The iconic ‘thumbs up’ salute from Canadian television icon Don Cherry will never look the same again.
Kirstine Stewart, Interim Executive Vice-President, English Services, CBC Television, today previewed the network’s Winter 2024 schedule, including the launch of a new spy comedy; the return of the a Down East detective series; the premiere of a new factual lifestyle series; a new primetime historical drama; and the 50th Anniversary of a TV science show.
“It’s very rewarding to create truly Canadian programs that Canadians want to watch, she said at the preview. “It is the great talent we have in this country that makes it possible.”
Standing in front of much of that talent, assembled live on stage at the new Bell TIFF Lightbox in downtown Toronto where the event was held, Stewart noted that seasonal and holiday specials would also be a part of the schedule.
And while Hockey Night in Canada stalwarts Ron McLean and Don Cherry were among those CBC personalities in attendance, the two also appeared in a special pre-taped segment, promoting the CBC’s partnership with Panasonic Canada and its plans to broadcast two NHL hockey games in 3D this season.
The video segment itself was shot in 3D (and the hockey hosts wore the appropriate eyewear, at least for a moment or two) and they described a number of CBC TV sports broadcast firsts, from instant replay to HDTV and now, 3DTV, with announced plans for two 3D hockey broadcasts.
A separate video segment with Gordon Pinsent played up the technolgy involved in a clever comedic segment. Also attending in person, Pinsent humourously touted what he called “third dimensional television” as he demonstrated “the magic” in a faux science lab setting.
(For more on the 3DTV hockey exclusive, please see the upcoming December issue of Broadcaster Magazine.)
As unveiled at the event, the CBC TV Winter 2024 Schedule features:
SUNDAYS (beginning January 2)
7 p.m. HEARTLAND
MONDAYS (beginning January 3)
8 p.m. 18 TO LIFE
8:30 p.m. LITTLE MOSQUE ON THE PRAIRIE
9 p.m. VILLAGE ON A DIET
TUESDAYS (beginning January 4)
8 p.m. RICK MERCER REPORT
8:30 p.m. INSECURITY
9 p.m. THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH
WEDNESDAYS (beginning January 5)
8 p.m. DRAGONS’ DEN
9 p.m. REPUBLIC OF DOYLE
THURSDAYS (beginning January 6)
8 p.m. THE NATURE OF THINGS
9 p.m. DOC ZONE
FRIDAYS (beginning January 7)
8 p.m. RICK MERCER REPORT – Encore
8:30 p.m. MARKETPLACE
9 p.m. the fifth estate
SATURDAYS
6:30 p.m. CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA
WEEKNIGHTS
10 p.m. THE NATIONAL, with Peter Mansbridge
10:55 p.m. CBC NEWS LATE NIGHT
11:05 p.m. GEORGE STROUMBOULOPOULOS TONIGHT
DAYTIME
7 a.m. KIDS’CBC
2 p.m. STEVEN AND CHRIS
3 p.m. BEST RECIPES EVER
(all times local; thirty minutes later in Newfoundland)
New programming includes INSECURITY, an action-comedy following the exploits of agents at a fictional spy agency who have unorthodox and sometimes hilarious methods, but somehow manage to keep Canada safe-often unwittingly; VILLAGE ON A DIET, which follows the residents of Taylor, B.C., as they try to lose a ton of collective weight in three months, and PILLARS OF THE EARTH, a sweeping epic of good and evil set in the 12th century and starring Gordon Pinsent and Donald Sutherland.
Returning favourites include REPUBLIC OF DOYLE, a one-hour comedic drama starring Allan Hawco that follows the lives of a not-so-everyday family of detectives in Newfoundland, the internationally acclaimed comedy LITTLE MOSQUE ON THE PRAIRIE, and the second season of the provocative family comedy 18 TO LIFE. Meanwhile, award-winning CBC journalist Tom Harrington joins Erica Johnson as co-host of Canada’s most trusted consumer affairs program, MARKETPLACE. And this winter, the 50th season of THE NATURE OF THINGS with David Suzuki continues.
Highlights include a two-hour special looking at the Alberta oil sands conflict, and a celebration of 50 years of programming, exploring and highlighting key elements in the history of a Canadian institution.
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