TORONTO (May 31, 2023) – Bell Media announced today that it has landed new highly-anticipated series set to join CTV and its Specialty Channels as part of the 2023/24 season. The announcement comes in advance of the #BellMediaUpfront June 8 in Toronto, with the new series set to build on CTV’s already strong slate of fan-favourites and ratings juggernauts, with additional new series to be announced.
Coming to CTV are:
- SNAKE OIL, the buzzed-about game show hosted and produced by Emmy® and Golden Globe® Award-nominated comedian David Spade (JUST SHOOT ME), and executive-produced by Emmy® nominee Will Arnett (LEGO MASTERS), through his Electric Avenue Productions.
- TRACKER, based on the bestselling novel The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver, and starring Justin Hartley (THIS IS US) as lone-wolf survivalist Colter Shaw, who roams the country as a “reward seeker,” using his expert tracking skills to help private citizens and law enforcement solve mysteries while contending with his own fractured family.
- RESCUE: HI-SURF, a pulse-pounding Hawaii lifeguard dramafrom prolific, award-winning executive producer/director John Wells (SHAMELESS) and executive producer/writer Matt Kester (ANIMAL KINGDOM).
- HIGH POTENTIAL, written by Drew Goddard (THE GOOD PLACE) and based on the popular French series HAUT POTENTIEL INTELLECTUEL (HPI) starring Kaitlin Olson (IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA) and Daniel Sunjata (#FREERAYSHAWN).
- SPECIAL FORCES: WORLD’S TOUGHEST TEST, a quasi-military training reality series where celebrity recruits endure some of the harshest, most-grueling challenges from the playbook of the Special Forces.
Also joining the CTV schedule are beloved movies from “The Wonderful World of Disney”.
CTV’s Specialty Channels have also expanded their suite of sought-after series, with the suspenseful, serialized drama
THE KILLING KIND starring Emma Appleton (THE WITCHER) and Colin Morgan (MERLIN) for CTV Drama Channel; and
JAMIE OLIVER: COOKING FOR LESS joins CTV Life Channel, where the prominent chef demonstrates his cooking skills and sheds light on various delicious recipes on a budget.
Descriptions for CTV and CTV Specialty Channels’ 2023/24 New Series:
CTV
HIGH POTENTIAL
Written by Drew Goddard and starring Kaitlin Olson,
HIGH POTENTIAL follows a single mom with an exceptional mind, whose unconventional knack for solving crimes leads to an unusual and unstoppable partnership with a by-the-book seasoned detective (Daniel Sunjata). Based on the popular French series HAUT POTENTIEL INTELLECTUEL (HPI).
RESCUE: HI-SURF
From prolific, award-winning executive producer/director John Wells and executive producer/writer Matt Kester, pulse-pounding Hawaii lifeguard drama
RESCUE: HI-SURF follows the personal and professional lives of the heavy-water lifeguards who patrol and protect the North Shore of O’ahu – the most famous and dangerous stretch of coastline in the world. Each episode will feature these dedicated, heroic, and adrenaline-seeking first-responders saving lives in the difficult and often life-threatening conditions of Hawaii’s Seven Mile Miracle.
RESCUE: HI-SURF is co-produced by Warner Bros. Television and FOX Entertainment Studios, and it is distributed by Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution. Matt Kester created the series. Kester and John Wells are Executive Producers and co-Showrunners. Erin Jontow (John Wells Productions) is also an Executive Producer. Kester will write the first two episodes, and Wells will direct the first two episodes.
SNAKE OIL
Game show
SNAKE OIL is hosted and produced by Emmy
® and Golden Globe Award
®-nominated comedian David Spade and executive-produced by Emmy
® nominee Will Arnett, through his Electric Avenue Productions. In the show’s all-new original format, contestants are pitched unique products by convincing entrepreneurs – some of whom are showcasing real business ventures, while the others are “Snake Oil Salesmen,” whose products are fake. With the help of guest celebrity advisors, contestants must determine which products are real and which are a sham, for a chance to win life-changing money. In each round of
SNAKE OIL, contestants choose a pair of entrepreneurs and learn about their extremely unique (and often bizarre) products through visuals, a custom-made infomercial exclusively produced for
SNAKE OIL, and by quizzing the business representative themselves.
SNAKE OIL is produced by FOX Alternative Entertainment and Electric Avenue. Will Arnett, Marc Forman, and Neal Konstantini serve as Executive Producers, and Konstantini serves as Showrunner. David Spade is a Producer.
SPECIAL FORCES: WORLD’S TOUGHEST TEST
Selection for the Special Forces is a test unlike any other. Celebrities from all genres will take on, and try to survive, demanding training exercises led by Directing Staff (DS) agents, an elite team of ex-Special Forces operatives. In this unique series, the only way for these recruits to leave is to give up on their own accord, through failure or potential injury, or by force from the DS. Viewers will see the recruits face the harshest of environments that simulate the highly classified selection process, pushing themselves in the ultimate test of their physical, mental and emotional resilience – revealing the celebrities’ deepest and truest character.
TRACKER
TRACKER stars Justin Hartley (THIS IS US) as Colter Shaw, a lone-wolf survivalist who roams the country as a “reward seeker,” using his expert tracking skills to help private citizens and law enforcement solve all manner of mysteries while contending with his own fractured family. The series is based on the bestselling novel
The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver.
TRACKER also stars Fiona Rene (FIRE COUNTRY) as Reenie, Robin Weigert (BIG LITTLE LIES) as Teddi, Abby McEnany (WORK IN PROGRESS) as Velma, and Eric Graise (QUEER AS FOLK) as Bobby. Hartley, Ken Olin, Ben Winters, Hilary Weisman Graham, and Jeffrey Deaver are executive producers. Olin directed the pilot from a script written by Winters. The series is produced by Twentieth Television.
CTV Specialty Channels
CTV Drama Channel:
THE KILLING KIND
Based on the book by Jane Casey,
THE KILLING KIND is a thrilling, character-driven drama that charts the compelling past and present relationship between a high-flying Defense Lawyer, Ingrid Lewis (Emma Appleton, THE WITCHER), and her client John Webster (Colin Morgan, MERLIN), a successful businessman. Ingrid represented Webster in court when he was accused of stalking his ex-girlfriend, but things turned personal as Ingrid was drawn to Webster, and they embarked on an illicit relationship. When she wanted to end it, he couldn’t let her go and consequently Ingrid’s world imploded. In the present, Ingrid is rebuilding her life when tragedy strikes as her friend and mentor Belinda (Sara Powell, DOCTOR WHO) is run down on a busy London Street. Ingrid suspects she was the intended target and questions if Webster is back in her life and targeting her. The series is produced by Eleventh Hour Films and distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures Television.
CTV Life Channel:
JAMIE OLIVER: COOKING FOR LESS
Jamie Oliver, a prominent chef, demonstrates his cooking skills and sheds light on various delicious recipes in a budget range.
