CBC’s 2024-25 Slate Includes Netflix Comedy, Sitcom From ‘Baroness Von Sketch’ Pair & Music Doc Backed By Idris Elba; Simu Liu To Guest On ‘Dragon’s Den’
Jennifer Whalen and Meredith MacNeill CBC
Canadian pubcaster CBC rolled out its 40-strong title 2024-25 slate today, with shows from the stars of Baroness Von Sketch and Idris Elba included in the notables.
Also among the highlights were further details on Netflix co-produced comedy North is North and the announcement of a sitcom about hip-hop duo Snotty Nose Rez Kids. The network also revealed its readying 14 local FAST channels, has its Olympic Games plans in place and is welcoming Marvel star Simu Liu to the latest season of Dragon’s Den.
On the programming front, North of North has been handed a winter 2025 premiere date. The series, which has been in the works for some time, follows Siaja (Anna Lambe) as a young Inuk mother who moves to a small Arctic town with her daughter. It comes from Red Marrow Media and Northwood Entertainment, and is for CBC, Netflix and APTN.
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Newly announced comedies are the Sphere Media-produced Small Achievable Goals and Snotty Nose Rez Kids. The former, scheduled for winter next year, follows odd couple Jan (Jennifer Whalen) and Kris (Meredith MacNeill), who are forced to work together to produce a podcast, just they learn they are both undergoing ‘The Change’. Baroness Von Sketch pair Whalen and MacNeill are the creators, with Jennifer Kawaja, Bruno Dube and Elise Cousineau executive producing.
Snotty Nose Rez Kids, also for next year, comes from Snotty Nose Productions, Grand Scheme and Reality Distortion Field in association with Redcloud Studios and is billed as “the not even true, real life story of the Indigenous hip hop sensation Snotty Nose Rez Kids chronicling their tireless hustle and chaotic journey to stardom.” It is inspired by the lives of best friends Quinton and Darren, who move from the remote Haisla Nation to the big city of Vancouver to chase their hip hop dreams. It’s created by Quinton Nyce and Darren Metz, Vance Banzo and Matt Kippen, with Jennifer Podemski the series showrunner.
New original drama comes in the shape of Hawco Productions’ Saint-Pierre. The show — from Allan Hawco, Robina Lord-Stafford and Perry Chafe, with Hawco and Lord-Stafford as showrunners — follows Donny “Fitz” Fitzpatrick, a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Inspector who digs too deep into a politician’s nefarious activity and is exiled to work in Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, a French Territory the Atlantic Ocean just off the coast of Newfoundland. There he meets Deputy Chief Geneviève “Arch” Archambault, a Parisian transplant who is in Saint-Pierre for her own intriguing reasons. French star Josephine Jobert (Death in Paradise) plays Arch and Hawco (Republic of Doyle, Caught, Jack Ryan) is Fitz, with James Purefoy (Rome, Sex Education, Pennyworth) also cast to star. Hawco Productions is making it in association with Fifth Season, which has international sales rights.
New docs include Paid in Full, the three-part music doc co-produced with the BBC. It’s from Idris Elba’s Gree Door Pictures, Supercollider and Pink Towel in association with Catalyst, and is narrated by Canadian music icon Jully Black. The doc explores the journey of Black artists in the music industry from its inception to the digital streaming age, from Little Richard through to Motown and Stax Records and on to stars of the streaming era. Greg Sanderson for Supercollider, Idris Elba for Green Door Pictures, Sabrina Elba for Pink Towel and Julie Bristow for Catalyst, with showrunner David Upshal. Elba is exec producer for Green Door, Greg Sanderson for Supercollider, Sabrina Elba for Pink Towel and Julie Bristow for Catalyst, with David Upshal the showrunner.
Elsewhere on the unscripted slate, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star Liu will be a guest Dragon on Dragon’s Den season 19. He’ll join the panel of industry titans offering the best business pitches a helping hand in an episode this fall.
On the international series front, CBC has acquired season 2 of The Dry, which stars Ciarán Hinds (Belfast); food lifestyle series Big Zulu’s 12 Meals in 12 Hours; and two-part doc The Secrets of Prince Andrew.
Meanwhile, CBC is planning more than 3,000 hours of live Olympic Games programming across CBC TV, streamer CBC Gem, a Paris 2024 website and a CBC Paris 2024 app. CBC Sports will also provide in-depth reports, highlights, digital series and on-demand replays. The Olympics run from July 26-August 11, with the Paralympics following from August 28-September 8.
The FAST channels plan is for 14 free 24/7 ad-supported channels to launch over the next year. CBC News BC and CBC NEWS Toronto are now live and available on CBC Gem, the CBC News App and the Roku Channel, as well as Samsung TV Plus and additional platforms in the coming weeks. Within a year, they will be joined by an additional 12 channels serving audiences in Calgary, Edmonton, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, the North, Nova Scotia, Ottawa, PEI, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Windsor.