CTV announced its fall line up Thursday, which includes Simon Cowell’s new show the X Factor, as well as the highly anticipated return of American comic Conan O’Brien.
The Conan O’Brien Show will air on the national network Monday through Thursday at 1 a.m. In the U.S. it will air on TBS, which is no longer available in Canada, two hours earlier starting in November.
The show will air earlier on the Comedy Network but a CTV spokesman said that time slot has yet to be determined.
Susanne Boyce, CTV’s president of creative, content and channels, isn’t worried that viewers will have to wait until the wee hours to see O’Brien.
“TBS doesn’t run in Canada, so we’ll have the exclusive time period,” she said.
Currently, CTV airs The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report between midnight and 1 a.m., and Boyce said both shows have performed well for the network.
O’Brien’s refusal to move his Tonight show back to a post-midnight time slot was the sticking point that set off NBC’s late-night debacle earlier this year and his eventual move to cable.
“I’m absolutely thrilled to be coming to you on CTV,” said O’Brien in a video message.
“Canada was the first place to embrace me…when I took my show here to Toronto several years ago, you treated me like a rock star and I never forgot it. I love your country. I love your people. And I really love your comedy.”
In total, CTV added seven new series to its schedule, with four additional new series slated for mid-season.
Other U.S. acquisitions include No Ordinary Family starring Michael Chiklis, The Defenders with Jim Belushi and Jerry O’Connell, Law & Order: Los Angeles, $#*! My Dad Says with William Shatner, and Blue Bloods with Tom Selleck.
Rival network Global came under fire earlier this week for having just one original Canadian show on its fall schedule. CTV, meanwhile, boasted that it will feature seven homegrown programs in its lineup including Dan For Mayor, Hiccups, The Bridge, Flashpoint, The Listener, So You Think You Can Dance Canada and Comedy Now.
The network will also premiere the new daytime series The Marilyn Denis Show, which will air daily at 10 a.m.
“We feel very strongly about Canadian (programming) and always have,” Boyce said.
The future of the reality modelling competition Canada’s Next Top Model, however, appears murky.
A spokesperson for CTV said that the show had not been confirmed for a new season, and Boyce said she didn’t know if the show would ever come back.
Mid-season shows include Paula Abdul’s new competition series Got to Dance, Mr. Sunshine with Matthew Perry and Alison Janney, and Minds 2.0 with Forest Whitaker.
Shows returning to CTV include Grey’s Anatomy, The Amazing Race, The Mentalist, Dancing with the Stars, Desperate Housewives and American Idol (minus Simon Cowell).
Also returning are CTV specials such as the Juno Awards, The Scotiabank Giller Prize and Free The Children’s We Day events in Toronto and Vancouver.
