Canadian Fall TV Upfronts 2024

[Sal]

The US TV upfronts were held earlier this month and for the first time in many years, everything was back to normal, uninterrupted and unaffected by pandemics or strikes. That made it easier for the Canadian TV networks to negotiate with them regarding acquisitions for the fall and the rights fees that need to be made for each series that is bought. The results will be seen when the Canadian networks announce their latest finds during the upfronts which start this week and continue next week. Here is the full schedule:


Thursday, May 30 - IndieNET - YesTV (Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton), CHEK (Victoria, BC), NTV (Newfoundland), and CHCH-TV (Hamilton, Ont.)

Wednesday, June 5 - Corus Entertainment - Global TV, Pluto TV Canada and other specialty channels

Thursday, June 6 - Bell Media - CTV, CTV2, CTV Comedy, CTV Drama, CTV Life, CTV Sci-Fi, CTV Throwback, TSN, Discovery and other specialty channels

Rogers Sports and Media - Monday, June 10 - CITY TV, OMNI TV, Sportsnet, FX Canada, FXX Canada.

The CBC had their upfront last week. I'll give you the highlights of that presentation tomorrow and news of what the other networks have in store after I have seen all of the details. I'll be paying particular attention to CHCH since their fall schedule and retro lineup is always the highlight of these upfronts. Stay tuned.

[Sal]

CBC

As usual, CBC is the first of the 4 major Canadian TV networks to have their upfront presentation, doing so last Wed. May 22. This fall, they will continue to offer more than 40 new and returning original Canadian drama, comedy, and reality series. They will also be expanding their online FAST channels, with CBC NEWS live channels from 14 major Canadian cities, with the first 2 channels from BC (British Columbia) and Toronto already available on their main online platform CBC Gem. The next 12 channels, set to arrive this fall, will cover the following regions: Calgary, Edmonton, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, the North, Nova Scotia, Ottawa, PEI, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Windsor.

On the main network, CBC viewers can look forward to 3 new comedy series and 1 new drama. The new comedies are:

"North Of North" - A young single Inuit mother living near the Arctic Circle tries to reset her life after a very public breakup from her husband.

"Small Achievable Goals" - Two best friends try to make a podcast together while both of them are going through menopause.

"Snotty Nose Rez Kids" - This is the name of a popular Indigenous rap/hip-hop music group. The series chronicles their road to success and all the obstacles they had to face on the way.

RETURNING COMEDY SERIES

This Hour Has 32 Minutes - Season 32
Son Of A Critch - Season 4

NEW DRAMA SERIES

"Saint-Pierre" - Two mismatched police officers, a man and a woman, are forced to work together in the remote small town of Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, near Newfoundland.

RETURNING DRAMA SERIES

Murdoch Mysteries - Season 18
Wild Cards - Season 2 - also shown in the US on CW

....and of course...

HEARTLAND - Season 18 - returns Fall 2024!

Also coming back:

Family Feud Canada - Season 6 - Winter 2025
Dragons' Den - Season 19

For more detailed info, check out the following links:

Press Release

CBC Gem

Tomorrow, the IndieNET channels will have their turn. This will include the long-awaited fall schedule announcement from CHCH TV. Stay tuned and keep it on this page for more details.

[Sal]

IndieNET

"IndieNET" stands for "Independent Network". It is made up of 4 independent channels that can be seen right across Canada. They are CHEK TV (Vancouver), NTV (Newfoundland), YES TV (Toronto, Calgary, and Edmonton), and our favorite, CHCH TV (Hamilton, Ont.). Each station is operated in a different fashion but they do share much of the same programming during the daytime and early evening hours, like "Blue Bloods", "Judge Judy", "Hot Bench", "People's Court", "Jeopardy", and "Wheel Of Fortune" (with new host Ryan Seacrest). Oddly enough, this fall CHCH will begin carrying the British/UK versions of both "Wheel Of Fortune" and "Jeopardy". Last Thursday, during their upfronts, each station released their own 2-minute video 'sizzle reel' which revealed a brief preview of what they will be showing this fall but without an official schedule to go with it. I would expect that to happen no earlier than August and that really stinks. Here's what to look forward to from each station this fall based on what I saw in each video;

CHEK

CHEK has a heavy emphasis on local news and community programs and doesn't have many hours allotted to US aquisitions compared to the other Indienet channels but they will show "Blue Bloods", "Wheel Of Fortune", and "Jeopardy" this fall. In short, nothing to get excited about.

NTV

Like CHEK, NTV focuses on local news and community programming, but it also features a very diverse group of prime-time US imports that the other IndieNET channels don't have. These shows include: "NCIS", "Elsbeth", "Ghosts", "Fire Country", "Saturday Night Live", "Abbott Elementary" and - unfortunately - "The Neighborhood".

YES TV

YES TV follows a standard format which provides religious programming in the morning and entertainment the rest of the day. Their programs carry a big amount of primetime game shows with a few scripted series thrown in as well. Their game shows will include a new show called "The Flip Side" hosted by Jaleel "Steve Urkel" White as well as returning series "Don't Forget The Lyrics", "We Are Family", "I Can See Your Voice" and "The Floor". Scripted shows will include reruns of "The Middle", "Mike & Molly" and "God Friended Me".

CHCH

Canada's best retro channel will be celebrating its 70th anniversary this Friday and will have special programming features throughout the fall to celebrate. In the evening hours, it will have many US imports, highlighted by the entire FOX "Animation Domination" lineup on Sunday nights. In the daytime, when the retro shows take over, the only new show of note that will start sometime in the fall will be "The Avengers", the British spy classic starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg. Returning to the lineup, with some series beginning in the summer, are "I Dream Of Jeannie", "The Love Boat", "Hogan's Heroes", "The Lucy Show", and "The Odd Couple". I have a feeling that there may be a few surprise additions that will be arriving as well. Keep it here to find out what they are and when they will show up.


Tomorrow: CORUS Entertainment - Including Global TV and Pluto TV.

[Sal]

GLOBAL TV

The Global Television Network, heading into its 50th season, is the main network that forms part of Corus Entertainment, along with a variety of specialty networks and kids' channels like YTV, Cartoon Network, and Disney.

Global's new lineup will focus more on drama series and a few reality series like the return of "Survivor", with the only new sitcom of note scheduled to make its debut being "Poppa's House" starring Damon Wayans and his son Damon Wayans Jr. scheduled for Mondays at 8:30 following "The Neighborhood" for what should be a very cringe-worthy hour of comedy.

On the drama side, look for a reboot of "Matlock" with Kathy Bates taking Andy Griffith's role as a crime-fighting Southern lawyer, and "NCIS: Origins" which will serve as a prequel for the "NCIS" franchise. It will follow the original "NCIS" series on Monday nights. Global will also show an original series called "Murder In A Small Town", a Canadian series about crime in a small part of British Columbia.

These 4 series will be the only additions to the fall lineup. In mid-season, Global will offer 2 additional drama series: "Doc", about a female doctor who develops amnesia after a serious brain injury, and "Watson", the story of Sherlock Holmes' sidekick Dr. Watson, who takes over their crime-solving duties after Holmes' death. You can also look forward to a new version of "Hollywood Squares" with Drew Barrymore taking Paul Lynde's iconic spot in the centre square.

Unlike IndieNET, Global/Corus were very prepared with their presentation and as a result have offered these links for you for more detailed information about their shows:

Press Release

Fall 2024 Schedule At A Glance

Fall 2024 Schedule In Visual Form




Tomorrow: Bell Media and CTV.

[Sal]

CTV

Today's upfront presentation came from CTV, Canada's largest - and most successful - TV network, a partner of Bell Media, one of two main cable systems in Canada (The other is Rogers, which will have its upfronts on Monday.) that also controls a large number of specialty channels, many of which carry the CTV brand name (CTV Comedy, CTV Drama, CTV Life, etc.). Bell Media is also home to TSN (The Sports Network), Canada's home of the NFL and the CFL, which begins their season tonight.

CTV's US imports for the fall will have 4 new drama series, 3 sitcoms, and 2 unscripted reality series. The new dramas are:

Doctor Odyssey - The lives of doctors aboard a cruise ship. Starring Don Johnson and Joshua Jackson.

Rescue: Hi-Surf - A "Baywatch" rip-off about lifeguards in Hawaii. Where's Pamela Anderson when you need her?

High Potential - A single mother has a special gift for solving crimes.

The new comedies are:

St. Denis Medical - David Alan Grier stars as a doctor who forms part of a very unusual staff, whose antics are recorded in documentary form.

Happy's Place - The always-wretched Reba McEntire inherits her father's restaurant and tries to run it with her half-sister whom she has trouble getting along with.

Georgie And Mandy's First Marriage - The much-anticipated spinoff to "Young Sheldon" finds Sheldon's brother Georgie and his new wife Mandy raising their family after his father dies and Sheldon leaves for college. This show will take over the coveted Thursday at 8 time slot but no times have been announced for the other series and no formal schedule grid has become finalized yet.

CTV will also carry the final season of "The Conners", where the final 6 episodes will air in midseason.

All of CTV's current series can be seen on the CTV.ca homepage along with its digital-only channels CTV Throwback and CTV Movies. Also regarding its digital programming, Bell Media launched 10 new live FAST channels last April on LG channels. This fall, those 10 channels will also appear on Plex, Roku, and Samsung TV Plus. Further details about these channels and CTV's new and returning fall shows can be found in these links:

Press Release

CTV New Season Preview - Channel Canada

Bell Media Announces New FAST Channel Platform Partners

CTV Throwback

[Sal]

CITY-TV

CITY-TV is the flagship station of Rogers Sports & Media, Canada's 2nd largest cable TV system after Bell, and the last major TV network to have their upfront presentation, which happened this morning.

Like the other Canadian networks, CITY TV is filling their lineup with dramas and reality series, stacking the 3 Chicago drama series on Wednesday nights and the 2 Law & Order series on Thursdays. The Law & Order franchise includes a Canadian version, the very popular "Law & Order: Toronto", which became the most-watched new series in Canada in the past year. Another popular drama series that will return this fall is the Canadian crime drama "Hudson & Rex" which will be starting its 7th season.

New to CITY-TV this fall is the drama series "Brilliant Minds" about a group of doctors studying the human brain, "The Golden Bachelorette", from the not-so-brilliant minds behind "The Bachelor", featuring singles in their 50s and up, and a new addition to FOX's "Animation Domination" Sunday lineup, which is also being carried by CHCH. The show is called "Universal Basic Guys", about a group of co-workers that get fired and replaced by automation and find new jobs at a basic income program.

In mid-season, CITY will have the return of "America's Got Talent" and its Canadian version "Canada's Got Talent" where Canadian superstar Shania Twain has been added as one of the judges alongside Howie Mandel, who appears in both series.

CITY TV will also join with Rogers' main sports channel Rogers Sportsnet to show another season of "Hockey Night In Canada" on Saturdays beginning in October.

Rogers made even bigger news this morning by making licensing deals to purchase new TV channels from NBCUniversal and Warner Brothers Discovery and add them to their specialty lineup that includes not only Sportsnet but also OMNI TV, FX and FXX Canada. These new channels will include BRAVO, HGTV, The Food Network, and others and will debut in the fall.

For more info, follow these links:

Press Release

CITY TV Originals

Fall 2024 Schedule

Rogers signs deals with NBC Universal And Warner Brothers Discovery - Press Release