CBC has commissioned a new reality competition series from marblemedia that pits contestants against mother nature.

Race Against the Tide is a 10 x 30-minute sand-sculpting competition series where world-class sculptors create works of art in New Brunswick’s Bay of Fundy before the high tide from the Atlantic Ocean comes in and washes it away. It will be hosted by This Hour Has 22 Minutes actor and comedian Shaun Majumder (pictured), while the expert judges will be announced at a later date.

The series is now in production in New Brunswick and set for broadcast on CBC in 2021. Production is working with the province’s government and public health officials, as well as Tourism New Brunswick and Worksafe NB, to adhere to local COVID-19 protocols.

Race Against the Tide is co-produced with New Brunswick-based prodco Hemmings House. Marblemedia co-founders Matt Hornburg and Mark Bishop serve as executive producers, Carly Spencer is series producer and writer, while Donna Luke is co-executive producer.

“We are thrilled to have Race Against the Tide – a premier sand sculpting competition TV series – underway, expanding the marblemedia slate of content that will appeal to worldwide audiences of all ages,” said Hornburg, in a statement. “As the highest tide in the world, we couldn’t think of a better place to produce this series than the Bay of Fundy.”

The natural setting for the series brings in roughly 160 billion tonnes of water each tide, reaching 5 metres per second at its peak speed with a range of nearly 16 times the average tide, making it an ideal location to film the competition.

Marblemedia has a produced a number of globally distributed unscripted series in the past few years, including Blown Away and Restaurants on the Edge, both picked up by Netflix. The Toronto-based prodco announced plans to expand its factual content earlier with year with a number of true crime and history-based docuseries in development.