Citytv Unveils 2010-11 Primetime Schedule

TORONTO, June 2 /CNW/ - Citytv announced today its new 2010-11 Primetime Schedule that includes five new scripted drama series and one new comedy.

The schedule features brand new dramas, The Event, Chase, Undercovers, and The Whole Truth, along with newly acquired Fringe and the return of Parenthood. Rules of Engagement joins returning comedy series How I Met Your Mother, Modern Family, Cougar Town, Community and 30 Rock. Reality series, Hell's Kitchen, moves to Fall with The Biggest Loser and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Midseason shows include new seasons of The Bachelor, Parks and Recreation, The Marriage Ref, America's Got Talent and Murdoch Mysteries.

"Today we unveiled another positive advance in our commitment to develop a primetime schedule that will reach into a broader demographic range in more Canadian households," commented Leslie Sole, Chief Executive Officer, Rogers Media Television. "Our investment in strong programming assets positions Citytv as a fresh, entertaining and balanced TV brand in tune with today's transformative audiences in our current landscape."

"We knew that in order to complete our schedule this Fall, we needed to build upon our great comedies and top-rated reality programming with high quality scripted dramas," said Malcolm Dunlop, Executive Vice-President Programming, Rogers Media Television. "We're adding dramas from hit makers with proven pedigree such as J.J. Abrams and Jerry Bruckheimer and we're bringing the most buzzed about new drama series, The Event, to our schedule."

On Mondays Citytv couples How I Met Your Mother with Rules of Engagement followed by the new one-hour, high-octane conspiracy thriller, The Event. Then comes an intense new drama, Chase, from Jerry Bruckheimer (CSI franchise). Citytv's Tuesday night continues with moving storylines on The Biggest Loser and Parenthood.

Then on Wednesdays, Citytv features two new one-hour dramas that bookend returning acclaimed comedies, Modern Family and Cougar Town. Undercovers is a sexy new spy drama from J.J. Abrams (Lost), and The Whole Truth is a new legal drama from Jerry Bruckheimer.

Thursday nights combine comedy and drama starting off with the return of back-to-back comedies Community and 30 Rock, followed by another hit J.J. Abrams drama series, Fringe and a new season of Law & Order: UK.

Ratings winner Hell's Kitchen moves to Friday nights followed by fan favourite Canadian, adventure series, Survivorman and Mantracker.

Canadian programming dominates Saturday nights with animation series, Glenn Martin, DDS and Out There with Melissa DiMarco, followed by great Canadian movies.

Sunday nights feature the return of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Then, acclaimed original Citytv series, Conviction Kitchen returns in its second season followed by encore presentations of Canadian hit series, Murdoch Mysteries.

The Citytv primetime schedule is as follows (all times Eastern):

    
    MONDAY
    8-8:30pm - How I Met Your Mother (s-CBS)
    8:30-9pm - Rules of Engagement (s-CBS)
    9-10pm - The Event (s-NBC)
    10-11pm - Chase (s-NBC)

    TUESDAY
    8-10pm - The Biggest Loser (s-NBC)
    10-11pm - Parenthood (s-NBC)

    WEDNESDAY
    8-9pm - Undercovers (s-NBC)
    9-9:30pm - Modern Family (s-ABC)
    9:30-10pm - Cougar Town (s-ABC)
    10-11pm - The Whole Truth (s-ABC)

    THURSDAY
    8-8:30pm - Community (s-NBC)
    8:30-9pm - 30 Rock (s-NBC)
    9-10pm - Fringe (s-FOX)
    10-11pm - Law & Order: UK

    FRIDAY
    8-9pm - Hell's Kitchen
    9-10pm - Survivorman
    10-11pm - Mantracker

    SATURDAY
    8-8:30pm - Glenn Martin, DDS
    8:30-9pm - Out There with Melissa DiMarco
    9-11pm - Canadian Movie

    SUNDAY
    4-7pm - NFL Football (s-CBS/s-FOX)
    8-9pm - Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (s-ABC)9-10pm - Conviction Kitchen
    10-11pm - Murdoch Mysteries
    

Visit rogersmediatv.ca for returning fall show descriptions and schedules for Pacific, Mountain and Central time zones.

* Schedule subject to change.

2010-11 New Series Descriptions

Dramas

THE EVENT - The Event is an emotional, high-octane conspiracy thriller that follows Sean Walker (Jason Ritter), an Everyman who investigates the mysterious disappearance of his fiancée, Leila (Sarah Roemer), and unwittingly begins to expose the biggest cover-up in U.S. history. Sean's quest will send ripples through the lives of an eclectic band of strangers, including: newly elected U.S. President Martinez (Blair Underwood); Sophia (Laura Innes), who is the leader of a mysterious group of detainees; and Sean's shadowy father-in-law (Scott Patterson). Their futures are on a collision course in a global conspiracy that could ultimately change the fate of mankind. Ian Anthony Dale and Emmy winner Željko Ivanek also star in the ensemble drama. The Event is a production of Universal Media Studios and Steve Stark Productions. Stark (Medium, Facing Kate) serves as executive producer, Nick Wauters (The 4400, Eureka) is creator/co-executive producer and Jeffrey Reiner (Friday Night Lights, Trauma) is the director/executive producer; Evan Katz (24) also is an executive producer.

CHASE - From Emmy(R) Award-winning executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer (CSI franchise) and executive producer Jennifer Johnson (Cold Case), Chase is a lightning-fast-paced drama that drops viewers smack into the middle of a game of cat and mouse as a team of U.S. marshals hunts down America's most dangerous fugitives. Kelli Giddish (Past Life) stars as U.S. Marshal Annie Frost, a strong, resourceful, cowboy boot-wearing deputy whose sharp mind and unique Texas upbringing help her track down these violent criminals on the run. Cole Hauser, Amaury Nolasco, Rose Rollins and Jesse Metcalfe also star as members of Annie's elite team.

UNDERCOVERS - From acclaimed writer/producer/director J.J. Abrams (Lost, Star Trek, Fringe, Alias) comes Undercovers, a sexy, fun, action-packed spy drama. Outwardly, Steven Bloom (Boris Kodjoe) and his wife, Samantha Bloom (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) are a typical married couple who own and operate a small catering company in Los Angeles. Secretly, they were two of the best spies the CIA had ever known, until they fell in love on the job seven years ago and retired. When a fellow spy and good friend goes missing while on the trail of a Russian arms dealer, they are reinstated to locate and rescue him. The pair is thrust back into the world of espionage, disguises and hand-to-hand combat -- taking them to Madrid, Paris and Moscow - and Steven and Samantha realize that this supercharged, undercover lifestyle maybe exactly the kind of excitement their marriage is missing.

THE WHOLE TRUTH - From executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer (CSI franchise) and writer Tom Donaghy (Without A Trace) comes The Whole Truth, an innovative legal drama that presents both sides equally, putting the viewer in the jury hot seat. Kathryn Peale, the product of a New England background and a sheriff father, is the Deputy Bureau Chief in the New York State District Attorney's office. Jimmy Brogan (Rob Morrow), born and raised in Hell's Kitchen and a friend of Kathryn's since their days at Yale Law School, is one of New York's rising criminal attorney stars. Buoyed by their respective teams, these evenly matched lawyers - each with a strong streak of competitiveness, a fervent belief in their clients and an equally intense passion for the law - go about creating two different stories from the same set of facts. As this up-close, behind-the-scenes look at the legal process mirrors the excitement of a great championship match, it becomes evident that truth has nothing to do with innocence or guilt - at the end of every trial, the only thing that matters is what the jury believes.

FRINGE (season 3) - From acclaimed writer/producer/director, J.J. Abrams (Lost), Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman - the team that brought you Star Trek, Mission Impossible: III and Alias - and executive producers Jeff Pinkner and Bryan Burk comes a drama that will thrill, terrify and explore the blurring line between science fiction and reality.

Heading into its mind-bending third season, the critically acclaimed Fringe continues to explore new cases and endless impossibilities. When FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) enlisted institutionalized "fringe" scientist Walter Bishop (John Noble) and his jack-of-all-trades son, Peter (Joshua Jackson), to help in an investigation that defied human logic, the case was revealed to be one of a series of unusual incidents linked together ... and the Fringe team was formed. Supervised by Special Agent Phillip Broyles (Lance Reddick), and assisted by Junior Agent Astrid Farnsworth (Jasika Nicole), the Fringe Division's investigations often led them to the multifaceted biomedical science, energy and technology corporation Massive Dynamic and its enigmatic chief executive, Nina Sharp (Blair Brown). As unimaginable events continued to unfold, Olivia discovered that she was a childhood test subject of Walter Bishop and Massive Dynamic's elusive founder, William Bell (Leonard Nimoy). Her findings also uncovered the existence of a parallel universe where Bell ominously warned of a threat that would change our world forever. In season three, additional details of the alternate universe continue to emerge, as the unlikely trio investigates the worlds of Fringe ... where there is more than one of everything.

COMEDY

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT - From creators and Executive Producers, Tom Hertz, Doug Robinson, and Andy Ackerman comes Rules of Engagement, a comedy about the different phases of relationships, as seen through the eyes of a newly engaged couple, Adam (Oliver Hudson) and Jennifer (Bianca Kajlich); a long-time married pair, Jeff (Patrick Warburton) and Audrey (Megyn Price); and a single guy on the prowl, Russell (David Spade). As they find out, the often confusing stages of a relationship can seem like being on a roller coaster. People can describe the ride to you, but to really know what it's like you have to experience it for yourself.

Citytv(TM) television stations in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg offer viewers intensely-local, urban-oriented, culturally-diverse television programming. A distinct alternative to other conventional television stations, Citytv 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. Citytv 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 Citytv stations and programming, visit www.Citytv.com

For further information: Media Contact: Veronica Logue, Publicity Manager, Rogers Media Television, [phone], [email protected]; Koreen Ott, Director Marketing & PR, Rogers Media Television, [phone], [email protected]