Nostalgia was the key word for Canwest at its annual upfront presentation in Toronto today, as the company unveiled a fall lineup for its Global Television and E! networks featuring updates of the iconic 1980s series Knight Rider and the 1990s series Beverley Hills 90210, as well as a remake of Life on Mars, a British series set in 1973.
Like archrival CTV did two days ago, Canwest prefaced its presentation with tales of ratings success for the past season. Using adults 18-49 as a measure, Canwest executives noted that Global Television had five of the top 10 shows in Vancouver and Calgary and four of the top 10 shows in Toronto last season.
“We are a top-10 player,” Barb Williams, Canwest’s executive vice-president of content, told an estimated 1,500 advertisers and media buyers at the conclusion of a glitzy 75-minute presentation at the Elgin Theatre.
The three top-10 shows common to each market, House, Survivor, Heroes, will all be back next season—augmented by 13 new additions to the Global and E! schedules. “These are great prime-time schedules,” said Williams. “They are balanced, reliable, based on solid returning hits and buzzworthy new shows.”
Williams suggested that the months-long writers strike will actually benefit the new season, since it has given the writers of returning shows “more time to develop and hone their storylines.” And, she added, “creative teams [for new shows] are further ahead this year in mapping out series than they typically would be.”
New additions to the Global schedule include Christian Slater’s first-ever TV role in My Own Worst Enemy, in which he plays a mild-mannered suburbanite who leads a double life as a secret operative; a remake of the BBC drama Life on Mars, starring Jason O’Mara (The Agency) as a cop transported back in time to 1973; a new series from Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon called Dollhouse, which follows a group of “actives,” members of an illegal underground group who have had their personalities erased so they can be imprinted with new personalities; the comedy Kath & Kim starring former Saturday Night Live cast member Molly Shannon and Selma Blair (Hellboy) as a dysfunctional mother/daughter duo; an as-yet unnamed spinoff of The Office, and Sit Down, Shut Up, an animated series focusing on the teaching staff of a small northeastern high school that features the voices of Arrested Development stars Jason Bateman, Henry Winkler and Will Arnett.
Canwest executives were also enthusiastic about 90210, which has been given the coveted post-House timeslot on Global at 9 p.m. Tuesday. The show stars former Degrassi: The Next Generation star Shenae Grimes and Tristin Wilds (The Wire) as members of the next generation of students at Beverley Hills High School. “If there’s one spot on the schedule that has the most opportunity, it’s 9 p.m. on Tuesday after House,” said Kathy Gardner, Canwest’s senior VP of integrated media research and corporate promotions. “That’s exactly where we put the show that has the most opportunity to grow viewers this season.”
On E!, new additions include Do Not Disturb, a workplace comedy starring former Crossing Jordan star Jerry O’Connell as the general manager of a hip New York hotel; Worst Week, an apparent riff on Meet the Parents starring Kyle Bornheimer (Jericho) as a man who turns into an oaf whenever he’s around his girlfriend’s parents; and the Knight Rider remake starring Jason Bruening and Val Kilmer as the voice of the talking car, KITT.
Canwest also plans to take advantage of its acquisition of the former Alliance Atlantis assets (including Showcase, HGTV and Food Network Canada) by cross-promoting shows appearing on its conventional channels. For instance, the new season of Kitchen Nightmares on Global will feature extensive promotion for Gordon Ramsay’s new Food Network Canada program The F Word, while a new six-part series from handyman Mike Holmes called Make it Right: New Orleans that is destined for HGTV will be preceded by a two-hour show on Global.
“We’re focused this year on taking advantage of our size and scope by making entirely new connections with our viewers and our clients,” Canwest Broadcasting president Kathy Dore told the crowd.
Canwest also announced that it had secured broadband rights for all of its new series at GlobalTV.com and Eonline.com.
