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Global, E!, History TV unveil new 2008-09 series

04.06.2008 17:03 Arts - Source: cbc.ca

Mike Holmes, Canadian host of Holmes on Homes, shown in Ottawa in 2007, will be bringing his skills to New Orleans in a documentary special on Global. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)Three new series with Canadian content, including The Animated Adventures of Bob and Doug McKenzie, highlight Global Television's fall lineup announced Wednesday.

Global, owned by CanWest, is also premiering Cold Blood, a factual series that recreates murder investigations, and Howie Do It, a sketch comedy and TV prank show hosted by comedian Howie Mandel.

Both are co-productions — Howie Do It will be simulcast with NBC, and Cold Blood is being created with U.K. and U.S. producers.

Barbara Williams, executive vice-president of content at Canwest Broadcasting, which owns Global, called the new programming "both diverse and distinctively Canadian."

The animated McKenzie brothers series is being produced by Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis, the original Bob and Doug McKenzie, and Mandel, a Canadian comedian and host of game show Deal or No Deal, is lead comic in Howie Do It.

Global's primetime lineup is mostly returning U.S. shows, including Boston Legal, American Dad, Brothers and Sisters, and House.

It also announced new U.S. shows like 90210, a spinoff of the 1990s teen hit, spy drama My Own Worst Enemy starring Christian Slater, and Dollhouse, a futuristic drama headlined by Eliza Dushku.

Other Canadian co-productions on Global include:

Make It Right: New Orleans: Fixer-upper Mike Holmes of Holmes on Homes and his crew work in the lower ninth quarter of flood-ravaged New Orleans in a two-hour documentary special.
Project Runway Canada: the second season of the reality TV show offering aspiring designers a chance to break into the fashion industry. The first season ran on Slice.
The Last Templar:A two-hour drama based on the Raymond Khoury novel about the lost secrets of the Knights Templar.
XIII: A four-hour political thriller, aired over two nights, about a man suffering from amnesia who is accused of assassinating the U.S. president.
16:9: A 30-minute news information series that includes profiles of exemplary Canadians and items on international issues.

Global is bringing back the coast guard rescue series The Guard, the comedy 'Da Kink in My Hair and the teen series The Best Years for a second season.

Canwest also announced fall-winter programming for History Television, Showcase, E! network and several lifestyle channels.

Premiering on E! are:

Instant Beauty Pageant: A reality TV show in which ordinary women are ambushed while shopping and asked to prepare for a beauty pageant.
Producing Parker: A 30-minute animated series that parodies daytime talk shows.
True Hollywood Story Canada: An entertainment "news" show.

New series on History Television include:

Battlefield Mysteries: A documentary series that investigates stories behind significant battles.
Blowdown: A documentary about a family of demolition experts that travels the world blowing down structures.
Outlaw Bikers: A five-episode documentary series about outlaw motorcycle clubs.

Showcase will have the new series The Foundation, about the inner workings of a dysfunctional charity starring Mike Wilmont of It's All Gone Pete Tong, and The Food Network will have Chef Abroad, in which host Michael Smith travels the world to highlight new cooking styles and recipes.

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