Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
From far and wide, O Canada, we'll watch U.S. TV
CBC stands guard with home-grown fare, but CTV, Global, Citytv shop across border
Hugh Laurie stars as Dr. Gregory House on Global Monday nights. (FOX)
Oh, Canada, prime time is set for thee.
With the first week of June behind us, all of this country's major TV broadcasters have announced their fall schedule plans -- three privately owned networks whose lineups are, once again, almost completely filled with imported U.S.-network shows, and the public broadcaster, which is taking a steady-as-she-goes approach to programming its almost-all-homegrown fare.
Here is a head start on the prime-time handicapping -- a night-by-night look at what the 2010-11 TV season will bring on CTV, Global, Citytv and CBC:
(new titles in bold):
SUNDAY:
CBC: Wonderful World of Disney, Heartland, Battle of the Blades, Debbie Travis: All For One
CTV: Undercover Boss, The Amazing Race, Desperate Housewives, CSI: Miami
Global: Ice Pilots: NWT, The Simpsons, The Cleveland Show, Family Guy, American Dad, Brothers & Sisters
Citytv: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Conviction Kitchen, Murdoch Mysteries
ADVANTAGE: CTV's lineup is solid but ancient; CBC gets the edge based on Battle of the Blades' unexpectedly huge first-year popularity.
MONDAY:
CBC: Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, Battle of the Blades (results), Men With Brooms, Just For Laughs
CTV: Dancing With the Stars, Castle
Global: House, Lonestar, Hawaii Five-O
Citytv: How I Met Your Mother, Rules of Engagement, The Event, Chase
ADVANTAGE: Global, because House still has some jump in its step, and Hawaii Five-O is generating lots of early buzz.
TUESDAY:
CBC: Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, Rick Mercer Report, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Being Erica
CTV: No Ordinary Family, Dancing With the Stars (results), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Global: Glee, NCIS: Los Angeles, The Good Wife
Citytv: The Biggest Loser, Parenthood
ADVANTAGE: Whether by good planning or just plain dumb luck, Global has back-to-back-to-back simulcasts of the U.S. networks' hottest rookie hits from 2009-10.
WEDNESDAY:
CBC: Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, Dragons' Den, The Tudors
CTV: So You Think You Can Dance Canada, Criminal Minds, Law & Order: Los Angeles
Global: Survivor: Nicaragua, NCIS, Lie To Me
Citytv: Undercovers, Modern Family, Cougar Town, The Whole Truth
ADVANTAGE: Citytv's got two strong sophomore comedies and two promising new titles, but Global gets the edge based on Survivor's crazy Canuck popularity and two reliable veteran shows. CTV adds the new CBS legal drama The Defenders after Dance ends its summer/fall run.
THURSDAY:
CBC: Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, The Nature of Things, Doc Zone
CTV: The Big Bang Theory, So You Think You Can Dance Canada (results), Grey's Anatomy, The Mentalist
Global: Bones, The Office, Outsourced, Love Bites
Citytv: Community, 30 Rock, Fringe, Law & Order: UK
ADVANTAGE: CTV, based on the strength of its imported dramas and the fact it will premiere the much-hyped William Shatner sitcom $#*! My Dad Says after Dance finishes its summer/fall run.
FRIDAY:
CBC: Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, The Ron James Show, Rick Mercer Report (repeat), The Fifth Estate
CTV: Human Target, CSI: NY, Blue Bloods
Global: 90210, Shattered, Outlaw
Citytv: Hell's Kitchen, Survivorman, Mantracker
ADVANTAGE: CTV, with two solid returning dramas and a promising newcomer, starring Tom Selleck as the patriarch of a family of New York City cops.
SATURDAY:
CBC: Hockey Night in Canada
CTV: Crimetime Saturday (repeats x3)
Global: Saturday Night Movie
Citytv: Glenn Martin DDS, Out There with Melissa DiMarco, Saturday Movie
ADVANTAGE: On a night that has long since been abandoned by commercial networks as a destination for new programming, the People's Network gets the nod for maintaining its puck-obsessed Saturday-night institution.
ASSESSMENT: Despite CTV's continuing dominance in Canada's TV ratings (it had seven of the top 10 shows in the just-completed prime-time season), 2010-11 looks like a year in which Global might put a dent in CTV's crown. If sophomore series like NCIS: Los Angeles and The Good Wife can grow into legitimate hits while well-worn dramas like Desperate Housewives and the CSI stable continue to decline, we might feel the ground begin to shift.
CBC got solid performances last season from Blades and the still-growing Dragons' Den, but only moderate returns from Being Erica's second season and The Ron James Show's rookie year. Expectations are modest, at best, for the shot-in-Winnipeg curling sitcom Men With Brooms and Debbie Travis's reality-TV search for hometown heroes.
Will there be a clear winner in 2010-11? Well, the one thing that's certain, despite all the carrying on about saving Canadian TV this past year, is that this country's commercial broadcasters continue to pin pretty much all their hopes to the shows they buy in that foreign nation to the south.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 5, 2010 C3
-
WFP Hockey
Download our new hockey app for the iPhone for Winnipeg Jets updates
-
Editor's Bulletin
Sign up for daily bulletins from editor Margo Goodhand
-
Winnipeg Jets
All things NHL on our Jets landing page
-
Twitter
Follow our reporters and our news feeds on Twitter
-
News Cafe
Check out the menu, read our blog posts or get info on coming events
-
Facebook Fanpage
Follow our Facebook Fanpage for story links, contests and special events
Ads by Google
- Back to Top
- Return to TV
Poll
Most Popular
- Piers Morgan blasts 'gruesome' Madonna
- RCMP receptionist told Stobbe wife was dead
- Cabela's to open massive store just west of IKEA site
- Steinbach booms to No. 3 city in province
- Juror dismissed in second-degree murder trial of Mark Stobbe
- RCMP receptionist told Stobbe wife dead
- Should infants be allowed in the House of Commons?
- No comfort in trade talk: Veteran Thorburn says closely knit club well worth keeping together
- US teen gets life in prison for killing 9-year-old; called the murder "pretty enjoyable"
- Search is on for man seen leaving the scene where two Alberta Mounties were shot
- Piers Morgan blasts 'gruesome' Madonna
- Clothing chain pulls Caterpillar boots to protest closure of London, Ont., plant
- Three winning tickets sold for Friday's $50 million Lotto Max jackpot
- Woman's car stolen at gunpoint at St. Vital mall, police say
- Eleven people killed after truck hits van in southwestern Ontario
- 'This is so silly': Mom and Dad tell story of baby Zade, born on side of Highway 59
- Stobbe said slaying during shopping trip 'strange': sister-in-law
- Tactical squad storms St. Vital house
- Woman sexually assaulted during noon-hour in Exchange District
- Restaurant Dubrovnik may be closed for good
- Do you smoke marijuana?
- Driver dead after SUV goes over Disraeli Bridge
- George Clooney's prank could end Pitt's career
- Piers Morgan blasts 'gruesome' Madonna
- Tina Maze strips down to her sports bra to send out underwear message: 'Not your business'
- Clothing chain pulls Caterpillar boots to protest closure of London, Ont., plant
- Minor earthquake strikes near Manitoba
- Car's plunge off Disraeli fatal
- Two children, two women die in fire
- Kate Beckinsale's weight fears over Underworld catsuit
- Tassimo brewers and espresso packages recalled amid rupture, burn concerns
- Cabela's to open massive store just west of IKEA site
- Fighting fire with knowledge
- Spain mourns death of Catalan painter, sculptor Antoni Tapies, top contemporary art figure
- Pardon application fee to quadruple later this month despite complaints
- Steinbach booms to No. 3 city in province
- Our 'true champion'
- Harper driven by libertarian ideology, not reality
- Original Joe's, Elephant & Castle expanding
- Flood reviews launched
- Tassimo brewers and espresso packages recalled amid rupture, burn concerns
- Swedish bunny's sheep herding skills becomes click-monster on YouTube
- League encourages hazing secrecy
- Cabela's to open massive store just west of IKEA site
- Harper driven by libertarian ideology, not reality
- Northern fishing lodge destroyed by fire
- Police target drivers talking on cellphones, texting
- Obama torn by conflicting allies
- 'This is so silly': Mom and Dad tell story of baby Zade, born on side of Highway 59
- Fighting fire with knowledge
- Minor earthquake strikes near Manitoba
- Paddler Starkell was modern-day voyageur
- Tassimo brewers and espresso packages recalled amid rupture, burn concerns
- Driver dead after SUV goes over Disraeli Bridge
- Car's plunge off Disraeli fatal
- Canadian woman 'badly injured' in Mexico, local media report apparent beating
- Winnipeg mother watches as car stolen with child inside
- Swedish bunny's sheep herding skills becomes click-monster on YouTube
- League encourages hazing secrecy
- Cabela's to open massive store just west of IKEA site


You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010; View the changes. New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.