Rogers Media’s Citytv has picked up NBC’s new adventure series Crusoe for its fall schedule. The partly Canadian show is an adaptation of the 1917 Daniel Defoe novel about a man who leaves behind his wife for adventure on the high seas only to find himself shipwrecked. It will air Fridays at 8 p.m. on City and NBC.

Crusoe is produced by Muse Entertainment, Power and Moonlighting Crusoe Productions — an official Canada/U.K./South Africa coproduction — and is partially funded by City.

‘We are overjoyed,’ says Leslie Sole, CEO of Rogers TV Group. ‘We have worked with Incendo [the show’s Canadian distrib] in the past, and when we got together to talk about Crusoe, we knew that this series would be a perfect fit for Citytv. This is the largest project that we have ever funded.’

‘Our adventure series is adapted from one of the most widely published books in history — a hit around the world since the day it was published. We are confident that Crusoe will be a similar hit with audiences in Canada and worldwide,’ says executive producer Michael Prupas of Muse.

Meanwhile, the station group this week debuted Batter Up, a new baseball show covering everything from minor leagues to the Toronto Blue Jays, with resident sports specialist Hugh Burrill hosting.

Also on the summer schedule: American Gladiators, hosted by Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali, is back for a second season, and City will premiere season four of romantic reality series The Bachelorette on May 22.