Corus Entertainment’s fall sked plans for W Network, CMT and the powerhouse trio of kiddie channels – YTV, Treehouse and Discovery Kids – includes one new series for the women’s net and a lot of new animation and returning faves for younger viewers. Here’s a breakdown of highlights for the five nets.
W Network:
W Network’s strategy focuses on adding more comedy, expert advice and suspense to its weeknight programming while putting movies on weekends. The net will launch its new Canadian original series, In Dreams, in the Friday night suspense block, After Dark, which also includes Medium, The Closer and Rescue Medium. In Dreams (Fri., Sept. 7, 11:30 pm) is a 13-part documentary that explores the power of the sleeping subconscious through chilling tales and expert dream analysis.
The net’s comedy hour block will kick off weeknights at 7 pm with back-to-back episodes of Will & Grace (Mon., Aug. 6, 7 pm). That hour, Mondays to Thursdays, will be followed by experts on house décor and shopping between 8-10 pm. The 10 pm block will be billed Brit invasion, as lifestyle pros from across the pond take over the air, including the anti-surgery makeover series How To Look Good Naked (Sept. 4, 10 pm), Queer Eye for the Straight Girl (Nov. 2007), environmentally conscious makeover series Wa$ted (Thurs., Sept. 6, 10:30 pm) and straight-talking nutritionist Gillian McKeith’s new show, You Are What You Eat: Gillian Moves In (Wed., Oct. 31, 10 pm).
Returning series include: Colour Confidential, hosted by interior designer Jane Lockhart with carpenter John Bell joining the mix; Save Us From Our House!, hosted by Hina Khan and Dylan Marcel; Take This House & Sell It, hosted by Kimberly Carroll; Divine Design, hosted by interior designer Candice Olson; Style by Jury, a makeover series hosted by Bruce Turner; The Shopping Bags, hosted by Anna Wallner and Kristina Matisic; How Clean is Your House; Honey I Ruined the House; and Ann Maurice: Interior Rivalry.
CMT:
The country music net’s two new notable shows are the docu-drama Nashville, FOX’s reality series about artists in the country music capital, and Karaoke Star. The first of the two, coming from the creative minds behind Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, is set to premiere in the fall. Karaoke Star, hosted by CMT’s Beverly Mahood and Casey Clarke, will include auditions in six Canadian cities. The eight-ep series will premiere on Mon., Sept. 3 at 11 pm ET.
YTV
YTV will launch its new animated production Storm Hawks (pictured – Sat., Sept. 8, 10 am) in the Saturday morning cartoon block, Crunch. The 52-ep series features five death-defying mismatched teens who fight villains in the sky on their flying motorcycles. The Crunch block will also include a teenaged Superman as one of the heroes in Legion of Superheroes (Sat., Sept. 8, 11 am). The net is also picking up Naked Brothers Band (Mon., Sept. 10, 5 pm) from Nickelodeon in the US. The series, which follows the fame and friendship of a rock band, will hit the net’s after-school block, the Zone. YTV is planning to air The Naked Brothers Band Movie in advance on Mon., Sept. 3 at 4 pm.
The net’s reality competition series, The Adrenaline Project (Sat., Sept. 29, 7 pm), puts five teens to the test with physical and mental challenges. It comes from marblemedia, the prodco behind This is Daniel Cook and This is Emily Yeung. The show will join a new two-hour reality-themed programming block called Get Real, which puts back-to-back adventure series on Saturday evenings, starting at 6 pm. Other shows skedded for that block inclu8de Prank Patrol, Mystery Hunters and Ghost Trackers.
YTV will also broadcast Nickelodeon’s Kid’s Choice Awards (Mon., Sept. 3, 6 pm) for the first time in Canada. The show will be hosted by Justin Timberlake and also feature Gwen Stefani, Beyonce, Jessica Alba, Hilary Duff, Emma Roberts and Bindi Irwin.
Series returning to YTV include Avatar, Being Ian, Drake & Josh, El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera, Erky Perky, My Life as a Teenage Robot, Ruby Gloom, SpongeBob SquarePants and Viva Pinata.
Treehouse & Discovery Kids:
Treehouse is premiering a new 2-D series called My Friend Rabbit, a Canadian show with two heroes, Mouse and Rabbit, based on the book by Eric Rohmann. The net will also bring the internationally known series Land Before Time (Sat., Sept. 8, 8 am) to Canada, putting 2-D animations on 3-D backgrounds. The show is a continuation of the animated world created by Don Bluth.
Both Treehouse and Discovery Kids will debut the new Canadian series Are We There Yet?, hosted by two sets of real-life brothers and sisters. Billed as the first unscripted travel show for kids and hosted by kids, the series will premiere first on Treehouse (Mon. Sept. 3, 7:55 pm) and then on Discovery Kids (Sat. Sept 8, 10:30 am).
New shows on Discovery Kids, targeting the 4-11 demo, will include: The Zula Patrol (Mon., Sept. 3, 4:30 pm), which puts wacky characters and aliens together in a trip across the universe to teach science and astronomy; Home on their Own (Tues., Sept. 4, 1 pm), a home renovation series that lets kids have control when parents leave for the weekend; and Surprise! It’s Edible! Incredible! (Mon., Sept. 3, 7 am), a cooking challenge between kid contestants.
Returning shows on Treehouse include: The Backyardigans, Elmo’s World, Global Grover, Go Diego Go, Play With Me Sesame, Thomas & Friends and Wonderpets. Returning shows on Discovery Kids include Animal Atlas and Prank Patrol.
