Canada’s Global is gearing up for the launch of Private Eyes West Coast and the return of detective duo Shade and Angie.
Unveiled last year, the Piller/Segan spin-off of light crime drama Private Eyes has been gaining traction, with The CW acquiring the ten-parter in April. “It is a dynamite franchise,” Jennifer Abrams, Corus Entertainment‘s Senior Vice President, Content and Marketing told Deadline ahead of the broadcaster’s upfront today.
The show, which sees Jason Priestley and Cindy Sampson reprising their roles as Matt Shade and Angie Everett, moves the action to Canada’s west coast. Shade and Angie move west for an quieter life, only for that be shaken by a murder.
“This is a fresh new chapter for this franchise,” said Abrams. “We’ve done some terrific original dramas at Global, and Private Eyes ran for five years so successfully. It continues to do hugely well across all of our platforms and it’s been sold all over the world.
“It really was the time to bring this beloved duo back. The franchise has a built-in audience, and because it continues to do well on all these platforms, it is exactly the franchise extension we were looking for. Some shows earn the right to come back, and the audience genuinely misses these characters, so we’re giving them a whole new playground in West Coast with a beautiful backdrop.”
Abrams teased that there would be “the same chemistry” with “bigger mysteries and bigger adventures, and a beautiful family story arc that continues through the series. We’re really excited to bring it back.”
Global is confident that the show has already been renewed for a second season and Abrams said it was envisaged to return multiple times. The original Private Eyes, which was based on a novel of the same name by GB Joyce, ran for five seasons.
West Coast has been handed a 9.30pm ET time slot on Global’s fall grid.
New pick ups
At the Global upfront, held today in Canada, a batch of U.S. pick ups, including Einstein, Cupertino and Eternally Yours, was unveiled. Global has also taken NCIS: New York, and has the likes of Ghosts, 9-1-1 and CIA all returning thanks to deals the broadcaster’s parent, Corus, has with major U.S. studios.
The U.S. acquisitions were confirmed following the LA Screenings. “We loved seeing the number of renewals for consistent, strong performers,” said Abrams. “That’s really paying off.”
Abrams praised the scope of shows at the LA Screenings, a sentiment Deadline has heard echoed by several international acquisitions executives. “We saw a lot more pilots than we’ve seen in years, so that alone made this year’s Screenings exciting, and it was cool to see that overall there is more confidence in premium scripted series and bigger swings across the networks,” she added.
Other highlights of Global’s 2026/27 season will see morning series The Morning Show expanded with the launch of TMS2, with Morgan Hoffman at the helm, as announced yesterday.
Corus has hit rocky financial footing in the past year, and just last week announced it had agreed with lenders an amendment to its credit facility giving access to liqudity. This came after the courts approved a recapitalization plan in March.
Abrams didn’t comment directly on the financing situation, but said: “From where I sit with the programming and the marketing piece, I’m incredibly optimistic. We have leading brands, great content, growing streaming assets and underneath all of that, more importantly, a very talented team.
Global had 13 of C anada’s top 20 most-watched series this past spring, with most of its content now also delivered on streamers StackTV and the Global TV App.
“We’re thrilled to be building on real momentum,” said Abrams. “We’re not trying to be number one, we are number one. We have more top twenty shows than any other broadcaster. The 2026/27 season will only help build on that momentum.”
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