Canada’s CBC is the latest network to give a greenlight to unique interview format The Assembly, as the pubcaster rolled out its 2025/26 slate.
The Canadian version of the show, which began life on France 2 in 2022, will run to six parts and comes from Small Army Entertainment. In each episode, one of Canada’s most popular celebrities and public figures will face a group of 30 atypical interviewers, all on the autism spectrum.
Jann Arden, Allan Hawco, Howie Mandel, and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan will all face the music in the series, with more names to be announced.
This is the latest version of French series Les Rencontres du Papotin, which launched in 2022 on France 2 with guests including Killing Eve star Camille Cottin and President Emmanuel Macron. Further international versions have since featured the likes of Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen and Sam Neil.
Executive producers for CBC’s show are Sean De Vries and Stephen Sawchuk.
Meanwhile, Radio-Canada, the French side of Canada’s public broadcasting system, has also greenlit a new French-language adaptation of the format, Factueur A, premiering in 2025-26.
Other new unscripted shows are Locals Welcome, which is from one of the producers of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. Hosted and executive produced by food writer and expert Suresh Doss, it celebrates lesser-known food places that make up the fabric of Canada’s communities. Artifactual Media is producing the 10-part show for the fall.
Must Love Dogs is billed as a “heartwarming” series following the lives of CFL All-Star and two-time Grey Cup winner Brady Oliveira and realtor-rescue influencer Alex Blumberg, who together with the dedicated volunteers of K9 Advocacy, rescue and find forever homes for dogs in need across Manitoba.
Omnifilm Entertainment is the production house. Executive producers are Brian Hamilton, Gabriela Schonbach, Cathy Schoch, Daniel Wan, John Hall, Kayvon Saremi and Farzin Toussi, and series producer is Cheryl Binning.
Returners include Dragon’s Den, Family Feud Canada, The Great Canadian Baking Show and Still Standing.
CBC and its streamer, CBC Gem, have acquired several international shows for the new season, including Beta Film-sold Rise of the Ravens, which is an action drama about the Battle of Belgrade, the clash that ended the Ottoman Empire’s invasion of Europe; Season 2 of sitcom Colin From Accounts; and Season 2 of BBC Brink’s-Mat theft drama The Gold.
We revealed last month that CBC was renewing its key drama slate – Allegiance, Saint-Pierre, Murdoch Mysteries, Heartland, Wild Cards and Plan B. Earlier today, we brought you a first look at Saint-Pierre Season 2, which is now shooting.
On the comedy front, there are returners such as Netflix and APTN co-production North of North, Small Achievable Goals and Son of a Critch, and longer running shows such as This Hour Has 22 Minutes and Just For Laughs.
New docs include Pixcom’s four-parter Diamonds & Plastics, Cineflix Productions’ Cirque Life and Muse Entertainment and Campside Media’s Running Smoke.
“For generations, CBC has been here for Canada – woven into the very fabric of our lives, our culture and the moments that matter most – and right now, being there for Canada has never been more important,” said Barbara Williams, Executive Vice-President, CBC.
“Our new slate of storytelling across news and entertainment showcases an incredible range of people and perspectives from communities across Canada, as we deepen our commitment to connect with audiences who have not always been reflected by traditional media.”
