Global Television Unveils 2012/13 Primetime Lineup

Captivating New Dramas and Biting New Comedies With All-Star Casts Join the Network's Fall Schedule

Headlining the Primetime Roster are Much Anticipated New Series Elementary, Vegas, Last Resort, Chicago Fire and Go On

Returning Hit Shows Include Bomb Girls, Bones, Glee, Hawaii Five-0, NCIS, NCIS: LA, Survivor, Rounding Out the Country's Strongest Lineup

Attention Editors: For Complete Program Information, Photos and Primetime Grid, Please Visit: www.shawmediatv.ca

To tweet this release: http://glbl.tv/KCJ1vs

TORONTO, May 30, 2012 /CNW/ - In an exclusive presentation at Toronto's Trump International Hotel this morning, Shaw Media will announce Global's impressive 2012/13 Primetime Schedule. 

"Building upon the huge success of our returning programs, Global has integrated an exciting slate of new dramas and comedies to create a fall schedule that we are extremely proud of, and one we know viewers will thoroughly enjoy," said Barbara Williams, Senior Vice President, Content, Shaw Media. "We have an abundance of intriguing characters and compelling storylines brought to life by a stellar lineup of actors including Dennis Quaid, Matthew Perry and Lucy Liu - a combination that will help establish these new programs as perennial favourites." 

Elementary kicks off the list of the network's buzz-worthy additions. The drama is a clever modern-day series about Detective Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller, Dexter) and Dr. Joan Watson (Lucy Liu, Charlie's Angels) as a crime solving duo who crack the NYPD's most impossible cases. Following his fall from grace in London and a stint in rehab, eccentric Sherlock escapes to Manhattan where he is forced to live with his worst nightmare - a sober companion, Dr. Watson. A successful surgeon until she lost her license, Watson views her current job as another opportunity to help people as well as pay a penance. When Holmes resumes his work as a police consultant in New York City he soon finds Watson's medical background helpful while Watson realizes she has a knack for playing investigator - together they become an unstoppable team.

Next is the gritty new drama, Vegas, starring Hollywood heavy hitters Dennis Quaid (The Day After Tomorrow) and Michael Chiklis (The Shield) - a series inspired by the true story of former Las Vegas Sheriff, Ralph Lamb. A fourth generation rancher tasked with bringing order to Las Vegas in the 1960s, Lamb (Quaid) wants to be left in peace to run his ranch, but Las Vegas is starting to intrude. Recalling Lamb's command as a military police officer during WWII, the Mayor appeals to Lamb's sense of duty and asks him to look into a murder of a casino worker. So begins Lamb's clash with Vincent Savino (Chiklis), a ruthless Chicago gangster intent on interfering in Lamb's quest for peace.

Moving on from the intense desert heat to the high temperatures of an inner city firehouse, the action-driven drama Chicago Fire tells the story of everyday heroes of Chicago Firehouse 51. Big reputations and hefty egos, coupled with the pressure to perform, are bound to put squad members at odds. When a tragedy claims one of their own, there's plenty of guilt and blame to go around. But the complex men and women of the Chicago Fire Department understand one thing - when it's "go-time," they put aside their differences and put everything on the line to save those in distress. Starring Jesse Spencer (House M.D.) and Taylor Kinney (The Vampire Diaries).

Things don't get any cooler 500 feet beneath the ocean's surface in the new series from executive producer/writer Shawn Ryan (The Shield, The Unit) and starring Canadian Scott Speedman (Underworld). Last Resort is a thrilling tale of the U.S. Ballistic Missile Submarine Colorado and what happens when the crew is forced to abandon their vessel for an exotic, tropical island. There they will find refuge, romance and a chance at a new life, as they try to clear their names and return home. Last Resort is a dramatic new international action-thriller about treachery, treason, and nuclear brinksmanship. 

Then it's back to order in the court with Made in Jersey. The drama centres on Martina Garretti (Janet Montgomery, Black Swan), a young, working class woman who uses her street smarts to compete among her Manhattan colleagues at a prestigious law firm in New York. Martina finds her firm's cutthroat landscape challenging, but what she lacks in an Ivy League education, she more than makes up for with tenacity and blue collar insight. Founder Donovan Stark (Kyle MacLachlan, Desperate Housewives) takes note of Martina's ingenuity and resourcefulness to the dismay of her Upper East Side colleague, Natalie (Stephanie March, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit). With the support of her big Italian family, Martina is able to stay true to her roots in a new and intimidating environment. 

Comedy rounds out Global's primetime schedule on Wednesday nights with Go On, a new half-hour series starring TV favourite Matthew Perry (Friends) who returns to Global as Ryan King. This is a series about a recently widowed sportscaster whose boss forces him to enter group counselling before coming back to the office. Ryan reluctantly joins a support group with one goal in mind: get in, get out and get back on the air as quickly as possible. Although Ryan's total lack of interest in healing makes waves, it could just be what the group needs - and maybe, exactly what Ryan needs to move on with his life. 

The laughs continue on Wednesday with Guys with Kids, a 30-minute comedy executive produced by Jimmy Fallon (Late Night with Jimmy Fallon) following three thirty-something dads trying to hold on to their youth, while holding onto their new babies' hands. Thankfully Chris (Jesse Bradford, The West Wing), Nick (Zach Cregger, Friends with Benefits) and Gary (Anthony Anderson, Law & Order) have each other to help navigate their survival as new dads, while still trying desperately to remain dudes. Balancing work or staying at home, painfully married or happily divorced, they know that taking care of the little ones while maintaining a social life is a daily challenge.

Global is proud to offer a wealth of new and returning Canadian original programming on the schedule this fall. Award-winning newsmagazine series 16x9 will move into a primetime slot on Friday nights while Saturday evenings gain a new documentary series, Close Up. Close Up is a series of one-off POV documentaries that chronicle the extraordinary and unusual world outside our door - remarkable people on the outskirts of what is deemed normal, hidden worlds, personal obsessions and unique subcultures. Also on the originals slate is the much anticipated 2012 Canada's Walk of Fame Awards which will be broadcast this fall from Toronto's historic Elgin Theatre. The annual star-studded gala event will feature top tier talents being honoured by their colleagues with inspirational performances and heartfelt words. A list of inductees will be announced in the coming weeks. Reality series Recipe to Riches is back with a new crop of Canadian home cooks competing to have their original recipes become a President's Choice product. Finally, Bomb Girls, the drama profiling the Canadian women who risked everything to build bombs for the Allied forces fighting on the European front, returns with all-new episodes in 2013. Shot on location in Toronto, Bomb Girls stars Meg Tilly (Caprica), Jodi Balfour (Supernatural), Charlotte Hegele (Murdoch Mysteries) and Ali Liebert (Health Nutz).

Outside the primetime lineup, new daytime offerings include The Jeff Probst Show, a one-hour talk show lead by the Survivor host that will cover topics ranging from relationships to newsmakers of the day. The Ricki Lake Show, a daytime series that delves into topics that interest the modern-day woman will also join the Global schedule. Ricki is not an expert, nor a doctor, therapist or a super homemaker - she's a working mom trying to figure life out, and inviting her audience along for the ride. 

Global viewers will see many of their favourites returning this fall including Bones, Family Guy, Glee, Hawaii Five-0, The Good Wife, NCIS, NCIS: LA, The Office, The Simpsons, Touch and Survivor.

GLOBAL'S FALL 2012 PRIMETIME DAY-AT-A-GLANCE
(All times ET and subject to change. New programs bolded and in CAPS)

Midseason additions to the schedule include Save Me, a new comedy about a woman (Anne Heche, Hung) who has a spiritual transformation after her marriage goes bad; The Job, a new show from reality masters Michael Davies (Who Wants to Be a Millionaire) and Mark Burnett (Survivor) where contestants get the chance to win their dream job by acing a series of test.

Viewers can watch their favourite shows this fall on their Global Video App, available from the App Store on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, or on demand through cable and satellite providers across the country.

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Global Television is a Shaw Media network. 

About Shaw Communications Inc. 

Shaw Communications Inc. is a diversified communications and media company, providing consumers with broadband cable television, High-Speed Internet, Home Phone, telecommunications services (through Shaw Business), satellite direct-to-home services (through Shaw Direct) and engaging programming content (through Shaw Media). Shaw serves 3.4 million customers, through a reliable and extensive fibre network. Shaw Media operates one of the largest conventional television networks in Canada, Global Television, and 19 specialty networks including HGTV Canada, Food Network Canada, History Television and Showcase. Shaw is traded on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges and is included in the S&P/TSX 60 Index (Symbol: TSX - SJR.B, NYSE - SJR). For more information about Shaw, please visit www.shaw.ca. 

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