CBC’s breakout sitcom Little Mosque on the Prairie will begin airing in France and other French-speaking regions in Europe and Africa this July, following a distribution deal with French broadcaster Canal+.

Canal+ will air the first season (8 x 30) of the show, from creator Zarqa Nawaz and Toronto-based WestWind Pictures, with an option to acquire future seasons. Other terms of the deal were not disclosed.

‘Little Mosque on the Prairie‘s international success is a testament to the quality of Canadian talent and how it is embraced around the world,’ said CBC head of programming Kirstine Layfield in a release.

Mosque, which follows the goings-on of a Muslim community in fictional Mercy, SK, became an instant hit on CBC when it premiered on Jan. 9 with two million viewers, subsequently averaging one million viewers per episode. It is currently in production on season two. Canal+ has brought shows such as 24, Desperate Housewives and The Simpsons into French-speaking markets.

Meanwhile, CBC has commissioned the 10 x 60 documentary series The Week the Women Went, from Vancouver-based Paperny Films, based on a BBC3 format in which men are forced to cope in a community when all the women are removed for seven days.

No airdate has been set for the series, which is ‘in the early stages of development,’ according to a CBC spokesperson.

The Ceeb is also looking to revive its game-interview TV show Front Page Challenge, which ran from 1957 to 1995 and challenged panelists to identify a mystery newsmaker. News-making guests on the show included Pierre Trudeau, Sir Edmund Hillary and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Also in the works is a version of the popular BBC documentary series Who Do You Think You Are? , in which participants go on a journey to trace their family tree.

The CBC says it will release details on these and other titles when it launches its 2007/08 season on May 29.