CBC has fully lifted the curtain on its fall programming schedule, announcing the premiere dates of all its new and returning shows.

The pubcaster’s fall slate will officially kick off Aug. 23 with the premiere of The Great British Baking Show (Wednesdays, 8 p.m.). The seventh season of the U.K. pick-up will be followed by the Canadian version on Nov. 1 in the same time slot.

In September, British family drama The Durrells will premiere Sept. 13 (Wednesdays, 9 p.m.) and run for six weeks before Top of the Lake: China Girl (for which CBC has the exclusive Canadian broadcast rights) takes the slot on Oct. 25.

As previously announced, Halfire Entertainment’s Alias Grace, the miniseries based on Margaret Atwood’s sci-fi novel of the same name, will premiere Sept. 25 and air for six weeks before Shaftesbury’s Frankie Drake Mysteries takes over the time slot on Nov. 6. The 11-part, hour-long series follows a female private detective played by Lauren Lee Smith (pictured).

Factual series The Stats of Life, which is produced by Frantic Films and features data from Statistics Canada presented in a graphic-driven format aimed to entertain and educate, will premiere Nov. 24 and air Friday nights at 8:30 p.m.

The upcoming WAM Media-produced true crime series, The Detectives, which was previously announced as a fall series, will move to the winter schedule, a CBC spokesperson confirmed. The eight-part hour-long series features detectives detailing the story of a real case in Canada that had a lasting impact on Canadian society.

When the CBC announced its fall programming earlier this year, programming GM Sally Catto said a conscious effort had been made to add new dramas to the mix in order to balance out the various new comedies that joined the lineup in 2016. While previous dramas such as Shoot the Messenger and The Romeo Section were not renewed for new seasons, Catto says incoming series such as Frankie Drake, The Detectives and this summer’s 21 Thunder “have the potential to turn into longer-running dramas.”

Returning series include:

• The Goods (premieres Sept. 18, airing Monday through Friday at 2 p.m.)
• Coronation Street (fall premiere Sept. 18, airing Monday through Friday at 7:30 p.m.)
• Murdoch Mysteries (premieres Sept. 25, airs Mondays at 8 p.m.)
• Rick Mercer Report(premieres Sept. 26, airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m.)
• This Hour Has 22 Minutes (premieres Sept. 26, airs Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m.)
• Kim’s Convenience (premieres Sept. 26, airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m.)
• Mr. D. (premieres Sept. 26, airs Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m.)
• Dragons’ Den (premieres Sept. 28 and moves to a new night and time slot on Thursdays at 8 p.m.)
• Marketplace (premieres Sept. 15, airs Fridays at 8 p.m.)
• The Investigators with Diana Swain (premieres Sept. 15, airs Fridays at 8:30 p.m.)
• Interrupt This Program (premieres Oct. 13, airs Fridays at 8:30 p.m.)
• The Fifth Estate (premieres Sept. 15, airs Fridays at 9 p.m.)
• Exhibitionists (premieres Sept. 23, airs Saturday mornings at 12:30 a.m. and Sundays at 3:30 p.m.)
• Heartland (premieres Sept. 24, airs Sundays at 7 p.m.)
• The Nature of Things (premieres Sept. 24 and moves to a new night and time slot on Sundays at 8 p.m.)
• CBC Docs: POV (formerly Firsthand; premieres Sept. 24 and moves to a new night and time slot on Sundays at 9 p.m.).

Also returning is The National, which will launch with a new format and four new hosts on Nov. 6. The more digitally focused version of nightly newscast will air nightly at 10 p.m.

CBC will also begin its pre-Olympics coverage package, Road to the Olympic Games, beginning Oct. 21 at 4 p.m. and airing at various daytime spots on Saturdays and Sundays. Hockey Night in Canada and Wonderful World of Disney will continue on Saturdays and Sundays, respectively.

From Media in Canada