Tag Archives: Industry News

Corus Entertainment 40 outstanding Canadian series for 2019-2020

From a media release:

Today, Corus Entertainment announced its 2019-2020 order of captivating new Canadian series and proven hits. This unrivaled slate features 40 newly-commissioned seasons and titles. With an increase in Canadian production year over year, Corus underscores its commitment to homegrown talent. The company’s diverse portfolio of networks is investing in premium original content across all genres in collaboration with award-winning creators across the country. In addition to the Canadian series being announced today, more scripted and lifestyle series will be unveiled in the coming months.

This year, Corus’ acclaimed scripted slate grew with character-driven drama Nurses and Canada/UK co-production Departure starring Emmy® winner Archie Panjabi and Oscar® winner Christopher Plummer. Complementing those series, Corus orders returning seasons of detective drama Private Eyes and award-winning historical drama Vikings. As a trailblazer in unscripted lifestyle content, a new crop of original competitive, palate-pleasing series are introduced including Wall of Chefs, The Big Bake and kid cooking series Junior Chef Showdown. Leading home and renovation series, Big Home Overhaul and Hot Market complement recurring favourites with heavy-hitting Canadian talent such as Property Brothers, Island of Bryan and Home to Win. The company also brings audiences homegrown versions of prized franchises such as Big Brother Canada and Top Chef Canada with returning seasons this year, along with new episodes ofIron Chef Canada. Dominating the industry in children’s content and world-class animation, endearing pre-school series The Remarkable Mr. King joins Corus’ successful slate of animated content.

Corus Entertainment further cements its position as a leader in stellar Canadian programming on an international scale through its Corus Studios content and its industry-leading kids content company, Nelvana. Corus Studios develops, produces and distributes programs across an array of genres, distributed globally in over 150 territories. This year, Corus Studios delivers 11 new series and confirms seven returning hits. As a world-leading producer and distributor of children’s content, Nelvana’s content is broadcast across Corus’ collection of leading kids’ networks and is distributed in more than 160 countries worldwide. For the 2019-2020 broadcast season, Nelvana creates two new series and a short film, along with a number of returning series across a slate of more than a dozen productions.

Below is a breakdown of Corus Entertainment’s lineup of new and returning original series:

GLOBAL
Global renews seasons of summer smash-hit Private Eyes, juggernaut reality series Big Brother Canada for the 2019-2020 season. Also joining the schedule, are previously announced original dramas Departure and Nurses set to premiere midseason in 2020.

Entertainment Tonight Canada, Season 15 (260×30) – NEW SEASON (2019/2020)
Returning for its milestone 15th season, the nation’s entertainment powerhouse ET Canada delivers in-depth and breaking celebrity, film, television, and music news both on-air and online. Airing weeknights at 7:30 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, ET Canada is hosted by Cheryl Hickey along with Sr. Reporter Roz Weston, and Entertainment Reporters Sangita Patel and Carlos Bustamante. (Produced by Corus Entertainment for Global Television in association with Paramount Domestic Television).

Private Eyes, Season 4 (12×60) – NEW SEASON – (Summer 2020)
Private Eyes returns to the exciting, sexy and unpredictable world of The Everett and Shade agency with Season 4.  Shade (Jason Priestley) and Everett (Cindy Sampson) have their hands full of twisty, thrilling, and dangerous cases to solve. From a Gatsby garden party, to a high-profile celebrity golf tournament, and the glitz and glamour of TIFF to a bizarre alien cult. The beloved duo will be personally and professionally challenged as they think about the paths not taken, and what kind of life they want to lead. Season 3 of the summer hit currently airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Global. (Produced by eOne).

 Big Brother Canada, Season 8 (30×60) – NEW SEASON – (Winter 2020)
On the heels of a successful Season 7, which delivered the largest audience of any season on Global for total viewers*****, the hit reality series hosted by Arisa Cox is back for another season in 2020. As a Top 20 performer across key demos****, Season 8 will feature a group of hand-picked strangers, sequestered from the outside world, living in a house with cameras and microphones that capture their every move. (Produced by Insight Productions. Big Brother is an original format owned by Endemol Shine Group).

Previously announced series include:

Departure, Season 1 (6×60) – NEW SERIES – (Midseason, in early 2020)
Departure is a six-part event series that follows the shocking disappearance of Flight 716, a passenger plane that vanishes over the Atlantic Ocean. Kendra Malley (Panjabi), the recently widowed, brilliant aviation investigator, is called in by her former boss and mentor Howard Lawson (Plummer) to investigate the mysterious crash. With the whole world watching, Kendra and her team race to pinpoint the missing aircraft and locate possible survivors. They must battle through a host of suspects and motives – pilot suicide, terrorism, politically motivated murder, systems failure – to determine what really happened to Flight 716…and to stop it from happening again. (Produced by Shaftesbury and Greenpoint Productions Ltd.)

Nurses, Season 1 (10×60) – NEW SERIES – (Midseason, in early 2020)
Stationed in every tendril of a busy downtown trauma centre and thrust into frontline medical action, Nurses sees five recent graduates beginning their careers in a high-stakes hospital with pressure cooker training. Forming an inextricable bond, the nurses struggle to find a work-life balance that matches and counters the intensity of their new job. Their interaction with patients, relatives, and staff quickly leads them to the discovery that nursing isn’t just about biology, chemistry, and anatomy, it’s also about psychology, compassion, and romantic complications. (Produced by ICF Films, and eOne in association with Piazza Entertainment).

LIFESTYLE

Food Network Canada delivers a delectable menu of standout new series beginning with holiday-themed baking competition, The Big Bake this fall. To satisfy cravings this winter, a sweet competition series, Chocolate Masters joins the network. This spring, a foodie-friendly competition show debuts featuring the brightest kid cooks in Junior Chef Showdown and home cooks will strive to satisfy the country’s toughest palates in epic new culinary competition series, Wall of Chefs.

The Big Bake (18×60) – NEW SERIES – (Corus Studios) (Fall 2019)
The Big Bake is a larger-than-life holiday baking competition series from Food Network Canada with themed Halloween, holiday and spring episodes. In each special self-contained episode, three professional baking teams have six hours to design, bake and decorate a grand-scale holiday-inspired cake based on a particular theme. These bakers need to go big or they’ll go home – blowing up their designs to gigantic proportions and thinking outside the (bakery) box for their holiday-inspired creations. The more ambitious and delicious the cake, the closer they are to victory…and each episode’s $10,000 prize. (Produced by Architect Films).

Chocolate Masters (8×60) – NEW SERIES – (Corus Studios) (Winter 2020) 
Chocolate Masters is a new ooey-gooey, decadent chocolate dessert competition series from Food Network Canada. In this sweet serialized competition, 10 home bakers go head-to-head in the indulgent world of chocolate, vying for the grand prize in a range of creative and exciting chocolate-based challenges. In order to survive the competition from week-to-week and avoid elimination, the chocaholic dessert-makers must dazzle our panel of world-renowned chocolatiers and food expert judges with their delicious, inventive creations. In the end, only one competitor makes it all the way to the end and is crowned the ultimate chocolate master. (Produced by Architect Films).

Junior Chef Showdown (wt) (8×60) – NEW SERIES – (Corus Studios) (Spring 2020) 
The most buzz-worthy kid cooks gather in one spot to compete in this serialized cooking competition. These amazing wunderkid chefs live and breathe food and are ready to amaze and astound with their culinary creations. In Junior Chef Showdown, the best and brightest young cooks go head-to-head in challenges that test their skills and ingenuity in the kitchen, but only one pint-sized chef will be named the country’s best. (Produced by Proper Television).

Wall of Chefs (20×60) – NEW SERIES – (Corus Studios) (Spring 2020, Spring 2021) 
In Wall of Chefs, amateur cooks face off in cutthroat culinary challenges that are judged by twelve of Canada’s most renowned chefs, also known as ‘The Wall’. Each episode features four home cooks who compete in themed rounds with the ultimate goal of satisfying the palates of these highly respected industry pros. At the end of each devastatingly difficult but delicious round, the chef judges critique the dishes and the competitor who makes the worst dish must leave the Wall of Chefs kitchen. At the end, only one cook will be left standing, claiming $10,000 and the respect of the Wall of Chefs. (Produced by Insight Productions).

Iron Chef Canada, Season 1B (10×60) – NEW EPISODES (Fall 2019)
Based upon the popular Japanese sensation, Iron Chef Canada pits world-class chefs in intense culinary battles against the legendary Canadian Iron Chefs: Hugh Acheson, Amanda Cohen, Lynn Crawford, Rob Feenie, and Susur Lee. In every episode, a talented challenger goes head-to-head against one of Canada’s most iconic and legendary Iron Chefs in a one-hour, five-dish competition for culinary supremacy. (Produced by Proper Television. Based on the original ‘Iron Chef’ Series Produced by Fuji Television Network, Inc.).

Carnival Eats, Season 7 (13×30) – NEW SEASON – (Fall 2019)
Host Noah Cappe is back on the hunt for the most mouth-watering and outrageous foods famously found at fairs and amusement parks in Carnival Eats, giving audiences an inside look at the wacky characters who create them and the culinary thrill-seekers who devour and delight in them. (Produced by Alibi Entertainment).

 Fire Masters, Season 1B (15×60) Season 2 (15×60) – NEW SEASON – (Corus Studios) (Spring 2020, Spring 2021)
In each episode of Fire Masters, three chefs push their grilling talents to the limit as they do battle in fiery culinary challenges, cooking up creative, mouthwatering, flame-kissed dishes. One chef is eliminated in each of the first two rounds. The last chef standing then goes head-to-head with a Fire Masters judge in an epic third and final round, vying for $10,000 cash and the coveted title of Fire Masters Champion. (Produced by Architect Films).

Big Food Bucket List, Season 2 (26×30) – NEW SEASON – (Corus Studios) (Spring 2020)
Fan-favourite host and comedian John Catucci (You Gotta Eat Here!) returns for a second season, taking viewers on one-of-a-kind food adventures across North America, checking the most drool-worthy dishes and must-see culinary stops off his Big Food Bucket List. (Produced by Lone Eagle Entertainment).

Top Chef Canada, Season 8 (8×60) – NEW SEASON – (Spring 2020)
Canada’s most prestigious culinary competition is back with the best and brightest professional chefs competing for the title of Canada’s Top Chef. A Top 3 ranked series on Food Network Canada this spring*, Top Chef Canada returns for its eighth season with its expert panel of judges comprised of chef, restaurant co-owner and host, Eden Grinshpan, owner of The McEwan Group, head judge chef Mark McEwan along with resident judges: restaurateur Janet Zuccarini, food personality Mijune Pak and renowned food critic Chris Nuttall-Smith. (Produced by Insight Productions. Top Chef Canada is the homegrown version of the hit Emmy Award-winning NBCUniversal Series Top Chef).

HGTV Canada
 brings home 12 new and returning series, welcoming new Canadian talent and featuring familiar fan-favourite personalities including a new season of Property Brothers this fall. New real estate series Hot Market reveals high stakes in the country’s largest city, while Big Home Overhaul transforms households for deserving families, set for spring 2020.

Property Brothers: Forever Home (7×60) – NEW SERIES – (Summer 2019)
Drew and Jonathan Scott are on a mission to help couples transform their houses into forever homes – a place where they can put down roots and spend their lives. Our homeowners aren’t looking to flip properties or make a quick buck, they know their house is “the one” and have plans to grow old together. They need Drew and Jonathan to unlock the full potential of their houses and renovate them into the homes of their dreams. (Produced by Scott Brothers Entertainment).

Hot Market (8×60) – NEW SERIES – (2019/2020) 
Hot Market chronicles the behind-the-scenes stories of five top-selling real estate agents in Canada’s biggest city. This fresh new series follows the hustle to buy, sell and renovate homes for discerning clients in the high-stakes, high-end and highly competitive Toronto marketplace. Each episode opens the doors to an exclusive world of multi-million dollar properties, showcasing everything from trendy urban lofts and modern penthouses to jaw-dropping mansions and luxurious lakefront estates. These top agents stop at nothing to chase listings, prep homes for sale and find clients their ultimate dream home. (Produced by Architect Films).

Big Home Overhaul (wt) (8×60) – NEW SERIES – (Corus Studios) (Spring 2020)
Big Home Overhaul (wt) is HGTV Canada’s new feel-good renovation series that follows the network’s most talented contractors and designers as they come together to deliver whole-home renovations to incredibly deserving homeowners. In each episode, our dynamic host brings together a different HGTV Canada celebrity contractor-designer duo to plan and execute the worthy homeowner’s makeover, with the help of family, friends and the community. After the cathartic first swing of the sledgehammer that starts the demolition, the family leaves the home renovation in the hands of HGTV Canada’s best who work around the clock to give the family a complete home overhaul. (Produced by Proper TV).

Home to Win: For the Holidays, Season 4 (8×60) – NEW SEASON – (Corus Studios) (Fall 2019)
The fourth season of the top-rated Canadian original series, which ranked in the Top 10 specialty entertainment programs during its original run**, offers viewers the opportunity to win their very own dream home, returns this fall. HGTV Canada’s celebrity builders, designers and real estate experts bring their extraordinary skill, creativity and reno know-how to completely restore this season’s home, a Victorian beauty in dire need of a modern makeover. New this year are holiday-themed design touches and DIY challenges with the home rewarded just in time for the warm-and-fuzzy holiday season. (Produced by Architect Films).

Property Brothers: Buying and Selling, Season 6 (8×60) – NEW SEASON – (Fall 2019)
In Property Brothers: Buying and Selling, Jonathan and Drew Scott help homeowners take their next step up the real estate ladder. Jonathan renovates the family’s home for a successful sale, while Drew hunts down the best options for their next property and oversees the selling and buying. (Produced by Cineflix).

Property Brothers, Season 7 (18×60) – NEW SEASON – (Fall 2019 and Winter 2020)
Drew and Jonathan support couples across the Greater Toronto Area, Nashville as well as Calgary and Las Vegas to find, buy, and transform extreme fixer-uppers into incredible dream homes. First, real estate specialist Drew tracks down hidden gems with untapped potential, and then it’s up to identical twin brother and contractor Jonathan to expertly overhaul these ramshackle properties. (Produced by Cineflix).

Island of Bryan, Season 2 (8×60) – NEW SEASON – (Corus Studios) (Winter 2020)
The most watched program on HGTV Canada in over 10 years*** and ranking #3 across all of Canadian specialty entertainment this spring*, Island of Bryan returns for a second season this winter. In Season 2, Bryan and Sarah have committed to six more months until the grand opening. With the budget maxed out and more at stake than ever, they need to keep their eyes on the prize: finishing their dream project. This season will bring an end to the epic family adventure; leaving viewers inspired, amazed, and relieved that they didn’t have to take on this build themselves. (Produced by Si Entertainment).

$ave My Reno, Season 3 (14×30) – NEW SEASON – (Corus Studios) (Winter 2020) 
In $ave My Reno Season 3, cash-conscious homeowners’ domestic dreams become a reality when Sebastian Clovis, the savvy builder with contagious energy, and Samantha Pynn, the celebrated ‘luxe-on-a-budget’ designer, grab hold of each project. Seb and Sam save through smart spends, upcycling, and spectacular DIY designs, encouraging homeowners to strap on a toolbelt and help with their renovation along the way. Together they transform these houses into showpiece homes – all on a budget that fits the bill. (Produced by Great Pacific Media).

Backyard Builds – Season 3 (11×30) – NEW SEASON – (Corus Studios) (Spring 2020)
Contractor Brian McCourt and design expert Sarah Keenleyside maximize a backyard’s potential by creating tailored, one-of-a-kind structures in Backyard Builds. Whether it’s a converted shipping container, cake studio, treehouse village or outdoor theatre – when indoor space isn’t enough, Brian and Sarah take it outside. (Produced by Frantic Films).

 Previously announced series include:

Farmhouse Facelift (10×60) – NEW SERIES – (Corus Studios) (Winter 2020)
Old farmhouses are spacious, historic treasures with loads of potential, but restoring them to their former glory with modern amenities can be a massive undertaking. No one knows more about farmhouse living than renovation experts and siblings Billy Pearson and Carolyn Wilbrink. Billy (a contractor) and Carolyn (a designer) grew up on their family farm in rural Ontario. Now, they’re using their construction and design expertise to restore rustic and rundown farmhouses for their clients. (Produced by Sonar Entertainment).

Make Your Move (wt) (10×60) – NEW SERIES – (Corus Studios) (Winter/Spring 2020)
In Make Your Move, Kortney and Dave Wilson help homeowners make strategic moves with their money by using their flipping expertise to turn a newly purchased fixer-upper into the home of their dreams – all while making smart investments into the biggest asset these families own. (Produced by Scott Brothers Entertainment).

Vacation House Rules (10×60) – NEW SERIES – (Corus Studios) (Spring 2020)
You don’t need a million bucks to buy the vacation house of your dreams. Real estate expert and contractor Scott McGillivray, with his years of smart real estate and renovating experience, can show you how. Scott shows homeowners how to take their vacation property purchase and unlock its full rental potential. Through Scott’s Vacation House Rules even the most neglected and unlivable of spaces can be transformed into unique and buzz-worthy pieces of paradise. (Produced by McGillivray Entertainment).

HISTORY® debuts three new series, Big Timber, following a family of loggers in B.C., joining previously announced series Salvage Kings slated for fall and Breaking Wild for winter. The network also debuts a new season of historical drama and Top 5 entertainment specialty program*, Vikings, later this year.

Big Timber (8×60) – NEW SERIES – (Corus Studios) (2020) 
In the forests of Vancouver Island, B.C. a family of loggers have bet it all on a valuable and isolated timber claim. But with treacherous weather and impossible terrain they must build their own roads and MacGyver their own machinery to get this timber out in the best condition possible – and they have a limited amount of time to get it done. (Produced by Big Timber Media).

Holocaust – The Last Survivors (wt) (1×90) – REMEMBRANCE DAY SPECIAL – (Fall 2019)
The personal experiences of children during the Holocaust told through first-hand accounts of the last survivors. Seventy-five years ago, they were witness to unspeakable horrors, but their stories of survival are often filled with moving examples of bravery, kindness and redemption. The survivors travel back to Europe – to hometowns and concentration camps where painful memories flood back, and where dramatic and emotional reunions unfold. As the last living links to the worst crime of the 20th century, they wonder, “when we are gone, will people remember? Will they believe it happened?” (Produced by Saloon Media).

 History Erased, Season 2 (4×60) – NEW SEASON – (Corus Studios) (Fall 2019)
This innovative event series examines the butterfly effect of removing key individuals, ideas and inventions from a given nation’s history to highlight that country’s contributions to global culture and human history. In each episode, we imagine the world without a specific country as their game-changing leaders, innovators and social-political achievements are erased. What unfolds? Global catastrophe, societal upheaval and chaos! (Produced by Cream Productions).

Vikings – Season 6A (10×60) – NEW SEASON – (Fall 2019)
Award-winning historical drama and ranking as the #4 program across specialty entertainment last fall*, Vikings returns with the hotly anticipated first part of Season 6, the final season, coming this fall (Canada/Ireland co-production by Take 5 and TM Productions Limited).

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Shaftesbury’s Ireland-Canada co-pro Dead Still currently in production for RTE, Acorn TV, and Citytv

From a media release:

Dublin-based Deadpan Pictures and Toronto-based producer Shaftesbury today announced that production is underway on new mystery drama series DEAD STILL (6 X 60). The Ireland-Canada co-production is co-commissioned by RTÉ and Acorn Media Enterprises (AME) alongside ZDF Enterprises. Set in 1880s Ireland in the Victorian era heyday of “postmortem photography,” the six-episode period drama follows a renowned memorial photographer as he investigates the murders of his recently deceased subjects. DEAD STILL is written by John Morton and directed by Imogen Murphy (Can’t Cope, Won’t Cope, Red Rock) and Craig David Wallace (Slasher, Todd and the Book of Pure Evil, Murdoch Mysteries). Acorn Media Enterprises has secured all rights in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and United Kingdom; co-premiere rights in Canada; and secondary rights in Ireland. ZDF Enterprises will distribute the series in the rest of the world. It was developed with the support of Screen Ireland and Creative Europe. DEAD STILL will premiere in 2020 on RTÉ in Ireland, on Acorn TV in the United States as an Acorn TV Original, and in Canada on Citytv, a division of Rogers Media. The series, with the support of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI), is currently filming on location in and around Dublin through June 2019.

DEAD STILL blends mystery and drama with gallows humour, and features an incredible ensemble of acclaimed international actors including Michael Smiley (Luther as DS Benny Silver, Wire in the Blood, Death and Nightingales) as Brock Blennerhasset, Kerr Logan (Game of Thrones, Victoria, Alias Grace) as Conall Molloy, Eileen O’Higgins (Brooklyn, Mary Queen of Scots) as Nancy Vickers, and Aidan O’Hare (Jackie, Pilis) as Detective Frederick Regan. DEAD STILL also stars Jimmy Smallhorne (Taken Down, Clean Break) as Cecil Carruthers, Mark Rendall (Departure, Versailles) as Percy Cummins, Peter Campion (Derry Girls, Kat and Alfie: Redwater) as Henry Vickers, Michael Patric (Frontier, Supernatural), and Martin Donovan (Big Little Lies, Fahrenheit 451).

Dublin, 1880. The practice of memorial portraiture is at the height of its popularity – that is, the portrait photography of the recently deceased. As renowned memorial photographer Brock Blennerhasset (Smiley) expands his business with the help of his would-be actress niece Nancy Vickers (O’Higgins) and assistant Conall Molloy (Logan), someone with more sinister designs is getting in on the death photography game. A serial killer is cashing in on the sordid, developing taste for ‘snuff’ imagery – pictures of people in their death throes. The murders escalate and Detective Frederick Regan (O’Hare) of the Dublin Metropolitan Police suspects that Ireland may have its first serial murderer at large. As Blennerhasset becomes a possible suspect and his family is put in harm’s way, they must track down the serial killer before he strikes again.

DEAD STILL is executive produced by Paul Donovan, Ailish McElmeel, Christina Jennings, and Scott Garvie, and produced by Suzanne McAuley. DEAD STILL is an Ireland/Canada treaty co-production produced by Deadpan Pictures (Ireland) and Shaftesbury (Canada) in association with RTÉ, Acorn TV with Acorn Media Enterprises, ZDF Enterprises, and BAI, and with the participation of the Irish Tax Credit, Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, and the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit. DEAD STILL was developed with the support of Screen Ireland and Creative Europe.

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Citytv celebrates Canadian storytelling with new 2019/20 original programming slate

From a media release:

A cop-and-canine crime-fighting duo, an 1880s photographer with a macabre specialty, and an intergalactic space queen are among the weirdly wonderful characters coming to Citytv in 2019/20. The new original Canadian programming slate includes scripted series Hudson & Rex (Season 2), Dead Still, and Vagrant Queen. And with six new Canadian shows in development for Citytv, there are even more original stories to come for TV lovers.

With a Season 2 order for Hudson & Rex, Citytv’s popular original Canadian scripted series returns to the Fall schedule with more of what audiences love. Produced by Shaftesbury and Pope Productions Ltd., in association with Citytv and Beta Film GmbH, the police-procedural drama set in St. John’s, Nfld. follows detective Charlie Hudson (John Reardon, Van Helsing) and his German Shepherd partner, Rex (canine Diesel vom Burgimwald). Hudson & Rex is Citytv’s highest-rated original scripted series since 2015, reaching more than 2.5M viewers during its first six debut episodes*. Based on the Austrian drama Inspector Rex, Hudson & Rex also stars Mayko Nguyen (Killjoys) as Doctor Sarah Truong, Kevin Hanchard (Orphan Black) as Superintendent Joe Donovan, and Justin Kelly (Wynonna Earp) as Tech Analyst Jesse Mills.

Citytv works with some of the most innovative content creators and global partners to bring to life great new stories to appeal to Canadians, and indeed, international audiences. Building on the success of Hudson & Rex, Citytv again collaborates with Toronto-based Shaftesbury on the new series Dead Still, an Ireland/Canada treaty co-production, with RTE as the Irish broadcaster and Acorn TV in the U.S. And a fierce new heroine also joins Citytv as live-action sci-fi drama series Vagrant Queen brings the graphic novel story to a whole new audience in a Canada/South Africa treaty co-production by Toronto’s Blue Ice Pictures, also broadcast on Syfy in the U.S. Both series join the Citytv schedule in 2020.

Hudson & Rex, Dead Still, and Vagrant Queen are the newest chapters in Citytv’s ongoing commitment to tell great stories by and for Canadians. Championing Canadian independent producers and production companies across the country, Citytv supports the local industry and invests in homegrown talent with commissions that capture Canada’s rich regional character. Citytv’s original content celebrates our uniquely Canadian perspective and delivers world-class entertainment to 30 million Canadians every week.

Citytv’s New Original Series Descriptions

Broadcast dates/times to be announced in the coming months

DEAD STILL
Citytv ventures to 1880s Ireland, during the earliest days of photography, with the original light-hearted drama series Dead Still. Brock Blennerhasset (Michael Smiley, Luther) is a master photographer with the unusual specialty of “memorial photography” – taking pictures of the dead. And he’s making a killing. But not every photo captures tranquil and eternal repose. The photographer and his assistant Connal Molloy (Kerr Logan, Alias Grace), find themselves embroiled in his subjects’ mysterious deaths or murders. Dead Still blends mystery and drama with gallows humour to present a comic thriller with a witty take on the complications of working as a photographer in the early years of the practice. Dead Still also stars Eileen O’Higgens (Brooklyn), Mark Rendall (Versailles), Martin Donovan (Big Little Lies), Aidan O’Hare (Jackie), Jimmy Smallhorne (Taken Down), and Peter Campion (Derry Girls).

VAGRANT QUEEN
Featuring an all-female team of writers and directors led by Jem Garrard, Vagrant Queen is a live-action adaptation of the popular graphic novel. Driven from her throne as a child, queen Elida (Adriyan Rae, Light as a Feather) has wandered the galaxy for 15 years, scavenging for space junk and trying to evade a Republic government out to extinguish her millennia-old bloodline. When old frenemy Isaac (Tim Rozon, Wynona Earp) shows up claiming her mother is still alive, they return to her former kingdom to stage a rescue – bringing Elida face-to-face with a deadly foe from her childhood, Commander Lazaro (Paul du Toit, Maze Runner). Executive Producers are Lance Samuels and Daniel Iron.

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CBC unveils 2019-2020 primetime schedule

In addition to the CBC revealing the new shows joining the lineup this fall and winter, the network pulled back the curtain on its primetime schedule.

We have yet to confirm actual debut and premiere dates, but here’s what each night will look like.

MONDAYS
8 PM – MURDOCH MYSTERIES *Season 13* (FALL/WINTER)
9 PM – FRANKIE DRAKE MYSTERIES *Season 3* (FALL)
10 PM – THE NATIONAL

TUESDAYS
7:30 PM – FAMILY FEUD CANADA *NEW SERIES* (LATE FALL)
8 PM – STILL STANDING *Season 5*(FALL)
8:30 PM – THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES *Season 27* (FALL/WINTER)
9 PM – TALLBOYZ *NEW SERIES* (FALL)
9:30 PM – BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW *Season 4*
10 PM – THE NATIONAL

WEDNESDAYS
7:30 PM – FAMILY FEUD CANADA *NEW SERIES* (LATE FALL)
8 PM – THE GREAT CANADIAN BAKING SHOW *Season 3*(FALL)
9 PM – NORTHERN RESCUE *Season 1*(FALL)
10 PM – THE NATIONAL

THURSDAYS
7:30 PM – FAMILY FEUD CANADA *NEW SERIES* (LATE FALL)
8 PM – BATTLE OF THE BLADES RETURNS (FALL)
9 PM – DRAGONS’ DEN *Season 14* (FALL)
10 PM – THE NATIONAL

FRIDAYS
7:30 PM – FAMILY FEUD CANADA *NEW SERIES* (LATE FALL)
8 PM – MARKETPLACE *Season 47*(FALL/WINTER)
8:30 PM – IN THE MAKING *Season 2* (FALL)
9 PM – THE NATURE OF THINGS *Season 59* (FALL/WINTER) – New Night
10 PM – THE NATIONAL
11:30 PM – CBC ARTS: EXHIBITIONISTS (FALL/WINTER)

SATURDAYS
Afternoon – ROAD TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES *Season 5* (FALL/WINTER)
6:30 PM – HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA (FALL/WINTER)

SUNDAYS
Afternoon – ROAD TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES *Season 5* (FALL/WINTER)
7 PM – HEARTLAND *Season 13* (FALL)
8 PM – ANNE WITH AN E *Season 3*(FALL)
9 PM – THE FIFTH ESTATE *Season 45*
10 PM – THE NATIONAL

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Family Feud Canada and Fortunate Son among CBC’s new series; Workin’ Moms, Diggstown and 22 Minutes renewed

A Canadian version of Family Feud with Gerry Dee at the helm, a drama based on Eden Robinson’s award-winning Trickster novels and a spy drama based on Heartland, Wynonna Earp and Jann executive producer Tom Cox were among the new series announced by CBC at the network’s Upfront presentation on Wednesday.

The network confirmed that Halifax-based legal drama Diggstown, sketch comedy 22 Minutes and comedy Workin’ Moms have all been renewed for new seasons.

Some sad news: CBC confirmed that Little Dog, Cavendish and Crawford have not been renewed.

Adapted from Eden Robinson’s novels and co-created by Michelle Latimer and Tony Elliot, The Trickster—from Sienna Films (Cardinal)—is described as a darkly humorous coming-of-age story that combines dysfunctional family drama with supernatural thriller. Jared, an Indigenous teen, meets Wade, a mysterious stranger who turns Jared’s life upside down.

Based on the real-life of Tom Cox’s family experience, Fortunate Son—created by Andrew Wreggit—is an eight-episode drama from Seven24 Films and Lark Entertainment about the matriarch of an American activist family who helps smuggle Vietnam war deserters and draft dodgers across the border. He is pursued by the FBI.

Gerry Dee is back on the CBC as the host of Family Feud Canada. Airing weekdays at 7 p.m., the 60-episode program showcases homegrown families from across the country competing to guess the most popular answers to fun, family-friendly survey questions from a sample of Canadians.

The Sounds, a co-production between Canada and New Zealand created by author Sarah-Kate Lynch, is being billed as a relationship drama about the goings-on in Pelorus Sounds, where nothing is quite as it seems. Peter Stebbings will direct all eight episodes.

New and returning unscripted series include Back in Time for Winter, Fridge Wars, High Arctic Haulers and Tallboyz.

CBC also made some casting announcements, noting Great Canadian Baking Show is swapping out Daniel Levy and Julia Chan for Baroness Von Sketch Show‘s Aurora Brown and Carolyn Taylor. As much as I’ll miss Levy and Chan, Brown and Taylor are going to be amazing.

And finally, Kurt Browning has been named head judge for Battle of the Blades with Ron MacLean back as the host. Olympians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir will participate as guest judges. Those confirmed to take to the ice for the competition include figure skaters in Violetta Afanasieva and Vanessa James, and hockey players Sheldon Kennedy and Natalie Spooner.

The new series announcement comes just over a month after CBC revealed the projects returning for new seasons this fall and winter, including Murdoch Mysteries, Frankie Drake Mysteries, Heartland, Still Standing, Baroness Von Sketch Show, Anne with an E, Coroner, The Detectives, Kim’s Convenience and Schitt’s Creek.

Which new shows are you planning to check out this fall and winter? Let me know in the comments below.

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