By Taimur Sikander Mirza

A Toronto-based version of the hit Law & Order franchise is among the new Canadian originals announced by Rogers Sports & Media as the broadcaster reveals its 2023-24 broadcast lineup for channels Citytv, OMNI and FX Canada.

Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, an adaptation of the hit Law & Order format created by Dick Wolf, will go into production this fall in Toronto and is slated to air in spring 2024, Rogers Sports & Media announced ahead of its upfront presentation on Tuesday.

The series is described as a psychological thriller and will “showcase original Canadian stories written and produced by, and starring, Canadians,” said the release.

Hayden Mindell, SVP of television at Rogers Sports & Media, says the local version is something that the network has been working to bring to Citytv “for a couple of years now.”

“We think it’s such a great way to tell unique, compelling and exciting Canadian stories within a beloved and well-known franchise,” Mindell says.

Citytv previously announced that it is bringing back Canada’s Got Talent for a third season. The winner of season three will receive $1,000,000, courtesy of Rogers.

Unscripted title Bachelor in Paradise Canada is not in the lineup and its future appears uncertain after having what Mindell describes as “probably the best Bachelor Canada season ever.”

“Unfortunately, the brilliant, exceptional executive producer Claire Freeland has moved to America to produce The Bachelor in the U.S. and we’re still trying to find a way to work together to bring back another season,” Mindell says.

Scripted procedural Wong & Winchester, produced by Pixcom, has not been renewed as it did not meet “audience performance needs,” says Mindell.

The canine-cop procedural Hudson & Rex is back for season six. It is currently in production in St. John’s with a 16-episode order. Season six will air on Fridays on Citytv this fall.

Two new original Canadian series are set for OMNI, including the mixed Punjabi-English language family comedy series Our Big Punjabi Family. The Regina-shot series will premiere on June 11 and is created by showrunner Leena Manro and Agam Darshi, who also direct and serve as executive producers.

Our Big Punjabi Family will be followed by the second season premiere of Canadian Screen Award-nominated series Abroad. The Filipino sketch comedy is based on the immigrant experience in Canada. It is produced in collaboration with Toronto-based Longhope Media, and co-created by Filipina comedian Isabel Kanaan (This Hour Has 22 Minutes), who also stars. The series will premiere on OMNI in English and Tagalog.

Another series set to premiere on OMNI on June 11 is Adhel Arop’s docuseries Katiba Banat: Sisters in Arms. The five-part series brings to light the stories of Canadian women who helped to liberate South Sudan, according to the press release.

“Those [series] are perfect for OMNI and its ambitions, which is to reach Canadians from third language communities with both news and information that are crucial for them, as well as entertainment programming,” Mindell says.

Among the new acquisitions by Citytv are NBC crime drama The Irrational, based on Dan Ariely’s novel Predictably Irrational, and ABC’s The Bachelor spinoff The Golden Bachelor, focused on seniors.

There’s also NBC’s missing-persons drama Found and Fox animated series Krapopolis, which will join The Simpsons, Bob’s Burgers and Family Guy in a return of Fox’s “Animation Domination” lineup to Citytv.

When asked if the Writers Guild of America strike will affect the schedule, Mindell said, “the continued labour disruption in Hollywood has the potential to impact what we do in fall.” However, he claims that “[Citytv is] going to have a schedule that has more new scripted and unscripted network programming than any of our competitors. And so we’re really well set either way to have a compelling schedule for Canadians.”

Returning unscripted series include America’s Got Talent, American Idol, The Bachelor, Bachelor in Paradise, Capital One College Bowl, and Hell’s Kitchen.

For franchise fans, the returning lineup includes Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Chicago P.D., Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Organized Crime.

There’s also the newsmagazine series Dateline and New Year’s Eve countdown celebration Dick Clark’s New Years Rockin’ Eve and Hockey Night in Canada.

FX Canada will air new limited series Justified: City Primeval on July 18, joining returning series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, What We Do in the Shadows, Breeders, The Old Man, American Horror Story, and Welcome to Wrexham.

Rogers Sports & Media also announced that reality dating series FBoy Island and spinoff series FGirl Island will be available exclusively on Citytv+, as well as Peacock original series Poker Face, starring Natasha Lyonne (Russian Doll). Citytv+ is available as a channel on Amazon’s Prime Video.

Image courtesy Rogers Sports & Media