Canadian TV Fall Preview 2020-21

[Sal]

Better late than never!

Traditionally, the major Canadian TV networks plan their fall schedules and announce their acquisitions after the US networks have finalized their lineups. This season, with the threat of Covid-19 hanging over the entire world, everything had to be handled differently and a lot more carefully. All formal upfronts were cancelled, with all networks preferring to show private virtual presentations which were targeted towards the viewers at home rather than the many advertisers who are looking to sponsor their shows. As usual, CBC was first up and that's where I will begin.


CBC

This fall, CBC will show over 1300 hours of new and original content, including the documentary series "Enslaved", produced by Oscar winner Samuel L Jackson, about the history of slavery, and "Orangeville Prep", about a Canadian high school that is turning out future NBA stars at an impressive rate. There will also be "War Of The Worlds", a new British series based on the novel by H G Wells and the movies that followed. No new sitcoms or sketch comedies are planned for either the fall or winter seasons.

CBC also announced that 22 series will be returning this fall including its newest hit game show "Family Feud Canada" and the reality sports series "Battle Of The Blades". Other shows coming back to CBC include "Baroness Von Sketch Show" (5th and final season), "Dragon's Den" (Season 15), and "This Hour Has 22 Minutes" (28th season).

Held over until midseason (Winter 2020) will be new series "Lady Dicks", about a pair of female detectives, and "Arctic Vets", about a group of veterinarians who work in the Arctic Circle. (Exactly the type of thrilling drama that you can expect from the CBC!). Returning in midseason (but not before) will be "The Fifth Estate" (Season 46), "Kim's Convenience" (Season 5), and "Heartland" (Season 14). All series can be streamed for free on CBC Gem.

Full Details:

Press Release

CBC Gem

New Series (Google Drive)

Coming up: CITY TV/Rogers Media

[Sal]

CITY TV

CITY-TV is promoting their fall schedule as being a "Rock Solid" lineup, since their new series will include "Young Rock", a sitcom about the early life of Hollywood star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Due to the continuing fears about the Covid-19 virus, CITY-TV, like most TV networks across North America, cut down on the number of new shows that they will feature in their fall lineup.

This season, there will only be 4 new series added and 17 returning shows, way down from last year's total of 15 new shows and 21 returning series. The other 3 new series that will join "Young Rock" will be the NBC comedy "Mr Mayor" starring Ted Danson and produced by Tina Fey; "Law and Order: Organized Crime", also from NBC, starring Christopher Meloni; and Fox's "The Great North" with Megan Mullally of "Will and Grace" as part of a family that makes their home in Alaska. Since it's from FOX, it figures to be the weakest link in the group.

Returning to CITY this fall will be "Black-ish", "Dancing With The Stars", "The Bachelor", "The Bachelorette", NBC's 3 Chicago dramas, and sitcoms “Bob’s Burgers,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Family Guy” and “The Simpsons.”


Press Release

Live Shows To Streams


Next: Global TV

[Sal]

GLOBAL

Each of Canada's networks tried to keep a low profile during their virtual upfronts which wrapped up yesterday, not making too many changes to their existing lineups, and not adding many new shows to fill their schedules. Global was the exception to that rule as they announced what may have been the biggest acquisition news of the entire week. Global has picked up 2 big hit series "48 Hours" and "60 Minutes" which were previously seen on CHCH, and 3 new drama series: A "Global Original" Canadian series "Departure" and 2 US imports: "The Equalizer" starring Queen Latifah, and "Next". These series will join 19 returning series including sitcoms "The Neighborhood" and "The Unicorn".


Press Release

Live Streams

All Shows

Fall Preview

Fall Lineup + Schedule


Next: CTV

[Sal]

CTV

CTV, Canada's most popular and most-watched TV network, returns this fall with only 3 new series debuting in Sept. but it will also feature 18 returning series, more than the other 3 networks, including Canada's #1 comedy (Young Sheldon) and drama series (The Young Doctor). New to CTV this fall will be the Chuck Lorre sitcom "B Positive" , "Filthy Rich" starring Gerald McRaney ("Major Dad") and Kim Cattrall ("Sex and the City"), and the new rebooted game show "Supermarket Sweep". Returning series include "The Conners" (Canada's 2nd most watched comedy), "Bob Hearts Abishola" (the highest rated new series of last season), and Canadian original series "Jann" starring Canadian pop star Jann Arden as herself.

CTV's two virtual video sites CTV Movies and CTV Throwback will also be showing plenty of new and classic titles this fall. I'll keep you informed on what you can expect when they arrive.



Press Release

Full Episodes

Schedule + Trailers For New Shows

CTV Movies

CTV Throwback



Tomorrow: The best for last. IndieNET: CHEK, NTV, YES TV, and the big one - CHCH TV, with a new retro schedule that will completely amaze you!

[Sal]

IndieNET

The word "IndieNET" is short for "independent networks" and refers to a group of small local and regional channels that are not affiliated with either CBC, CTV, Global, or CITY TV. These channels are:

NTV (Newfoundland)

CHEK (Vancouver, BC)

YES TV (Ontario and Alberta)

CHCH (Hamilton, Ontario)


Each of these stations take pride in their strong community spirit. Their daytime programs are a combination of local news, community public affairs shows, and a few syndicated US programs that are shared between them like "Wheel Of Fortune", "Jeopardy", "25 Words Or Less", "Funny You Should Ask" and more judges than you can shake a gavel at. CHEK has even sprinkled in a couple of classics in their lineup like "Happy Days" and "MASH" which CHCH was happy to share with them. YES TV also carries these shows and others which I'll show you below as well as religious programs that run in the morning and early afternoon hours. After that, there appears to be a huge contrast between their schedule and CHCH in terms of the right and wrong ways to make a programming schedule. First let me show you the wrong way.


YES TV Sales Kit

YES TV Ontario Fall 2020 Schedule

Weekdays

1:30 pm Funny You Should Ask
2:00 JAG
3:00/3:30 Hot Bunch
4:00/4:30 25 Words Or Less
5:00 Law & Order
6:00/6:30 Judge Judy
7:00 (Mon-Sat) Wheel Of Fortune
7:30 (Mon-Sat) Jeopardy
8:00 (Mon-Thu) Blue Bloods (Fri) Saving Hope


Late Nights

10:30 pm Little Mosque On The Prairie
11:00 Heartland
12:00 am Law & Order (Yes, again!)
1:00 Judging Amy
2:00 Diagnosis Murder
3:00 I Love Lucy


"I Love Lucy" at 3 am?? How very Me-TV-like of them! It figures that they would put their best series on at the worst possible time. That's just horrible! On the bright side, "Heartland" is a welcome change from "Doogie Howser" and the weekends also feature "When Calls The Heart", "Father Brown" and "Downtown Abbey" . But otherwise I'm not very impressed.

The Alberta schedule isn't much different or any better than the Ontario one. It's the same faces in different places. Here is how it looks:

YES TV Alberta Fall 2020 Schedule

Weekdays

12:00/12:30 pm Hot Bench
1:30/2:00 Funny You Should Ask
3:00 JAG
4:00 Law & Order
5:00/5:30 Judge Judy
6:00 Heartland
7:00 (Mon-Sat) Wheel Of Fortune
7:30 (Mon-Sat) Jeopardy
8:00 (Mon-Thu) Blue Bloods (Fri) Saving Hope

Late Nights

12:00 am Law & Order
1:00 Judging Amy
2:00 Diagnosis Murder
3:00 I Love Lucy

So that takes care of all of Canada's major and minor networks except one, and, this fall, CHCH's retro schedule is so good that it deserves it own separate page which is featured below this one. Read on for all the latest.

[Sal]

CHCH

The time has come at last to reveal what I believe is the best fall retro lineup on TV today and one of the best that CHCH has ever had in their attempt to bring back the classics of the past. Keep in mind that not all of these shows will begin around the same time since there are many long-running shows like "Good Times", "One Day At A Time" and "The Facts Of Life" that still have to finish their run before the replacements take over. For this reason, the official schedule does not display any premiere dates, just the names. So here they are for you below. Let's get the fun started!

CHCH Media Kit - Fall 2020 - Page 12


10:00 am Matlock
11:00 Green Acres
11:30 Beverly Hillbillies


12:00 pm Fantasy Island
1:00 Mission: Impossible
2:00 The Jeffersons (New time)
2:30 The Jeffersons (2nd episode)
3:00 Good Times (New time)/The Odd Couple
3:30 Gilligan's Island
4:00 One Day At A Time
4:30 The Facts Of Life/Get Smart
5:00 Cheers/Family Ties
5:30 Brady Bunch


Once the old shows are done, this group will look incredibly awesome. I am at a complete loss for words to describe how much I will look forward to seeing all these great shows again. The only tough part is not knowing when any of them will start but I will be ready for it and give you the official dates when they come in. Enjoy them all and have fun everyone!!

[kk-likes-tv]

Originally Posted by Sal

CHCH

The time has come at last to reveal what I believe is the best fall retro lineup on TV today and one of the best that CHCH has ever had in their attempt to bring back the classics of the past. Keep in mind that not all of these shows will begin around the same time since there are many long-running shows like "Good Times", "One Day At A Time" and "The Facts Of Life" that still have to finish their run before the replacements take over. For this reason, the official schedule does not display any premiere dates, just the names. So here they are for you below. Let's get the fun started!

CHCH Media Kit - Fall 2020 - Page 12


10:00 am Matlock
11:00 Green Acres
11:30 Beverly Hillbillies


12:00 pm Fantasy Island
1:00 Mission: Impossible
2:00 The Jeffersons (New time)
2:30 The Jeffersons (2nd episode)
3:00 Good Times (New time)/The Odd Couple
3:30 Gilligan's Island
4:00 One Day At A Time
4:30 The Facts Of Life/Get Smart
5:00 Cheers/Family Ties
5:30 Brady Bunch


Once the old shows are done, this group will look incredibly awesome. I am at a complete loss for words to describe how much I will look forward to seeing all these great shows again. The only tough part is not knowing when any of them will start but I will be ready for it and give you the official dates when they come in. Enjoy them all and have fun everyone!!

Well, doggie! I was hopin' for the Hillbillies and the Brady clan and those two alone would have got me hootin' and a hollerin'. But we're gettin' Get Smart, Green Acres and Gilligan too? Why, I'm pleased as punch.

Good job CHCH I reckon Granny oughta fix up some extra vittles fer you!