Ahead of its Upfront presentation Wednesday afternoon, Corus has announced its 2023-24 programming lineup across networks. And while there are certainly signs of the WGA strike in the U.S. shaping the broadcaster’s programming strategy, the path through is one that plays to Corus’ existing approach.
Troy Reeb, EVP of broadcast networks at Corus, says that while there is optimism that broadcasters will be able to get their big scripted comedies and dramas on the air this fall, the potential for the WGA strike to continue or cause a delay in production meant looking to more international and unscripted content.
Luckily, Reeb says, unscripted shows have long been a strength for Corus, be it U.S. programming like Survivor or the Canadian originals on HGTV and Food Network. Even outside of labour action, Reeb says this has also helped Corus compete with the increased competition conventional broadcasters have faced from streaming services.
“I think that we have as an advantage as a Canadian broadcaster is that, unlike the streaming services, we’re able to lean a bit more into the unscripted content,” he says. “There is no Survivor on Netflix, there’s no Big Brother on Disney+. I think the strength of the rest of our unscripted portfolio, whether it’s HGTV, Food Network or History, all of that content will continue to deliver big audiences, regardless of potential impacts in the scripted space.”
Commissioning scripted content is still something Corus is doing, as seen with programs like Robyn Hood. Reeb says the scripted strategy all leads to StackTV. While the strategy is focused on building a programming offering that is more male-skewing on Showcase, female-skewing on W Network and right in the middle on Global, the ultimate goal is for that to drive viewers to StackTV as a total offering. The proposition is also bolstered by pick-ups like Bel-Air through its deal with NBCUniversal’s Peacock, a slate that Reeb is particularly excited about.
“It’s about what scripted shows can we use that will lead to acquisition of customers for StackTV,” Reeb says. “The key goal is to find titles that are going to be acquisition titles. Once people sign up because they are buzzed about Bel-Air, we hope that they’re going to see the all the value that they’re getting once they start using it. Because to be able to get 16 channels for one price, and to be able to watch it all live or on demand, is an incredible value proposition.”
Global
Leading the new scripted pick-ups is a reboot of procedural Matlock (pictured, above) starring Kathy Bates in the titular role as a lawyer who rejoins the workforce and uses her unassuming demeanor to win cases. Also on the drama lineup is Elsbeth, featuring The Good Wife’s Carrie Preston reprising her role as Elsbeth Tascioni, an attorney who has relocated from Chicago to work alongside the NYPD.
Global will also air Canadian original Robyn Hood, created by Boat Rocker in association with Corus Entertainment, with Director X serving as executive producer alongside Chris
Roberts (Orphan Black, Frontier), Kerry Appleyard (Orphan Black: Echoes) for Boat Rocker, Jill Green (Alex Rider, Magpie Murders) for Eleventh Hour Films, and Luti Fagbenle (Maxxx). The series is a modern retelling of the Robin Hood story, with Robyn Loxley and her hip-hop band, The Hood, creating videos with an anti-authoritarian message. Amid a growing gap between rich and poor, Robyn and The Hood decide to fight back against the corrupt elite in their working class neighbourhood.
Rounding out the new dramas is Doc, a highly buzzed-about adaptation of Italian series Doc – Nelle tue mani. It features a chief of medicine who loses her memory after a car accident, leaving her with no recollection of personal tragedies in her life or her medical training, leading her to rebuild her life as an intern.
On the comedy slate, Global has picked up Poppa’s House, starring father-son duo Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. as a “happily divorced” radio host and his adult son who is pursuing his passion while being a responsible father and husband.
Global has also added a pair of new competition shows to its unscripted lineup. Lotería Loca is based on the Latin game of chance known as Lotería. Buddy Games, created and hosted by Josh Duhamel, was inspired by the actor’s real-life tradition with his friends, where they spend one weekend every summer competing in a variety of competition-style games.
Returning to Global are dramas So Help Me Todd (last fall’s top new series), Fire Country, Accused, 911, CSI: Vegas and The Equalizer, as well as the NCIS and FBI franchises. On the comedy front, award-winning Abbott Elementary and number one comedy Ghosts also return. Global’s unscripted lineup will once again include Survivor, I Can See Your Voice and The Wall, as well as news program 60 Minutes and true crime series 48 Hours.
Showcase and W Network
Though it has not yet confirmed which networks they will air on, Corus has made a number of pick-ups for its Showcase and W Network specialty channels.
Leading the pick-ups are two comedies. Ted is a comedy series based on the film of the same name, with Seth MacFarlane set to reprise his voice role as the foul-mouthed teddy bear set in 1993. Based on a True Story, starring Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina, is described as a dark comedic thriller following a realtor, a former tennis star and a plumber who try to capitalize on America’s obsession with true crime.
Limited drama series Apples Never Fall, based on the bestselling novel, stars Annette Bening, Sam Neill, Jake Lacy and Alison Brie as the Delaneys, a family who have to re-examine their history after their mother disappears. Harvey Keitel stars in The Tattooist of Auschwitz, also an adaptation of a bestselling book, telling a true story of how two prisoners fell in love and survived the trauma of Auschwitz and its aftermath.
Returning to Showcase for new seasons are Dr. Death, Bel-Air, Chucky, Killing It and The Lazarus Project. W Network will feature new seasons of The Way Home, Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin, We Are Lady Parts and Five Bedrooms.
Food Network Canada
Among the new pick-ups for Food Network Canada is Guy Fieri’s new competition series Best Bite in Town, featuring Fieri and other chefs taking road trips to different cities, where they will name the town’s best place to eat. Peruvian-Italian chef Franco Noriega will also create simple, crowd-pleasing meals in Hot Dish with Franco, while the network’s holiday programming will feature The Elf on the Shelf: Sweet Showdown (working title), a competition where the titular elves will challenge sweet-makers to create unexpected holiday creations.
Fieri’s Tournament of Champions leads Food Network Canada’s returning series, which also include holiday programming such as Christmas Cookie Challenge, Holiday Wars, Holiday Baking Championship and Beat Bobby Flay: Holiday Throwdown.
On the originals front, The Big Bake has been renewed for a fourth season, featuring seven-episode orders for both the Halloween and holiday seasons, while Top Chef Canada is expected to air its eleventh season in late 2024.
HGTV Canada
Corus has ordered a new Bryan Baeumler series, Bryan’s All In, featuring the network’s top personality helping struggling entrepreneurs renovate their businesses over the course of a week. The series will be debuted in a two-episode sneak peak this fall, with the fall series debuting in the spring. In addition, House of Ali features luxury home designer Ali Budd and her all-woman firm taking on jobs at some of the most up-scale homes in North America.
New pick-up Flip The Strip will follow stars of a Las Vegas stage show working with interior designer Kelly Stone “to make clients’ home design dreams a reality.”
Inspired by W Network’s Movie Date and Showcase’s Watch Party, in which hosts appear in short segments interspersed between movie broadcasts, HGTV Canada will also debut DIY Studio, hosted by Sebastian Clovis, Sarah Keenleyside and Kenny Brain, offering viewers tips and fixes for their home renovation projects during the network’s linear broadcasts.
Returning originals include new seasons of Scott’s Vacation House Rules in the spring, with Pamela’s Garden of Eden, Gut Job, Hoarder House Flippers and Rock Solid Builds all returning in late 2024. Returning pickups include Ugliest Houses in America and Why The Heck Did I Buy This House.
History
The UnBelievable with Dan Aykroyd (working title) is a new series hosted by the actor, who will dive into some of human history’s “most extraordinary and astonishing tales.” Beyond Skinwalker Ranch is a new spin-off of The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch (which is returning with a new season) and explores other sites of unusual activity and strange phenomena.
Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss, based on Eric Weiner’s bestselling book The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World, features the actor Rainn Wilson exploring both the happiest and least happy places on earth to unpack “the science of happiness.”
On the originals front, Sounds Black examines the origins and impact of Black music in Canada, History will also air part two of True Story, a documentary that examines the legacy of the Indian Act and Residential School system on Indigenous peoples, the Sixties Scoop, the rise of Indigenous political movements and the role of Indigenous veterans in Canada’s military.
Other returning Canadian productions include part two of Our War, Deadman’s Curse, Rust Valley Restorers and Backroad Truckers. The network will also air new seasons of Alone.
Adult Swim
Corus’ adult animation network will pick up Rick and Morty: The Anime, which (as the name would suggest) is an anime-inspired adaptation of the series from director Takashi Sano. The network will also air The Venture Bros.: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart, a feature-length movie taking place after the series’ seventh season.
Kids
Canadian originals returning to YTV include the third and final season of The Hardy Boys this summer, as well as Best & Bester and Popularity Papers.
On Treehouse, new Nelvana series Millie Magnificent will premiere next summer. Inspired by Canadian author-illustrator Ashley Spires’ children’s book The Most Magnificent Thing, the series follows Millie and her friends finding creative solutions to their neighbourhood’s challenges. Treehouse will also air a new special in the Thomas & Friends franchise this fall, as well as short film Jelly. New pickups include Jessica’s Big Little World, a spin-off of Craig of the Creek featuring Craig’s little sister Jessica. Returning originals include Builder Brothers Dream Factory and Agent Binky: Pets of the Universe, with Ready, Steady, Wiggle! also returning for a new season.
Cartoon Network will debut Tiny Toons Looniversity (a reboot of Tiny Toon Adventures) and Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake (a spin-off of Adventure Time), as well as animated movies Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes and Huntsmen Part One and Tom and Jerry in Snowman’s Land.
Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney XD viewers will be getting new seasons of Big City Greens and Chibiverse, as well as new original holiday movie The Naughty Nine.
