It's SHOWTIME, Canada! CraveTV Launches The SHOWTIME® Collection Today, Featuring More Than 400 Hours of Acclaimed, Premium Series and Specials

– Full seasons of renowned, award-winning series THE AFFAIR, RAY DONOVAN, PENNY DREADFUL, HOMELAND, UNITED STATES OF TARA, WEEDS, NURSE JACKIE, and more headline launch lineup available today on CraveTV –

To tweet this release: http://bmpr.ca/1BFkIu2

Join the Hubub for this announcement: https://www.hubub.com/311484

TORONTO, Feb. 23, 2015 /CNW/ - #BraceYourself Canada. As announced last night during THE OSCARS^® broadcast on CTV, Bell Media's eagerly anticipated SHOWTIME Collection is available today exclusively on CraveTV™, immediately adding hundreds of hours of some of the most acclaimed, star-studded premium programming available anywhere, including Season 1 of the Golden Globe^® Award winner for Best Drama, THE AFFAIR. The news follows on the heels of last month's announcement of a long-term content licensing and trademark agreement between Bell Media and CBS Corporation to bring the SHOWTIME brand to Canada for the first time, immediately boosting CraveTV's already unbeatable offering of the best premium TV programming in the country. In total, more than 600 titles and 400 hours of distinctive SHOWTIME programming are available – check out CraveTV.ca for the complete list.

"We are extremely honoured to today introduce the SHOWTIME branded collection exclusively to subscribers of CraveTV," said Mike Cosentino, Senior Vice-President, Programming, Bell Media. "Today's addition of these 400+ premium hours represents the next step in our commitment to aggressively grow our exceptional inventory with exclusive, quality programs you can only see on CraveTV."

**Media Note** Photography available online at http://www.bellmedia.ca/pr/tv/showtime-collection-2/

In addition to HOMELAND, which was previously announced as part of a long-term deal between Bell Media and Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution, and previously announced Lionsgate Television titles NURSE JACKIE and WEEDS, CraveTV audiences can enjoy:

THE AFFAIR
Having recently taken home two major Golden Globe Awards in Drama categories - Best Television Series and Best Actress - the acclaimed SHOWTIME drama THE AFFAIR stars Dominic West (THE WIRE), Golden Globe-winner Ruth Wilson (LUTHER), Emmy^® nominee Maura Tierney (ER), and SAG Award^® nominee Joshua Jackson (FRINGE). The series, which The Globe and Mail called "emotionally wrenching," explores the sentimental/passionate and psychological effects of an extramarital affair, and is told separately from both perspectives using distinct memory biases to both misdirect and intrigue. The entire 10-episode first season is available today on CraveTV.

RAY DONOVAN
Set in the sprawling mecca of the rich and famous, the SHOWTIME drama RAY DONOVAN stars Liev Schreiber (RKO 281) in his two-time Golden Globe nominated role as L.A.'s best professional fixer. Ray is the man called in to make the city's celebrities, superstar athletes, and business moguls most complicated and combustible situations go away. Seasons 1 and 2 of the series that the Montreal Gazette describes as "burn(ing) with action from the get-go," are available today on CraveTV. In addition to Schreiber, RAY DONOVAN stars Jon Voight (24) in his Golden Globe-winning role as Ray's father Mickey Donovan, Paula Malcomson (DEADWOOD), Eddie Marsen (Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows), Dash Mihok (Silver Linings Playbook), Steven Bauer (BREAKING BAD), and Katherine Moennig (THE L WORD). 

PENNY DREADFUL
In the frightening psychological SHOWTIME thriller PENNY DREADFUL, some of literature's most terrifying characters – including Dracula, Dorian Gray, and Dr. Frankenstein and his creature – have become embroiled in Victorian London, lurking in the shadows. Starring Josh Hartnett (Black Hawk Down), Timothy Dalton (License to Kill), and Eva Green (Casino Royale), the entire eight-episode first season is available today on CraveTV. Created, written, and executive produced by three-time Oscar^® nominee John Logan (The Aviator), season 2 of the series Postmedia called "highminded, ambitious, deadly serious and rooted in realism," debuts on The Movie Network on Sunday, May 3 at 10 p.m. ET.

UNITED STATES OF TARA
One woman, multiple personalities. From Steven Spielberg and Diablo Cody, the SHOWTIME dark comedy UNITED STATES OF TARA explores how a dysfunctional yet loving family copes with a mother who suffers from dissociative identity disorder. Starring Toni Collette (HOSTAGES) in her Golden Globe-winning role as Tara Gregson, alongside John Corbett (PARENTHOOD), Brie Larson (COMMUNITY), and Keir Gilchrist (FAMILY GUY), the series delves deep into Tara's myriad identities, which include a teenager, war veteran, and 1950s-era housewife. With all three seasons available today on CraveTV, viewers can tune in to the series The Globe and Mail called "sharply written and a sublime twist on the idea of 'family' drama."

NURSE JACKIE
Edie Falco stars in the SHOWTIME dark comedy, NURSE JACKIE, in her Emmy-winning and four-time Golden Globe nominated role as Jackie Peyton, a sharp-witted New York City nurse who uses a white lie here and a bent rule there as a means of survival. With Seasons 1 to 5 available today on CraveTV, the series has garnered wide critical acclaim since its first season, with the Montreal Gazette hailing it as "up there with the best fare to have played the wild pay-cable frontier," while The Globe and Mail described it as "superb, grown-up drama." In addition to Falco, the series also stars Peter Facinelli (GLEE), Eve Best (THE HONOURABLE WOMAN), Paul Schulze (Panic Room), Dominic Fumasa (LAW &  ORDER: SVU), Anna Deavere Smith (Philadelphia), and Merritt Wever (NEW GIRL), who took home the 2013 Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Zoey Barkow. The final season of NURSE JACKIE will premiere on Sunday, April 12 at 9 p.m. ET on The Movie Network.

And that's just a start. The SHOWTIME Collection also features: can't-miss comedy series including FAT ACTRESS, PENN & TELLER: BULLSHIT!, THE GREEN ROOM WITH PAUL PROVENZA, and more; moving drama series such as BROTHERHOOD, THE L WORD, and SLEEPER CELL; compelling documentary series like THE REAL L WORD, THIS AMERICAN LIFE, TIME OF DEATH, and more; music specials, including INXS: NEVER TEAR US APART, GOD BLESS OZZY OSBOURNE, and THE LOVE WE MAKE with Paul McCartney; and comedy specials such as LARRY WILMORE'S RACE, RELIGION & SEX IN UTAH, among others.

CraveTV subscribers can look forward to even more SHOWTIME programming launching in coming months, including acclaimed, award-winning series MASTERS OF SEX, HUFF, and more.

SHOWTIME and its critically acclaimed, award-winning original series continue to make their mark on the cultural landscape. In 2014, the network was honoured with 24 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including the most lead actor/actress nominations of any television network (broadcast or cable). SHOWTIME also received nine 2015 Golden Globe Award nominations, the most ever for the network, and was awarded two wins for THE AFFAIR, including Best TV Drama Series. SHOWTIME has grown by 90% over the past decade to cross the 23 million-subscriber mark in the United States. The growing lineup of SHOWTIME programming includes THE AFFAIR, RAY DONOVAN, PENNY DREADFUL, HOUSE OF LIES as well as the upcoming series HAPPYISH. In addition to original series, the premium network features comedy and music specials, provocative documentaries, and hard-hitting sports programming.

About CraveTV
All you can watch, for $4/month. Created for TV lovers and devoted exclusively to television, CraveTV^TM is Canada's premium TV subscription on-demand video streaming service, providing the most robust lineup of superior television content in the country. From TV's most-acclaimed dramas and beloved comedies to documentaries, music, and factual programming, CraveTV features thousands of hours of premium non-kids TV programming, representing hundreds of unique titles. Designed to complement the traditional television ecosystem, and available to all TV providers, CraveTV is currently available to Eastlink, TELUS Optik TV, Bell Fibe TV, Bell Satellite TV, Bell Aliant FibreOP TV, Access Communications, Northwestel, Cable Cable, Nexicom, subscribers and is coming soon to other television service providers. Available through traditional set-top boxes, the service will also be available via mobile apps, the web, game consoles, and smart TVs. CraveTV is from Bell Media, Canada's premier multi-media company with more than a decade of leadership delivering Canada's most-watched and most-acclaimed television programming across the Pay, Specialty, and Network TV landscapes. For more on CraveTV, visit www.CraveTV.ca

About Bell Media:
With passion and an unrelenting commitment to excellence, Bell Media creates content and builds brands that entertain, inform, engage, and inspire audiences through the platforms of their choice. Bell Media is Canada's premier multimedia company with leading assets in television, radio, out-of-home advertising, and digital media. Bell Media owns 30 local television stations led by CTV, Canada's #1 television network; 35 specialty channels, including TSN and RDS, Canada's most-watched specialty channels in English and French; and four pay TV services, including The Movie Network and Super Écran. Bell Media is also Canada's largest radio broadcaster, with 106 licensed radio stations in 54 markets across Canada. Bell Media owns Astral Out-of-Home, one of Canada's most dynamic and innovative out-of-home advertising companies with a network of more than 9,500 advertising faces in Québec, Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia. Bell Media also operates more than 200 websites; delivers TV Everywhere with premium subscription on-demand streaming service CraveTV, as well as its innovative GO video streaming services including CTV GO, TMN GO, and TSN GO; holds an equity stake in digital startup Hubub; is partners in Cirque du Soleil Media, a joint venture with Cirque du Soleil; and owns Dome Productions Inc., a multi-platform production company. Bell Media is part of BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada's largest communications company. For more on Bell Media, please visit www.bellmedia.ca.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:

Twitter:
@CraveTVCanada

SOURCE CraveTV

Video with caption: "video: It's SHOWTIME, Canada! CraveTV Launches The SHOWTIME® Collection Today, Featuring More Than 400 Hours of Acclaimed, Premium Series and Specials". Video available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/cgi-bin/playback.cgi?file=20150223_C4138_VIDEO_EN_12442.mp4&posterurl=http%3A%2F%2Fphotos.newswire.ca%2Fimages%2F20150223_C4138_VIDEO_EN_12442.jpg&order=1&jdd=20150223&cnum=C4138

Scott Campbell, Communications Manager, Pay, The Movie Network, HBO Canada & SHOWTIME, [email protected] or 416.384.4235