Global season light on Canadian content, shock waves ripple across the nation

Global season light on Canadian content, shock waves ripple across the nation

As Canwest unveiled its 2010–2011 fall season on Tuesday, a large group of Canadian actors protested the conspicuous lack of Canadian content. Of the six new shows added to Global’s prime-time lineup, only Shattered is Canadian, and it sounds like a doozy: it’s about a homicide detective with multiple personality disorder. Other new shows include Lonestar, a Texas oil drama with Jon Voight, and a reboot of the classic Hawaii Five-O.

The new season will also see the return of such stalwarts as Survivor, House and Family Guy (all American shows, incidentally). While Canadian celebs like Colin Mochrie and Eric Peterson vocalized concerns that Canadian broadcasters spend vastly more on foreign programming than Canadian, our favourite quote was this gem from actress Leah Pinsent:

“If Americans were forced to watch only Canadian programming, how do you think Americans would feel?”

• It’s Showtime [National Post]
A new Global season–but is it Canadian enough? [Globe and Mail]