From a media release:

CBC today announced its 2023-24 programming slate for CBC TV and CBC Gem, featuring over 40 new and returning original series from Canadian creators, producers and storytellers and more than 4000 hours of new programming spanning all genres.

“As we announce our new slate of remarkable storytelling, we remain focused on serving Canadians on the platform of their choice and offering what no other media company in this country can: the essential information audiences rely on each and every day, and authentic entertainment that reflects the changing face of Canada,” said Barbara Williams, Executive Vice-President, CBC. “We’re different. We stand apart from others, just as strong and just as significant. We want all Canadians to see CBC as their thing – as a Canada thing that makes everyone feel they belong, regardless of their age, background or location.”

NEW STREAMING CHANNELS

Building on the launch of CBC NEWS EXPLORE, CBC will launch new free 24/7 ad-supported streaming (FAST) channels this fall including CBC COMEDY and local news channels starting with CBC NEWS BC, offering even more content to digital and streaming audiences on connected TVs and CBC Gem. CBC COMEDY will feature hit CBC comedy series and the best in Canadian sketch comedy and stand up specials. Building on CBC’s strength in the genre, the channel will include current CBC shows including RUN THE BURBS, SON OF A CRITCH and SORT OF, as well as recent favourites like KIM’S CONVENIENCE and SCHITT’S CREEK, sketch comedy classics such as BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW and TALLBOYZ, as well as extensive standup specials featuring favourite comedians. CBC NEWS BC will offer local news on the biggest stories of the day from the west coast of the country, and kicks off additional local CBC News streaming channels that will be available on connected TVs, the CBC News App and CBC Gem.

CBC NEWS & CURRENT AFFAIRS

From breaking stories to in-depth coverage, CBC News delivers trusted 24-hour news and information on CBC News Network, CBCNews.ca and the CBC News App. CBC News continues to bring audiences the latest news from across Canada and around the world, in addition to an award-winning slate of current affairs, investigative and primetime and weekend news programs.

Beginning this fall, the best of free streaming channel CBC NEWS EXPLORE will broadcast on CBC including ABOUT THAT, ADRIENNE ARSENAULT REPORTS, PLANET WONDER, and THIS WEEK IN CANADA, as well as BIG: CBC News Explore Original Documentary series. Also this fall, CANADA TONIGHT sees the return of host Ginella Massa in October, as she continues to highlight the stories beyond the headlines.

• THE FIFTH ESTATE (Season 49 premieres Fall 2023; 15×60)

• MARKETPLACE (Season 51 premieres Fall 2023; 17×30)

• THE NATIONAL (Weeknights and Sundays on CBC TV and CBC News Network)

• POWER & POLITICS (Weeknights on CBC News Network)

• CANADA TONIGHT WITH DWIGHT DRUMMOND (Weeknights on CBC News Network)

• ROSEMARY BARTON LIVE (Sundays on CBC TV and CBC News Network)

ENTERTAINMENT, FACTUAL AND SPORTS

ORIGINAL COMEDY SLATE

This upcoming broadcast and streaming year, CBC and CBC Gem will continue to be the home for fresh original Canadian comedy, with new workplace series ONE MORE TIME from comedian D.J. Demers joining the lineup alongside authentic comedies SORT OF, RUN THE BURBS and SON OF A CRITCH, and the best in Canadian sketch and standup comedy with THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES and THE NEW WAVE OF STANDUP.

New Original Comedy Series

• ONE MORE TIME (Premieres Winter 2024; 13×30; Counterfeit Pictures)

From creator and standup comedian D.J. Demers (The Tonight Show, Conan) and showrunner Jessie Gabe (Workin’ Moms, Mr. D), ONE MORE TIME is a workplace comedy about a fictionalized and heightened version of D.J. (played by Demers) as the hearing-impaired manager of a second-hand sporting goods store, and the team of “hard-working” employees he leads. D.J.’s optimistic, community-oriented outlook on life is challenged at every turn, as he and his team struggle to keep the small independent shop alive.

Returning Original Comedies & Festivals

• THE NEW WAVE OF STANDUP (Seasons 2 and 3 premiere Fall 2023; 8×30; Just For Laughs TV)

• SORT OF (Season 3 premieres Fall 2023; 8×30; Sphere Media’s Sienna Films)

• THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES (Season 31 premieres Fall 2023; 24×30; IoM Media)

• RUN THE BURBS (Season 3 premieres Winter 2024; 13×30; Pier 21 Films)

• SON OF A CRITCH (Season 3 premieres Winter 2024; 13×30; Project 10 Productions)

ORIGINAL DRAMA SLATE

The east coast family drama continues this summer with a new season of MOONSHINE, while the fall sees the debut of Marie Clements’ multi-generational epic of Indigenous resilience, BONES OF CROWS, and an extended version of Matt Johnson’s slice of Canadian tech history, BLACKBERRY, as well as the return of audience favourites HEARTLAND, MURDOCH MYSTERIES and SKYMED. This winter, new thoughtful drama ALLEGIANCE explores the Canadian justice system from multiple perspectives, while the odd couple of a grizzled cop and a spirited con woman are forced to work together in new comedic procedural WILD CARDS.

New Original Drama Series

• BLACKBERRY (Premieres Fall 2023, 3×60, Rhombus Media and Zapruder Films)

Directed by Matt Johnson (Nirvanna the Band the Show), BLACKBERRY follows the story of Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, the two men who charted the course of the spectacular rise and catastrophic demise of the world’s first smartphone. Seemingly overnight, the duo revolutionized the way people work, communicate and connect, with millions of people around the world addicted to their BlackBerrys and the company completely dominating the market. That is, until some shady business dealings, personal grievances, and, perhaps most dangerously, the iPhone, devastated the company’s incredible success. Co-written by Matt Johnson and Matthew Miller and adapted from the book Losing the Signal by Jacquie McNish and Sean Silcoff. BLACKBERRY originated at CBC, where Losing the Signal was optioned and developed over the course of four years as a feature film and extended three-part series that includes exclusive never-before-seen footage. The series stars Jay Baruchel (This Is The End, Knocked Up) as Mike, Glenn Howerton (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, A.P. Bio) as Jim, and Johnson as Mike’s friend and business partner Doug.

• BONES OF CROWS (Premieres Fall 2023, 5×60, Marie Clements Media, Screen Siren Pictures and Grana Productions)

Removed from their family home and forced into Canada’s residential school system, Cree musical prodigy Aline Spears (played throughout her life by Summer Testawich; Grace Dove, Monkey Beach; and Carla Rae, Rutherford Falls) and her siblings are plunged into a struggle for survival. Written, directed and produced by Marie Clements (Red Snow), BONES OF CROWS is Aline’s journey from child to matriarch, a moving multi-generational epic of resilience, survival and the pursuit of justice.

• ALLEGIANCE (Premieres Winter 2024, 10×60, Lark Productions)

Star rookie cop Sabrina Singh is proud to uphold her family’s tradition of serving in the police and military. But when her father, the Minister of Public Safety, is arrested on terror charges, Sabrina finds herself caught between her loyalties to her job, her family and her country. Gripping and smart, ALLEGIANCE is a character-driven police procedural about identity and belonging, policing and politics, and finding new paths to truth and justice. From creator Anar Ali (Transplant), showrunners Mark Ellis & Stephanie Morgenstern (Flashpoint, X Company), and Lark Productions (Family Law, Motive) and international distributor Universal International Studios.

• WILD CARDS (Premieres Winter 2024, 10×60, piller/segan, Blink 49 and Front Street Pictures) is a crime-solving procedural with a comedic twist that follows the unlikely duo of a gruff, sardonic cop and a bubbly, clever con woman. Ellis, a demoted detective, has unfortunately spent the last year on Vancouver’s marine unit (i.e., he’s now a “water cop”), while Toni has been living a transient life elaborately scamming everyone she meets. But when Toni gets arrested and ends up helping Ellis solve a local crime, the two are offered the opportunity to redeem themselves, with Ellis going back to detective and Toni staying out of jail. The catch? They have to work together, with each using their unique skills to solve crimes. For Ellis, that means hard-boiled shoe leather police work; for Toni, it means accents, schemes, and generally befriending everyone in sight (while driving Ellis absolutely nuts). Against the backdrop of beautiful Vancouver — with all its unique, charming, and even contradictory neighbourhoods and subcultures — the two will have to learn what it means to trust another person and maybe actually become partners. The creative team includes Michael Konyves (Creator/Executive Producer), Shawn Piller (Executive Producer), Noelle Carbone (Head Writer/Executive Producer) and James Genn (Pilot Director/Executive Producer).

Returning Original Dramas

• MOONSHINE (Season 3 premieres Sunday, July 16 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) on CBC and CBC Gem; 8×60, Six Eleven Media and eOne)

• HEARTLAND (Season 17 premieres Fall 2023; 10×60; Dynamo Films and SEVEN24 Films)

• MURDOCH MYSTERIES (Season 17 premieres Fall 2023; 24×60; Shaftesbury)

• SKYMED (Season 2 premieres Fall 2023; 9×60, Piazza Entertainment)

FACTUAL ENTERTAINMENT

CBC’s factual entertainment slate reflects people and communities from all regions of Canada with unique skills and interests who are in pursuit of their personal best, led by new series THE GREAT CANADIAN POTTERY THROW DOWN featuring ten of Canada’s top potters competing to be crowned best at the wheel. Returning series showcasing Canadians striving for excellence from coast to coast to coast include summer favourite RACE AGAINST THE TIDE. BEST IN MINIATURE, DRAGONS’ DEN, FAMILY FEUD CANADA, THE GREAT CANADIAN BAKING SHOW and STILL STANDING continue to bring the positive vibes this fall, while the winter brings the return of BOLLYWED and the Singh family in a celebration of the South Asian community, and PUSH’s Wheelie Peeps take on new personal challenges and successes. Later next year, STUFF THE BRITISH STOLE unearths more impolite history, and CANADA’S ULTIMATE CHALLENGE brings more thrills at Canada’s most picturesque locations.

New Original Factual Series

• THE GREAT CANADIAN POTTERY THROW DOWN (Premieres Winter 2024; 8×60; Frantic Films)

Ten of Canada’s most talented potters compete to be crowned best at the wheel. THE GREAT CANADIAN POTTERY THROW DOWN is a naturally upbeat, open-hearted competition series that revels in the remarkable creativity of Canada’s top potters, featuring clever challenges, beautiful creations and personal stories between layers of humour and discovery. The Great Pottery Throw Down is an original British format created and owned by Love Productions, who also devised and produce the global smash-hit The Great British Baking Show. Five seasons of The Great Pottery Throw Down have aired in the UK on BBC and Channel 4, consistently performing above the timeslot average.

Returning Factual Formats & Series:

• RACE AGAINST THE TIDE (Season 3 premieres Sunday, July 16 at 8:30 p.m. (9 NT) on CBC and CBC Gem; 10×30; marblemedia)

• DRAGONS’ DEN (Season 18 premieres Fall 2023; 16×60)

• FAMILY FEUD CANADA (Season 5 premieres Fall 2023; 102×30; Zone 3/Fremantle)

• THE GREAT CANADIAN BAKING SHOW (Season 7 premieres Fall 2023; 9×60; Proper Television/Love Productions)

• STILL STANDING (Season 9 premieres Fall 2023; 10×30; Frantic Films)

• BEST IN MINIATURE (Season 3 premieres Fall 2023; 8×60; marblemedia)

• BOLLYWED (Season 2 premieres Winter 2024; 10×30; HeartHat Entertainment)

• PUSH (Season 2 premieres Winter 2024, 8×30, Fenix Film & Television and Small Army Entertainment)

• CANADA’S ULTIMATE CHALLENGE (Season 2 premieres 2024; 7×60; Insight Productions (a Boat Rocker Company) and The Gurin Company)

• STUFF THE BRITISH STOLE (Season 2 premieres 2024; 8×30; Wooden Horse, WildBear Entertainment and Cream Productions)

DOCUMENTARIES

CBC commissions an average of 80 documentaries each year for CBC, CBC Gem and documentary Channel, with CBC Gem now offering a library of over 800 documentaries, available to stream for free anytime. THE PASSIONATE EYE returns this fall with a new slate of original documentaries that drop audiences into a broad range of cultural conversations, from the nationwide battle being waged over our public statues and symbols, to a double take on the doppelgänger phenomenon, to an Inuit lawyer’s highly personal journey to bring her colonizers to justice.

New original doc series this upcoming year include:

• BLACK LIFE: UNTOLD STORIES (Premieres Fall 2023, 8×60, Studio 112 in association with Northwood Entertainment, and Ugly Duck Productions) is an eight-part documentary series that reframes the rich and complex histories of Black experiences in Canada, dispelling commonly accepted myths and celebrating the many contributions of Black Canadians. The executive producers are the Emmy Award-winning Leslie Norville, P.K. Subban, Miranda de Pencier, and Nelson George; Sandy Hudson serves as co-executive producer. Consulting producers are the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Shadrach Kabango, Dr. Rinaldo Walcott, and Ravyn Wngz.

• SWAN SONG (Premieres Fall 2023, 4×60, Visitor Media, Mercury Films Inc. and Quiet Ghost)

SWAN SONG is an immersive, character-driven series following Karen Kain’s final year with the National Ballet of Canada, as she steps into the role of director for the first time with a monumental new production of Swan Lake. Following Kain and a diverse group of dancers from the rehearsal room to intimate moments at home to the backstage chaos of the highest-stakes opening night in the company’s 70-year history, SWAN SONG cuts through the pristine images projected by the world of ballet to reveal the human stories, sacrifices, conflicts and triumphs that drive the dazzling artistry.

• TELLING OUR STORY (Premieres Fall 2023 on CBC Gem; 4×60; Terre Innue)

The 11 First Peoples in Quebec, Canada—Abenaki, Anishnabe, Atikamekw, Cree of Eeyou Istchee, Innu, Inuit, Mi’gmaq, Kanyen’kehà:ka (Mohawk), Naskapi, Wendat, and Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet)—are telling us who they are, in their own way and from their point of view: their worldview, their connection to the Territory, their spirituality, their values, their history going back thousands of years, their wounds, their struggles, their victories, and their hopes. Their stories give depth to our great collective narrative, decolonize history and minds, and honour the Ancestors and Mother Earth. Commissioned by CBC/Radio-Canada, TELLING OUR STORY is a celebration of our resistance, resilience, and revival. From award-winning Abenaki director Kim O’Bomsawin (Call Me Human, Quiet Killing) and a production team primarily made up of members of the First Peoples in all key positions, and offering on-set mentorship opportunities for Indigenous individuals.

• FOR THE CULTURE WITH AMANDA PARRIS (Premieres Winter 2024 on CBC Gem, 6×60)

In this documentary series, award-winning writer, executive producer and host Amanda Parris leaves the wars raging on social media to create space for urgent and provocative conversations that centre Blackness and Black folks. Travelling to where the stories are, she’ll talk with cultural leaders, activists, scholars and everyday people – including writer and producer Larry Wilmore, best-selling author Bolu Babalola, comedian Gina Yashere and the “Robin Hood of Restitution” Mwazulu Diyabanza – about topics such as reparations, Black maternal health, the business of Black hair and more. Each episode will make transnational connections and push the conversation beyond the hashtags. Mixing travel, in-depth interviews and abbreviated history lessons, For the Culture will bring the conversations that have been taking place in the margins, and centre them in an insightful and entertaining way.

Returning Documentary Formats & Series:

• THE PASSIONATE EYE (Premieres Fall 2023; 9×60 (+1×120 premiere))

• THE NATURE OF THINGS (Season 63 premieres Winter 2024; 14×60)

CBC GEM ORIGINALS

• THE BANNOCKING (Premieres Fall 2023 on CBC Gem; 6×10, Bad Bannock Productions)

A journalism student, Ellen Bear, returns home to uncover the truth about the abandoned residential school, but chaos ensues when residents of Bent Creek First Nations begin to show bizarre and violent behaviour, leaving everyone to ask: “What’s in the bannock?”

• HOW TO FAIL AS A POPSTAR (Premieres Fall 2023 on CBC Gem; 8×15, Sphere Media)

What happens when a star isn’t born? An adaptation of Vivek Shraya’s hit play and subsequent book, How To Fail as a Popstar answers this question with hilarity, vulnerability, a healthy dose of imagination, and of course, music. The series tracks the journey of Vivek, a young queer brown boy, growing up in Edmonton trying to achieve pop stardom and what went right and wrong along the way – from the perspective of the now 40-something trans feminine multidisciplinary artist that boy became. Starring Shraya, Adrian Pavone (Star Trek: Discovery), and Chris D’Silva (The Handmaid’s Tale). Written by Shraya and directed by Vanessa Matsui (Son of a Critch) with Shraya co-directing one episode.

• I HATE PEOPLE, PEOPLE HATE ME (Premieres Fall 2023 on CBC Gem; 6×15, LoCo Motion Pictures)

Perpetually disturbed by the world around them, two friends navigate their lives as outliers in Toronto’s queer community. This offbeat comedy explores queer identity in a time when queerness has not only been mainstreamed, but commodified. Creator and writer Bobbi Summers poses the question – who wants to fit in with society anyway? The series stars Bobbi Summers and Lily Kazimiera.

• ZARQA (Season 2 premieres Fall 2023 on CBC Gem; 6×11, FUNdamentalist Films)

• FARM CRIME (Season 3 premieres 2024 on CBC Gem; 6×20; Big Cedar Films)

CBC KIDS

Building on CBC’s ongoing commitment to inspire, entertain and inform young audiences, CBC Kids will continue to share new programming for kids and tweens across all platforms this upcoming year, including over 500 hours of ad-free programming on CBC Gem. New live-action series for preschoolers include BESTEST DAY EVER WITH MY BEST FRIEND! (Monday, July 31 on CBC and CBC Gem; 20×7; Lopii Productions), celebrating the cherished relationships children have with their pets, and AUNTY B’S HOUSE (Fall 2023; 20×7; Headspinner Productions), about a foster home full of heart, humour, music and unconditional love. Cuteness overload MITTENS & PANTS (Monday, July 3 on CBC and CBC Gem; 42×7; Windy Isle Entertainment) returns for a second season this summer, continuing the adventures of the Mittens, the kitten, and Pants, the puppy, and their friends in Kibble Corners.

New animated series for preschoolers include CBC/Radio-Canada original MINI-JON AND MINI-MAPLE (Monday, July 31 on CBC and CBC Gem; 24×3.5; Happy Camper Media), based on the books by popular author and cartoonist Alex A. and a sibling series to Super Agent Jon Le Bon!, featuring a mini-clone of Jon Le Bon living in a top-secret spy agency and embarking on adventures with his best friend Mini-Maple, and DYLAN’S PLAYTIME ADVENTURES (Spring 2024; 52×11; 9 Story Media Group/Brown Bag Films), about a stripey dog who takes on a new pretend career in each episode and invites his friends and viewers to play along with him.

CBC SPORTS

Looking ahead to the Paris 2024 Olympic (July 26 – Aug. 11, 2024) and Paralympic (Aug. 28 – Sept. 8, 2024) Games, CBC SPORTS will continue to keep Canadians connected to the world of high-performance sport through coverage on CBC TV and CBC Gem, as well as live streams of key competitions and supporting digital content on cbcsports.ca and the CBC Sports app. Upcoming featured events include: World Aquatic Championships – Fukuoka 2023 (Japan, July 14 – 30); World Athletic Championships Budapest 2023 (Hungary, Aug. 19 – 27); 2023 Rugby Americas North Sevens – Olympic qualifier (Langford, B.C., Aug. 19 – 20); Artistic Gymnastics World Championships (Antwerp, Belgium, Oct. 1 – 8); and the Pan American Games (Santiago, Chile, Oct. 20 – Nov. 5). As Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic Network for the next decade, CBC will continue to offer high-quality storytelling that allows audiences to follow the journey of the athletes between Games, all the way to the podium.