CBC Live Action has announced its roster of shows for 2024/25. “Our wide-ranging slate of original Canadian programming for the coming year embodies our promise to reflect more people, places and perspectives from across the country in new ways… As Canada’s storyteller, we are continuing to step up and stand apart from other media choices by serving audiences with more local coverage and stories from their own communities, across both news and entertainment.,” said CBC’s executive VP Barbara Williams.
Four of the productions selected for renewal hail from British Columbia including “Allegiance”, “Wild Cards”, “Snotty Nose Rez Kids”, and the “Bravest Knight” series.
“Allegiance” is a character-driven police procedural about identity and belonging, policing and politics, and finding truth within the heart of a flawed justice system. The drama stars Supinder Wraich as Sabrina Sohal, a star rookie police officer who must grapple with the limits of the justice system as she fights to exonerate her politician father Ajeet Sohal (played by Stephen Lobo). Sohal serves her diverse hometown of Surrey, BC alongside Vince Brambilla (played by Enrico Colantoni), a veteran training officer who sees her potential but doesn’t always agree with her forward-thinking methods. ALLEGIANCE is the story of a young woman caught between her allegiance to her flag, to her badge, and to her family.
From creator Anar Ali (TRANSPLANT), “Allegiance” features an ensemble cast led by Supinder Wraich (SORT OF), Enrico Colantoni (STATION ELEVEN), Stephen Lobo (CONTINUUM), Adolyn H. Dar (SUPERMAN & LOIS), Brian Markinson (A MILLION LITTLE THINGS), David Cubitt (VIRGIN RIVER); with showrunners Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern (FLASHPOINT, X COMPANY) at the helm.
“Wild Cards” is a crime-solving procedural with a comedic twist that follows the unlikely duo of a by-the-book, sardonic cop Cole Ellis (Giacomo Gianniotti), and a spirited, clever con woman Max Mitchell (Vanessa Morgan). They are partnered together, and each uses their unique skills to solve crimes. For Ellis, that means hard-boiled shoe leather police work; for Max, it means accents, disguises, schemes and generally befriending everyone in sight, while driving Ellis absolutely nuts. Season 1’s cliffhanger found Ellis about to arrest Max for her heist of a 33 million dollar jewel, but his feelings of betrayal are sidelined by a bombshell revelation from Max; she’s learned the identity of his brother’s murderer. Season 2 raises the stakes for our duo both in terms of the cases they’re tasked to solve in each episode and their feelings for each other.
From Blink49 Studios, Front Street Pictures and Piller/Segan in association with The CW for commissioning broadcaster CBC in Canada, WILD CARDS is created by Michael Konyves. Executive producers include Konyves, pilot director James Genn, Shawn Piller, Lloyd Segan, and writers Alexandra Zarowny and James Thorpe. “Wild Cards” is produced by Charles Cooper and Virginia Rankin. The series is overseen by Carolyn Newman, Tashi Bieler and Alix Steerman on behalf of Blink49 Studios. International distribution is handled by FIFTH SEASON.
“Snotty Nose Rez Kids” is 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. The series is inspired by the lives of best friends Quinton and Darren, who move from their remote Haisla Nation to the big city of Vancouver to chase their hip-hop dreams. Throughout a series of misadventures, they lean on their newfound community to kick-start their career as Snotty Nose Rez Kids. Created by Quinton Nyce and Darren Metz, Vance Banzo and Matt Kippen; Jennifer Podemski is the series’ showrunner, and an executive producer with Metz, Nyce, Michael Tanko Grand, Stephen Hegyes, Simon Barry, Banzo, Kippen and Bhavika Mantri; Amber-Sekowan Daniels is co-executive producer.
“The Bravest Knight” is the story of a young pumpkin farmer, named Cedric, as he attempts to become the greatest knight who ever lived. Now grown and married to the prince of his dreams, Sir Cedric recounts his fairytale adventures to his adopted daughter Nia, showing her the paths and pitfalls that await her on the way to knighthood. Accompanied by his best friend, a bridge-less troll named Grunt, Cedric’s lifelong quest to fulfill his destiny takes him through a world of witches and giants, and ends with the toughest challenge of all: teaching his daughter to do the same. From Canadian Big Bad Boo Productions, THE BRAVEST KNIGHT ranks among the first kids’ programs to feature an openly gay lead character; and features a star-studded cast including T.R. Knight (GREY’S ANATOMY), Wilson Cruz (STAR TREK DISCOVERY), Storm Reid (WRINKLE IN TIME), Wanda Sykes, Christine Baranski, Bobby Moynihan, AJ McLean ( THE BACKSTREET BOYS), RuPaul, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (KIM’S CONVENIENCE, THE MANDALORIAN) and more.
*Descriptions and images courtesy of CBC
