(May 24, 2017- Toronto, ON) The CBC has released details of its 2017-2018 schedule that will kick off this fall. There are 15 new series and mini-series and more than 20 of the CBC’s best loved and most watched stalwarts, including the 11th seasons of Heartland and Murdoch Mysteries, the 4th season of Schitt’s Creek and the remarkable 25th season of This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
“Our 2017-18 slate is a tribute to the talent and authenticity of Canada’s top creators, who are choosing CBC as the destination to share the stories they want to tell, including compelling new drama, comedy, factual, arts and documentary series,” said Heather Conway, executive-vice president, English Services, CBC. “By launching one of our largest programming lineups to date reflecting the diversity of perspectives and voices in this country, CBC continues to reach, connect with and entertain Canadians across all platforms, guided by how audiences choose to engage with us.”
Returning shows include the Baroness Von Sketch Show (Summer 2017 starting June 27, Season 2); Coronation Street (Fall 2017, Season 19); Dragons’ Den (Fall 2017, Season 12) featuring Arlene Dickinson’s return to the Den; Exhibitionists (Season 3, Fall 2017); the weekday daytime series The Goods (Fall 2017, Season 2); Ha!ifax Comedy Fest (Winter 2018, Season 22); Heartland (Fall 2017, Season 11); Hello Goodbye (Winter 2018, Season 3); Interrupt This Program (Fall 2017, Season 3); Just for Laughs: Galas (Fall 2017); Kim’s Convenience (Fall 2017, Season 2); Mr. D (Fall 2017, Season 7); Murdoch Mysteries (Fall 2017, Season 11); Rick Mercer Report (Fall 2017, Season 15); Schitt’s Creek (Winter 2018, Season 4); Still Standing (Summer 2017 Starting June 27, Season 3); This Hour Has 22 Minutes (Fall 2017, Season 25); When Calls the Heart (Summer 2017 Starting June 18, Season 3); the Winnipeg Comedy Festival (Winter 2018, Season 16); and Workin’ Moms (Winter 2018, Season 2).
The big news comes in some of the new original television series announced today:
BURDEN OF PROOF (winter 2018, 10×60, ICF Films, Entertainment One (eOne) and Eagle Vision), a legal drama starring Kristin Kreuk as a big city lawyer passed over for partnership who returns to her hometown to take on what she thinks is a simple case, only to find herself in a fight for justice for a group of sick girls.
CAUGHT (winter 2018, 5×60, Take The Shot Productions). This 5-part mini-series starring Allan Hawco, pictured in a CBC publicity still from there series Republic of Doyle, is set in 1978 and adapted from Lisa Moore’s acclaimed novel. Locked up after a drug deal goes wrong, David Slaney (Hawco) makes a daring break from a New Brunswick prison to attempt one more deal with his former partner (Eric Johnson, Fifty Shades Darker, The Knick, Smallville) – all this with a dogmatic police officer, Patterson (Paul Gross, Alias Grace, Hyena Road, Passchendaele), at his heels.
THE DETECTIVES (fall 2017, 8×60, WAM Media GRP Inc.), a true crime series that brings to life the real cases of Canadian detectives by blending first-person interviews with scripted drama.
LITTLE DOG (winter 2018, 7×30, Cameron Pictures and Elemental Pictures), a comedy from author, musician and actor Joel Thomas Hynes (Mary Kills People, Orphan Black) and showrunner Sherry White (Rookie Blue, Saving Hope) that tells the story of lightweight Newfoundland boxer Donny “Little Dog” Ross and his haphazard quest for redemption after quitting a fight.
THE STATS OF LIFE (fall 2017, 1×60, 4×30, Frantic Films), a factual series that reveals surprising truths about how Canadians are living today based on recent population statistics.
New CBC KIDS titles include animated series ADDISON (fall 2017, 20×11, Six Eleven Media) chronicling the adventures of a young girl who loves to solve mysteries; BEAT BUGS (winter 2018, 52×11, Thunderbird Entertainment, Grace Films, Beyond Films and Atomic Cartoons), following five charming bugs and featuring songs from The Beatles; and preschool series BECCA’S BUNCH (fall 2017, 52×11, Jam Media), which merges live action and puppetry with 2D and 3D animation.
These titles join new but previously announced series including:
21 THUNDER (summer 2017, 8×60, PMA Productions and Generic Productions), a fast-paced drama that follows the players and coaches of an elite under-21 Montreal soccer team both on and off the field, premiering July 31.
ALIAS GRACE (fall 2017, 6×60, Halfire Entertainment), the highly anticipated mini-series written and produced by Sarah Polley, directed by Mary Harron and starring Sarah Gadon, based on the award-winning Margaret Atwood novel and inspired by true events, premiering September 25.
CRAWFORD (winter 2018, 12×30, Rabbit Square Productions), Mike Clattenburg’s (Trailer Park Boys) unconventional family comedy about a young man who, after a run of bad luck, moves back in with his parents and turns his natural ability to relate to racoons into a successful business, all while navigating life with his eccentric family. Starring Jill Hennessy (Shots Fired, Crossing Jordan), John Carroll Lynch (The Founder, American Horror Story) and Kyle Mac (Miss Sloane, 21 Thunder).
FRANKIE DRAKE MYSTERIES (fall 2017, 11×60, Shaftesbury) from the producers of Murdoch Mysteries, following Toronto’s only female private detective in the 1920s (Lauren Lee Smith; The Listener, This Life) and her colleague Trudy (Chantel Riley; The Lion King) as they take on the cases that the police don’t want or can’t handle.
THE GREAT CANADIAN BAKING SHOW (fall 2017, 8×60, Proper Television), based on the hit British format, which will bring together 10 amateur bakers from across Canada to compete in a series of themed culinary challenges. The most recent season of the British series, THE GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW, will also air on CBC beginning August 23 to warm up audiences ahead of the premiere of the Canadian version.
TAKEN (summer 2017, 8×30, Eagle Vision), a true crime documentary series that explores the search for answers and justice for Canada’s missing and murdered Indigenous women.
This fall, CBC will broadcast the Canadian premiere of the next instalment of Jane Campion’s Emmy and Golden Globe® nominated TOP OF THE LAKE: CHINA GIRL (2017, 7×50, See-Saw Films, BBC Worldwide), which will see Elizabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale, Mad Men) reprise her Golden Globe® winning role as Detective Robin Griffin. She will be joined by Nicole Kidman and Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones, Star Wars: The Force Awakens). The first season of TOP OF THE LAKE (2013) will stream on cbc.ca/watch ahead of the Season 2 premiere. Season 1 of the BAFTA-nominated, feel-good British series THE DURRELLS (2016, 6×60, Sid Gentle Films Ltd., BBC Worldwide) will also air in fall 2017, based on Gerald Durrell’s trilogy of novels about a family’s adventures on a Greek island after leaving their English home in hopes of a better life.
Online, CBC will expand its investment in original digital content with its largest slate ever spanning 15 new and returning series streaming at cbc.ca/watch. And finally, the list of returning shows includes the network’s tried and trusted news and information content including The National, Marketplace, The Fifth Estate, The Nature of Things and Firsthand, to name just a few.
If you’re one of those who likes to quip “500 channels and nothing on,” CBC obviously puts the lie to that. This selection is broad, exciting and a terrific testament to (tax) money well spent on creating and sustaining a viable Canadian television production sector, while offering a carefully selected sampling of some of the best international TV available.
