New daytime series to feature a team of hosts including Steven Sabados and Jessi Cruickshank
Television slate includes nine new original series and 25 returning titles
Largest investment ever in CBC digital original content including nine new series

CBC, the number-one media brand in Canada*, today announced its 2016-17 fall and winter season, featuring a uniquely Canadian slate of new and returning original drama, comedy, factual, news, documentary, sports, arts and digital content from diverse voices and perspectives.

“No other media company can match the depth and breadth of the CBC when it comes to distinctly Canadian storytelling,” said Heather Conway, executive vice-president, English Services, CBC. “This season, we are building on our commitment to invest in more original, premium content by offering our most ambitious, diverse programming slate ever, focused on authentic voices, unique perspectives and character-driven stories that inspire, challenge, empower and entertain on all our platforms.”

The 2016-17 television slate includes an all-new one-hour weekday daytime lifestyle series (title to be announced) launching on October 3. Hosted by a team including beloved personalities Steven Sabados and Jessi Cruickshank, the program will bring a fresh approach to daytime, offering playful inspiration and information on food, home, fashion and health. Additional hosts will be announced in the coming weeks.

New primetime series include crime-thriller SHOOT THE MESSENGER (8x60), focused on the complicated relationships between crime reporters and the police, and PURE (6x60), a dramatic miniseries about Mennonites who control one of the most efficient drug-trafficking operations in North America. CBC continues to increase its investment in smart, premium comedy with KIM’S CONVENIENCE (13x30), the funny, heartfelt story of a Korean-Canadian family running a convenience store in Toronto, based on the award-winning play by Ins Choi; WORKIN’ MOMS (13x30), a brash comedy from Catherine Reitman that tests the modern ideal that women really can have it all; and the return of the acclaimed MICHAEL: TUESDAYS AND THURSDAYS (6x30). Taking on contemporary issues that are important to Canadians through authentic storytelling, new factual series include THIS IS HIGH SCHOOL (6x60), offering unprecedented and unfiltered access to real life at a British Columbia high school, and docu-series TRUE NORTH CALLING (7x30), which follows a group of young Canadians as they carve out lives at the edge of the Arctic.

With an extensive digital reach that includes 52 percent of all online millennials across Canada every month**, CBC is also investing in its largest slate of digital original programming to date, including new comediesCOMING IN, from the creators of Shit Girls Say,MY 90-YEAR-OLD ROOMMATE, THE AMAZING GAYL PILE,THE WHOLE TRUTHS,THIS IS THAT andTHAT’S WHAT SHEENA SAID! at CBC Comedy; a wide-ranging slate of short-form digital documentaries at cbc.ca/shortdocs; and arts titles DISRUPTING DESIGN with Matt Galloway, andJET AGE and MEET YOUR MAKER for CBC Arts, expanding CBC’s multiplatform arts strategy announced last fall.

New Kids’ CBC original series include the world premiere of DOT. (52x11), an animated series from entrepreneur Randi Zuckerberg, and photography competition series SNAPSHOTS (6x30).

Building on the success of last season’s acclaimed and award-winning programming lineup, returning drama, comedy, factual and arts series include CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON (season 3); CORONATION STREET (season 18); CRASH GALLERY (season 2); DRAGONS’ DEN (season 11); EXHIBITIONISTS (season 2); HA!IFAX COMEDY FEST (season 21); HEARTLAND (season 10); HELLO GOODBYE (season 2); INTERRUPT THIS PROGRAM (season 2); JUST FOR LAUGHS: GALAS; MR. D (season 6); MURDOCH MYSTERIES (season 10); RICK MERCER REPORT (season 14); THE ROMEO SECTION (season 2); SCHITT’S CREEK (season 3); THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES (season 24); THIS LIFE (season 2); THE WINNIPEG COMEDY FESTIVAL (season 15); and X COMPANY (season 3).

CBC will bolster its slate of award-winning news, investigative and documentary programming with the launch of a new investigative program hosted by Diana Swain, which will take Canadians behind the scenes for a closer look at the process of investigative journalism. CBC journalist Peter Armstrong will host a reimagined business show. Returning flagship titles include news and investigative programsTHE NATIONAL, MARKETPLACE (season 44) and the fifth estate (season 42), thought-provoking documentary series FIRSTHAND (season 2) and David Suzuki’s THE NATURE OF THINGS (season 56).

Marking their highest audience shares ever*** last fall, CBC Radio One and CBC Radio 2 will continue to connect, reflect and engage Canadians with new voices and viewpoints including OUT IN THE OPEN with Piya Chattopadhya, THE CANDY PALMATER SHOW, and MARVIN’S ROOM, which explores the world of R&B with host Amanda Parris.

Following the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer, CBC Sports will build on its commitment to promote and elevate high-performance sport and athletes in Canada with expanded coverage leading into the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games. In addition to events such as FIS ski and snowboard and IBSF bobsleigh and skeleton, CBC Sports has signed a new three-year agreement for exclusive Canadian coverage of ISU figure skating and speed skating.

The CBC-TV 2016 primetime fall programming schedule is as follows:

MONDAY
8 p.m. (8:30 NT)—Murdoch Mysteries *NEW SEASON*
9 p.m. (9:30 NT)—Shoot the Messenger *NEW SERIES*

TUESDAY
8 p.m. (8:30 NT)—Rick Mercer Report *NEW SEASON*
8:30 p.m. (9 NT)—This Hour Has 22 Minutes *NEW SEASON*
9 p.m. (9:30 NT)—Kim’s Convenience *NEW SERIES*
9:30 p.m. (10 NT)—Mr. D *NEW SEASON*

WEDNESDAY
8 p.m. (8:30 NT)—Dragons’ Den *NEW SEASON*
9 p.m. (9:30 NT)—The Romeo Section *NEW SEASON*

THURSDAY
8 p.m. (8:30 NT)—The Nature of Things *NEW SEASON*
9 p.m. (9:30 NT)—Firsthand *NEW SEASON*

FRIDAY
8 p.m. (8:30 NT)—Marketplace *NEW SEASON*
8:30 p.m. (9 NT)—Hello Goodbye *NEW SEASON*
9 p.m. (9:30 NT)—the fifth estate *NEW SEASON*

SATURDAY
6:30 p.m. ET—Hockey Night in Canada

SUNDAY
7 p.m. (7:30 NT)—Heartland *NEW SEASON*
8 p.m. (8:30 NT)—This is High School *NEW SERIES* (October)
8 p.m. (8:30 NT)—Canada’s Smartest Person *NEW SEASON* (November)
9 p.m. (9:30 NT)—This Life *NEW SEASON*

* Source: Ipsos The Most Influential Brands in Canada 2015 ** Source: comScore Multiplatform Jan 2016

*** Source: Numeris Radio Diary, share among Anglophones 12+ in CBC Areas (where a CBC-owned station is located)

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About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. We are Canada’s trusted source of news, information and Canadian entertainment. Deeply rooted in communities all across the country, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight aboriginal languages. We also provide international news and information from a uniquely Canadian perspective.

A space for us all is CBC/Radio-Canada’s new strategy to modernize the public broadcaster and ensure that it continues to fulfill its mandate for Canadians and for future generations. Through to 2020, it will increase its investment in prime-time television programming, and continue to create radio programs of the highest quality, while promoting the development of digital and mobile platforms and content.

For more information including series synopses, press releases, hi-res images, video clips and bios, please visit the CBC Media Centre at cbc.ca/mediacentre .

For further information, please contact: Danielle Sefton, publicist, CBC
danielle.sefton@cbc.ca
416-205-8638

Katherine Wolfgang, head of publicity, CBC
katherine.wolfgang@cbc.ca
416.205.2772