CBC unveils Keeping Canada Safe

The eight-part series, produced by Force Four Entertainment, was filmed over 48 hours and involved 60 camera crews.

CBC has added another project to its Canada 150 programming roster in the form of eight-part docuseries Keeping Canada Safe, produced by Force Four Entertainment.

The half-hour series, which will premiere on Thursday, March 16 at 9 p.m., was filmed over the course of 48 hours in September. The show saw 60 camera crews, stationed across 34 Canadian cities, capturing the day-to-day lives of the country’s police, firefighters, airport security, Canadian Forces, CSIS agents and more.

The series is based on a format originally used by U.K. broadcaster ITV. Previously Force Four also produced Keeping Canada Alive, also based on the U.K. format. The documentary, filmed over 24 hours in Canada’s hospitals, aired on CBC in 2015.

Keeping Canada Safe will premiere with back-to-back episodes on March 16, before switching to single-episode airings for the duration of its run.

The docuseries is one of a broad roster that CBC has commissioned for its Canada 150 slate. Among the other titles produced are Train 150 (DHX Media), We Are Canada (White Pine Pictures), Canada: A People’s History (Galafilm Productions), Canada: The Story of Us (Bristow Global Media) and Becoming Canadian (Antica Pictures, eOne).

Last month, eOne, which acquired Force Four in 2014, announced it is amalgamating Force Four with Paperny Entertainment. The process is aimed at unifying eOne’s Canadian unscripted TV business, said a statement released at the time of the announcement.