New Series Join CTV’s Fall Lineup

TORONTO, June 3: CTV has
unveiled its fall 2008 prime-time schedule, which features the premiere of new
series like Flashpoint and The
Listener, as well as the lineup
for “A,” with new shows like J.J. Abrams' Fringe.

The two schedules were
presented yesterday afternoon at CTV Inc.’s 2008 Upfront presentation at
Toronto’s Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.

Among the new series
rolling out on CTV are Flashpoint,
the Canadian-produced series simulcast with CBS that follows an elite team of
police as they thwart the most heinous of crimes at the moment they get out of
hand; the premiere of The Listener,
a Canadian-produced show airing on NBC and in 175 other countries that traces
the life of a young man with the ability to read minds; So You Think You Can
Dance Canada, the Canadian version
of the international dance competition format; and Star Wars: The Clone Wars, a new series from Lucasfilm Animation.

Shows back on CTV’s lineup
this fall are American Idol, Grey’s
Anatomy, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, Criminal Minds, Desperate
Housewives, CSI, The Amazing Race, Dancing With the Stars, Law & Order, ER,
Law & Order: SVU, Lost and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. The roster will also include all-new seasons of Corner
Gas, which returns for its sixth
and final installment, and Degrassi: The Next Generation.

Original CTV movies
scheduled to air in 2008-09 include Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning, The Terrorist Next Door, She Drives Me Crazy, Of Murder and Memory, The Bridge, The Good Times are
Killing Me and Playing for
Keeps (working title).

On the factual front, the
Canadian entertainment newsmagazine, eTalk continues to be part of the lineup, along with Canada AM, W-FIVE, Question Period, the
CTV Evening News and CTV
National News with Lloyd Robertson.
Additionally, CTV News will present a slate of new original documentaries.

Additionally, CTV’s
2008-09 season will feature the telecasts of the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards, the
66th Annual Golden Globes, the 2009 JUNO Awards from Vancouver, Canada’s Walk
of Fame and the Scotiabank Giller Prize.

Meanwhile, the fall
schedule for “A,” which will simulcast 75 percent of its weeknight prime-time
schedule, also features a host of new shows, including Fringe, a sci-fi mystery/drama from J.J. Abrams (Lost), starring Joshua Jackson; Eleventh Hour, the Jerry Bruckheimer drama about what can happen
when biology is placed in the wrong hands, starring Rufus Sewell; and The
Mentalist, a procedural drama
about a man who uses his extraordinary observational skills to solve crimes,
starring Simon Baker. The Grey’s Anatomy spin-off Private Practice
moves to “A” this fall, along with the mid-season reality series Moment of
Truth and the teen soap Gossip
Girl.

The “A” schedule will be
seen by a wider audience beginning this fall. CTV’s ASN channel in Atlantic
Canada will be re-branded as “A” and will feature the full “A” lineup seen in Ontario
and British Columbia. Furthermore, Alberta’s ACCESS channel will also highlight
the “A” lineup in certain prime-time hours.

A number of shows are
returning for their sophomore seasons on “A,” including Pushing Daisies, Mad Men and Samantha Who?, Eli
Stone, the prime-time soap opera Dirty
Sexy Money and the mid-season
series Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles.

The original comedies Robson
Arms, Comedy Now! and Comedy Inc. round out lineup on “A,” along with Two and a
Half Men, Wife Swap, Don’t Forget the Lyrics and the original user-generated video program America’s
Funniest Home Videos.

CTV ends the 2007-08
broadcast season as Canada’s number one network among total viewers for the
seventh consecutive year and Canada’s number one network among adults aged 25
to 54 and adults 18 to 49 for the sixth year in a row. CTV also ended the year
with 18 of the top 20 programs among total viewers, 16 of the top 20 programs
among adults 25 to 54 and 14 of the top 20 programs among adults 18 to 49, all
up two positions versus last year’s rankings.

“In a challenging season,
CTV has actually delivered more hits than ever, growing by two spots to claim
18 of the top 20 programs in Canada,” said Susanne Boyce, the president of
creative, content and channels at CTV. “Those 18 programs are all back. CTV has
the most stable schedule in North American broadcasting. Nevertheless, as we
did during the strike, we will continue to engage viewers with fresh new
content in the few openings we have available.”

“As well, we’ve made a
conscious, deliberate investment in the “A” schedule,” she continued. “Built to
complement the CTV schedule with even more, can’t-miss programs, it’s a
schedule designed to compete, immediately, as one of the best conventional
grids out there.”

—By Irene Lew