W Network goes heavy with homegrown for winter

The winter schedule for Corus Entertainment’s W Network is filled with original series that include Majumder Manor, with Canuck comedian Shaun Majumder, and spin-offs of popular series like Love It or List It Vancouver and Buying & Selling with the Property Brothers.

“W Networks original series continue to generate impressive ratings for the network in Canada and we are also pleased to see that these programs and our engaging talent are gaining popularity and recognition internationally as well,” said Corus VP and head of TV programming and production John MacDonald in a statement.

The schedule, unveiled last week, is heavy on homegrown star power, with Jillian Harris and Drew and Jonathan Scott toplining new home-buying and selling spin-off series.

“This winter marks our biggest slate of original series to date – featuring new talent, returning favourites and spin-offs of our most successful franchises. This winter’s offering is one of our strongest yet, due in no small part to the stars of W Network and the ongoing collaboration with our Canadian production partners,” said Corus VP original programming for lifestyle, reality and factual entertainment Vibika Bianchi in her own statement.

Majumder Manor

New to the schedule is Majumder Manor on Mondays at 7  p.m. (beginning Jan. 7). The series features comedian Shaun Majumder as he plans to build a five-star eco-friendly lodge in his hometown of Burlington, Newfoundland. St. John’s based Take the Shot Productions is producing, in association with W.

Also on Monday, spin-off series Love It or List It Vancouver will air at 10 p.m. (starting Jan. 7).

The series, produced by Big Coat Productions, sees former Bachelorette star and designer Harris go head-to-head with realtor Todd Talbot as homeowners decide whether to stay in their renovated homes or buy new ones.

Buying & Selling with the Property Brothers will air on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. (starting Jan. 8). The new one-hour series sees the Scott brothers working with homeowners to find their dream homes while upgrading and selling their current homes.

The series will be promoted in part with Property Brothers BroCam, original web content that will be posted on YouTube, Facebook and WNetwork.com.

W Network last month announced the launch of the behind-the-scenes one-to-two minute webisodes as part of a strategy to push the Property Brothers brand.

Moving from the home to the heart, Proper Television is producing new series Come Date With Me, which will air Wednesdays at 10 p.m. (starting Feb. 20).

The series, based on the format from ITV Studios, mixes the cooking and competition elements of Come Dine With me by adding romance as four eligible bachelors compete for the heart of one woman, or vice versa.

The series will premiere as a sneak peek on Saturday Feb. 9 at 1p .m.

Returning to the schedule with new episodes are Big Coat Productions’ Love It Or List It (Monday at 10 p.m. starting in April); Cineflix (Mom & Dad) Inc.’s My House, Your Money (Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. starting Jan. 8); Fusion Television’s Candice Tells All (Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. starting Jan. 9) and the second season of Undercover Boss Canada (Thursday at 9 p.m. starting Jan. 17), produced by Alliance Films and based on the format from Studio Lambert, part of the ALL3MEDIA group of companies.

The network is capitalizing on the schedule’s homegrown talent with a winter campaign that will launch in early January.

The network’s in-house team undertook a stylized video production shoot of the new and returning series stars, to be featured on-air and on video boards in Yonge-Dundas square in downtown Toronto.

W Network will additionally promote the winter 2013 series across social media, including supporting the Undercover Boss Canada second season companies on Facebook.