CTV, CTV Two Line Up Prime-Time Highlights

TORONTO: Among the new programs to be featured on CTV’s prime-time schedule is the highly anticipated competition series The X Factor, as well as a host of dramas and comedies.

In addition to Simon Cowell’s The X Factor, new series headed for CTV include the weekday daytime talk show Anderson, hosted by Anderson Cooper. Also slated are the period drama Pan Am, starring Christina Ricci; the comedy Whitney, featuring comedian Whitney Cummings; the crime series Unforgettable, with Poppy Montgomery; and the Charlie’s Angels reboot. The crime drama Grimm, inspired by the classic Grimm’s Fairy Tales, joins the fantasy drama Once Upon a Time. Saturday nights will feature The Sing-Off.

Set for midseason is the musical drama Smash, from executive producer Steven Spielberg and starring Debra Messing. G.C.B. features Leslie Bibb in the lead role, along with Kristen Chenoweth and Annie Potts. Ashley Judd returns to prime time in Missing. Confirmed for the daytime lineup are The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Live! with Regis and Kelly, The View, The Dr. Oz Show and the Canadian chat show The Marilyn Denis Show, returning for a second season.

Returning series include The Big Bang Theory, Grey’s Anatomy, Hot in Cleveland, Blue Bloods, American Idol, Flashpoint, eTalk and CTV National News, in addition to The Amazing Race, The Mentalist, Dancing with the Stars, Desperate Housewives, Castle and CSI: New York. CTV will also be home to the 84th annual Academy awards and Super Bowl XLVI, along with the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards and the 2012 Juno Awards. Conan, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report form the late-night lineup.

CTV’s sister network CTV Two, rebranded from /A, has eight new programs on the roster. The results episodes of The X Factor will be featured on Thursdays. Lorne Michaels’ new parental comedy Up All Night, starring Christina Applegate and Will Arnett, comes alongside Free Agents, with Hank Azaria. Man Up and The Protector round out the slate. The hit crime dramas Criminal Minds, CSI: Miami and Law & Order: SVU are also to be featured on CTV Two. Two and a Half Men, with Ashton Kutcher as part of the cast, joins the lineup as well.

Additionally, CTV has secured the digital rights to all of its new scripted programs. CTV will make them available on all four screens for catch-up viewing, and will expand the content available through the Bell Media for Mobile offering available to all Canadian wireless operators. 

"The easiest thing to do would be to sit on our number one schedule and not make any moves,” said Phil King, the president of CTV programming and sports. “But our acquisitions are so strong, they are cracking the CTV lineup in Year One. We strongly believe some of our new series represent the next generation of TV hits.”

“What makes CTV so strong year-over-year is a schedule deep with dependable veteran performers, solid sophomores, and big-buzz rookie shows,” continued King. “Additionally, CTV’s schedule delivers not only because of its perfect mix of drama, comedy and reality, but also because of its breadth, with hits on every night and in every time slot.”