Television slate includes 17 new series and 36 renewed titles, one of CBC’s largest returning lineups.
New Canadian scripted series include comedy CAVENDISH from the creators of Picnicface; female-driven procedural CORONER; legal aid series DIGGSTOWN featuring the first female black lead character in an original Canadian drama; family adventure NORTHERN RESCUE starring William Baldwin and Kathleen Robertson; the return of STREET LEGAL with Cynthia Dale; and limited series UNSPEAKABLE about Canada’s tainted blood scandal
Fresh factual and arts programming includes IN THE MAKING profiling Canadian artists; music archive series FROM THE VAULTS; a look at Canada’s northern communities in HIGH ARCTIC HAULERS; and CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON JUNIOR hosted by Paul Sun-Hyung Lee
BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW and STILL STANDING move to Tuesdays this fall; KIM’S CONVENIENCE renewed for two more seasons, moves to Tuesdays this winter; HEARTLAND moves to winter
CBC News’ THE FIFTH ESTATE moves to Sundays and THE INVESTIGATORS WITH DIANA SWAIN moves to Thursdays this fall
CBC increases investment in digital content with new slate of 17 original titles and 250 new hours of programming streaming exclusively on the CBC TV App and cbc.ca/watch
With more than 300 million downloads, CBC RADIO builds on podcast success with return of true crime hit SOMEONE KNOWS SOMETHING alongside new series UNCOVER, TAI ASKS WHY? and a look at love and desire with KAITLIN PREST
May 24, 2018 – Canada’s public broadcaster today announced its robust 2018-19 slate, including 17 new series and 36 renewed titles – one of CBC’s largest returning lineups to date. CBC’s upcoming year of original Canadian programming includes drama, comedy, factual, arts, music, kids, sports, news and documentary programming across television, radio and digital platforms, showcasing both new and established homegrown voices and creators.
“CBC is thrilled to present such a wide range of original programming produced by Canadian creators for audiences on all our platforms,” said Heather Conway, Executive Vice-President, English Services, CBC.
NEW ORIGINAL SERIES
New CBC original Canadian series confirmed for the 2018-19 season include:
Comedy:
CAVENDISH (8×30, Winter 2019 – Temple Street), from the minds of Picnicface comedy troupe founders Mark Little and Andrew Bush, along with Garry Campbell (Kim’s Convenience). Bush and Little star as two bickering brothers who return to their PEI hometown to take care of their grumpy and ailing father, only to collide with the eccentric townsfolk and their even stranger superstitions.
Drama:
CORONER (8×60, Winter 2019 – Back Alley Films, Muse Entertainment), a procedural drama created for television by Morwyn Brebner (Saving Hope), based on the best-selling book series by M.R. Hall. The series follows Jenny Cooper, a former ER doctor and newly appointed coroner investigating suspicious deaths. Suffering from anxiety and recently widowed with a teenage son, Jenny is a woman of action driven by an intense desire for the truth.
DIGGSTOWN (6×60, Winter 2019 – Circle Blue Entertainment), a legal drama created by Floyd Kane (Across the Line) and set in the gritty arena of legal aid, focusing on Marcie Diggs, a star corporate lawyer who reconsiders her priorities after her beloved aunt commits suicide following a malicious prosecution. Landing at a legal aid office in Dartmouth, Marcie is driven by one thing – to never again allow innocent lives to be destroyed by the justice system. DIGGSTOWN is the first original Canadian drama series featuring a black female lead character.
NORTHERN RESCUE (10×60, 2018/19 – Don Carmody Television for CBC and Netflix), a heartwarming family drama starring William Baldwin (Dirty Sexy Money, Too Old To Die Young) and Kathleen Robertson (Murder in the First, Bates Motel). After the death of his wife Sarah, John (Baldwin), a Search & Rescue officer, packs up his three children and moves from their hectic urban life to a small northern town, where they all struggle with their new surroundings, new friends, and accepting Sarah’s death.
STREET LEGAL (6×60, Winter 2019 – IGP and Broken Clown Productions), the iconic character-driven legal drama returns with both familiar faces and new characters, and a focus on how the law is practised in Canada today, including contemporary themes and issues. Bringing STREET LEGAL into the 21st century, we pick up 25 years later with Olivia Novak (Cynthia Dale), now a named partner at a major Bay Street law firm.
UNSPEAKABLE (8×60, Winter 2019 – Mezo Entertainment), a searing depiction of the tainted blood scandal that began in the early 1980s. The limited series is told through the stories of two families severely affected by the worst public health disaster in Canadian history, with a strong cast including Sarah Wayne Callies (The Walking Dead), Shawn Doyle (Bellevue), Michael Shanks (Saving Hope) and Camille Sullivan (The Disappearance).
Factual & Arts:
CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON JUNIOR (6×60, Fall 2018 – Media Headquarters), hosted by Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (Kim’s Convenience), will showcase 12 remarkable Canadian kids as they take on challenges in the six categories of intelligence – Physical, Musical, Social, Linguistic, Logical, and Visual – in front of a live studio audience, in the hopes of being crowned the first-ever Canada’s Smartest Person Junior.
FROM THE VAULTS (working title) (6×60, Fall 2018 – Banger Films), a visually exciting and entertaining cultural exploration using CBC Archive recordings as a window into Canadian history and music. Hosted by Amanda Parris and Tom Power, this archive series features musical performances and candid interviews, shedding a bright light on Canada’s musical journey.
HIGH ARCTIC HAULERS (working title) (8×60, 2019 – Great Pacific Media, a Thunderbird Company), a look at Canada’s resilient, vibrant northern communities and the determined men and women who help provide their lifeline to the outside world. These groups are linked together by the summer sealift, when ships loaded with critical cargo travel each year to the farthest reaches of the north to deliver food, clothing, supplies and vital pieces of infrastructure.
IN THE MAKING (8×30, Fall 2018 – White Pine Pictures), an immersive journey inside the artistic process. Host Sean O’Neill travels the globe alongside some of Canada’s most extraordinary creators as they bring new work to life and face moments of opportunity, challenge and reward.
UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT (4×30, Winter 2019 – Proper Television), a factual entertainment series featuring budding entrepreneurs as they shop for the business of their dreams.
CBC Kids:
BECCA’S BUNCH (52×11, Jam Media), a must-see children’s comedy that combines live action, puppetry, and 3D animation.
BIG BLUE (52×11, Guru), an underwater comedy-adventure series about siblings Lettie and Lemo and the oddball crew of their submarine.
ENDLINGS (12×30, Sinking Ship), a sci-fi adventure series about four foster kids making a startling discovery that affects the entire universe.
KINGDOM FORCE (52×11, Industrial Brothers/Boat Rocker), an action series about animals protecting their community from danger with their unique skills that combine to form a giant robot.
MOLLY OF DENALI (38×30, Atomic Cartoons, CBC co-production with PBS), an adventure-comedy series about a 10-year-old Indigenous girl.
This fall, CBC will also broadcast the Canadian premiere of the new adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray’s literary classic VANITY FAIR (7×60, Mammoth Screen, ITV and Amazon Studios) starring Olivia Cooke (Ready Player One) as Becky Sharp, an ambitious social climber desperately trying to escape poverty and scale the heights of English society.
RETURNING SERIES:
CBC’s returning slate of scripted, factual and arts titles for 2018/19 is as follows:
ANNE WITH AN E (10×60, Season 2, fall 2018)
BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW (10×30, Season 3) – *moves to fall 2018*
BURDEN OF TRUTH (8×60, Season 2, winter 2019)
CBC ARTS: EXHIBITIONISTS (26×30, Season 4, fall 2018) CBC KIDS new seasons of original Canadian series DOT, ADDISON, and OLLIE THE BOY WHO BECAME WHAT HE ATE
CORONATION STREET (Season 20, fall 2018)
THE DETECTIVES (8×60, Season 2, fall 2018)
DRAGONS’ DEN (20×60, Season 13, fall 2018)
THE FILMMAKERS (8×30, Season 2, summer 2018 starting July 28)
FRANKIE DRAKE MYSTERIES (10×60, Season 2, fall 2018)
THE GREAT CANADIAN BAKING SHOW (8×60, Season 2, fall 2018)
HALIFAX COMEDY FEST (6×30, Season 23, fall 2018)
HEARTLAND (11×60, Season 12) – *moves to winter 2019*
JUST FOR LAUGHS: GALAS (2018-2019)
KIM’S CONVENIENCE (13×30, Season 3) – *moves to winter 2019*
LITTLE DOG (8×30, Season 2, winter 2019)
MR. D (8×30, Season 8) – *moves to Wednesdays – final season*
MURDOCH MYSTERIES (18×60, Season 12, fall 2018)
SCHITT’S CREEK (14×30, Season 5, winter 2019) THE STATS OF LIFE (8×30, Season 2, winter 2019) STILL STANDING (13×30, Season 4, now in production on Season 5 for 2019) – *moves to fall 2018*
THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES (19×30, 1×60, Season 26)
WHEN CALLS THE HEART (Season 4, summer 2018 starting June 17)
THE WINNIPEG COMEDY FESTIVAL (5×60, Season 17, winter 2019)
WORKIN’ MOMS (13×30, Season 3, winter 2019)
CBC’s award-winning news and documentary programming also returns:
CBC DOCS POV (Season 3) – *moves to Friday evenings*
Premieres with Just a Regular Kid, exploring what it means to be young, Muslim and growing up in the West during these unsettled times. THE FIFTH ESTATE (Season 44) – *moves to Sunday evenings*
THE INVESTIGATORS WITH DIANA SWAIN (Season 3) *moves to Thursdays*
MARKETPLACE (Season 46)
THE NATIONAL THE NATURE OF THINGS (Season 58), kicks off with special three-part miniseries Equus: The Story of the Horse. TAKEN (Season 2, summer 2018 starting June 22)
THE WEEKLY WITH WENDY MESLEY (Season 2)
SPECIALS:
CBC’s annual lineup of specials and awards programming celebrating Canadian creators, artists and storytellers also includes:
INDSPIRE AWARDS (June 24) CANADA DAY CELEBRATION (July 1)
CANADIAN COUNTRY MUSIC ASSOCIATION AWARDS (September 9, hosted by Shania Twain)
POLARIS MUSIC PRIZE GALA (September 17) – streaming via CBCMusic.ca
SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE (November 19)
AIR FARCE NEW YEAR’S EVE (December 31)
CANADA’S NEW YEAR’S EVE (December 31)
CANADA READS (March 2019)
CANADIAN SCREEN AWARDS (March 2019)
THE JUNO AWARDS broadcast live from London and MUSIC DAY ON CBC featuring music programming on all CBC platforms (March 17)
ORIGINAL DIGITAL PROGRAMMING:
CBC’s diverse slate of digital original series and award-winning CBC SHORT DOCS includes the following new titles that will stream on the CBC TV App and cbc.ca/watch:
ART IS MY COUNTRY (10×5, Noble Television), riveting profiles of 10 Canadian artists from various cultural backgrounds who are redefining and reshaping Canadian art.
OFF KILTER (8×8, Falter and Find Productions), a mockumentary that documents the remaking of failed up-and-coming choreographer Milton Frank into the critically acclaimed jerk he never got to be in the ‘90s.
WINSTON ROWNTREE’S PEOPLE WATCHING (16×10, Lapaire Productions – Season 2, July), a comedy series featuring humorous and heartfelt short stories about 20-somethings searching for acceptance and romance.
FARM CRIME (6×15, Big Cedar Films – August), a true-crime docu-series investigating unconventional offenses in the world of farming and agriculture.
SEEN AND HEARD (8×8, Picture This Productions – September), uniting a mixed group of deaf and hearing performers to mount a unique adaptation of The Little Mermaid.
RED BUTTON (6×8, Media Headquarters – winter), the ongoing documentary project returns to provide remarkably candid perspectives of marginalized and misunderstood youth.
CBC SHORT DOCS:
FAST HORSE (Alexandra Lazarowich), exploring the return of the bareback horse-racing tradition to Blackfoot country.
QUEER PRIEST (Nicholas Bradford-Ewart), three docs following the lives of openly queer individuals who have chosen to become or remain priests despite the trauma that the Christian community has inflicted upon them.
SEDRA (Sura Mallouh), observing a 17-year-old and her family as they rebuild their lives in Canada after fleeing the Syrian war.
THE HOLE IN RESERVOIR HILL (Shasha Nakhai and Rich Williamson), a timely revisiting of the decommissioned nuclear bunker in North Bay, Ontario and the individuals who know its secrets.
In addition to making all television series available to stream live or on-demand via its digital platforms, spanning more than 4,000 hours of programming, CBC is also investing in new content exclusive to the CBC TV App and cbc.ca/watch including 250 hours of new programming. Featuring Canadian content as well as a curated selection of best-in-class drama, comedy, lifestyle and documentary content from around the world, new titles streaming in the upcoming year include PORTLANDIA, MOONE BOY and the Canadian premiere of Australian comedy RONNY CHIENG: INTERNATIONAL STUDENT.
CBC PODCASTS
This fall, CBC PODCASTS – a leader in podcasting with more than 300 million downloads – brings back past favourites and launches groundbreaking new series. New podcasts include:
UNCOVER, an investigative series that launches with “Escaping NXIVM” (September), a case that goes deep inside one woman’s story of a bizarre self-help group.
KAITLIN PREST (September), creator/host of the Prix-Italia winner The Heart, offers a new series featuring stories of desire, suffering and unforgiveness.
TAI ASKS WHY? (October), aimed at kids and adults alike, featuring 11-year-old host Tai Poole as he looks for answers to life’s biggest questions.
Returning podcasts:
SOMEONE KNOWS SOMETHING (October, Season 5), the true crime hit returns as host David Ridgen tackles one of Canada’s biggest cold cases.
LOVE ME (October, Season 3), award-winning personal storytelling and playful fictions on the messiness of human connection.
OTHER PEOPLE’S PROBLEMS (November, Season 2), the recent chart-topping series that takes listeners inside a therapist’s office, bringing mental health out in the open.
CBC SPORTS
CBC SPORTS will continue to keep Canadians connected to the world of high-performance sport through weekly broadcast staple ROAD TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES (fall 2018, Season 4) as well as live-streams of key competitions on cbcsports.ca and via the CBC Sports app. As Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic Network, CBC will bring sports fans in-depth coverage of the established and up-and-coming athletes to watch leading up to Tokyo 2020, with featured events including the ongoing IAAF Diamond League (until August 31), Rugby World Cup Sevens (July 20-22), NACAC Track & Field Championships (August 10-12), FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships (October 25 – November 3), and FINA World Swimming Championships (December 11-16). The fall also sees the return of winter sports on the competitive World Cup circuit. This summer, CBC SPORTS will also bring Canadians the excitement of the Calgary Stampede (July 6-15), the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, and championship show jumping from Spruce Meadows (June 9 – Sept. 9).
PRIMETIME BROADCAST SCHEDULE
CBC’s 2018-19 primetime broadcast schedule is as follows: All series will also be available to stream on the CBC TV App and at cbc.ca/watch. (For Newfoundland and Labrador, please add one half-hour later for all times)
MONDAYS
8 PM – MURDOCH MYSTERIES *Season 12*(FALL/WINTER)
9 PM – FRANKIE DRAKE MYSTERIES *Season 2* (FALL)/ CORONER *NEW SERIES* (EARLY WINTER)/ STREET LEGAL *NEW SERIES* (LATE WINTER)
10 PM – THE NATIONAL
TUESDAYS
8 PM – STILL STANDING *Season 4*(NEW TO FALL)/ KIM’S CONVENIENCE *Season 3* (NEW TO WINTER)
8:30 PM – THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES *Season 26* (FALL/WINTER)
9 PM – BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW *Season 3* (NEW TO FALL)/ SCHITT’S CREEK *Season 5* (WINTER)
9:30 PM – WORKIN’ MOMS *Season 3* (WINTER)
10 PM – THE NATIONAL
WEDNESDAYS
8 PM – THE GREAT CANADIAN BAKING SHOW *Season 2*(EARLY FALL)/ CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON JUNIOR *NEW SERIES* (LATE FALL)/ BURDEN OF TRUTH *Season 2* (EARLY WINTER)/ DIGGSTOWN *NEW SERIES* (LATE WINTER)
9 PM – VANITY FAIR *NEW SERIES*(EARLY FALL)/ MR. D *Season 8* (LATE FALL) – New Night/
UNSPEAKABLE *NEW SERIES* (WINTER) 9:30 PM – HALIFAX COMEDY FESTIVAL (LATE FALL)
10 PM – THE NATIONAL
THURSDAYS
7 PM – THE INVESTIGATORS WITH DIANA SWAIN *Season 3* (FALL) – New Night
8 PM – DRAGONS’ DEN *Season 13* (FALL/WINTER) 9 PM – THE DETECTIVES *Season 2*(EARLY FALL)/ FROM THE VAULTS *NEW SERIES* (LATE FALL)/ CAVENDISH *NEW SERIES* (WINTER)
9:30 PM – LITTLE DOG *Season 2*(WINTER)
10 PM – THE NATIONAL
FRIDAYS
8 PM – MARKETPLACE *Season 46*(FALL/WINTER)
8:30 PM – IN THE MAKING *NEW SERIES* (EARLY FALL)/ THE STATS OF LIFE *Season 2* (EARLY WINTER)/ UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT *NEW SERIES* (LATE WINTER)
9 PM – CBC DOCS POV *Season 3* (FALL/WINTER) – New Night
10 PM – THE NATIONAL
11:30 PM – CBC ARTS: EXHIBITIONISTS (FALL/WINTER)
SATURDAYS
Afternoon – ROAD TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES *Season 4* (FALL/WINTER)
6:30 PM – HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA (FALL/WINTER)
SUNDAYS
Afternoon – ROAD TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES *Season 4* (FALL/WINTER)
7 PM – ANNE WITH AN E *Season 2*/ HEARTLAND *Season 12* (WINTER)
8 PM – THE NATURE OF THINGS *Season 58* (FALL/WINTER)
9 PM – THE FIFTH ESTATE *Season 44* (FALL/WINTER) – New Night
10 PM – THE NATIONAL
About CBC/Radio-Canada:
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster. Through our mandate to inform, enlighten and entertain, we play a central role in strengthening Canadian culture. As Canada’s trusted news source, we offer a uniquely Canadian perspective on news, current affairs and world affairs. Our distinctively homegrown entertainment programming draws audiences from across the country. Deeply rooted in communities, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. We are leading the transformation to meet the needs of Canadians in a digital world.
For more information including series synopses, press releases, hi-res images, video clips and bios, please visit the CBC Media Centre at cbc.ca/mediacentre.
For more information, contact:
Teaghan Hawke – publicist, CBC teaghan.hawke@cbc.ca 416.205.6863
Tanya Koivusalo – publicist, CBC tanya.koivusalo@cbc.ca 416.205.8638