Corus unveils US drama line-up

Tom Payne (left) and Michael Sheen in Prodigal Son

Corus Entertainment in Canada will air new US series including Prodigal Son, Evil, Party of Five and Batwoman on its Global, W Network and Showcase channels.

According to Global, Prodigal Son and Evil were “standouts” from this year’s LA Screenings, with the network selecting the pair for its 2019-2020 primetime line-up.

Prodigal Son, which will air on Fox in the US this fall, comes from Warner Bros Television, Berlanti Productions and Fox Entertainment. It stars Tom Payne alongside Michael Sheen.

Claiming to offer a “fresh take on a crime franchise with a provocative and outrageous lead character and a darkly comedic tone,” it follows the son of a notorious serial killer who uses his inherited twisted genius to help the NYPD solve crimes.

Evil, meanwhile, is a psychological mystery series that focuses on a sceptical forensic psychologist who joins a priest-in-training and a carpenter to investigate supposed miracles, demonic possessions and unexplained phenomena. It will in the US on CBS and comes from CBS Television Studios and King Size Productions.

The shows will join existing US drama series in Global’s schedule such as New Amsterdam, FBI and 9-1-1.

The channel has also acquired single-camera comedy The Unicorn, multi-camera sitcom Carol’s Second Act and comedy Broke, plus six-part original event series Departure, procedural spin-off FBI: Most Wanted and police drama Tommy, which comes from Bull co-creator Paul Attanasio and stars Edie Falco (The Sopranos).

In total, Global’s 2019-20 schedule will feature 12 new series, including eight primetime shows, one daytime talkshow and one late-night series, as well as the final season of Modern Family.

Meanwhile, Corus’s W Network has added Party of Five (10×60′), US cablenet Freeform’s reboot of the classic drama, to its winter/spring 2020 schedule.

The one-hour drama is from Sony Pictures Television and the show’s original creators, Amy Lippman and Chris Keyser. It follows the five Acosta children as they try to navigate daily life as a family unit after their parents are suddenly deported to Mexico.

Other new US series due to air on W Network in the coming year include Pearson, a spin-off from long-running legal drama Suits, Riverdale spin-off Katy Keene and detective series Nancy Drew.

Showcase, meanwhile, will air Batwoman (13×60′), which stars Ruby Rose in the titular role, this fall, along with two other US imports based on DC Comics IP: Swamp Thing (10×60′) and Pennyworth (10×60′).

Elsewhere, fellow Corus net ABC Spark will air Motherland: Fort Salem (10×60′) and comedy Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (10×60′) alongside returning series Siren, The Bold Type, Grown-ish and new episodes of Good Trouble.

The US series join a slate of 40 newly commissioned seasons and titles from Corus Entertainment for 2019-2020, which include shows such as character-driven drama Nurses.

Corus has also ordered returning seasons of detective drama Private Eyes and historical drama Vikings. Other renewals include History Erased (4×60′), which comes from Corus Studios and Cream Productions.