Shaw Media’s 2012/13 primetime lineup is full of drama.
The broadcaster announced it’s adding five dramas and only two comedies to its television schedule this fall, during an exclusive presentation at Toronto’s Trump International Hotel Wednesday morning.
Elementary (a modern-day take on Sherlock Holmes starring Johnny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu), Vegas (starring Dennis Quaid and Michael Chiklis) and Chicago Fire are slated for 10 p.m. time slots, which Global has paid particular attention to building in recent years.
Part of the primetime strategy meant adding dramas like The Good Wife (heading into its fourth season) to give a boost to Sunday nights.
Last Resort (starring Canadian actor Scott Speedman) and legal drama Made in Jersey are slated for 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., respectively.
On the comedy front, Global is introducing Go On, starring Friends alum Matthew Perry as a widowed sportscaster whose boss forces him to enter group counseling before returning to work.
Guy With Kids is a 30-minute comedy, executive produced by late night funnyman Jimmy Fallon. The show centres around 30-somethings who are trying to balance fatherhood with work and relationships.
Back for a second season is the homespun drama Bomb Girls, starring Oscar nominee Meg Tilley as a supervisor at a Toronto munitions factory during the Second World War. The series is commissioned by Shaw Media and produced by Muse Entertainment and Back Alley Films. It premiered Jan. 4 with 1.6 million viewers (2+, national), according to BBM Canada.
The broadcaster will also continue to rely on the strength of returning shows like Survivor, Hawaii Five-O, Glee, Bones, The Simpsons and the NCIS franchise.
“Building upon the huge success of our returning programs, Global has integrated an exciting slate of new dramas and comedies to create a fall schedule that we are extremely proud of, and one we know viewers will thoroughly enjoy,” said Barbara Williams, senior vice-president of content for Shaw Media, in a release.
Shaw also announced it will give its news programming a boost in local markets across the country starting later this summer.
In a release, Troy Reeb, senior vice-president of global news and station operations, said Global News is adding over 40 hours of news coverage each week.
Later this summer, Global Toronto will introduce News at Noon, a half-hour program that moves away from the “traditional newscast format” to concentrate on lifestyle and community-focused stories.
Starting Aug. 20, the broadcaster is combining its programs Prime News and Evening News in Regina, Saskatoon and Winnipeg for a one-hour newscast, calling it News Hour Final.
Meanwhile, Early Morning News will start Aug. 27 at 5 a.m. as a lead-in to Morning News in B.C., Calgary and Edmonton. New morning shows are also slated for Global Montreal and Global Maritimes.
Shaw is also moving its national news magazine show, 16×9, from Saturday to Friday night at 10 for its fifth season.
These changes, said Reeb, coupled with a revamp of GlobalNews.ca (which is expected to go live early next year) continue to build the broadcaster’s reputation “as an unparalleled news powerhouse.”
