Few Changes in CTV`s Fall 2009 Sked

CTV released their fall 2009 schedules today and it doesn’t take a “Mentalist” to figure out what the prime directive was:
Make it look like we didn’t buy any new U.S. shows for next season.
CTV, like Canwest, has bet everything that their “Save Local TV” campaign and “business model is broken” mantra will be enough to trick the CRTC into allowing them to tap into the cable companies carriage fee loot. So their usual loud and proud song and dance about how they cleaned out Hollywood and have brought all the hits home has been toned way down this season.
Hence today’s release, showing only one new imported addition to CTV’s fall schedule: The Vampire Diaries, a Warner Bros. effort starring Toronto’s Canuck and Degrassi grad Nina Dobrev. Even that barely made the sked, snuck in at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
CTV can justifiably boast that their schedule is all about “strategic stability.” They dominated the national ratings again last year, boasting 16 of Canada’s Top-20 shows.
But it’s also kinda dull, with tired titles like Cold Case and Law & Order: SVU on the downside of their runs.
What’s likely to happen is what CTV did last year: start off with all their risky new shows over on their A schedule and then slide over any new kids that break through. That’s how The Mentalist was nurtured last season.
CTV did buy a bunch of new American shows, they’re just all starting off over on A: Hank (with Kelsey Grammer as a downsized CEO), The Middle (a family comedy with Patricia Heaton), The Beautiful Life, with vacuous O.C. drone Mischa Barton and Eastwick, a witching hour, are all on Wednesday nights; the new sci-fi cop show Flash Forward is on A’s Thursday schedule.
The “Save Local TV” network also waved the flag, announcing it has picked up two Canadian comedies from their Corner Gas crew: Hiccups, from Brent Butt, stars his wife Nancy Robertson as a cranky children’s author, and Dan For Mayor stars Gas alumni Fred Ewanuick as a bartender with poilitical ambitions. Both are slated for 2010-11 and have 13-episode orders.
CTV had a few U.S. headaches to solve. Primarily, how to find room for all of Dancing with the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance Canada and America’s Next Top Model. CTV managed to find a way to simulcast the two imports by shoving the Dance Canada results into its Wednesday at 7:30 slot.
Surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly, CTV has scheduled back-to-back airings of a Canadian show that cratered last season–Degrassi: The Next Generation–Sunday nights from 7-8 next season (they`re also doing a Degrassi movie). Tossed away to make room was that much heralded Star Wars: The Clone Wars cartoon, which has found a more appropriate home on Teletoon next season.
CTV also plans to strip Degrassi reruns five nights a week on A next season. They’ve dug Whistler out of the vault and thrown it away on Saturdays where it will face off against any old crap on Global.
The future for Spectacle seems a little fuzzy; encore episodes are penciled in for Sundays at 10 on A next fall. Flashpoint remains firmly on CTV’s schedule (Fridays at 10) even as it gets benched to midseason on CBS.
The Bridge, a CTV/CBS co-production, is coming, we just don’t know when. The union cop drama is currently in production in Toronto.
Missing from today’s release was any word on a few other new U.S. shows CTV has on the shelf for mid-season, including Jerry Bruckheimer hours Miami Trauma and The Forgotten.
They’ve also picked up that creepy Oprah MD Dr. Oz, who will have his own show from 5-6 weekday afternoons.
CTV’s full schedule is below (new shows in bold, S is for simulcast):

SUNDAYS
7 p.m. DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION
7:30 p.m. DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION
8 p.m. THE AMAZING RACE (S)
9 p.m. DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (S)
10 p.m. COLD CASE (S)

MONDAYS
7 p.m. ETALK
7:30 p.m. ACCESS HOLLYWOOD (S)
8 p.m. DANCING WITH THE STARS (S)
10 p.m. CSI: MIAMI (S)

TUESDAYS
7 p.m. ETALK
7:30 p.m. ACCESS HOLLYWOOD (S)
8 p.m. SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE CANADA (Performance)
9 p.m. DANCING WITH THE STARS (S)
10 p.m. LAW AND ORDER: SVU

WEDNESDAYS
7 p.m. ETALK
7:30 p.m. SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE CANADA (Results)
8 p.m. AMERICA ’S NEXT TOP MODEL (S)
9 p.m. CRIMINAL MINDS (S)
10 p.m. CSI: NY (S)

THURSDAYS
7 p.m. THE VAMPIRE DIARIES
8 p.m. CSI
9 p.m. GREY’S ANATOMY (S)
10 p.m. THE MENTALIST (S)

FRIDAYS
7 p.m. ETALK
7:30 p.m. ACCESS HOLLYWOOD (S)
8 p.m. GHOST WHISPERER (S)
9 p.m. SOUTHLAND (S)
10 p.m. FLASHPOINT

SATURDAYS
7 p.m. W-FIVE
8 p.m. CRIME TIME (S)
9 p.m. CRIME TIME (S)
10 p.m. LAW AND ORDER: SVU (S)

Here is the A sked for fall 2009:

SUNDAYS
7 p.m. TMZ WEEKEND
8 p.m. AMERICA ’S NEXT TOP MODEL
9 p.m. LAW AND ORDER: SVU
10 p.m. SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH… (Encore)

MONDAYS
7 p.m. DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION
7:30 p.m. TMZ
8 p.m. GOSSIP GIRL (S)
9 p.m. TWO AND A HALF MEN (S)
9:30 p.m. BIG BANG THEORY (S)
10 p.m. CASTLE (S)

TUESDAYS
7 p.m. DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION
7:30 p.m. TMZ
8 p.m. MONK
9 p.m. THE BIG PICTURE

WEDNESDAYS
7 p.m. DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION
7:30 p.m. TMZ
8 p.m. HANK (S)
8:30 p.m. THE MIDDLE (S)
9 p.m. THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE (S)
10 p.m. EASTWICK (S)

THURSDAYS
7 p.m. DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION
7:30 p.m. TMZ
8 p.m. FLASH FORWARD (S)
9 p.m. FRINGE (S)
10 p.m. PRIVATE PRACTICE (S)

FRIDAYS
7 p.m. DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION
7:30 p.m. TMZ
8 p.m. LAW AND ORDER (S)
9 p.m. MEDIUM (S)
10 p.m. COMEDY NOW!
10:30 p.m. COMEDY INC.

SATURDAYS
7 p.m. ROAD TO AVONLEA
8 p.m. SATURDAY NIGHT MOVIE
10 p.m. WHISTLER