Throng

CTV locked up Wednesday night with Marg Helgenberger’s departure from perennial favourite CSI, which pulled in 3.11 million viewers last night at 10 p.m., the series’ highest audience since January 2009.

For the day, CSI was #1 with total viewers and all key demos, attracting million plus audiences among A25-54 (1.22 million) and A18-49 (1.2 million) and becoming the most-watched program of the week.

Overall, it was a killer Wednesday for CTV as the network delivered the Top 3 most-watched programs of the day, winning each hour of primetime (8-11 p.m.) both nationally and in Toronto in total viewers and all key demos.

At 8 p.m., AMERICAN IDOL won its timeslot with 2.31 million viewers, up 24% with A18-34 and +10% with A18-49 from last week. For the day, AMERICAN IDOL was #2 with A18-34 after CSI.

Reunion Pictures today announced that production is underway on Continuum, an original one hour drama-action series about a policewoman from 2077 who travels back in time and teams with a present day cop to track down escaped convicts from her future.

Continuum is slated to premiere in Canada on Shaw Media’s specialty channel, Showcase in spring 2012.

Citytv has licensed the exclusive Canadian broadcast rights to Katie Couric's upcoming daytime talk show Katie from Disney-ABC Domestic Television.

The one-hour, live daily show from the award-winning journalist, best-selling author and popular television personality will premiere on Citytv in September 2012.

Katie is the latest Citytv licensed show from Disney-ABC, a partnership which also includes the hit prime time series Revenge, Happy Endings, Body of Proof, and Private Practice and daytime talk show, The Chew. Citytv is also the Canadian home of upcoming Disney-ABC series Scandal and the new daytime program, The Revolution. 

Corus Entertainment's W Network announces two additional companies who will be sending their bosses to the frontlines on its new series from Alliance Films, Undercover Boss Canada.

Canada's largest fitness company, GoodLife Fitness (Jane Riddell, COO) and resort and destination community innovators, Skyline International Development (Michael Sneyd, CEO) join the series which follows 10 executives as they leave the comfort of their offices to go undercover in their own companies.

Produced in association with W Network, Undercover Boss Canada premieres Thursday, February 2 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

This Spring, HBO Canada, a multiplex channel of Astral 's The Movie Network (Eastern Canada) and Corus Entertainment's Movie Central (Western Canada) brings subscribers even more of the highest quality programming available on premium television with all-new series, films, documentaries and returning favourites from HBO.

All programming will debut day-and-date with HBO in the US, and subscribers will have access in High Definition, on demand and online. HBO Canada's Spring 2012 programming line-up includes:

Monday, Jan. 30

RAMSIN KHACHI: Marilyn’s design build contractor showcases the best of “As Seen on TV” infomercial products for the home.

KELLEY KEEHN: The personal finance expert, media personality, and author gives viewers the basics on understanding credit scores including, how to check one’s financial number and how to change it.

FAMILY DINNER MONTH (Week 4): Marilyn’s resident chef, ROGER MOOKING (host of EVERYDAY EXOTIC) cooks up a Pad Thai inspired stir fry as part of the show’s “Family Dinner Month” series, featuring meal ideas for $15 or less.

Food Network Canada and Temple Street Productions announced today that the powerhouse competitive reality series Recipe to Riches is returning for a second season and diving into a cross-Canada search for the best recipe from a Canadian home cook.  

The original Food Network series offers Canadians with exceptional recipes a once-in-a-lifetime shot at having their recipe developed into a President’s Choice® product and a chance to ultimately win the grand prize of $250,000.  

The national casting call for Recipe to Riches begins today with information available at recipetoriches.ca.

In each episode of Recipe to Riches, three home cooks compete in one of seven food categories ranging from appetizers and snacks to entrées and desserts.  

Covering five continents and 22 cities, Canada’s most-watched competition series last fall, THE AMAZING RACE, returns with eleven new teams plunging into a whirlwind global adventure!

Finishing the year as Canada's #1 reality series and #3 show overall last fall with total viewers, THE AMAZING RACE averaged 2.58 million viewers.

THE AMAZING RACE premieres Sunday, Feb. 19 at 8 p.m. ET on CTV (visit CTV.ca to confirm local broadcast times). New episodes of THE AMAZING RACE are also available on demand the day following their television broadcast on the CTV Video Player at CTV.ca.

In a continuing effort to provide viewers with the most comprehensive coverage possible, Global Winnipeg is pleased to announce the launch of The Morning News, its breakfast news program.

Featuring the return of much-loved newscaster Eva Kovacs as Anchor, The Morning News will provide Winnipeggers with all the news they need to start their day, along with a first-hand look at traffic patterns from the city’s only television news helicopter. The Morning News launches February 6 from 6-9am. 

“The Morning News will provide viewers with the most detailed and up-to-date news program possible,” says Troy Reeb, Vice-President, Global News. “We are pleased to both welcome back Eva, who is well-known to Winnipeg viewers, and showcase a team whose commitment to quality journalism and to the community is unparalleled.”

CTV marks the second annual Bell Let’s Talk Day (@Bell_LetsTalk) with the primetime premiere of a new original documentary about sports and depression.

Premiering on Bell Let’s Talk Day, Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. ET on CTV, DARKNESS AND HOPE: DEPRESSION, SPORTS AND ME, features TSN Broadcaster and OFF THE RECORD host Michael Landsberg (@heylandsberg) as he guides viewers on the journey from depression to recovery and hope in the context of the world of sports.

Sports heroes including Olympian and Bell Let’s Talk Day spokesperson Clara Hughes, hockey’s Stéphane Richer, and baseball’s Darryl Strawberry reveal intimate details of a struggle familiar to millions of Canadians. It’s the first of many programming initiatives from Bell Media in support of Bell Let’s Talk Day.

HGTV Canada’s expert judging panel of Mike Holmes (Holmes on Homes, Holmes Inspection), Bryan Baeumler (Leave It To Bryan, Disaster DIY), Scott McGillivray (Income Property) and host Jillian Harris (The Bachelorette, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition) have scoured the country to find Canada’s best handymen and women.  

After hundreds of auditions they have found the top 12 competitors who will move on to the next round of competition in next week’s episode of Canada’s Handyman Challenge, airing on Tuesday January 31 at 10pm ET/PT on HGTV Canada.

“Coming in to this show I was so excited to see the projects and the talent across Canada,” says Jillian Harris, host of Canada’s Handyman Challenge. “I was blown away by these top 12 competitors – not only do they have the skills to compete but they have amazing creativity too.”

Kiefer Sutherland features in the all new series Touch, tonight on Global.

Oprah Winfrey's new primetime series Oprah's Next Chapter (Sundays, 9 p.m. ET) will expand to air Sundays and Mondays through February on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network (Canada).

The series, which features Oprah as she steps outside of the studio for riveting, enlightening and in-depth conversations with newsmakers, celebrities, thought leaders and real-life families, will expand to air part two of her in-depth interviews starting Monday, January 30 at 10 p.m. ET on OWN.

Below is the upcoming schedule:

Sunday, January 29 (9 p.m. ET) – Sean Penn in Haiti

Monday, January 30 (10 p.m. ET) – Hope in Haiti

The buzz is building, the news is spreading, and now CTV gives viewers a front row seat to the hottest ticket in town. CTV announced today the curtain rises on an exclusive advance digital screening of the first full episode of SMASH on Super Bowl weekend, beginning Friday, Feb. 3 at 6 a.m. ET until Sunday, Feb. 5 at 12 midnight PT.

The advance digital screening will be heavily promoted during one of the most strongly-viewed weekends of the broadcast year, allowing mass sampling of SMASH on the eve of the series’ television premiere.

When the curtain comes down on the advance screening, viewers can then enjoy SMASH’s official opening night Monday, Feb. 6 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CTV and Friday, Feb. 10 at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo!.

Prince Harry joins four soldiers severely wounded in the conflict in Afghanistan on an ambitious charity trek to the North Pole.

HARRY’S ARCTIC HEROES – premiering Saturday, Feb. 25 at 8 and 9 p.m. ET/9 and 10 p.m. PT on Discovery World HD – captures the courage, tenacity and adventure of remarkable young men on an epic expedition.

This two-part special highlights the journey towards physical and psychological recovery in support for Walking with the Wounded – a charity to raise money for fellow service men and women returning injured from the front line.

With no back-up vehicles or doctors, the team has to pull sledges with all of the equipment and supplies required for the expedition over some of the toughest terrain in the world.