Canwest has announced details of 11 new prime-time acquisitions for the fall season on Global and E!. The new shows include seven dramas and four comedies. Canwest Broadcasting EVP content Barbara Williams and president Kathleen Dore will unveil Canwest’s 2008-2009 primetime schedules in Toronto on Wednesday, June 4.
The new shows include:
90210 is a spinoff of Beverly Hills 90210. The one-hour show stars Shenae Grimes (Degrassi: The Next Generation) and Tristan Wilds (The Wire) as a brother and sister who’ve arrived at Beverly Hills High School, where their dad is the principal. The series comes from Mark Piznarski (Gossip Girl).
Dollhouse comes from Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon. The drama stars Eliza Dushku (Tru Calling) as an ‘active,’ a member of a highly illegal underground group who’ve had their personalities wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new personas. Confined to a secret facility known as the Dollhouse, the ‘actives’ carry out assignments, each of which brings back a new memory.
Harper’s Island is a murder mystery that unfolds as friends and family attend a week-long destination wedding on an island that is infamous for a maniac’s homicidal rampage several years earlier. The series is directed by Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure, Jericho).
Kath & Kim is a half-hour comedy starring Molly Shannon (SNL, Pushing Daisies) and Selma Blair (Hellboy) as a dysfunctional mother/daughter duo in suburbia. The series is based on the most successful comedy in Australia, which has the same name.
Knight Rider is a one-hour action-drama based on the 1980s classic. This version comes from executive producers David Bartis (Heist, The O.C.), Doug Liman (Mr. and Mrs. Smith, The Bourne Identity) and Gary Scott Thompson (Las Vegas, The Fast and The Furious). The show stars Justin Bruening, who starred in this year’s successful TV movie remake, with Val Kilmer (The Doors) as the voice of KITT.
Life on Mars is based on the BBC series about a modern-day police detective who, after a car crash, mysteriously finds himself transported back to 1973 and still working as a detective. It stars Jason O’Mara (Resident Evil: Extinction).
My Own Worst Enemy is a one-hour drama starring Christian Slater (Pump Up The Volume) as a middle-class efficiency expert living a humdrum life in the suburbs with a wife, two kids, a dog and a minivan. He also speaks 13 languages, runs a four-minute mile and is trained to kill with his teeth. The two polar opposites are known as Henry and Edward.
The Office Spinoff comes from the original’s creator, Greg Daniels. The half-hour show has new faces and new locations. The cast has yet to be announced.
The Philanthropist is about a rebel with a cause. After the tragic death of his only child, Terry Rist has an awakening and becomes the world’s first vigilante philanthropist – a renegade billionaire who uses his wealth, connections and power to help people in need. Charlie Corwin (L.A. Ink) is exec producer.
Sit Down, Shut Up is a half-hour comedy from the writers of Arrested Development and Two and a Half Men. The show follows the lives of eight staff members at a high school in a small northeastern fishing town who never lose sight of the fact that the children must always come second. It uses animation and a live action backdrop.
Worst Week is a half-hour comedy about an entertainment magazine editor who will do anything to please his girlfriend’s parents but becomes a one-man wrecking crew whenever he’s around them. The show stars Kyle Bornheimer (Jericho) and Erinn Hayes (Kitchen Confidential).
The 11 new programs will join Canwest’s prime-time slate with returning shows including Survivor, Heroes, Family Guy, Prison Break and House.
