Under the banner “Just can’t get enough,” CTV today introduced a new fall schedule that is entirely in simulcast (19.5 hours), laden with returning hits (10 top 20 programs) and new programs – including some highly anticipated dramas – on six of the seven nights.
The revamped schedule kicks off with Conviction (Mondays 10 p.m.), which stars Hayley Atwell (Marvel’s Agent Carter) as former first daughter Hayes Morrison, who accepts a job from her nemesis, NY district attorney Connor Wallis (Eddie Cahill, CSI: NY) in order to avoid jail time for cocaine possession and hurting her mother’s senate campaign.
Other additions include the ensemble show This is Us (Tuesdays, 9 p.m.), which follows a group of characters who share the same birthday and whose lives change when they hit their mid-30s.
The two-and-a-half minute trailer for the NBC show garnered more than 50 million views on Facebook in 11 days, with additional YouTube views pushing that number to between 70-80 million, according to Deadline.com.
The show’s ensemble cast stars Sterling K. Brown (The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story), Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes, Gilmore Girls) and Mandy Moore (A Walk to Remember).
The political conspiracy thriller Designated Survivor (Wednesdays, 10 p.m.) sees Kiefer Sutherland’s character Tom Kirkman rise from a lower cabinet position to the president of the United States following a devastating attack on Washington.
Also new to the CTV schedule are Notorious (Thursdays, 9 p.m.), chronicling the relationship between a win-at-all-costs celebrity attorney played by Daniel Sunjata (Rescue Me) and a TV news producer played by Piper Perabo (Covert Affairs).
The show is inspired by the true-life stories of defense attorney Mark Geragos (whose clients have included Michael Jackson and Winona Ryder) and Larry King Live executive producer Wendy Walker.
CTV has also acquired small-screen reboots of two well-known movies: Training Day (debuting mid-season), which stars Bill Paxton (Big Love) in the role made famous by Denzel Washington, and the iconic 1973 horror movie The Exorcist (Fridays, 9 p.m.).
The latter faces the head-spinning task of building on what is widely regarded as the greatest horror movie ever made. The one-hour drama stars Alfonso Herrera (Sense8) and Ben Daniels (House of Cards), joined by Oscar winner Geena Davis (Commander in Chief, Grey’s Anatomy) in the role made famous by Ellen Burstyn.
The only new comedy on the CTV schedule is American Housewife, airing Saturdays at 8:30 p.m. The series stars Katy Mixon (Mike & Molly) as what is described as a “confident, unapologetic, plump wife and mother of three.”
Mid-season shows include Time After Time, a pair of six part series (The Disappearance and Cardinal) and the four-part dramedy Russell Peters is the Indian Detective. Other mid-season additions include season five of Saving Hope (which will run for 18 uninterrupted episodes), season four of the culinary competition series Masterchef Canada and CTV’s Canada 150 project Canada in a Day.
CTV Two will show 12.5 hours of simulcast programming, with a schedule built around “superhero hits, sophomore break-outs and long-standing favourites,” with a co-viewing strategy for each weeknight and Sundays at 8 p.m.
The schedule includes competition series The Voice (Mondays and Tuesdays) and Dancing with the Stars (Sundays), season five of Arrow, and the superhero mash-up DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (Thursdays).
The CTV Two line-up also includes the enduring hit Law & Order: SVU on Wednesdays at 9 p.m., serving as the lead-in to the sophomore show Code Black. The network’s simulcast line-up is rounded out by Shark Tank at 9 p.m. Fridays.
