Schitt's Creek is the main reason to get excited about the CBC winter TV schedule, but there are other Canadian highlights.
Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara star as a couple who lose their fortune due to a shady accountant and are forced to move to Schitt’s Creek, a town they purchased many years ago as a gag. The rich to poor angle will ring even better in the States.
U.S. viewers will also recognize Chris Elliott, who plays the town's mayor, and Dan Levy. Eugene and Dan Levy created the series.
Schitt's Creek makes its debut on January 13 with back-to-back episodes. The show will run Tuesdays at 9 pm.
In a pleasant surprise, Pop TV (formerly the TV Guide Channel) will air Schitt's Creek in the United States starting February 11 at 10 pm Eastern. To find out where Pop TV is on your cable system, click here. I don't have an HD feed for that channel, but hopefully, the show will air in HD in the States.
We hope to get the first few episodes to give you a report before February 11, minus spoilers.
All of the regular ongoing year-round shows are back with new episodes starting tonight. Other new Canadian highlights on the CBC winter TV schedule:
- Strange Empire has a few more episodes remaining in its first season. The dark western drama starts back up on January 12.
- Ascension, the new sci-fi series starring Tricia Helfer, takes over the Monday night 9 pm timeslot on February 9 and runs through March 16.
- The Book of Negroes has a few Canadians in the cast, and the story ultimately ends in Nova Scotia. Allan Hawco (Republic of Doyle) is the most famous of the Canadians though theatre actress Cara Ricketts is also well known in theatre circles. The more prominent names include Cuba Gooding Jr. Louis Gossett Jr., Jane Alexander, and Ben Chaplin. The miniseries starts Wednesday at 9 pm and runs through February 11.
- The World War II spy thriller X Company runs in that same timeslot starting February 18.
- Mr. D is back for a winter run, starting January 20 right after Schitt's Creek on Tuesdays at 9:30 pm.
- The CBC will show comedy specials from the Winnipeg Comedy Festival Sunday nights at 9 pm, starting this coming Sunday.
The CBC has been strong in recent years with 90-minute blocks of early evening newscasts. However, the public broadcaster announced its regional supper-hour newscasts will be reduced this coming fall.
The 6-7:30 pm local time news block will be reduced to 60 minutes in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax, Charlottetown, St. John's, and The North. The local news will be reduced to 30 minutes in Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Windsor, Montréal, and Fredericton.
The newscasts will still start at 6 pm.
In terms of first-run programming, newscasts are relatively cheap, especially when you already have a news broadcast in that timeslot. The CBC has had difficulty filling time. The public broadcaster was derided for bringing in American fare a few years ago such as Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy — shows that had to be blacked out in border cities such as Windsor.
This move likely means even more reruns of CBC shows or different U.S. fare, unless the CBC can create a "Canadian" version of Jeopardy.
Analyzing the 2014 CBC fall schedule upfront
Though Republic of Doyle ended its run on the CBC on December 10, I recently discovered that the program is syndicated in the United States. In Chicago, the show runs at 5 pm on Saturdays on WCIU-DT 26.2 — known on the air as UToo — followed at 6 pm by another CBC show Murdoch Mysteries.
Syndication airings in the United States and other countries can help the CBC get some extra money and wider distribution of its shows.
Part of the charm of Republic of Doyle is its frequent shots of St. John's, especially the harbor.
Strange Empire is a prime example of where CBC needs to go
City TV has a couple of new comedies that would be great as crossovers to the United States.
Sunnyside is a sketch-scripted hybrid with the old Toronto Sunnyside amusement park for inspiration. Norm Macdonald plays the voice of The Hole, an open manhole that people line up to use as the Internet in Sunnyside. The program runs Thursday nights on City TV at 8 pm ET.
Young Drunk Punk is a semi-autobiographical take loosely based on Bruce McCulloch's life before Kids in the Hall. McCulloch plays a version of his dad. The program starts January 21 on City TV.
CanadianCrossing.com television coverage
Jay Baruchel plays a naive romantic in Man Seeking Woman that will run on FXX in both countries. The program, shot in Toronto, debuts January 14.
video credit: Pop TV
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