Ms. Vanessa Obeng reports

SHOWCASE & W NETWORK ROLL OUT WINTER 2025 PROGRAMMING LINEUP OF STANDOUT NEW SERIES AND RETURNING FAVOURITES

Corus Entertainment Inc.'s top 10 specialty networks this fall, Showcase and W Network, released today their winter lineup of new and returning series, including the return of comedy series Based on a True Story starring Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina, new drama series Lockerbie: A Search for Truth starring Academy Award-, BAFTA-, Golden Globe- and SAG Award-winning actor Colin Firth and Fallen, from Silver Reel and Night Train Media, plus the previously announced thrilling series Teacup starring Canadian actor Scott Speedman. In addition, W Network is greeting season 3 of Hallmark Channel's critically acclaimed drama The Way Home. All series are available to stream on StackTV.

W Network

Kicking off the W Network 2025 schedule is the return of Funny Woman with season 2 on Thursday, Jan. 2, at 10 p.m. ET/PT. In the first season, Barbara (Gemma Arterton) from Blackpool realized her dream and became TV comedy star Sophie Straw. The second season finds Sophie on a high. She is the nation's favourite TV comedy star; she has got a group of good friends and her romance with Dennis (Arsher Ali) is full of promise. But trouble is just round the corner: Dennis's divorce will take three years; Sophie's new sitcom flops and she uncovers a devastating family secret. Sophie escapes the turmoil by taking a leading role in a film opposite a glamorous French movie heartthrob. The film is a hit and Sophie's slick new United States agent offers her a fresh start in Hollywood. But Sophie returns to London, determined to get the gang back together and to create a new show which reflects her real life and challenges outdated cultural conventions.

Critically acclaimed series The Way Home, a top performer for W Network last spring, returns on Sunday, Jan. 5, at 9 p.m. ET/PT, picking up where season 2 left off. Starring Andie MacDowell, Chyler Leigh, Evan Williams and Sadie Laflamme-Snow Star, this season sees Kat (Leigh) and her brother Jacob (Spencer Macpherson), who went missing more than two decades ago at the age of eight and is now an adult, poised to walk into the Landry home to an unsuspecting Del (MacDowell). Viewers will be introduced to a groovy new era when the pond transports Kat and Alice to 1974 -- the year Del and Colton (Jefferson Brown) first met as teens and their epic love story began. Alice is befriended by a young, spritely Evelyn Goodwin (Devin Cecchetto) but their budding friendship complicates Alice's life in the present. Meanwhile, Kat attempts to close the door on the 1800s after making startling discoveries. In the present day she and Elliot (Williams) navigate a new chapter in their relationship, while he finds himself faced with his own complicated past.

A top 10 specialty entertainment program, the highly anticipated Canadian premiere of Based on a True Story season 2 debuts on Monday, Jan. 27, at 9 p.m. ET/PT, following Ava (Kaley Cuoco) and Nathan Bartlett (Chris Messina) as they navigate the first three months of parenthood. Focused on taking care of her family, Ava is determined to resist her true crime obsession and return to work as a real estate agent while Nathan trains private tennis clients. But a series of new murders pulls her back in -- is Matt (Tom Bateman) behind the slayings? Is Tory (Liana Liberato), now entangled in a relationship with Matt, in danger? For a while, life is good -- Ava's TikTok habit and her new friend Drew (Melissa Fumero) provide a welcome distraction, and Nathan's all in on reigniting his tennis career as well as his friendship with Matt until danger comes knocking, literally. Plus, fans of the show and subscribers to StackTV can enjoy early access to season 2, with the first episode dropping a week early on Jan. 20.

Plus, Chesapeake Shores returns to W Network with season 6 on Sunday, Jan. 5, at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

Showcase

On Showcase, the previously announced adrenalized thriller series Teacup premieres with a two-episode debut on Monday, Dec. 30, at 9 p.m. ET and following the premiere, new episodes will air weekly. Teacup follows a disparate group of people in rural Georgia who must come together in the face of a mysterious threat in order to survive. Inspired by the New York Times-bestselling novel Stinger by Robert McCammon. Teacup stars Canadian actor Scott Speedman, Yvonne Strahovski, Chaske Spencer, Kathy Baker, Boris McGiver, Caleb Dolden, Emilie Bierre and Luciano Leroux. Subscribers to StackTV can enjoy early access the new series with the first episode dropping a week early on Dec. 23.

The new dramatic series Lockerbie: A Search for Truth premieres Tuesday, Jan. 7, at 9 p.m. ET. On Dec. 21, 1988, 259 passengers and crew were killed when Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie 38 minutes after takeoff, with a further 11 residents losing their life as the plane came down over the quiet, Scottish town. In the wake of the disaster and his daughter's death, Dr. Jim Swire (Colin Firth), is nominated spokesperson for the U.K. victims' families, who have united to demand truth and justice. Travelling across continents and political divides, Jim embarks on a relentless journey that not only jeopardizes his stability, family and life, but completely overturns his trust in the justice system. As the truth shifts under Jim's feet, his view of the world is left forever changed. Exploring events from the disaster and its aftermath, Lockerbie: A Search for Truth provides an intimate account of a man, a husband and a father who risks everything in memory of his daughter and the unflinching pursuit of truth and justice.

Following closely, the new series The Darkness premieres on Tuesday, Jan. 7, at 10 p.m. ET. Based on the bestselling thriller series by Ragnar Jonasson, The Darkness follows detective inspector Hulda Hermannsdottir (Academy Award-nominee Lena Olin) as she investigates a shocking murder case whilst coming to terms with her own personal traumas. Facing early retirement and forced to take on a new partner (Jack Bannon), she is determined to find the killer, even if it means putting her own life in danger. Directed by two-time Oscar-nominee Lasse Hallstrom, The Darkness is a co-production from CBS Studios & Icelandic production company Truenorth and executive producers Stampede Ventures for local Icelandic broadcaster Siminn with Paramount Global Content Distribution as distributor.

From Matt Hastings, the producer of Shadowhunters and The Originals, is the series premiere of Fallen on Wednesday, Jan. 8, at 9 p.m. ET. Fallen is a new grounded fantasy series from about Luce (Jessica Alexander), a young woman whose actions will prove vital to the balance of good and evil. Luce has lived multiple lives and is destined each time to die as soon as she falls in love. Live, love, die, repeat. Luce has no idea of the power she wields, nor of who she is. Luce is the Angel of Love, fallen from the heavens and now facing her last life. And there are forces who wish to force her to turn away from love and control the crucial choice she must make.

Then season 7 of the hit series All American, starring Michael Evans Behling, Greta Onieogou and Bre-Z, premieres Wednesday, Feb. 5, at 10 p.m. ET.

Showcase and W Network can be streamed via StackTV, available on Amazon Prime Video channels, Bell Fibe TV app, Fubo, Rogers Ignite TV and Ignite Streaming. The network is also available through all major TV distributors, including: Shaw, Shaw Direct, Rogers, Bell, Videotron, Telus, Cogeco, Eastlink and SaskTel.

About Corus Entertainment Inc.

Corus is a leading media and content company that develops and delivers high-quality brands and content across platforms for audiences around the world. Engaging audiences since 1999, the company's portfolio of multimedia offerings encompass 32 specialty television services, 35 radio stations, 15 conventional television stations, digital and streaming platforms, and social digital agency and media services. Corus's roster of premium brands includes Global Television, W Network, Flavour Network and Home Network (launching soon), The History Channel, Showcase, Adult Swim, National Geographic, and Global News, along with streaming platforms StackTV, Teletoon+, the Global TV app and Curiouscast. Corus is also the domestic advertising representative and an original content partner for Pluto TV, a Paramount company, which is the leading free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) service. Corus is an internationally renowned content creator, producer and distributor through Corus Studios and Nelvana.

About StackTV

StackTV is Corus Entertainment's premium multichannel television streaming service that offers thousands of hours of exclusive hit content from 16 of Canada's top TV networks, all on one platform. All series, movies and specials that air on Global Television, Flavour Network and Home Network (launching soon), W Network, The HISTORY Channel, Adult Swim, Slice, Showcase, National Geographic, Lifetime, Cartoon Network, Treehouse, YTV, Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney Junior are available to stream on StackTV live and on demand with new content added daily. StackTV is available via Amazon Prime Video channels, Bell Fibe TV app, Fubo, Rogers Xfinity TV and Rogers Xfinity Streaming.