News: TV Land Canada to become Comedy Gold

I mentioned the Canadian version of TV Land in my piece about travel + escape earlier this month.  Well, CTVglobemedia has done something about TV Land.  Starting August 2, 2010, TV Land will be rebranded Comedy Gold.

Comedy Gold will focus on sitcoms from the 1970s to the 1990s…which somehow includes SCTV.  Don’t ask me to figure that one out.  Comedy Gold’s inaugural lineup also includes The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The Bob Newhart Show, Newhart, Murphy Brown and Night Court.

I can understand TV Land Canada’s rebranding to Comedy Gold.  Originally a Craig Media entity, TV Land Canada was absorbed by both CHUM Limited and CTVglobemedia.  It serves little purpose as part of the CTVgm stable, considering it’s a digital cable channel set up to air reruns.  Why license the TV Land name from MTV Networks?  It’s easier and cheaper to refit the channel as a Comedy Network spinoff.

Fitting Canadian content onto this channel is going to be tough.  Canada has shit all in the way of “classic sitcoms.”  There’s King of Kensington, The Newsroom and…what, exactly?  Hangin’ In?  Twitch City?  Maniac Mansion?  Flappers?!

I hope Comedy Gold includes a few Canadian sketch comedy shows.  You Can’t Do That on Television and Whatever Turns You On deserve a reairing.  Kids in the Hall and CODCO haven’t been on The Comedy Network in a while.  I also hope Comedy Gold airs the 30/90/45-minute SCTVs in full, instead of the thirty-minute cutdowns TCN strip-aired to death back in the late 1990s-early 2000s.

Comedy Gold could be good if CTVglobemedia gives the channel some attention.  The channel could be The Comedy Network’s non-trashy little brother.  Having said that, I expect Royal Canadian Air Farce reruns within a year.

C. Archer
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