Canada’s City Reveals 2017-18 Schedule

Rogers Media has unveiled the 2017-18 schedule of its City channel, which will debut the original Canadian mob drama Bad Blood this fall.

Inspired by mobster Vito Rizzuto and based on the best-selling book Business or Blood: Mafia Boss Vito Rizzuto’s Last War by Antonio Nicaso and Peter Edwards, Bad Blood: The Vito Rizzuto Story is a six-part limited event series. Anthony LaPaglia (Without a Trace) stars alongside Kim Coates (Sons of Anarchy), Paul Sorvino (Goodfellas) and Enrico Colantoni (Flashpoint). The show will be running Thursdays at 8 p.m.

City’s scripted drama slate also features The Blacklist, which is new for the network this fall. Coming in 2018, Versailles is a drama about Louis XIV. The Resident, starring Emily VanCamp and Bruce Greenwood, joins City’s schedule in mid-season.

In the way of comedies, The Orville, from executive producer and creator Seth MacFarlane and director Jon Favreau, joins the fall lineup. Ghosted, featuring Craig Robinson (The Office) and Adam Scott (Big Little Lies), has also been added to the roster. The Canadian cult classic Fubar moves to the small screen. New to City is Speechless, starring Minnie Driver, which joins the schedule in mid-season, along with new Will Ferrell-produced commuter comedy LA to Vegas.

The network has also slated a lineup of reality/live events. Dancing with the Stars moves to City for the 2017-18 season. Building on the success of marquee live event programming, City presents a live musical event for the holidays, A Christmas Story. In 2018, an all-new live musical production of the Tony Award-, Grammy Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Rent will run in mid-season.

“With ten times the viewing hours of Netflix and nearly ten times the hours spent on social media, TV is still the most relevant way to reach consumers today,” said Rogers Media’s president, Rick Brace. “And Canadians come to us to be entertained. Rogers Media properties reached more than 96 percent of Canadians last season—and we’re ready to welcome them back this year to be entertained with even more of what they love.”

“The draw of the characters and the caliber of storytelling was the key to our success last season—Lethal Weapon is a great example,” added Colette Watson, senior VP of television and broadcast operations. “Powered by the strength of the movie franchise, stellar cast, and fresh stories, the series boosted the previous timeslot by 169 percent. We made some strategic refinements to our schedule for 2017-18 and we expect the creative pedigree behind some of these new titles to have a similar impact.”