CityTV’s new Canadian mini series – Death: A Personal Understanding is set to launch the week of Dec. 20 at 11 a.m. The 10-part series explores the various facets of the death process that will affect each one of us. Through a set of powerful interviews with individuals whose lives have been touched by death, this series examines the primary issues and dilemmas surrounding the topic.
The remaining five episodes will continue to air the week of Monday, Dec. 27 at 11 a.m.

Three years after the launch of TV’s digital specialty channels, the leading diginets now receive a larger number of top-of-mind ‘favourite’ mentions in digital households than many established analog specialties.
Solutions Research Group of Toronto reports that two-year tracking on diginets shows an eclectic mix in the top 10, with MTV Canada as the top brand overall.

YTV has added Lazy Town, a cartoon-come-to-life using CGI, live action and puppetry to their lineup beginning Dec. 6 at 9 a.m. (and airing Monday to Fridays at 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.). Aimed at the preschool demo, the series revolves around Stephanie, an optimistic eight-year-old with bright pink hair who comes to live in Lazy Town with her uncle, the town’s mayor.
Created by Icelandic world-class athlete Manus Scheving, a two-time European fitness champion, Lazy Town uses music, movement and humour to help kids make healthier choices in their everyday lives. The property is a huge franchise in its native Iceland, where there is a comprehensive licensing program as well as various outreach initiatives such as Lazy Town radio and Olympic Games. Sponsorship and promotional opportunities, including on-air and web, are still available.

Just in case you can’t get enough of ‘The Donald’ there’s a special recap episode of The Apprentice airing Dec. 1 on CH Hamilton and CH Vancouver Island.
The one-hour special will highlight various memorable moments of the competitors facing the challenges of living together in close quarters, completing difficult job assignments, and thinking outside the box in order to surpass each other to get to the top. Additional unseen footage will also be featured of the competitors experiencing New York City’s corporate jungle.

Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale of the newest concept in reality programming. With audiences still lapping up everything reality based, and kitschy retro properties hotter than ever, imaginative network execs have come up with the idea that rivals the invention of the coconut radio in terms of sheer ingenuity. The result is a combination of the two genres to form the new medium that some are calling ‘retroality’.
Starting Dec. 5 at 10 p.m. (and continuing the following Sunday at its regular 11 p.m. timeslot), The Real Gilligan’s Island joins PRIME to bring several unique twists to the original Gilligan’s Island series. Half S.S. Minnow, half Noah’s ark, TRGI stars two real-life skippers, two first mates, two millionaire couples, two movie stars, two professors, and two Midwest farm girls and pits each character against their counterpart for a spot in the final cast of seven… all of whom are hoping that they are all more successful than their predecessors in getting of the island. The original Gilligan’s Island immediately became a breakout hit when it premiered in 1964 and has attained cult classic status with people of all ages thanks to its timeless appeal and almost four decades in syndication. The original series has also spawned an animated series, several television movies and, unfortunately, Bob Denver’s ill-fated parcel delivery service.

Rides is currently one of the top-rated shows on TLC in the United States and Astral Media’s Ztele Channel is gearing up for its Canadian premiere on Jan. 6 at 10 p.m. Shot in High-Def, Rides touts its ‘concept to completion’ coverage of the latest and greatest from the world of automotive design Rides has also broken away from the norms established by the genre’s pioneers (SpikeTV’s Ride With Funk Master Flex and MTV’s Pimp My Ride) by proving that it is in fact possible to ‘trick out’ a car without the help of a high profile rap artist.
Eleven one-hour episodes feature custom builds from start to finish at various cutting edge design houses. Don’t know the difference between 17′ and 19′ chrome rims? Have no fear, Canadian native (and West Beverly High Alum) Jason Priestly narrates the show and educates both street rod and hoopty owner alike about the many intricacies of the world of custom cars.

Toronto-based broadcast group Stornoway Communications is launching its third digital network today: The Pet Network. With the tagline ‘Come. Sit. Stay,’ the new net aims to provide ‘informative, engaging and entertaining programming about pets,’ as well as offering a forum to public health authorities, breeders and animal advocates.