– A Canadian exclusive, The Mindy Project
makes a triumphant return to City, Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT –
– Most talked about new series of the year Scream Queens, The
Muppets, and Life in Pieces join proven performers in City's
strongest and most dynamic schedule to date –
– Sundays get a refresh with a block of back-to-back comedy hits,
including Family Guy, Bob's Burgers and Last Man on Earth –
Tweet this release: http://bit.ly/1BE6uVY
TORONTO, June 2, 2015 /CNW/ - City's momentum
continues today as it unveils its strongest and most dynamic
schedule to date, announced this morning as part of the annual
Rogers Upfront. Up six per cent year-over-year, * the City
fall/mid-season schedule builds upon a successful foundation of 11
returning series with the addition of 12 new series.
"City is the home of unconventional conventional programming,"
said Colette Watson, Vice President
of Television & Broadcast Operations, Rogers. "Our schedule
this year has the best mix of proven performers, avant-garde
series, sports blockbusters, and the next big hits. It's our most
diverse programming lineup ever, and features a perfect blend of
premium comedies and dramas, live event programming, and sports.
The City schedule has something for everyone."
Newly acquired content for the 2015/16 season includes the most
sought-after comedies of the year, including the highly anticipated
remake of The Muppets and all-star new comedy
series, Life in Pieces. Weekends remain the home of
must-see programming with Hockey Night in Canada heading back to City every
Saturday night, joined by a refreshed Sunday night comedy lineup,
featuring all-new seasons of proven fan favourites Family
Guy, Bob's Burgers, and
The Last Man on Earth. And
hailed by critics as one of the most exciting new series of the
year, the star-studded cast of Scream Queens anchors
an all-new Tuesday night programming block on City that also
includes Grandfathered, marking the television
comeback of John Stamos, and
The Grinder, starring Rob
Lowe and Fred Savage.
"This year, we set out to strengthen City across the board, and
our 2015/16 schedule reflects a powerhouse of competitive content
every night of the week," said Hayden
Mindell, Vice President, Television Programming &
Content. "With a blend of original and distinct voices that
includes Mindy Kaling, The Muppets,
Seth MacFarlane, and Ryan Murphy – this year's schedule exemplifies
the types of bold choices we're making at City to entertain and
engage Canadians."
Adding to the lineup of premium scripted content, City continues
to build strength in established marquee live-event programming.
The 58th Annual GRAMMY
Awards® returns to the City
mid-season schedule in 2016, along with GRAMMY®
Nominations Concert Live!. Last year's GRAMMY Awards
was the most-watched program in network history with an average of
2.9 million viewers.** Additionally, this year City has the
new must-see family musical event, The Wiz
Live!, and joining the sports roster
mid-week is Thursday Night NFL.
Anchoring the lineup of soon-to-be hits, City is staying true to
established audiences through the 2015/16 season by continuing to
deliver the comedies that resonate most with viewers, including
returning hits 2 Broke Girls, Modern
Family, Black-ish, Brooklyn
Nine-Nine, and New Girl.
Attracting an average audience of 1.3 million P2+ viewers,*
Scorpion – City's highest rated new series
of last year – returns to the fall schedule alongside the breakout
hit drama of 2015, Empire.
And rounding out the stable of TV's most memorable mix of new
and returning shows, beloved comedy The Mindy Project
will make a triumphant return this fall to screens across the
country. City is the only television network in North America that will air this fan
favourite.
Other series returning for the 2015/16 fall and mid-season
schedule are The Bachelor, Mike &
Molly, Hell's Kitchen, The Middle, World's
Funniest Fails, and original series Sunnyside.
Joining the City mid-season schedule are new titles Rush
Hour, Bordertown, Little Big Shots, and
The Guide to Surviving Life.
All programming is available on Citytv.com, and on mobile
through the City Video app for iOS and Android. Fall premiere dates
will be announced in the coming months; shows acquired but not yet
listed on the schedule will premiere at a later date in the 2015/16
season.
City Fall Schedule
All times ET/PT; s = simulcast
Monday
|
|
8 p.m.
|
The Muppets
*NEW*
|
8:30
p.m.
|
Life in Pieces (s)
*NEW*, moves to Thursdays starting Nov. 5
|
8:30
p.m.
|
The Middle, as of
Nov. 2
|
9
p.m.
|
Scorpion
(s)
|
|
|
Tuesday
|
|
8
p.m.
|
Grandfathered (s)
*NEW*
|
8:30
p.m.
|
The Grinder (s)
*NEW*
|
9 p.m.
|
Scream Queens (s)
*NEW*
|
|
|
Wednesday
|
|
8
p.m.
|
Empire
|
9
p.m.
|
Modern Family
(s)
|
9:30
p.m.
|
Black-ish
(s)
|
|
|
Thursday
|
|
8
p.m.
|
Thursday Night NFL
(s) *NEW to City*, ends Oct. 29
|
As of Nov.
5:
|
|
8
p.m.
|
Mr. D *Canadian
Original Programming*
|
8:30
p.m.
|
Life in Pieces (s)
*NEW*
|
9
p.m.
|
Mom (s)
|
9:30
p.m.
|
The Mindy
Project
|
|
|
Friday
|
|
8
p.m.
|
Undateable (s) *NEW
to City*
|
9
p.m.
|
World's Funniest
Fails
|
|
|
Saturday
|
|
7-10
p.m.
|
NHL: Hockey Night in
Canada
|
|
|
Sunday
|
|
7:30
p.m.
|
Bob's Burgers (s)
*NEW to City*
|
8
p.m.
|
Sunnyside *City
Original Programming*
|
8:30
p.m.
|
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
(s)
|
9
p.m.
|
Family Guy (s) *NEW
to City*
|
9:30
p.m.
|
The Last Man on Earth
(s) *NEW to City*
|
**NOTE: 58th Annual GRAMMY Awards® and The Wiz
Live! (*NEW*) will join City's fall schedule – Date and time
TBC
New Series Descriptions
s = simulcast
FALL – NEW COMEDIES
THE MUPPETS
30-minute scripted comedy series
Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT (s)
National broadcast
The Muppets return to prime time with a contemporary,
documentary-style show. For the first time ever, audiences will
explore the Muppets' personal lives and relationships, both at home
and at work, as well as romances, breakups, achievements,
disappointments, wants and desires; a more adult Muppet show, for
kids of all ages.
PRODUCTION COMPANY: ABC/Disney
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS/CO-WRITERS: Bill
Prady (The Big Bang Theory) and Bob Kushell (Anger Management)
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Randall Einhorn
(Wilfred), Bill Barretta,
Debbie McClellan and Kyle Laughlin
CAST: Steve Whitmire as Kermit
the Frog, Eric Jacobson as
Miss Piggy, Dave Goelz as
Gonzo, Peter Linz as
Walter, Matt Vogel as
Sweetums, Bill Barretta as
Pepe
LIFE IN PIECES
30-minute scripted comedy series
Mondays at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT (s), moves
to Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT (s)
beginning Nov. 5
National broadcast
Life in Pieces is a single-camera comedy about one big
happy family and their sometimes awkward, often hilarious, and
ultimately beautiful milestone moments as told by its various
members. Of the three siblings, middle child Matt may have just
found his true love, his co-worker, Colleen; his coddled youngest
brother, Greg, and his wife, Jen, are overwhelmed by the birth of
their first child; and the eldest, Heather, and her husband, Tim,
are dreading their impending empty nest so much, they're
considering having another baby. Their parents, Joan and John,
would do anything for their kids, and are constantly searching for
ways to soften the blow of getting older. As the family's lives
unfold in four short stories each week, they try to savour these
little pieces of time that flash by but stay with you forever,
because these moments add up to what life's all about.
PRODUCTION COMPANY: 20th Century Fox
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Justin Adler
(Better Off Ted), Aaron
Kaplan (Secrets and Lies), Jason Winer (The Crazy Ones)
CAST: James Brolin (Catch Me If
You Can), Thomas Sadoski (The
Newroom), Angelique Cabral
(Enlisted), Colin Hanks
(Fargo), Zoe Lister Jones (Friends with Better
Lives), Betsy Brandt
(Breaking Bad), Dan Bakkedahl
(Veep), Dianne Wiest (I Am
Sam)
GRANDFATHERED
30-minute scripted comedy series
Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT (s)
National broadcast
Grandfathered is a single-camera comedy about the
ultimate bachelor who discovers he's not only a father, but a
grandfather. Successful restaurateur and man-about-town
Jimmy Martino is used to being the
most suave, most handsome and most single person in the room. All
that changes when Jimmy is surprised by his adult son, Gerald, and
his baby daughter, Edie. Now Jimmy has to unlearn a lifetime of
blissful selfishness and grapple with the fact that he went from
single to grandfather in six seconds. Keeping tabs on Jimmy is
Gerald's mother and Jimmy's former girlfriend, rocker-chick turned
mother, Sara. Equally concerned about how Jimmy will manage these
new developments is Jimmy's restaurant family, especially assistant
manager Annalise, and Chef Ken. Can Jimmy teach Gerald his ways in
order to win the affection of Edie's hot mess of a mom, Vanessa?
Will Jimmy and Sara fall for each other all over again, even though
she's the one thing he never dates – a woman his own age? And who's
higher maintenance, Jimmy or the baby? Grandfathered is an
unconventional, sophisticated comedy about coming of age – at any
age.
PRODUCTION COMPANY: ABC/Disney
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: John Stamos
(Losing It with John Stamos),
Daniel Chun (Happy Endings),
Dan Fogelman (Galavant)
CAST: John Stamos (Full
House), Josh Peck (Drake and
Josh), Paget Brewster (Criminal Minds), Christina Milian (Family Guy),
Kelly Jenrette (Audrey),
Ravi Patel (Super Fun
Night),
THE GRINDER
30-minute scripted comedy series
Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT (s)
National broadcast
The Grinder is a single-camera comedy about a famous TV
lawyer at a crossroads. When Dean
Sanderson's legal TV series ends, he decides to move back
home and join his family's real law firm – despite having no formal
education, no bar certification, no license to practice, and no
experience in an actual courtroom. Dean spent eight seasons playing
the title role on the hit legal drama "The Grinder." Now he's
moving back to his hometown of Boise,
Idaho, where his brother, Stewart, is a real-life attorney
who is poised to take over the family law firm. It doesn't take
long for Dean to start injecting his TV drama into every aspect of
Stewart's life, both in the
courtroom and at home. All of this starts to impact Stewart's wife – and Dean's high school
sweetheart – Debbie; their two kids, 15-year-old Lizzie and
13-year-old Ethan; and Dean and Stewart's father, Dean Sr. The Grinder
is the story of two brothers who took different paths, but meet
again in the middle – for justice…sort of.
PRODUCTION COMPANY: 20th Century Fox
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Rob Lowe (30
for 30), Jake Kasdan (New
Girl), Andrew Mogel
(Allen Gregory), Jarrad Paul (Allen
Gregory), Nicholas
Stoller (Muppets Most Wanted)
CAST: Rob Lowe (Parks and
Recreation), Fred Savage (The
Wonder Years), Mary Elizabeth
Ellis (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Hana Hayes (Bucket and Skinner's Epic
Adventures), Connor Kalopsis
(Days of Our Lives), William
Devane (24: Live Another Day)
SCREAM QUEENS
60-minute scripted comedy series
Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT (s)
National broadcast
Scream Queens is a new killer comedy-horror series about
a string of murders in a sorority house at Wallace University. Kappa House, the most
sought-after sorority for pledges, is ruled with an iron fist (in a
pink glove) by its Queen B, Chanel
Oberlin. But when anti-Kappa Dean Munsch decrees that
sorority pledging must be open to all students, and not just the
school's silver-spooned elite, all hell breaks loose, as a
devil-clad killer begins wreaking havoc, claiming one victim, one
episode at a time. Part dark comedy, part slasher flick, Scream
Queens is a modern take on the classic whodunit, in which every
character has a motive for murder or could easily be the next
blood-soaked casualty.
PRODUCTION COMPANY: 20th Century Fox
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Ryan Murphy
(American Horror Story), Brad
Falchuk (American Horror Story) and Ian Brennan (American Horror Story)
CAST: Emma Roberts (American
Horror Story), Jamie Lee Curtis
(Halloween), Lea Michele (Glee), Abigail Breslin (August: Osage County)
Nasim Pedrad (Saturday Night Live), Oliver Hudson (Nashville), Skyler
Samuels (American Horror Story: Coven), Niecy Nash (Getting On), Nick Jonas (Kingdom), Ariana Grande (Sam and Cat), Keke Palmer (Masters of Sex),
Diego Bonita (Rock of Ages),
Glen Powell (The Expendables
3), Lucien Laviscount
(Episodes)
FALL – NEW TO CITY COMEDIES
UNDATEABLE
30-minute Live scripted comedy series
Fridays at 8 p.m. ET/PT (s)
National broadcast
Season 2
Undateable is a multi-camera comedy series inspired by
the book "Undateable: 311 Things Guys Do That Guarantee They Won't
be Dating or Having Sex" written by Ellen Rakieten and Anne
Coyle. Undateable centres around mismatched roommates
Danny Burton and Justin Kearney and their group of oddball
friends who hang out at Justin's unsuccessful bar, solving each
other's problems over beers. Even though they love to give each
other a hard time, they always have each other's back. Now on its
third season, Undateable will broadcast live-to-air every
Friday.
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Warner Brothers
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Bill Lawrence
(Cougar Town), Adam Sztykiel
(Due Date), Jeff Ingold
(Ground Floor)
CAST: Chris D'Elia (Whitney), Brent
Morin (Ground Floor), Bianca
Kajlich (Rules of Engagement), Ron Funches (Krol
Show), Rick Glassman
(The Comedians), David Fynn
(Game of Thrones), Bridgit
Mendler (Good Luck Charlie)
BOB'S BURGERS
30-minute animated scripted comedy
series
Sundays at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT (s)
National broadcast
Season 6
Bob's Burgers is an animated series about a man, his
family, and a burger joint. A third-generation restaurateur,
Bob Belcher has big ideas about
burgers, condiments and sides, but only a few thoughts on customer
service and business management. Despite his greasy counters, lousy
location and occasionally spotty service, Bob is convinced his
burgers speak for themselves. Even though business is slow, Bob
gets to work with his family. His wife, Linda, supports Bob's dream
through thick and thin. Their eldest daughter, Tina, is a
13-year-old hopeless romantic with minimal social skills. Middle
child Gene is an aspiring musician and a prankster who serves up
more jokes than burgers. Their youngest, Louise, is the most
enthusiastic about her dad's business, but an off-balance sense of
humour and her elevated energy level make her somewhat of a
liability in the kitchen.
PRODUCTION COMPANY: 20th Century Fox
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Loren Bouchard
(The Ricky Gervais Show), Jim
Dauterive (King of the Hill)
CAST: H. Jon Benjamin (Family
Guy), John Roberts (The
Christmas Tree), Dan Mintz
(Important Things with Demetri
Martin), Eugene Mirman
(Flight of the Conchords), Kristen
Schaal (Flight of the Conchords)
FAMILY GUY
30-minute animated scripted comedy
series
Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT (s)
National broadcast
Season 14
Family Guy chronicles the lives of the Griffin family, a
tight-knit but tense nuclear family living in Quahog, Rhode Island. Peter, the loving but
not-overly-ambitious patriarch, and Lois, his devoted wife,
maintain a comfortable middle class home. Teen queen Meg, slacker
Chris and homicidal infant Stewie round out the Griffin brood, but
the most sensible and well-spoken member of the clan is the family
dog, Brian.
PRODUCTION COMPANY: 20th Century Fox
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Seth MacFarlane
(American Dad!), David
Zuckerman (Wilfred)
CAST: Seth MacFarlane (Ted),
Alex Borstein (MADTV),
Seth Green (Robot Chicken),
Mila Kunis (That 70's Show),
Mike Henry (American Dad!),
Patrick Warburton (Rules of
Engagement)
THE LAST MAN ON EARTH
30-minute scripted comedy
series
Sundays at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT (s)
National broadcast
Season 2
The Last Man on Earth is a single-camera comedy about the
life and adventures of the last man on earth. The year is 2022, and
after an unlikely event, only one man is left on earth:
Phil Miller, who used to be just an
average guy who loved his family and hated his job at the bank.
Now, in his RV, Phil searches the country for other survivors. He
has travelled to every city, every town and every outpost in
the United States, Mexico and Canada, and has found no one, which leads him
to the painful realization that he is almost certainly the last man
on earth. Sure, there are some positives that come with being the
last person on earth. You can go live in the White House if you
want. You can park in handicapped spots without an ounce of guilt.
You can decorate your home with priceless works of art. You want to
wear a pair of tighty-whiteys and nothing else every single day of
the year? Not a problem. The Last Man on Earth is a comedy
about a man trying to make lemonade out of the most soul-crushing
lemon there is.
PRODUCTION COMPANY: 20th Century Fox
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Will Forte
(Saturday Night Live), Chris
Miller and Phil Lord (The
Lego Movie, 21 Jump Street), Seth
Cohen
CAST: Will Forte (Saturday Night
Live), Kristen Schaal (Bob's
Burgers)
FALL – NEW UNSCRIPTED SERIES AND SPECIALS
LITTLE BIG SHOTS
60-minute variety series
Date and Time TBC
National broadcast
Little Big Shots is a comedy/variety series featuring the
world's most talented and extraordinary kids from two of the
biggest names in comedy, Ellen
DeGeneres and Steve Harvey.
Hosted by Steve Harvey, Little
Big Shots will showcase young musicians, singers, and dancers
in America, and go toe-to-toe with them in conversations and
interviews, with hilarious results. From pint-size break-dancers to
five-year-old piano virtuosos, these gifted performers will awe
audiences with their talents, slay us with their cuteness and wow
us with their accomplishments. These phenomenal kids show us once
and for all that talent is born, not made.
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Warner Brothers
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Ellen DeGeneres
(One Big Happy), Steve Harvey
(The Steve Harvey Show), Jeff
Kleeman (The Judge), Gerald
Washington
HOST: Steve Harvey (Family
Feud)
THE WIZ LIVE!
3-hour live performance special
Date and time TBC
National broadcast
Following in the footsteps of the successful live specials
The Sound of Music Live! and Peter Pan Live! comes a
brand-new live television production of the ground-breaking
Broadway show that brought the vivid world of Oz to the streets of
New York in a fresh, funky
sing-along journey down the yellow brick road. The original show
was a massive hit on Broadway and even spawned a feature film
starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. Now, a Tony-winning creative
team, the hugely imaginative Cirque du Soleil Theatrical, and a
diverse cast of show-stopping performers will come together to
create an eye-popping new take unlike anything seen before.
PRODUCTION COMPANY: NBC Universal
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Craig Zadan and
Neil Meron (The Sound of Music
Live!, Peter Pan Live!)
CAST: Stephanie Mills (The Wiz)
MID-SEASON – NEW COMEDIES
RUSH HOUR
60-minute scripted comedy series
Date and Time TBC
National broadcast
Rush Hour, a reimagining of the hit feature film
franchise, is a buddy-cop drama about a maverick LAPD detective and
a by-the-book detective from Hong
Kong who knock heads when they are forced to partner
together. Detective Lee is a reserved, honourable master martial
artist with lightning-fast moves who comes to L.A. to avenge his
sister's alleged death and learn more about her connection to a
Chinese organized crime ring. Detective Carter, on the other hand,
is a wisecracking cop who plays by his own rules and has never
wanted a partner. Carter's boss, Captain Cole, knows he's a
brilliant detective who gets results. Attempting to help the two
get along is Sergeant Didi Diaz,
Carter's friend and former partner who doesn't hesitate to call him
out on his antics. But even as cultures clash and tempers flare,
Carter and Lee can't deny they make a formidable team, and
grudgingly admit that sometimes an unlikely pairing makes for a
great partnership.
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Warner Brothers
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Arthur
Sarkissian (Rush Hour Series), Brett Ratner (Horrible Bosses),
Jeff Ingold (Ground Floor)
and Jon Turteltaub
(Jericho)
CAST: Jon Foo (Bangkok
Revenge), Justin Hires (21
Jump Street), Wendie Malick
(Hot in Cleveland),
Aimee Garcia (Dexter)
THE GUIDE TO SURVIVING LIFE
30-minute scripted comedy
series
Date and Time TBC
National broadcast
The Guide to Surviving Life is a single-camera comedy
that explores what we all go through on our way to figuring out
what life is all about. Cooper
Barrett still doesn't have the job he wants, and he's
accidently fallen in love with his across-the-hall neighbour,
Kelly Bishop. One of his roommates,
Neal, just can't seem to dump his bodybuilder girlfriend, while his
other roommate, Barry, is a "loveable jackass" who can't stop
getting into trouble. Cooper's 40-year-old-brother, Josh, a married
father of two, is constantly popping in to come hang with the
fellas. The one thing they do have is each other. As Cooper
struggles to survive each of life's many challenges, like a night
in jail or an inappropriate text, he will guide us through the
often-messy, always-hilarious ordeal.
PRODUCTION COMPANY: 20th Century Fox
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Gail Berman
(Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Jay
Lacopo (The Third Wheel)
CAST: Jack Cutmore-Scott
(Kingsman: The Secret Service), Meaghan Rath (Being Human), Charlie Saxton (Betas), James Earl (Glee), Justin Bartha (The New Normal)
BORDERTOWN
30-minute animated scripted comedy
series
Date and Time TBC
National broadcast
Bordertown is a new animated comedy about two families
living in a Southwest desert town on the U.S./Mexico border that takes a satirical look at
the cultural shifts occurring in America, where the U.S. Census
forecasts that by 2017, Caucasians will be a minority. Set against
this increasingly diverse backdrop, the series explores family,
politics, and everything else in between. Bordertown centers
on two clans: the Buckwalds and the Gonzalezes. Bud Buckwald is a married father of three and a
border patrol agent who is just a tad behind the times and feels
threatened by the cultural changes transforming his neighborhood.
He lives next door to Ernesto
Gonzalez, an ambitious immigrant and family man, who has
been in the country less than 10 years, but is already living the
American Dream. As Bud and Ernesto's paths begin to cross, their
two families soon become bound by romance, conflict and, perhaps
most importantly, friendship – a word that means the same, no
matter what side of the border you're from.
PRODUCTION COMPANY: 20th Century Fox
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Seth MacFarlane
(Family Guy), Mark Hentemann
(Family Guy) CO-EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Alex Carter (Family Guy) and Dan Vebber (American Dad!)
CAST: Hank Azaria (The
Simpsons), Nicholas Gonzalez
(Sleepy Hollow), Alex
Borstein (Family Guy), Judah
Friedlander (30 Rock), Missi
Pyle (The Exes), Efren
Ramirez (Napoleon Dynamite), Nicholas Gonzalez (The Purge:
Anarchy)
Social Media Links
Like
City Facebook.com/Citytv
Follow City @City_tv
Follow City PR @Citytv_PR
Follow City on Instagram
About City
City™ television stations in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Montreal and Saskatchewan offer viewers intensely-local,
urban-oriented, culturally-diverse television programming. A
distinct alternative to other conventional television stations,
City engages its viewers with dynamic on-air personalities and
delivers an entertaining mix of news, local-interactive formats
such as: Breakfast Television and Cityline; as well as local
Canadian and US acquired prime time entertainment
programming. City is a part of Rogers Broadcasting Limited, a
division of Rogers Communications Inc. (TSX: RCI and NYSE: RCI)
which is a diversified Canadian communications and media company.
For more information on City stations and programming,
visit Citytv.com.
Source:
* Numeris, Sep/14-Mar 22/15, A25-54 AMA(000),
Total Canada
** Numeris, Sep/14-Mar 22/15, P2+ (000), Total Canada
SOURCE City