Canada’s City Unveils Comedy-Heavy Lineup

TORONTO: Among the shows set for City’s 2013-14 schedule are the newly acquired comedies Super Fun Night, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Crazy Ones, alongside the network original Package Deal.

The network has five nights of comedy blocks scheduled for fall. Returning hits include How I Met Your Mother, 2 Broke Girls, New Girl, The Mindy Project, Parks and Recreation, Raising Hope and The Middle. Joining these returning series are seven comedies that were recently acquired, among them Mom, Dads, Enlisted and Back in the Game. The City original Package Deal is also set for a fall debut. For midseason, the newly acquired comedy Us & Them and new original adult animated comedy Mother Up! will be joining Mike & Molly, Suburgatory, Community and season two of the original comedy Seed. The City fall schedule, which features 20 series in simulcast, will present Modern Family in a strip, weeknights from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The drama Revolution returns to City this fall, along with Scandal, Revenge and The Carrie Diaries. Joining these returning favorites are six new dramas: Lucky 7, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland and Betrayal for fall and Killer Women, Crisis and Resurrection for midseason. The sophomore drama Nashville joins City as well.

The network has lined up some new reality and competition series, a mix of original and acquired shows. Heading into fall, City has slated a two-week broadcast for The Million Second Quiz from September 9 to 10. Canadian viewers can engage with the 24-hour show through the City website and a customized Canadian app. New original reality series include The Project: Guatemala, Storage Wars Canada and Meet the Family, along with the fourth season of The Liquidator. Midseason another round of Hell’s Kitchen will be joined on the schedule by the adventure reality series Quest.

City will be airing the Grammy Awards and the Country Music Association Awards this year. Alongside securing the exclusive Canadian broadcast rights for these annual awards shows, the deal includes broadcast rights for Grammy Nominations Concert Live! and the CMA Country Christmas special. The fall lineup also includes The Sound of Music, a live three-hour broadcast featuring Carrie Underwood as Maria. 

Scott Moore, the president of broadcast at Rogers Media, said, "Our focus last year was to continue the growth of the City network and expand its footprint to reach more viewers in more homes than ever before. The result has been tremendous, with the network growing 7 percent this year to reach 9.6 million homes, as we deliver our world-class content on a national stage."

"Staying true to our younger, urban-oriented audience, we continue to build City’s world-class programming slate with the best new shows, returning proven hits, and exciting event programming that are relevant to our viewers. This year’s schedule is the strongest in network history," added Malcolm Dunlop, the executive VP of programming and operations at Rogers Media.