ITV Studios inks four-title scripted deal with CBC in Canada

ITV News

6 days ago

ITV Studios today announces a series of significant sales to CBC across its world-class drama slate. Picked up by Canada's national public broadcaster for exclusive Canadian premieres on the free CBC Gem streaming service are Optics, Four Years Later, the second series of Showtrial and the final series of hit comedy Brassic. The deal was brokered by Craig Bohland, VP Sales, Canada, ITV Studios and Jenna Bourdeau, Senior Director, Acquisitions, at CBC. Optics and Showtrial will launch on CBC Gem in Canada this fall, Brassic in 2026, and Four Years Later is available now.
'CBC is always looking for top-tier series to further build CBC Gem's library of acclaimed international titles, and these strong comedies and dramas from ITV Studios offer audiences in Canada a range of memorable characters and engaging storytelling that they can't find anywhere else,' said Jenna Bourdeau, Senior Director, Acquisitions, CBC.
Katie Buchanan, EVP Sales, Americas at ITV Studios, said, 'These four titles exemplify the breadth and ambition of ITV Studios' scripted offering - bold, compelling stories with broad international appeal. CBC is a broadcaster that truly values premium content and is the perfect home for this collection. We're excited for Canadian audiences to discover these standout titles.'
Optics (6 x 30 Easy Tiger and Chaser Digital) follows two whip-smart 20-something women (Jenna Owen and Vic Zerbst) who are unexpectedly promoted to run crisis management PR firm Fritz & Randell, after the death of office patriarch Frank Fritz. As they battle weekly public relations crises from celebrities, sports stars and corporate titans, and power challenges from veteran PR flack Ian Randell (Charles Firth), they slowly come to realise that their firm might have a scandal brewing of its own, and start to wonder: have they been set up to fail?
Four Years Later (8 x 30, Easy Tiger Productions) stars award-winning actress Shahana Goswami (Bombay Begums, A Suitable Boy) and Akshay Ajit Singh (24: India), as Sridevi and Yash, who have to endure four years apart right after their wedding when Yash lands a medical traineeship in Australia.
The intoxicating romantic drama from the makers of Colin From Accounts and The Twelve. follows Yash and Sridevi's turbulent time apart and their reconnection - two timelines, two worlds, using both English and Hindi languages - through dual perspectives, explores the changing nature of love, intimacy and belonging as you change within yourself.
Showtrial (5 x 60, World Productions) is an anthology legal drama, in which each series tells a new story of a criminal case that grips the media and divides the nation.
In the second series, high-profile climate activist Marcus Calderwood is left for dead in a violent hit and run, he uses his dying moments to identify his killer - a serving policeman. But who is this unnamed 'Officer X'? What does his own history reveal about the nature of trauma and revenge, and was Marcus's death a careless accident or cold-blooded murder?
Having acquired the previous six seasons of BAFTA-nominated hit comedy series Brassic, CBC has ordered the seventh and final series (6 x 30, Calamity Films). The unruly gang led by Joe Gilgun's Vinnie and Michelle Keegan's Erin Croft go out with a bang, with even more of the madness and mayhem that fans have cherished over the years.
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Notes to editors
ITV Studios is a creator, producer and distributor of world-leading programmes that people can't get enough of. We connect millions of people every day and shape and reflect the world they live in.
ITV Studios is home to some of the best creative minds, crafting around 7,500 hours of original programming across 60 production labels. Our global footprint spans 13 countries including the UK, US, Australia, France, Germany, The Nordics, Italy and the Netherlands and our global distribution business sells our catalogue of 95,000+ hours to broadcasters and platforms around the world.
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