CTV announced its fall schedule early this afternoon, in advance of its formal presentation at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto. The prime-time line-up will feature seven new shows and 16 returning top 20 hits. All will appear in HD.

The net’s single new comedy is The Big Bang Theory, about brainy best friends. CTV’s six new dramas are: Private Practice, the highly anticipated Grey’s Anatomy spin-off from Golden Globe winner Shonda Rhimes, starring Kate Walsh; Dirty Sexy Money (pictured), television’s hottest new prime-time soap starring Donald Sutherland, Peter Krause, William Baldwin and Jill Clayburgh; Big Shots, starring Dylan McDermott, Christopher Titus, Joshua Malina and Michael Vartan, about four businessmen on the make; Pushing Daisies, described by The New York Times as ‘the most talked-about new series of the fall for its striking look and unusual plotline’; Moonlight, a high-concept drama about a vampire turned detective in modern society; and Gossip Girl, a sexy drama from O.C. creator Josh Schwartz.

Formerly broadcast on Global, CTV now has Canadian rights to hit shows Without a Trace and Two and a Half Men. Both series will begin new runs in mid-fall, after Dancing With the Stars concludes. They join a CTV line-up Boyce says is poised to return more top 20 programs than all other Canadian nets combined. These include: American Idol; CSI, CSI: Miami; CSI: New York; Criminal Minds; CTV Evening News; Corner Gas; Desperate Housewives; Lost; Grey’s Anatomy; Medium; and Law & Order SVU.

Also returning is a slate of Canadian shows including: season five of Corner Gas; season seven of Degrassi: The Next Generation; the second season of Whistler; the third season of Robson Arms; plus Canada’s top-ranking current affairs program W-FIVE, and eTalk. Also back is the net’s news line-up: CTV National News with Lloyd Robertson; The CTV Evening News; Canada AM; and Question Period.

Specials will include The Concert For Diana (spearheaded by her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry) on Canada Day; and Live Earth, a worldwide event, also known as ‘7/7/7,’ that’s aimed at combating climate crisis. It will feature nine concerts from around the world on July 7 and is projected to attract 2 billion viewers globally. Also, for the first time, CTV will broadcast the Prime Time Emmy Awards, which will air in September; and both The Academy Awards and the Super Bowl in February.