–one that teeters on the edge of failure–that has been in the family for years;

Sophie follows the adventures and misadventures of a young, vibrant single mother who inherits a talent agency from her father and then loses her best client–followed soon after by her boyfriend;

No Opportunity Wasted will offer Canadians the chance to seize a life-changing opportunity. Based on the NOW philosophy of Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan, NOW will encourage all of us to live each day as if we’ll never have another chance like it.

“Production of these programs will be taking place throughout the country, a reflection of our commitment and mandate to create programming that best captures the range of Canadian stories we can all share,” Layfield says.

Among the returning programs will be perennial favourites The National, Marketplace and Hockey Night in Canada, along with comedy hits This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Rick Mercer Report and Royal Canadian Air Farce, rounding out a comprehensive programming schedule including CBC’s award-winning documentary programming, its world-class sports lineup and its industry-leading news and current affairs.

Later in the year, CBC will unveil an all-new production of The Nutcracker and will continue development of Triple Sensation, which will provide a national showcase for some of the country’s best young talent in the performing arts.

“We will remain the place for Canadians to turn when they’re looking for the finest in arts and entertainment programming and for stories and information by, for and about Canadians everywhere. We’re very excited to be at the beginning of this process and look forward to sharing more information about the new season later this spring,” Layfield says.

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