The TV world begins anew each January, and even more so this year.
Besides credit-card bills and brutal weather, January traditionally brings the arrival of new shows on Canadian television. Viewers suddenly have new reason to stay indoors.
Particularly this January. Canadian networks and specialty channels are launching a record volume of new programming in the weeks ahead and beyond, and much of it is of high quality. Some of the new Canadian shows have already been pre-sold to U.S. networks, which likewise boast a strong slate of fresh fare.
From all appearances, the TV industry seems to have bounced back from the U.S. writers' strike. The production delay of the 100-day labour dispute between writers and studios and broadcasters created a lacklustre new-season launch last September, which in turn resulted in reduced overall viewing. Finally, the network shelves are stocked with new product.
Viewers are the prime benefactors of the supersized second season, which also includes the return of several proven favourites long missing in action (some viewers thought Lost was never coming back). Here's what to watch for in the weeks ahead.
CTV Raising the Bar (Jan. 9) Shades of Perry Mason: There are still signs of life in the TV legal drama. First broadcast on the U.S. cable channel TNT last September, this series hails from iconic TV producer Steven Bochco. Revisiting his days of L.A. Law, Bochco romanticizes and idealizes the lives of a handful of capable lawyers working opposite ends of the legal system - the district attorney's office and the public defender's office. Former Saved by the Bell star Mark-Paul Gosselaar, whom Bochco tapped to replace Rick Schroder on NYPD Blue several years back, takes on the central role of Jerry Kellerman, idealistic public defender drawn to hopeless cases. Jerry has an even more earnest boss, Rosalind, played by Canadian Gloria Reuben, and a formidable courtroom opponent in Nick Balco, played by another Canadian, Currie Graham, who succeeded Gosselaar on NYPD Blue (Bochco likes to work with the same people).
Former Malcolm in the Middle mom Jane Kaczmarek is grand as a hardball judge. The show was well-received and highly rated upon its U.S. debut, even with the distraction of Gosselaar's incredibly girly hairstyle.!
The Listener (date TBA)!
A Canadian production already slated to debut simultaneously on NBC, The Listener is Toby Logan (Craig Olejnik), a paramedic with the ability to "hear" people's thoughts. As with all superhero types, Toby's power is both a gift and responsibility, and occasionally a burden for a young male trying to maintain a social life. Toby's best friend and confidante is his paramedic partner, Osman (Ennis Esmer). A promising premise, and Olejnik, last seen in the acclaimed film In God's Country, has potential as a breakout star.!
CBC!
Wild Roses (Jan. 6)!
Welcome to the sexy new Calgary. Hailing from the producers of the CBC semi-hit Heartland, this glossy drama reflects the ongoing boom period in the Alberta oil own by focusing on the young, rich and beautiful. The show's creators have spent the last few months firmly denying the premise is a Canadian version of Dallas, though it's hard not to see the parallels: The focal characters are two sassy rancher sisters, Lucy and Kate Henry (Sarah Power, Michelle Harrison), who are struggling to protect their land and the family name against the advances of J.R.-like oil kingpin David McGregor (Gary Hudson) and his randy male offspring. Running 13 weeks, the show's soapy storyline alternates between boardrooms and bedrooms, with occasional flashes of those beautiful, snowcapped Rocky Mountains. More important, there is sex aplenty on Wild Roses - when do people in the oil business get any work done? - which likely guarantees an immediate Canadian viewing audience.!
GLOBAL!
Howie Do It (Jan. 9, also on NBC)!
Toronto-born Howie Mandel receives his reward for getting through five seasons of hosting Deal or No Deal: his own comedy-reality series. The man has a good agent. Filmed in various locales around Ontario, the show's concept refashions a segment Mandel used to contribute to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in his pre- Deal days. Donning a fake beard and goofy glasses, and always a wig, Mandel shows up with a camera crew and convinces unwitting participants that they are being filmed for a game or reality show, or auditioned for a film or TV role. In the first show, Howie pretends to be a dating-show host and a bumbling waiter. Comedy magic ensues.!
Project Runway Canada (Jan. 27)!
Technically not a new show - the first season aired on Slice last year - the sophomore campaign of Project Runway Canada, or PRC as the kids call it, has been ramped up in scope for its first season on a regular network. Early signs indicate the sets are glitzier and the hissy fits more heated. It's the fashion business, get used to it. Last year's Gemini winner for best reality series, PRC adheres to the standard talent-search show rules. Supermodel Iman returns to host, as does Canadian fashion designer Brian Bailey to mentor the 14 young designers vying for the PRC crown - which goes with anything.!
TRAVEL + ESCAPE
Bizarre Foods (Jan. 6)!
This travel-gourmand series is not for the weak of stomach. Hyper host Andrew Zimmern takes viewers to peculiar epicurean hot spots around the world, including Taiwan, India, Iceland and Chile. The idea is to explain the history of a peculiar epicurean delight, and then consume it. A tip of the hat to any man brave enough to eat donkey skin and giant flying ants.!
Samantha Brown: Passport to China (Jan. 16)!
Dispelling the old stereotype of the Ugly American, Travel Channel personality Samantha Brown proves a politely engaging tour guide to the world's oldest civilization in this six-part series. Brown spent several months filming the series in China, post-Olympics, and marvels at the wonders of the Great Wall and two-hour foot massages that cost $17 (U.S). The show is chock full of great facts. Did you know the city of Beijing is the same size as the country of Belgium?!
STAR!!
Blush: The Search for the Next Great Makeup Artist (Jan. 10)!
Another U.S. cable import that aired there last year, it just might be the most frivolous reality series ever made. Hosted by former soap star Vanessa Marcil, the six-part series really is what it says in the title: a competition between nine young makeup artists who want to get into the fast lane of the Hollywood makeup scene. It has the familiar reality-contest structure - three judges, one castaway per show, catfights between cohabiting contestants - with a cash prize and a job at Max Factor at the end of the rainbow. How far away are we from America's Next Top Manicurist?!
FOOD NETWORK!
Food Detectives (Jan. 5)!
Former Queer Eye for the Straight Guy regular Ted Allen helms a once-weekly forum on the science of food and eating. Looking very sharp, he tackles such burning issues as: Does an apple a day really keep the doctor away?!
Giada at Home (Jan. 6)!
Food veteran Giada De Laurentiis provides a weekly primer on home entertaining in this breezy cooking series. As with her earlier shows, Giada puts the emphasis on simple planning for special occasions, ranging from a kid's birthday party to a posh sit-down anniversary dinner. The lady has class.!
Kylie Kwong: My China (Jan. 9)!
Australian TV personality Kylie Kwong digs into her ancestral roots in this lively cooking series. Her culinary journey takes her to the five-star restaurants in Hong Kong and Beijing and to small villages, where the meals are even better.!
COMEDY NETWORK!
The Gong Show (Jan. 15)!
No sign of the Unknown Comic or Gene Gene the Dancing Machine in this update of the seventies talent show created and hosted by Chuck Barris, but there will be adult situations. The remake is hosted by comedian Dave Attell, whose standup act would shock prison inmates. As before, the format allows each performer 45 seconds before they can be gonged off by the celebrity judges. The panel boasts Andy Dick, rock guitarist Dave Navarro and, good heavens, Triumph the Insult Dog. In the first show, the acts include a monkey performing burlesque and a midget wrestling champion. Women's tops come off. The golden age of television goes on.!
THE MOVIE NETWORK/MOVIE CENTRAL!
ZOS: Zone of Separation (Jan. 19)!
Life in a war zone is hard and absurdly unreal in this original drama co-executive produced by Paul Gross, post- Passchendaele. Set in the Sarajevo-like town of Jadac, the series follows the individuals assigned to enforce a UN-sanctioned ceasefire between Christian and Muslim factions in the war-torn region. The well-intentioned team of unarmed peacekeepers, played by Colm Meaney and Canadians Lolita Davidovich and Enrico Colantoni, are caught between the violent crossfire of the local citizenry and the UN forces. In a TV first, the first two episodes of the eight-part series will debut next Thursday on the in-flight service on all Air Canada domestic and international flights.!
The United States of Tara (Jan. 19)!
Due to pedigree, expectations are huge for this Showtime original series: The adult comedy was created by Steven Spielberg and developed by stripper-turned-screenwriter Diablo Cody, winner's of last year's best-original-screenplay Oscar for Juno. The fine actress Toni Collette assumes the title role of Tara, a suburban housewife and mother of two teenagers. Tara also has the rare and real affliction of dissociative identity disorder, which causes her to become other people in moments of stress. The show has a vaguely existentialist feel to it, while neither exploiting or melodramatizing the lead character's condition. In fact, Collette is extremely funny as the unmedicated Tara - and also the muffin-baking housewife Alice, the pot-smoking teen named T, and Buck, a testosterone-fuelled biker dude. She pulls off the impossible by making each character believable.!
FOX!
Lie to Me (Jan. 21)!
One of the most keenly anticipated January arrivals, Lie to Me is the first series for film veteran Tim Roth, likely best known for his role as the undercover cop of Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs. The intense British actor is well-cast as Dr. Cal Lightman, a behavioural specialist with the ability to tell when someone is lying. Inspired by the story of a real-life deception specialist, Dr. Cal can read clues in a person's face and body to determine if they're speaking the truth. The human polygraph is naturally useful to the local constabulary, though he begrudges it in grumpy manner, à la Hugh Laurie in House. The pilot episode is outstanding, thanks to Roth's presence, and will benefit greatly from launching in the timeslot following American Idol.!
Dollhouse (Feb. 13)!
Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans - they are still out there - are breathlessly awaiting this new series from Joss Whedon. The premise brings back Buffy regular Eliza Dushku as Echo, a member of an underground group called the Actives. The Actives have had their personalities erased so they can be imprinted with new personas - a lover, a best friend or an assassin - and hired by rich people. The Actives are overseen by people called the Handlers, who erase their memories after each mission. Confused yet? Along with her fellow Actives, Echo resides in a secret facility called the Dollhouse and numbly goes from one assignment to the next. And then, suddenly, her memory begins to return. No early reviews of the pilot yet, which is being kept tightly under wraps, but remember that Whedon's penchant for complicated mythology and storylines doomed the series Firefly after 11 episodes.!
ABC!
True Beauty (Jan. 5)!
Daytime talk diva Tyra Banks and actor-producer Ashton Kutcher co-executive produce this new reality-style competition which combines their respective strengths: Banks knows the vapid sensibilities of the modelling world, while Punk'd creator Kutcher knows how to play mean tricks on the unsuspecting. Hosted by ex -Entertainment Tonight anchor Vanessa Minnillo, the format situates six attractive AMWs (Actress, Model, Whatever) and four handsome male-model types in a spectacular L.A. mansion to determine which among them is truly the most beautiful. Each week the group competes in random tests of inner beauty (how well they treat the elderly) and outer beauty (who pouts best in a photo shoot). Minnillo and two celebrity judges (Cheryl Tiegs, Nole Marin) will vote out one contestant each week, which leads to the real fun: Upon dismissal, each ejectee is forced to watch a video of themselves, captured by hidden camera, that will reveal them as shallow and selfish. The last one standing receives $100,000 and a spot on People magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People list, so expect the claws to come out.!
NBC!
The Last Templar (Jan. 25, 26)!
A rare return to the epic TV spectacular, this four-hour miniseries is a blend of The Da Vinci Code and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Oscar-winner Mira Sorvino plays Tess, an archeologist who reluctantly teams with the buttoned-down FBI agent Daley (Scott Foley) to uncover the lost secrets of the medieval-era Knights Templar. The story opens with four horseman dressed as Templar Knights storming a New York museum and stealing a priceless artifact, then shifts to Turkey and Greece before returning home to the New York subway system, apparently a favourite hangout for medieval knights. Film legend Omar Sharif guest stars as a mysterious Greek man who joins the chase.!
A&E!
The Beast (Jan. 15)!
Rumours of Patrick Swayze's demise were premature. The onetime Dirty Dancing star is in fine form in this new crime-series addition to A&E's original-drama stable. Filmed shortly after Swayze's treatment for pancreatic cancer last year, the series has the gritty tone and street feel of The Shield. Swayze is very good as the complex FBI agent Charles (The Beast) Barker, an undercover FBI agent whose specialty is adopting different identities. His new rookie partner, Ellis (Travis Fimmel) admires and respects Barker, but is greatly troubled when informed by an FBI Internal Affairs operative that The Beast is under investigation for possibly going rogue. The plotlines are standard police issue - first up, a weapons-smuggling ring - but the show works on the strength of Swayze's performance. There's no way of telling whether he's a good Beast or a bad Beast.!
AMC!
The Prisoner (debut TBA)!
Following the success of Breaking Bad and Mad Men, AMC is attempting a brash move with its third series. The first Prisoner, first broadcast in 1967, was a masterpiece of sixties psychedelia and Big Brother paranoia. The new version, co-produced with the original broadcaster ITV, stars Jim Caviezel ( The Passion of the Christ) as Number Six, a former government agent who is kidnapped and held prisoner in a strange place known as the Village. Ian McKellen is appropriately sinister as Number Two and Jericho's Lennie James plays Number 147, who, like Number Six, wants to escape the surrealist village. Like the original series, there are multiple escape attempts, and yes, the giant bubbles are back.