Canada’s Citytv greenlights local version of NBC current affairs show Dateline

Diana Swain

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Citytv, the Canadian network owned by Toronto-based media group Rogers Sports & Media (RSM), has commissioned a local version of the long-running American news magazine show franchise Dateline.

This marks the first time the series, which airs on NBC in the US, has been adapted outside of the American market.

Dateline Canada will premiere on Citytv and streamer Citytv+ on Thursday November 26 with a two-hour special revisiting the unresolved disappearance of Elizabeth Bain, a University of Toronto student who disappeared from Scarborough, Ontario in 1990. Details about subsequent episodes have not yet been revealed.

It is produced by RSM’s in-house production arm Rogers Studios, with veteran investigative journalist Diana Swain hosting. Catherine Legge and Claire Adams executive produce the series for Rogers Studios.

Since premiering on NBC in 1992, Dateline has evolved from a general interest news magazine show to one that focuses more on crime-related stories. The format is licensed internationally by NBCUniversal Formats, part of Universal Studio Group.