The 2024/08 Fall TV Season in Canada opened amidst eager expectations for sweeping new adventures - in space and in bed!
And the blast off was A-OK!
Despite a seemingly renewed prurient approach to risqué words and images on network TV, new and returning series such as Tell Me You Love Me, Californication, Desperate Housewives, Cashmere Mafia, Big Shots and The Tudors may force a new definition of the word 'soft' - as in soft porn.
As eagerly anticipated as some of these sexy shows - and some of their sexy scenes - may be, it's empty space that could supply the biggest rush this season.
Award-winning Battlestar Galactica returns with more astronomical adventures. Global has the new sci-fi-esque series Journeyman. Discovery Channel is launching its most ambitious space-themed event ever - the multi-platform Race to Mars expedition miniseries and companion documentary series Mars Rising.
Discovery and SPACE are collaborating on complementary Mars-themed programming across both services, including behind-the-scenes stories on Discovery Channel's Daily Planet and SPACE's HypaSpace, themed feature films, up-to-the-minute special reports on the latest Mars lander mission, and a futuristic, action adventure Grand Star, based on the works of French novelist Georges J. Arnaud.
Meanwhile, Canadian comedy programming (CBC's Little Mosque on the Prairie and Air Farce; CTV's Corner Gas) returns to Canadian screens, while at the same time making inroads on international television schedules. Gas is being well-received in its US TV debut season, while Mosque has picked up prestigious international awards. Both shows will be under even more critical scrutiny as a result.
Even Global is getting into the Canadian-content act with a potentially strong entry that also combines a sense of comedic timing with cultural relevancy: Da Kink In My Hair.
Of course, reality shows, game shows and bio-pics will be sprinkled throughout the TV schedule - and viewers may finally get to decide which Canadian has the most annoying personality on TV: Howie Mandel, Céline Dion or Elijah Harper.
But, in all seriousness, there is little seriousness on Canadian TV - in terms of new dramatic programming.
CTV has just an hour: Whistler, back for its second season, is its only prime-time drama during the week. CBC has more Intelligence, the strong thriller returns for its second season, while a new entry, Heartland makes it s debut.
Citytv returns to the fray with two new hour-long dramas, a vampire detective story show Blood Ties and Across The River to Motor City. The latter begins November 22nd, 1963, the day President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas; it continues over the course of 40 years with attempts to solve that, and other, murders.
CBC has already rolled out one of its big dramatic plays, a two-part, four-hour version of Mordecai Richler's St. Urbain's Horsemen. Still to come is the potentially-engaging The Victor Davis Story, as well as Céline, the life and times of Céline Dion. There's another new CBC series coming called The Border, but it probably will be held for next season.
CTV, continuing with a strong play for making tomorrow's TV movies from yesterday's headlines, will screen Elijah about aboriginal MLA Elijah Harper and Meech Lake; To Serve and Protect, based on the 2024 Mayerthorpe RCMP shooting-deaths tragedy; as well as The Terrorist Next Door.
Major U.S. networks and their biggest TV stars will round out many most-anticipated lists, such as Christina Applegate in Samantha Who? (CTV); Kelsey Grammer (with Fred Willard) in Back to You (Global); Cane with Jimmy Smits (also Global); Donald Sutherland in Dirty Sexy Money (CTV); and the Bionic Woman (actually a new take on the old show, airing on E! with newcomer Michelle Ryan). Charlie Sheen returns to the screen with Two and a Half Men, nabbed by CTV from Global.
Two of perhaps the most unusual personalities to take on the TV season this year are Tim Burton, the eccentric film director, with his resurrectionist fantasy series Pushing Daisies, and Joni Mitchell, who has created a new ballet Fiddle & The Drum along with choreographer Jean Grand-Maitre of the Alberta Ballet Company. The Bravo special features her music and latest paintings in an intriguing setting.
Not only new shows, but new networks - and of course, new owners of old networks - will appear on Canadian dials this season. For example:
No longer any mystery, CanWest MediaWorks debuted a refreshed channel identify for Mystery TV, as well as a new website supporting the specialty service. Teletoon Retro is refreshing the thrill of watching classic cartoons, including The Flinstones and Bugs Bunny, among others.
Allarco Entertainment's Superchannel, the new national English-language pay television network, is set to launch with a big punch - the entire Rocky catalogue will screen in high definition, including Rocky Balboa, the sixth and final installment of the franchise starring Sylvester Stallone. The network will include several other MGM titles in its schedule, thanks to a significant deal between the two entities.
Movies, of course, are always a big TV audience draw, and other dedicated outlets like Corus Entertainment's Movie Central (western Canada) and Astral Media's The Movie Network (eastern Canada) have special screening schedules and new services to offer this fall to meet the need.
The launch of Movie Central On Demand and Movie Central High Definition provides access to more films and entertainment. The Movie Network service includes five 24-hour multiplex channels - M, MMore, MExcess, MFun! and MFest - as well as The Movie Network HD and MMore HD, two dedicated high-definition channels providing hundreds of titles in HD; and The Movie Network OnDemand, a Subscription Video On Demand (SVOD) service.
Drive-In Classics, the CTV specialty service, will screen its cinematic line-up in newly themed package nights, including Martial Arts Mondays, Western Wednesdays, Steamy Windshields and Horror Marathons.
Women viewers have new choices and channels this season. Hearst Corporation and Corus Entertainment will bring Cosmopolitan Television to Canada. Inspired by Cosmopolitan, the world's best-selling young women's magazine, the 24-hour digital channel for women will launch in early 2024. Aimed at a younger demographic than Corus' W Network, this service will air a mix of entertainment and lifestyle programming, ranging from comedy and drama series to relationship and self-help reality programming to blockbuster movies.
Newly-rebranded SLICE is also targetting women, with a schedule described as bringing "attitude to topics that matter to women, including family, fashion, relationships, celebrity, finances and gossip."
M Channel, the Vancouver based multicultural television station, was acquired by Rogers Media, under terms of an announced agreement with Multivan Broadcast Corporation.
The acquisition of Channel M expands Rogers' ethnic television operations into the diverse lower Vancouver mainland and Vancouver Island markets, home to three million residents.
That transaction is subject to Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approval and is expected to close at the end of 2024 or early in 2024.
A Channel, a network of stations in Barrie/Toronto, Ottawa, Victoria/Vancouver, London, Windsor and Wingham, ON was acquired by CTVglobemedia, as well as specialty services such as MuchMusic, Bravo!, Space, CP24 and CLT (19 in all), as part of the CHUM Limited take-over.
A Channel will air tried-and-true shows like Wheel of Fortune, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, America's Funniest Home Videos and talk shows featuring Ellen DeGeneres, Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno.
New to A-Channel will be American shows like 30 Rock, One Tree Hill, Alice I Think and Don't Forget The Lyrics, a new game show with an anticipatable format. Award-winning Jeff Ltd. airs on A-Channel this season, following a successful debut on CTV last year.
Alliance Atlantis, in the midst of its own take-over and acquisition story, may learn its final fate in the midst of its fall schedule.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has stated that hearings into the CanWest Global Communications Corp. application to transfer Alliance Atlantis Communications' regulated properties to CanWest will now be held in November, a delay apparently made necessary as a result of the later closing date (August 15) of the sale of Alliance Atlantis' shares and the subsequent necessary filings associated with the transaction's close.
AAC says its fall season builds on record audiences over winter and spring seasons securing it four of the top 10 spots across all Canadian specialty networks for Adults 25-54 (HGTV #4, History #5, Showcase #7, Food Network #10) and 5 of the top 10 spots across digital specialty (Showcase Action #2, National Geographic #3, Showcase Diva #5, BBC CANADA and Discovery Health Channel jointly #9).
AAC programming highlights from the fall broadcast schedule across the company's 13 specialty television channels include reality programming such as HGTV's
Colin & Justin's Home Heist, an attempt to solve Canadian "design crimes"; Slice's Project Runway Canada, with style-setting Iman hopefully avoiding fashion crimes in this original Canadian series, and of course the always mouth-watering Jamie Oliver returns to the Food Network.
Major stars like Academy Award winner Holly Hunter, making her TV debut in the provocative Saving Grace will appear on Showcase, as Heather Locklear reprises her classic diva persona in Melrose Place on Showcase Diva. Known for his outrageous as opposed to award-winning performances, "the most outrageous comic of his time" Andrew Dice Clay will be profiled on IFC.
If that's not going Through Hell and High Water, the National Geographic Channel will, with its new nature and adventure series. Similarly, History Television will bring lost worlds, forgotten civilizations and secret worlds to life in its new CGI-technology filled sked.
Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) kicked off its fall season with the launch of its new website DigitalDrum.ca.
DigitalDrum.ca showcases Aboriginal culture, history, people, gifts, innovation, creativity and languages through video content that includes the APTN collection of vignettes, as well as user-generated video, audio, text and image content.
On TV, APTN is presenting nine new entertainment/variety/lifestyle series, entertainment/variety/lifestyle series (11 programs returning with new seasons), four new children's series and two children's returning series in its fall line-up, but the network's biggest news may be the news.
News is aired in daily Daytime and PrimeTime programs, and as an interactive weekly program known as Contact. APTN news content is also available as streaming video on the Web, including archived programs.
Beginning this November, APTN National News: Contact will be seen live right across the country, a first for the program. The phone-in show explores issues of relevance and interest to first nations people across the country. Paul Barnsley, known as "one of Canada's best Aboriginal affairs investigative reporters" has joined the news team, as has Daytime program host Holly Bernier. Former Daytime host Cheryl McKenzie will bring an investigative twist as the new host of APTN National News: Contact.
Investigative techniques will be front and centre in a new 13-part series set to air this fall on specialty services like Access (in Alberta and BC); CLT (the Canadian Learning Television) and Court TV Canada.
fraud squad tv will profile frauds, scams and real-life stories from actual fraud cases as a way to help inform the public about how frauds are committed and how to protect themselves from being victimized.
Executive Consultant for the series is Craig Hannaford, a retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer who spent over 24 years conducting investigations into all types of fraud in Canada and abroad.
Stories and information come from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Toronto Police Services, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, producers describe. Actual surveillance footage of sting operations, dramatic recreations of criminal events, as well as interviews with fraud victims, fraud specialists and police will also be featured.
Of course, a fully integrated website is planned, providing additional fraud information as well as a Blog, Breaking News and the world's first "Fraudcasts" to inform the public of the most current frauds being perpetrated.
It's perhaps too strong to say that Henry was a fraud, but a highly touted new dramatic series will explore British history and royal secrets in what is promised to be a seductive show on the CBC - The Tudors.
The Canada-Ireland co-production combines Toronto-based Peace Arch with CBC Television and Showtime Networks. It stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Bend It Like Beckham) as the King, and an all-star international cast, including Sam Neill (Jurassic Park), Jeremy Northam (Gosford Park), and Natalie Dormer along with Canadians Henry Czerny (Mission Impossible) and Kris Holden-Ried (The Walter Gretzky Story: Waking Up Wally).
Writer Michael Hirst, who previously brought English history to life in the feature film Elizabeth, delves deeper into Tudor England to profile the smart, sexy young king over a 10-year period, beginning in 1520.
A creative tandem of British, Canadian and Irish directors worked the show, including Charles McDougall (Desperate Housewives) and Alison Maclean (Sex & the City). Jeremy Podeswa (Rome, Six Feet Under), whose film Fugitive Pieces opened the Toronto International Film Festival, is directing in Season Two, now in production. Canadian Trevor Morris composed the Emmy-nominated main title score.
The Tudors will air in HD.
Also available in HD on CBC is Heartland, a family-oriented contemporary drama, set in the beautiful foothills of Alberta's Rocky Mountains at Heartland, a horse-rescue centre that is also home to the unshakeable spirit of the Fleming family. It's adapted from Lauren Brooke's international best-selling series of 21 books created in the U.K. by Working Partners and published in Canada by Scholastic Canada. Over 6.5 million copies have been sold worldwide.
Heartland stars Amber Marshall (The Elizabeth Smart Story) as Amy, Michelle Morgan (Diary of the Dead) as Lou, Shaun Johnston (Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee) as Grandpa Jack and Chris Potter (The Pacifier) as Tim, Amy's and Lou's estranged father. Also in the cast are Graham Wardle (In the Land of Women) as Ty Borden and Nathaniel Arcand (Moose TV) as Scott Cardinal.
The series is co-produced by Dynamo Films of Toronto and Seven24 Films in Calgary and is written by Heather Conkie (Road To Avonlea, Dark Oracle), Leila Basen (Bon Cop, Bad Cop) and David Preston (Tales of the Neverending Story). Executive producers are Heather Conkie along with Jordy Randall and Tom Cox of Seven24 Films and Michael Weinberg of Dynamo Films.
Fans have been waiting all summer for the return of Chris Haddock's hit dramatic series Intelligence, starring Ian Tracey (DaVinci's Inquest, Milgaard) and Klea Scott (Brooklyn South, Millennium).
The critically acclaimed series received 11 Gemini nominations, including Best Dramatic Series and Best Directing for Haddock The series picks up where season one left off, providing a glimpse into the world of West Coast crime, full of treacherous gangs, cutthroat dope dealers, pimps and thieves. Intelligence is a Haddock Entertainment production produced with the financial participation of CBC, Telefilm Canada, the CTF - License Fee Program, the Canadian Western Independent Program Fund, the Canadian and British Columbian Production Tax Credit Programs and CBC International Sales.
Intelligence of a somewhat different nature saturates Little Mosque on the Prairie, and its second season of 20 new episodes.
In its debut season, the show garnered over one million viewers weekly. International awards and nominations (including winning the MAXIMO Award for Best TV Product; a Bronze Plaque at the 55th Columbus International Film and Video Festival; Best Screenplay and Best TV Series at The Roma (Italy) FictionFest; and the Best Comedy Award at the Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival) set the series up for even greater expectations.
This season, producers describe, the show will host a number of special guests, including Toronto Maple Leaf Darcy Tucker, Ron MacLean (Hockey Night in Canada), Dave Foley (Kids in the Hall, News Radio) and Samantha Bee (correspondent for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart), among others.
Executive producers are Mary Darling and Clark Donnelly. Co-executive producer is Paul Mather. Producers are Colin Brunton and Michael Snook. Zarqa Nawaz is the creator, consulting producer and a member of the writing room. Little Mosque is a production of Westwind Pictures in association with CBC Television.
As is a comedy show about religious differences and cultural encounters isn't risky enough, the CBC is stepping out on the high wire with another of its hit comedies, the Royal Canadian Air Farce.
Revving up in its 15th season, the show will air live throughout the year. It's a dramatic - pardon the pun - format change, not without some risk.
"There's an element of danger to it, like walking a tightrope without a net," said Chris Lauzon, a new cast member and contributing writer. "The show gets that much more exciting to make and to watch, knowing that there's only one shot at this."
Lauzon joined the Farce in September 2024; within a year he was nominated for a Canadian Comedy Award for best male performer, television. Lauzon was also recently nominated for a 2024 Canadian Comedy Award for his work as a writer. In 2024 and now 2024, the show was nominated for a Gemini in the Ensemble Cast category.
Awards for Canadian comedy are nothing new in Dog River, Saskatechewan.
CTV's Corner Gas, nominated for 13 Geminis, is pumped for a multi-media splash this year. Now in its fifth season in Canada, and its first in the U.S., the show is available via broadband Internet, with full episodes, extra material and special webisodes, as well as a multi-disk DVD retail collection.
Corner Gas aired on Superstation WGN, reaching more than 70 million U.S. homes with the debut episode days before the show made its fifth season premiere in Canada
Corner Gas also airs on The Comedy Network.
Led by show-runner Kevin White (This Hour Has 22 Minutes) along with star and creator Brent Butt, the seven-person creative team features Mark Farrell (This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Made In Canada) as producer/writer; Emmy winner Norm Hiscock (Saturday Night Live, King Of The Hill, Kids In The Hall) as consulting producer/writer; Andrew Carr (Comics) as story editor/writer; Gary Pearson (MadTV, This Hour Has 22 Minutes) as story editor/writer; and Dylan Worts as assistant story editor.
Featuring special guest stars Dog The Bounty Hunter, the RCMP Musical Ride and other special surprises, the entire Corner Gas ensemble cast returns for Season 5, filmed at Regina's Canada / Saskatchewan Production Studios and on location in neighbouring Rouleau.
Corner Gas is produced in association with CTV by Prairie Pants Productions, comprised of Virginia Thompson (Incredible Story Studio, renegadepress.com) of Vérité Films and 335 Productions, a partnership of Brent Butt and David Storey (Blackfly, The Seán Cullen Show). Louise Clarke is CTV's Director, Western Independent Production. Brent Haynes is Director of Programming for The Comedy Network. Ed Robinson is Senior-Vice President, Comedy and Variety Programming, CTV Inc. Susanne Boyce is President, CTV Programming and Chair of the CTV Media Group.
CanWest's Global Television is gassing up its marketing vehicles, with its Media Innovation 2024 rollout, called the network's most aggressive launch campaign to date.
Top Global TV properties such as Back to You, Cane, Prison Break, House, Brothers and Sisters and Heroes were and will be promoted with online, off-air media as well as broadcast campaigns.
In a sign of the times, the campaign features partnerships with two key national retailers - Sears and Burger King - where branding initiatives will include custom Global signage, floor decals and window displays promoting key series.
Canada's largest and most-travelled transit system, the Toronto subway, was a focal point of the network's marketing, as Global took over the busy Yonge/Bloor subway for the second year running. Similarly, the underground tunnel at Yonge and Eglinton and high volume Yonge and York expressway tunnels into downtown Toronto were used to showcase the all-Global theme.
Leveraging its multi-platform capabilities, a Sears-sponsored Global Fall Premiere Guide was distributed in all CanWest papers nationally, and supported by online ads. Burger King restaurants featured branded tray liners and tent cards showcasing original program creative.
Global was also the exclusive advertiser on over 1.3 million interactive program guides in Shaw, Cogeco and EastLink cable systems during its launch week. As well, Global targeted ad space on Captivate Elevator Networks during premiere week across Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary, generating an estimated over 8 million impressions per day.
All creative and media plans were developed in-house by the Global Television Marketing department.
Likewise, elements for Mystery TV's new look were created in conjunction with CanWest MediaWorks by Systematic Design, an Emmy Award-winning, Winnipeg-based firm. In addition, the digital network has a new website.
The reinvigorated on-air look is the latest evolution for the network, with its program mix of suspense and crime drama heavy-hitters, including Law & Order Special Victims Unit and Criminal Intent, House, NCIS and Numb3rs.
Mysteries, both real and imagined, from the Red Planet are the focus of the complimentary Mars-themed programming of Discovery and SPACE that kicks off their respective schedules.
From behind-the-scenes stories on Daily Planet and HypaSpace to feature films and an up-to-the-minute special on the latest Mars lander mission, it's all the "right stuff" to prepare for the voyage of a lifetime, the stations describe.
The God of War gets themed programming this season, but so too, man's best friend.
The Pet Network has added a new lineup to the family entertainment roster this fall, as Stornoway Productions' digital channel enters its fourth season with high-profile hosts, brand new programs, and an emphasis on family quality time.
Animals of all sorts, in fact, are in the spotlight during Pet Cinema, featuring films that incorporate a pet and animal theme. Pet Docs is a collection of documentaries that range from uplifting and heartwarming to compelling and tragic.
The introduction of Family Fun Features this year highlights the channel's "entertainment for all ages" approach. This fresh lineup of shows includes the 70's classic The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, starring Dan Haggerty as a frontier woodsman who lives among the animals. In 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd, a bully makes amends for bad karma after being turned into a dog. The Mighty Jungle follows a zookeeper who must also keep a secret: the animals in his zoo can talk. The Adventures of Black Stallion returns to TV, with tales of an unbeatable race horse and his young human companion.
The Pet Network's flagship show Pet Central has taken on a fresh look with two new hosts. Alex Pierson, most notably of Citytv and Global Television, and James Hartnett, an alumni of Second City and most recently Out There with Melissa DiMarco, present interesting, quirky, and compelling Canadian stories about animals and the people who share their lives on this half-hour of feel-good television.
Shows targeted toward the tastes of a more adult demographic include Pet Fashion, with features on care, grooming and pampering practices that range from rudimentary to extravagant. Animal Miracles returns with host Alan Thicke and tales of remarkable bravery, intelligence and compassion, exhibited by lifesaving animals. One of The Pet Network's most popular shows, Good Dog with renowned dog behaviourist Dr. Stanley Coren, also returns for another season.
Scheduled for another season even before its debut is the original production from Treehouse, called Are we there yet?: World Adventure, a show described as the first-ever live-action pre-school global adventure series.
Produced in association with National Geographic Kids and with the support of UNICEF, the series tracks the globetrotting adventures of two sibling duos on their unscripted and unpredictable tour of the world. A Treehouse original production, season one of Are we there yet?: World Adventure premieres on Treehouse and Discovery Kids Canada this fall, while Season T, also with 39 seven-minute episodes, is already slated to premiere on Treehouse and Discovery Kids Canada in the fall of 2024.
In each seven-minute episode of Are we there yet?: World Adventure, sibling adventurers - aged between five and nine - share their global explorations with kids at home through journal writing, drawing, painting and on-location chatter.
Complemented by an innovative and expansive website, the show extends the viewing experience through dynamic games, interactive maps and exclusive unseen footage, which allows young users to explore the world at their fingertips.
Sinking Ship Entertainment, the brainchild of three Ryerson University graduates - J.J. Johnson, Matt Bishop, and Blair Powers, produces the show. Treehouse is owned by Corus Entertainment.
Partly owned by Corus and partly by Astral Media, Teletoon Canada is also gearing up to provide multi-platform content for kids. The all-animation network put some of the most popular Canadian cartoons into the digital domain this past season, with the launch of two new services, Video on Demand (VOD) and Mobile TV. Building upon the recent re-branding of the network, the expansion positions the network for a move towards fully integrated digital content.
The specialty service says it is increasingly committed to ensuring its programming is available to audiences everywhere. To take advantage of future opportunities presented by new technologies and to forge strong links with new partners, the network created two new positions. Mary-Anne Taylor joined as Director of Affiliate Relations and Natalie Langlois assumed the role of Project Manager, New Business Development. Along with the expansion of VOD and Mobile TV, the network also began to offer full-length episodes and exclusive content online through its dedicated store front website.
Meanwhile, the new digital service Teletoon Retro will launch as a nostalgic throwback to timeless cartoons from the Boomer age, like Rocky & Bullwinkle, Tom & Jerry and more. Cartoons targeted at adults 25 to 49 with substantial family co-viewing opportunities creates a unique advertising and promotion target, and Teletoon says it will capitalize by creatively re-purposing retro commercials to brandsell custom-tailored, interactive campaigns.
From October 1, Teletoon Retro will be available as part of the digital standard package on Bell ExpressVu from October 1st; ongoing negotiations with additional carriers were reported at press time.
A seamless distribution and delivery blend across specialty and conventional TV channels, broadband, mobile, VOD and live events across the country is the goal of most broadcasters, not the least of which is MTV.
Today the network announced that the debuts of nine new series in addition to the 14 fan favourites that will return to anchor the MTV schedule.
Popular fan favourites will return to MTV including new content from the marquee series established on TV in the 14 months it has been on the air: The Andy Milonakis Show, Cribs, Diary, e2, Engaged and Underage, The Hills, The Hills After Show, MTV Live, Next, The Real World: Sydney, Scarred, MTV Screen, Super Sweet 16 and Pimp My Ride.
New series and specials for the 2024 fall schedule include: Jimmy Kimmel's Crank Yankers, Date My Playlist, Human Giant, Kentucky Kid, Made, Me & Mr. Jones, Show Choir, The Stew and The X Effect.
This new batch of programs will be available across multiple platforms, MTV says. In addition to providing a forum for interaction with the MTV broadcast channel, MTV.ca sets the standard for broadband channels in Canada. A year after launching, MTV.ca reports it has exceeded 20 million video streams and content on demand, including full-length MTV shows, exclusive music events, artist interviews, more than 10,000 music videos, over 1,000 hours of video content and much more.
Speaking of which...
The multi-platform, multi-network MuchMusic brand continues to exploit new digital platforms for its music-centric programming. A division of CTV, Much targets fans aged 12-34, and distributes programming to 120 countries and 7.5 million households across Canada via cable, satellite, online at Joost and on mobile.
And while MuchMusic is known to spotlight homegrown talent through original productions and nurtures the Canadian music-video production industry through its annual, multi-million dollar contribution to VideoFACT, its new fall line-up is heavily driven by the U.S. star system.
Stars Gone Wild, for example, has fifteen half-hour episodes taking an irreverent look at Hollywood stars and infamous rich kids, from driving under the influence and public hissy fits to mandatory rehab and getting photographed going commando. Stars Gone Wild is said to feature musicians and celebrities like 50 Cent, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, and many more.
Four back-to-back seasons of The O.C. will air on Much, providing a fictionalized look at young Hollywood elites. Reality rockers seem to be the next big thing, however, as Funkmaster Flex look at hot cars; So You Think You Can Dance III looks for talented hoofers, and (on sister outlet MuchMoreMusic) Gene Simmons: Family Jewels; Mission: ManBand; Rock Life; and Celebrity Fit Club II hit the air.
VisionTV, Canada ' s multi-faith and multicultural television network, kicks off its 2024-2008 season in September with a new focus on drama, comedy and movies. Its exploration of issues related to faith, religion and culture is underscored with Convictions, a world premiere for Vision.
This series offers a unique glimpse into the lives of men and women of faith who are driven to make a difference in the world - whether in war-torn lands or the urban wastelands of North America's inner cities.
While new documentaries and documentary series, such as Medicine Woman, The Protestant Revolution and a new season of The Naked Archaeologist are slated to premiere in 2024-2008, the 'best of Brit-coms' may be a bigger draw. Favourites such as Dinnerladies, 'Allo, 'Allo!, Yes, Prime Minister and Eyes Down are joined this season by new titles including, Waiting for God, where residents at a seniors' home frown on any show of independence on the part of the inmates, uhh, residents is strictly frowned upon.
Sorry! , a premiere presentation, features the irrepressible Ronnie Corbett (The Two Ronnies) as, a single, fortysomething librarian still living at home, trapped under the thumb of his domineering mother who seems determined to thwart his every desire - especially when it comes to the opposite sex.
There's that word again - it's all over the airwaves this season: spicing up commercial TV programming; liberally sprinkled across specialty channel schedules; and, of course, anchoring its own subscription specialty service.