Canada’s Corus Entertainment greenlights, renews 45 titles for next season

Gold-mining series Deadman’s Curse debuts in the autumn

Canadian broadcast group Corus Entertainment has revealed 45 new commissions and renewals for its 2022/23 broadcast season, including 24 titles produced under its factual-focused Corus Studios division.

Of the 24 shows from Corus Studios, six are new green lights and 16 are returning series. The projects will air across Corus Entertainment’s unscripted pay TV channels Food Network Canada, HGTV Canada and the Canadian version of History channel.

Set for Food Network Canada are season three of baking series The Big Bake (14×60’) and season four of cooking competition series Chocolate Showdown (8×60’), as well as new episodes of reality food series Fire Masters (10×60’) and food travelogue series Big Food Bucket List (9×30’).

History channel renewed Backroad Truckers S2 (8×60’), Big Timber S3 (8×60’), Lost Car Rescue S2 (6×60’), Rust Valley Restorers S5 (8×60’) and Salvage Kings S3 (8×60’). Corus Entertainment also confirmed that the previously announced gold-mining series Deadman’s Curse (8×60’) will launch this autumn.

New projects for History channel include True Story (2×60’), which examines the relationship between Indigenous people and settlers in Canada, and Remembrance Day documentary Our War (2×60’).

For HGTV Canada, Corus Studios renewed Gut Job (8×60’), Hoarder House Flippers (8×60’), Rock Solid Builds (8×60’), Farmhouse Facelift (8×60’), Making it Home with Kortney & Kenny (10×60’) and new episodes of Property Brothers: Forever Home (20×60’).

Also recommissioned for HGTV Canada are Island of Bryan (8×60’), led by renovation expert Bryan Baeumler, and a pair of shows from renovation and DIY expert Scott McGillivray: Renovation Resort (7×60’) and Scott’s Vacation House Rules (14×60).

Corus also said it had commissioned a new and as-yet-untitled project from Baeumler. Details of the in-development project remain under wraps, with Corus noting only that the 10×60’ project will launch in 2023.

Elsewhere, HGTV Canada confirmed that the previously announced renovation series Pamela’s Garden of Eden (8×60), in which US actress Pamela Anderson renovates her grandmother’s six-acre legacy property on Vancouver Island, will launch in the fall.

On the scripted front, Corus Entertainment previously renewed legal drama Family Law (Seven24 Films, Lark Productions) and Canada/Ireland coproduction Departure (Shaftesbury, Starlings Television, Red Arrow Studios International) for its flagship broadcast network Global. The network also previously commissioned Robyn Hood, a modern reimagining of the classic Robin Hood story, from Boat Rocker.

The Canadian version of Adult Swim also ordered animated series Red Ketchup (20×30’), based on a cult Quebec comic book series from the 1980s, and Psi Cops (24×11’), about a secret agency that investigates spiritual phenomena, extraterrestrial life and paranormal activity.

On the kids’ programming side, Corus-owned kids’ network YTV commissioned Best & Bester (52×11’), a coproduction between Nelvana, Eye Present and Gigglebug Entertainment. The show follows two siblings and best friends who possess the power to transform themselves into anything they want.

In addition, YTV ordered more episodes of Bakugan: Evolutions (26×22’) and fellow kids’ net Teletoon greenlit a second season of Agent Binky: Pets of the Universe (52×11’).