Corus Entertainment has announced its upcoming slate of premium original content for the 2021-2022 TV season, with 35 greenlights and renewals across its portfolio of specialty networks and streaming platforms.
“Corus’s ongoing commitment to Canadian content and creators continues with this new wave of greenlights and renewals featuring a diverse mix of original lifestyle, factual, and children’s series, from Corus and its production powerhouses, Corus Studios and Nelvana,” said Colin Bohm, Corus’s EVP of content and corporate strategies. “We are proud to collaborate with our esteemed production partners to advance new formats, tell engaging stories, and champion voices that inspire audiences in Canada and abroad.”
In addition, Corus Studios is broadening its worldwide reach and scale with eight new series and 13 returning shows that will debut on Food Network Canada, HGTV Canada, and History.
Meanwhile, Corus-owned Nelvana has greenlit four new animated series and one returning fan-favourite, with more to be announced soon. Coming to Adult Swim is “Psi Cops”, an original series produced by Wind Sun Sky Entertainment and Oddfellows Labs in association with Corus.
HGTV Canada
The nation’s destination for home renovation and design, real estate and DIY projects, HGTV Canada is introducing four new series from Corus Studios, along with six returning favourites.
Vibrant, fresh and fun, “Styled” (Working Title) follows the staging and renovation adventures of dynamic design super-duo and BFF’s Nicole Babb and Caffery VanHorne.
“Trading Up” features Mandy Rennehan, celebrated builder, motivational speaker, blue-collar hero and proud founder and CEO of the women-owned LGBTQ+ business Freshco.ca, focuses on the trades as she mentors deserving apprentices while renovating three extraordinary properties in her hometown of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.
HGTV Canada’s Sebastian Clovis returns in “Gut Job” with his biggest mission to date as he guides homeowners through the biggest renovations of their lives.
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In a new spin-off of “Scott’s Vacation House Rules”, Scott McGillivray turns the tables and puts his rules to the test on his waterfront cottage in “Scott’s Own Vacation House Rules”.
Returning to HGTV is “Island of Bryan”, back for a fourth season, along with “Making it Home with Kortney & Kenny”. Also coming back are “Rock Solid Builds”, “Farmhouse Facelift” and “Property Brothers: Forever Home”.
Food Network Canada
Food Network Canada is welcoming seven new and returning Corus Studios originals as part of its 2021-2022 schedule.
“Wall of Chefs”, hosted by Noah Cappe, is back for a second season, with home cooks facing off in front of a group of 12 intimidating and well-respected Canadian chefs, along with a delicious new spinoff, “Wall of Bakers”.
A fresh batch of baking series continue with the renewal of “Great Chocolate Showdown”, new episodes of “The Big Bake” and “Project Bakeover”, the series that keeps on giving as renowned pastry chef and entrepreneur Steve Hodge, alongside designer Tiffany Pratt, transforms struggling bakeries across North America into successful businesses.
Host Dylan Benoit invites pit masters and chefs into the arena for a third season of the fiery competition series “Fire Masters”, while the search for the best eats across North America continues with John Catucci’s “Big Food Bucket List”, and out-of-bounds amusement park treats return with Noah Cappe on “Carnival Eats”.
History
Ranked as the #2 specialty entertainment network this spring, History is adding four new and returning Corus Studios originals to its schedule.
Attracting a massive fanbase for its unique approach to restoration, “Rust Valley Restorers” is back for a
fourth season.
Previously announced, the logging and sawmill team out of Vancouver Island dig in with more high-stake jobs in “Big Timber”.
New to the schedule is “Lost Cars” (Working Title), following an ambitious team of classic car hunters scour the remote North to recover rare classics fabled to be hiding in the wilderness, before the cars are lost forever to history.
“Deadman’s Curse” (Working Title) features former MMA fighter Kru Pitt and young Indigenous explorer Taylor Starr, who seek out the help of seasoned treasure hunter and mountaineer Adam Palmer to finally solve the mystery of Slumach’s lost gold mine. Hidden somewhere in the rugged terrain of the Pacific Northwest, its mysterious location has eluded prospectors for generations — and many have lost their lives searching for it. The treasure-hunting threesome may have ancestral connections to the legend and the gold, but extreme weather, unforgiving terrain and a curse all stand in their way.
In addition, the network brings Canadian Black History to the forefront with two Canadian originals. This November, “Black Liberators WWII” will shed light on the heroic stories and amazing acts of bravery of Black Canadian soldiers during the Second World War who risked their lives for their country while facing racism at home and on the battlefield. Then, four-part series “BLK: An Origin Story” explores the untold stories of Black Canadians, from the early settlers of Ontario to the gold rush era of B.C., from the Maroons of Nova Scotia to Montreal’s vibrant Little Burgundy neighbourhood. The series aims to show that Black History is Canadian History.
Adult Swim
Hot on the heels of Adult Swim’s second anniversary, Corus has commissioned and greenlit its first original for the popular network. The animated “Psi Cops” sees “out of the box thinkers” Agent Kyd and Agent Felix investigate spiritual phenomena, extraterrestrial life, and paranormal activity.
YTV
YTV is the place to be for non-stop Fam Fun, delivering another year of “The Zone”, “The Zone Weekend” and “Big Fun Movies” with beloved hosts Spencer, Tyra, Alex and Duhin. Plus, Spencer and Tyra are back for season 2 of “Kid Food Nation: The Show”, where they embark on culinary missions with Canadian kid food nation heroes and answer questions like, “Should I eat crickets?” or “Are dandelions edible?”
Nelvana continues to foster its partnerships with the best in kids entertainment, with the recently announced “Best & Bester”, a co-production between Nelvana, Eye Present and Gigglebug Entertainment, about two siblings and best friends obsessed with comparing the best things of all time while enjoying the power to transform themselves into anything they want, once a day — if only they can figure out what the best thing to be actually is!
“ZJ Sparkleton” is an original creator-driven 2D-animated series produced by Nelvana in partnership with Nickelodeon that follows quirky 10-year-old vlogger Ruby and her tail-zapping space alien best friend as they film their daily mishaps and adventures around town.
Audiences will discover the magic of birthdays through the fantastical adventures in “Super Wish”, produced by Nelvana and Discovery’s joint venture, redknot, and created by Nelvana’s own Vanessa Esteves and Daytime Emmy Award-winning art director, Adrian Thatcher.
Treehouse
A new addition to Treehouse is “The Hamster Show” (Working Title), produced by Nelvana in partnership with Nickelodeon, in which a crew of furry friends keep an eye on their owner, “King” Harry, saving him from daily doom, granting his wishes and keeping his life running smoothly.
The pet-ventures continue as everyone’s favourite P.U.R.S.T. agents get ready for action in the second season of “Agent Binky: Pets of the Universe”, produced by Nelvana and Discovery’s joint venture, redknot, and based on the best-selling books by Ashley Spires, published by Corus Entertainment’s Kids Can Press.
Coming in 2022 is the animated feature film “Toopy and Binoo”, based on the series of the same name that aired on Treehouse in the early aughts. Following the theatrical release, the movie will have its broadcast premiere on Treehouse.
