Editor's note: Copy has been updated to reflect the contribution of Lauren Ash on Superstore and Tricia Helfer added to Lucifer.
A Canadian will finally get to be president of the United States. Sorry Ted Cruz, not you. Kiefer Sutherland goes from a low-level Cabinet post to president of the United States on Designated Survivor this fall on ABC.
Sutherland is one of a few prominent Canadians that are in new shows for the 2016-2017 TV lineups in the United States.
Stephan James is one of the hottest young actors around and will star as a special prosecutor on Shots Fired coming to Fox this winter. His character is brought in after racially charged shootings in a small town in Tennessee. The drama gets a second Canadian as TV veteran Jill Hennessy is also in the cast. The group also features Helen Hunt and Cas & Dylan star Richard Dreyfuss.
Hannah Simone, who already has a regular gig on New Girl, will be the host of a reality show Kicking & Screaming matching expert survivalists with pampered partners. That show will air in the winter on Fox.
Dylan Bruce of Orphan Black fame stars in Midnight, Texas labeled as "Twin Peaks meets True Blood." The show will be on NBC over the winter.
NBC will also have the latest spinoff of the "Chicago …" series entitled Chicago Justice this winter. The show features Nazneen Contractor, who fans on both sides of The Border will remember as Layla Hourani before her character got blown up at the end of Season 2.
Bruce Greenwood plays a 4-star general in Four Stars about rival families in the military community that will likely be on CBS at some point, though we don't have specific details from the network.
A special nod goes out to Andrea Martin, who is American-born, who plays the mom in a challenging mother-daughter relationship in Great News coming to NBC as a midseason show. Martin's character interns at her daughter's workplace, a cable news channel.
Returning series
Matthew Perry and Dave Foley are in the latest incarnation of The Odd Couple wrapping up season 2 on CBS. Colin Mochrie is just starting out the latest season of Whose Line Is It Anyway on the CW.
The Odd Couple has been renewed for a 3rd season. Foley's other show, Dr. Ken, got renewed by ABC.
Fellow Kids in the Hall alum Mark McKinney along with fellow Canadian Lauren Ash will be back for Season 2 of Superstore on NBC. McKinney plays Glenn, a Christian who is the manager of the Cloud 9 superstore. You also saw Ash as Hortense in Season 1 of Another Period on Comedy Central. Superstore moves to Thursdays at 8 pm Eastern next fall, at least before the NFL schedule kicks in its newest package.
Hannah Simone, who was mentioned earlier, had her character Cece married to Schmidt on the season finale of New Girl. Simone has gained a larger presence on the show over the years.
Grace Park continues as Kono Kalakaua on the modern version of Hawaii 5'O on CBS.
Tricia Helfer has been added to the cast of Lucifer for Season 2 on Fox this fall.
Alison Pill was impressive in her complex role on The Family but ABC cancelled the drama after a single season of 12 episodes.
House of Cards Season 4 once again has Molly Parker as Jackie Sharp. Joining the show for Season 4 is Neve Campbell, who plays Texas-based political consultant LeAnn Harvey, and Colm Feore as General Brockhart.
(Yes, film fans: Shooting for Bon Cop Bad Cop 2 begins on May 22 with a summer 2017 scheduled release.)
Tatiana Maslany and other talented Canadians are currently starring in Season 4 of Orphan Black. The show has definitely seen a nice comeback after a less-than-stellar Season 3.
Schitt's Creek Season 3 will be on Pop TV in a delayed run similar to the first 2 seasons. CBC will air Season 3 in winter 2017.
Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara were delightful on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS this week promoting Schitt's Creek. You can catch video highlights here and here. Levy got a nice reaction when he mentioned the CBC.
Samantha Bee is producing great work on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee and Jason Jones has a promising show in The Detour. Both Bee and Jones produce both programs.
We would be remiss if we didn't mention the unusual timing of Morley Safer's retirement on Sunday and his passing yesterday. Our take on the Morley Safer tribute 60 Minutes episode reads like an obituary, though that wasn't the intention. Safer was one of the best writers in journalism; Keith Olbermann comes close. His tenacity and charm will hopefully inspire future and current journalists as to what is important. If you missed our tribute, click here. RIP.
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We should know next week as to which of these shows will end up on Canadian TV homes on CTV, Global, and City TV.
The listings for new shows are based on cast lists identified in press releases. If we missed any Canadians and/or we find out of other Canadians in casts — old and new — we will update as needed.
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video credit: ABC
photo credit: Orphan Black
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