Global Ignites its Schedule With Massive Star Power as 11 New Series Join its 2016/2017 Primetime Lineup

Michael Weatherly (NCIS) Returns to Global in the Captivating New Series Bull, Joined by New Dramas: Pitch, Timeless, Pure Genius, and MacGyver    

Comedic A-Listers Kevin James, Matt LeBlanc, Ted Danson, Kristen Bell, and Joel McHale Star in Four New Comedies including Kevin Can Wait (James), Man With a Plan (LeBlanc), The Good Place (Danson, Bell), and The Great Indoors (McHale)  

Global Welcomes the Fourth Installment of the Chicago Franchise, Chicago Justice, to its Mid-Season Lineup Along with the Highly Anticipated Blacklist Spin-Off, The Blacklist: Redemption    

Provocative New Canadian Original Drama Mary Kills People Casts Caroline Dhavernas (Hannibal) as the Series Lead

Reality Juggernaut Big Brother Canada is Renewed for a Fifth Season

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TORONTO, June 7, 2016 /CNW/ - Today, Global unveiled its magnetic 2016/2017 primetime schedule, adding 11 of the most sought-after new series this season to its heavyweight roster of longstanding hits. Building on Global's solid schedule which garnered nearly 20 million weekly viewers last fall, including its successful fan favourites, NCIS franchise (NCIS, NCIS: LA, and NCIS: New Orleans) which reached nearly 6 million weekly viewers and the Chicago franchise (Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, and Chicago Med) which reached over 4 million weekly viewers, plus #1 reality series Survivor, and Top 20 hit series The Blacklist, the Network welcomes seven new dramas and four new comedies. With a total of 15 hours of simulcast television, Global's schedule is set to deliver viewers an incredible entertainment experience this fall.         

"Global's new shows were strategically selected to build on our powerful franchises, deliver a younger audience through comedy and add strong buzz worthy dramas to our existing slate," said Barb Williams, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Corus Entertainment. "Add to that 15 hours of simulcast and Global's lineup is positioned to captivate big audiences this fall." 

NEW DRAMAS

Global welcomes five new dramas to the primetime schedule beginning this fall:

Bull – Former NCIS star Michael Weatherly moves from one of the most-watched dramas to one of the most-anticipated new dramas, Bull. From the same producers of NCIS, the smart series is inspired by the early career of Dr. Phil McGraw during his days as head of one of the most prolific trial consulting firms of all time.

Pitch – Montreal's Kylie Bunbury (Under The Dome) stars as Ginny Baker in one of fall's most buzzed-about new series Pitch. The emotional drama follows a young pitcher who becomes the first woman to play Major League Baseball. Pitch also stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Franklin & Bash), Mark Consuelos (All My Children), and Ali Larter (Heroes).

MacGyver – From Hawaii Five-0 show-runner Peter Lenkoff, MacGyver is a reimagining of the iconic series about 20-something Angus "Mac" MacGyver (Lucas Till, X-Men: Apocalypse) who creates a clandestine organization within the US government where he uses his extraordinary talent for unconventional problem solving and vast scientific knowledge to save lives.

Pure Genius – From the executive producer of Parenthood and Friday Night Lights comes a unique medical drama centered around a young Silicon Valley tech billionaire (Augustus Prew, The Borgias) who builds the ultimate cutting-edge hospital that treats only the most rare and insurmountable medical mysteries – at no cost. Lending credibility to this new venture is a maverick surgeon (Dermot Mulroney, Shameless) who's the first to discover that his boss's mission is to get bureaucracy out of medicine, use the most forward thinkers in technology, and just save lives – including his own.

Timeless – Starring Abigail Spencer (Suits) and Matt Lanter (90210), Timeless is a thrilling action-adventure series that follows a group of unlikely heroes thrust into the adventure of their lives. Chasing a mysterious group of criminals through time and encountering some of the most seminal moments in history, the group attempts to thwart a dark conspiracy that is a threat to all of humanity.

NEW COMEDIES

Along with the compelling new lineup of dramas, Global also adds four new comedies headlined by some of Hollywood's biggest comedic stars, creating two new primetime comedy blocks:

Kevin Can Wait – Monday nights start off with Kevin Can Wait, a hilarious comedy starring Kevin James (King of Queens) as a newly retired police officer who looks forward to spending more quality time with his wife and three kids – only to discover he faces much tougher challenges at home than he ever did on the streets.

Man With a Plan – Also airing on Mondays is Man With a Plan, starring Golden Globe® Award-winner Matt LeBlanc (Episodes, Friends) whose wife goes back to work, leaving him with the kids and to discover the truth that every parent eventually realizes: their little angels are maniacs.

The Good Place – The laughs continue Thursday nights on Global with The Good Place, a unique new comedy starring Kristen Bell (House of Lies, Veronica Mars), and Ted Danson (Fargo) that follows Eleanor Shellstrop (Bell), an ordinary woman who enters the afterlife where she comes to realize that she hasn't been a very good person.

The Great Indoors – Comedian Joel McHale (Community, The Soup) also joins Global's new Thursday comedy block starring in the insightful and timely comedy The Great Indoors. As a renowned adventure reporter who's spent his life exploring the edges of the earth for an outdoor magazine, Jack (McHale) must now adapt to the times when he becomes the desk-bound boss to a group of millennials in the digital department of the publication. The new comedy also stars Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad).  

MID-SEASON

Rounding out the newly acquired series, Global's mid-season schedule expands two of its beloved franchises:

Chicago Justice – Powerhouse creator Dick Wolf delivers Chicago Justice, the fourth captivating installment to the Chicago series. Starring Philip Winchester (Strike Back) and Nazneen Contractor (Heroes Reborn), the legal drama follows the State's Attorney's dedicated team of prosecutors and investigators as they navigate heated city politics and controversy head-on while fearlessly pursuing justice.

The Blacklist: Redemption – The mid-season lineup also welcomes a new spin-off to hit series The Blacklist with The Blacklist: Redemption starring Ryan Eggold (The Blacklist) and Famke Janssen (X-Men). The thrilling drama follows undercover operative Tom Keen (Eggold) who joins forces with Susan "Scottie" Hargrave (Janssen), the brilliant and cunning chief of Grey Matters, a covert mercenary organization that solves problems governments don't dare touch.   

CANADIAN ORIGINALS

Along with the new slate of acquisitions, Global is set to bring a new crop of outstanding Canadian original content, as the Network dives into production on two new original series, set to premiere mid-season:

Ransom – As announced yesterday, Global, together with TF1 (France) green lit new original suspense drama Ransom, starring Luke Roberts (Black Sails, Game of Thrones), with CBS joining as a broadcast partner for the series. Production on Ransom will begin later this summer.

Mary Kills People – Also in production this summer, Global's gripping new original drama Mary Kills People has cast Caroline Dhavernas (Hannibal) as the series lead. The provocative six-episode series follows Dr. Mary Harris (Dhavernas), a single mother and emergency doctor, who also moonlights as an underground angel of death – helping terminally ill patients who want to die slip away on their own terms. So far Mary has managed to stay under the radar; but her double life gets complicated when the police start to close in, forcing Mary to fight dirty if she's going to stay in the killing game.

Big Brother Canada – After its most successful season yet, with an average audience of almost 1.2 million viewers per episode (2+) – growing audiences with total viewers and key demos A18-49 and A25-54 versus Season 3, reality champ Big Brother Canada returns for a fifth season of competing, scheming, and household chaos. Based on Endemol Shine Group's worldwide hit franchise and commissioned by Corus Entertainment Inc., Season 5 of Big Brother Canada is produced by Insight Productions in association with Corus Entertainment Inc.

RETURNING HITS

Global's schedule will continue to be anchored by its veteran fan favourite series including Madam Secretary, Elementary, Survivor, Hawaii Five-O, and The Simpsons. Viewers can also get their late-night TV fix with The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airing weeknights, along with the successful longstanding Saturday Night Live on Saturday nights.   

GLOBAL'S FALL 2016 PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE-AT-A-GLANCE

All times are ET and subject to change. New programs bolded and in capitals.

Monday
7:00pm             Entertainment Tonight
7:30pm             Entertainment Tonight Canada
8:00pm             KEVIN CAN WAIT
8:30pm             MAN WITH A PLAN
9:00pm             Chicago Fire
10:00pm           TIMELESS
11:35pm           The Late Show With Stephen Colbert

Tuesday
7:00pm             Entertainment Tonight
7:30pm             Entertainment Tonight Canada
8:00pm             NCIS
9:00pm             BULL
10:00pm           NCIS: New Orleans
11:35pm           The Late Show With Stephen Colbert

Wednesday
7:00pm             Entertainment Tonight
7:30pm             Entertainment Tonight Canada
8:00pm             Survivor
9:00pm             Chicago Med
10:00pm           Chicago PD
11:35pm           The Late Show With Stephen Colbert

Thursday
7:00pm             Entertainment Tonight
7:30pm             Entertainment Tonight Canada
8:00pm             Superstore
8:30pm             THE GOOD PLACE / THE GREAT INDOORS
9:00pm             PITCH
10:00pm           The Blacklist / PURE GENIUS
11:35pm           The Late Show With Stephen Colbert

Friday
7:00pm             Entertainment Tonight
7:30pm             Entertainment Tonight Canada
8:00pm             MACGYVER
9:00pm             Hawaii Five-0
11:35pm           The Late Show With Stephen Colbert

Saturday
11:30pm           Saturday Night Live 

Sunday
7:00pm             Border Security
7:30pm             The Simpsons
8:00pm             NCIS: LA
9:00pm             Madam Secretary
10:00pm           Elementary

Source:
Numeris PPM Data, Total Canada, Fall (Sept14/2015-Dec20/2015) A25-54 AMA (000) unless otherwise noted  /  Big Brother Canada: (Jan4/2016 – May15/2016 vs. Jan5/2015 – May27/2015) /  all rankers based on 3+ airings & excludes NHL playoffs and NFL playoffs / Avg Weekly Reach based on Ind. 2+

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About Corus Entertainment Inc.
Corus Entertainment Inc. (TSX: CJR.B) is a leading media and content company that creates and delivers high quality brands and content across platforms for audiences around the world. The company's portfolio of multimedia offerings encompasses 45 specialty television services, 39 radio stations, 15 conventional television stations, a global content business, digital assets, live events, children's book publishing, animation software, technology and media services. Corus' roster of premium brands includes Global Television, W Network, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network Canada, HGTV Canada, Food Network Canada, HISTORY®, Showcase, National Geographic Channel, Q107, CKNW, Fresh Radio, Disney Channel Canada, YTV and Nickelodeon Canada. Visit Corus at www.corusent.com.

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For media inquiries, contact: Rachelle Marion, Publicity Coordinator, Global Television, 416-324-7411, [email protected]; Jacqui VanSickle, Senior Publicist, Global Television, 416-966-7261, [email protected]; Ashley Applebaum, Publicity Manager, Global Television, 416-934-8481, [email protected]