Rogers Media Release: City Unveils its 2017/18 Prime-Time Schedule
– City By The Numbers: 5 new comedies, 4 new dramas, 3 new Canadian titles, 2 live musical events, and 1 fan-favourite competition series join proven performers on City’s 2017/18 schedule –
– Creative power behind new comedies: Seth MacFarlane, Will Ferrell, and Jon Favreau –
– Marquee live events include new musicals A Christmas Story and Rent –
To Tweet This Release: #RogersUpfront
TORONTO (June 6, 2017) – Proven, powerful, and pedigreed.Today Rogers Media unveils City’s 2017/18 programming schedule, building on last season’s proven hits with bold new additions backed by some of the most creative minds in television today. Rogers Media president, Rick Brace, and senior vice president of television & broadcast operations, Colette Watson, together with the executive team will present the new schedule to advertisers and media this afternoon at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
“With 10x the viewing hours of Netflix and nearly 10x the hours spent on social media, TV is still the most relevant way to reach consumers today,” said Brace. “And Canadians come to us to be entertained. Rogers Media properties reached more than 96% of Canadians last season – and we’re ready to welcome them back this year to be entertained with even more of what they love.”
Adding 12 new titles to a roster of proven hits, City’s schedule strikes a balance between proven performers, premium dramas, event programming, and laugh-out-loud comedies. The mix of fresh titles and fan favourites delivers something for everyone, every night of the week.
“The draw of the characters and the calibre of storytelling was the key to our success last season – Lethal Weapon is a great example,” added Watson. “Powered by the strength of the movie franchise, stellar cast, and fresh stories, the series boosted the previous timeslot by 169%. 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.”
Comedies
This broadcast year, City had three of the Top 10 and eight of the Top 20 comedy hits, and City will continue to bring the laughs with five new comedy series for the 2017/18 season. Joining the fall lineup, The Orville, from Emmy Award-winning executive producer and creator Seth MacFarlane and director Jon Favreau, is an irreverent workplace sci-fi adventure comedy set 400 years in the future that follows the adventures of the U.S.S. Orville, an exploratory spaceship, and the familiar and funny everyday challenges of its human and alien crew. The weird and wonderful out-of-this-world theme continues with Ghosted, when a cynical skeptic (Craig Robinson,The Office) and a genius “true believer” (Adam Scott, Parks and Recreation, Big Little Lies) are recruited to investigate unexplained phenomena in Los Angeles – all the while uncovering a larger mystery that could threaten the existence of the human race. Canadian cult classic Fubar moves to the small screen, propelling beloved characters Terry and Dean into the modern age. New-to-City, Speechless starring Minnie Driver joins the schedule in mid-season, along with new Will Ferrell-produced commuter comedy LA to Vegas .
Dramas
Power and political games drive City’s scripted drama slate for the 2017/18 season with four new series joining the lineup. A City original, Bad Blood follows the true-crime saga of one of Canada’s most notorious mob families, a revenge story of Godfather-like proportions. New-to-City this fall, hit series The Blacklist joins the schedule with prime-time’s favourite fugitive-turned F.B.I informant, “Red” Reddington (James Spader), as he teams up with his hand-picked profiler to work through his own “most wanted” list of criminals. Coming in 2018, Versailles is a lush Canadian drama about Louis XIV, and the darkness, ambition, and manipulation that simmers just beneath the gilded surface of the Sun King’s court. Also, a young doctor’s ethics are tested when The Resident, starring Canadians Emily VanCamp and Bruce Greenwood, joins City’s schedule in mid-season.
Reality / Live Events
Enhancing City’s strength in powerhouse reality franchises, Dancing with the Stars moves to City for the 2017/18 season, bringing a new cast of celebrity ballroom dancers together in competition for the coveted Mirrorball trophy. Building on the success of marquee live event programming, City presents a live musical event for the holidays, A Christmas Story, based on the beloved and iconic movie about Ralphie, whose only wish is for a Red Ryder BB gun under the tree. In 2018, an all-new live musical production of the Tony Award-, Grammy Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Rent will bring the unforgettable story of friendship, love, and hope among seven struggling artists in New York’s gritty East Village to a whole new audience in mid-season.
Returning Favourites
Proven hits and fan favourites return as City confirms the renewal of 16 prime-time series, delivering more laugh-out-loud moments, dramatic plot twists, and thrilling competition through the 2017/18 season. Returning series include The Bachelor franchise , Black-ish, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Family Guy, Hell’s Kitchen, Hockey Night in Canada, Last Man on Earth, Lethal Weapon, Life in Pieces, The Mick, The Middle, Modern Family, Mom, New Girl , Nirvanna The Band The Show, and Scorpion.
The iconic New Year’s Eve countdown celebration Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards®and the 51st Annual Country Music Awards® also return to City this season.
All programming is available on Citytv.com and on mobile through the City Video app for iOS and Android. Fall premiere dates will be announced soon; shows not listed on the Fall schedule below will be announced at a later date.
Source:
http://rogersmediatv.ca/pr_detail.php?id=1422
https://www.citytv.com/toronto/fallpreview/