Networks are announcing their plans for the 2016-2017 season, and both CTV and City have revealed a number of new projects as well as returning favourites.
After delivering a clean sweep of five of the Top 5 most-watched new programs last season with total viewers and all key adult demos, and seven of the Top 10, CTV announced its new round of dramas from this year’s Los Angeles Screenings. Coming to CTV are Kiefer Sutherland-led and Toronto-shot political conspiracy thriller Designated Survivor; heart-wrenching relationship drama This Is Us; brilliant bad girl legal series Conviction, also shot in Toronto; Notorious, which brilliantly interplays criminal law and the media; Training Day, a reimagining of the ground-breaking film of the same name; reinvented psychological thriller The Exorcist; Time After Time, an epic love story charged with danger, adventure and time travel; and the not-so-perfect family comedy American Housewife.
“Original, emotional, supercharged, and salacious, next season’s lineup is without question a game-changing collection of titles,” said Mike Cosentino, Senior Vice-President of Programming at CTV Networks and CraveTV, in a press release. “We can’t wait to introduce this next wave of Hollywood hits to advertisers next week and millions of Canadians this fall.”
Meanwhile, on City, they’ve acquired three of next season’s biggest blockbusters: Lethal Weapon, 24: Legacy, and Prison Break. Additional details on the City 2016/2017 prime-time schedule to be announced on June 6th.
“We went down to the screenings with the intent of bringing back the absolute best that television has to offer for our viewers, and we’re so excited to be the exclusive home of these marquee, appointment-viewing franchises in Canada,” said Colette Watson, Vice President of Broadcast and TV Operations at Rogers, in another media release. “The addition of these instantly identifiable series to the schedule puts us in an unparalleled positon for success this season.”
Joining Modern Family and Black-ish this fall at 8pm is Lethal Weapon, based on the hit movie franchise of the same name, which follows iconic cop duo Riggs and Murtaugh as they work a crime-ridden beat in modern-day Los Angeles. From the moment the brash and impulsive Martin Riggs (Clayne Crawford, Rectify) meets prudent, by-the-book Roger Murtaugh (Emmy Award nominee Damon Wayans, My Wife and Kids, In Living Color), it seems as if this partnership is doomed. But after their first case together, both realize this arrangement might just work out after all – if only Riggs doesn’t get them killed first.
Then, starting mid-season, the clock ticks again with the next evolution of the Emmy Award-winning franchise, 24: Legacy. The series chronicles an adrenaline-fueled race against the clock to stop a devastating terrorist attack on United States soil – in the same real-time format that has propelled this genre-defining series. Starring Corey Hawkins (Straight Outta Compton), Miranda Otto (Homeland), and Jimmy Smits (Sons of Anarchy), 24: Legacy reunites the award-winning producing team of Howard Gordon, Brian Grazer, Manny Coto, and Evan Katz; director Stephen Hopkins; and Kiefer Sutherland, who all serve as executive producers.
Also starting mid-season, the next action-packed chapter of Prison Break finds a new Canadian home on City. Reuniting original series stars Wentworth Miller, Dominic Purcell, Sarah Wayne Callies, Amaury Nolasco, Robert Knepper, Rockmond Dunbar, and Paul Adelstein, the much-loved characters embark on an all-new adventure spanning the globe.
