Astral Media Unveils Fall Slate for Channel Bouquet

TORONTO, July 15: Astral
Media’s The Movie Network, Mpix and Viewers Choice will showcase a range of new
and returning series from HBO and Showtime, Canadian originals, classic movies
and live events in their fall schedules.

The Movie Network’s slate
of new HBO programming includes the premiere of True Blood, a vampire drama starring Anna Paquin and Stephen
Moyer. The pay-TV service will also feature three new half-hour comedies: Little
Britain in America, Summer
Heights High and the animated
series The Life and Times of Tim.
HBO’s Entourage will return for
a fifth season, while a raft of original documentaries from the premium cable
service, including Portrait of a Lady, Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery and Fall From Grace: The Ted Haggard Story, will debut this fall.

Also on The Movie Network,
Showtime’s Dexter returns in
its third season, Californication will
launch into its second season and the crime drama Brotherhood heads into its third season.

The Canadian original
series Sanctuary, from the
creative team behind Stargate SG-1 and
Stargate Atlantis, debuts in
October. In early 2009, The Movie Network will showcase ZOS: Zone of
Separation and The Weight, two Canadian originals that respectively chronicle
a war abroad over religion and a war at home based around the drug trade.

Movies set to premiere
this fall include The Bourne Ultimatum, Michael Clayton, The
Assassination of Jesse James, American
Gangster, Bee Movie, There Will Be Blood, I Am Legend, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Atonement, Cloverfield and Charlie
Wilson's War.

Additionally, a range of
classic movies and film stunts will debut on Mpix, including a Johnny Depp
marathon, a spotlight on the Coen Brothers, a tribute to legendary Canadian
comic John Candy and an encore presentation of The Ultimate Bond Marathon,
featuring 18 classic James Bond films. Movies set to premiere include classics
such as American History X, Stand
By Me, Hair, Love Story and The Way We Were.

Viewers Choice Pay Per
View heads into its fall season with an events lineup that includes Ultimate
Fighting Championship, WWE wrestling, TNA wrestling, HBO boxing and 2010 World
Cup qualifying soccer.

—By Kristin
Brzoznowski