The Best TV Shows on CBC Television

Every CBC Television Show Ranked From Best To Worst

Among CBC Television’s finest offerings are Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans and Moment of Truth, which debuted in 1957 and 1965, respectively. Showcasing over 20 shows from 1957 up until 2021, CBC Television stands as a beacon of television excellence. Explore our list of the top rated shows up to date from July 2025 that includes over 20 unique series.

  • Wind at My Back
    Wind at My Back (1996)9.0

    A recently widowed mother loses her children to a cold mother-in-law in Ontario during the Great Depression of the 1930s.  Based loosely on the books "Never Sleep Three in a Bed" and "The Night We Stole the Mounties’ Car" by Max Braithwaite

  • This Is Wonderland
    This Is Wonderland (2004)9.0

    Alice De Raey is a newly minted attorney who joins the chaotic world of criminal justice in Toronto. She's exposed to the seamier side of life, the backroom deals that make the system work accompanied by the usual eccentric characters.

  • Anne with an E
    Anne with an E (2017)8.7

    A coming-of-age story about an outsider who, against all odds and numerous challenges, fights for love and acceptance and for her place in the world. The series centers on a young orphaned girl in the late 1890’s, who, after an abusive childhood spent in orphanages and the homes of strangers, is mistakenly sent to live with an elderly woman and her aging brother. Over time, 13-year-old Anne will transform their lives and eventually the small town in which they live with her unique spirit, fierce intellect and brilliant imagination.

  • Heartland
    Heartland (2007)8.3

    Life is hard on the Flemings' ranch in the Alberta foothills where abused or neglected horses find refuge with a kind, hard-working family. Debts abound and the bank is about to foreclose. Can they keep the ranch running?

  • Murdoch Mysteries
    Murdoch Mysteries (2008)7.7

    A Victorian-era Toronto detective uses then-cutting edge forensic techniques to solve crimes, with the assistance of a female coroner who is also struggling for recognition in the face of tradition, based on the books by Maureen Jennings.

  • Schitt's Creek
    Schitt's Creek (2015)7.7

    Formerly filthy rich video store magnate Johnny Rose, his soap star wife Moira, and their two kids, über-hipster son David and socialite daughter Alexis, suddenly find themselves broke and forced to live in Schitt's Creek, a small depressing town they once bought as a joke.

  • Intelligence
    Intelligence (2006)7.6

    Mary Spalding, the director of the Vancouver Organized Crime Unit, offers Jimmy Reardon, one of Vancouver's top organized crime bosses, immunity from prosecution in exchange for his role as a police informant.

  • Workin' Moms
    Workin' Moms (2017)7.5

    Four women juggle love, careers, and parenthood. They support, challenge, and try not to judge each other as life throws them curveballs. Whether it is an identity crisis, a huge job opportunity, postpartum depression, or an unplanned pregnancy – they face both the good and bad with grace and humour.

  • The Red Green Show
    The Red Green Show (1991)7.3

    The Red Green Show is a Canadian television comedy that aired on various channels in Canada, with its ultimate home at CBC Television, and on Public Broadcasting Service stations in the United States, from 1991 until the series finale April 7, 2006, on CBC. The Red Green Show is essentially a cross between a sitcom and a sketch comedy series, and is a parody of home improvement, do-it-yourself, fishing, and other outdoors shows.

  • Kenny vs. Spenny
    Kenny vs. Spenny (2003)7.2

    Kenny and Spenny are two best friends who compete against each other. Their competitions are ridiculous, immature and totally intense.

  • Danger Bay
    Danger Bay (1985)7.1

    Danger Bay is a Canadian television series, produced in Vancouver, with first-run episodes broadcast on CBC Television and the Disney Channel starting October 7, 1985. One hundred and twenty three installments were filmed, ending in 1989, but the series, perceived as wholesome and exciting fare for older children and adolescents, continued to be seen through the 1990s in numerous countries around the world. The plots of the episodes followed the exploits of the Roberts family, led by marine veterinarian Grant "Doc" Roberts, and his two children, Nicole and Jonah. The 30-minute episodes featured the Vancouver Aquarium in nearly every installment. Most episodes focused on environmental issues such as pollution, wildlife endangerment and forest preservation. The series was also broadcast in Gibraltar Bulgaria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Iceland, Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago, Finland

  • This Hour Has 22 Minutes
    This Hour Has 22 Minutes (1993)6.6

    This Hour Has 22 Minutes is a weekly Canadian television comedy that airs on CBC Television. Launched in 1993 during Canada's 35th general election, the show focuses on Canadian politics, combining news parody, sketch comedy and satirical editorials. Originally featuring Cathy Jones, Rick Mercer, Greg Thomey and Mary Walsh, the series featured satirical sketches of the weekly news and Canadian political events. The show's format is a mock news program, intercut with comic sketches, parody commercials and humorous interviews of public figures. The on-location segments are frequently filmed with slanted camera angles.

  • Frankie Drake Mysteries
    Frankie Drake Mysteries (2017)6.5

    Toronto’s only female private detective in the 1920s takes on the cases the police don’t want or can’t handle. From airplanes and booze running to American G-men, Communists and union busters, Frankie’s fearless sense of adventure gets her into all kinds of trouble, but she always manages to find her way out.

  • Strange Paradise
    Strange Paradise (1969)6.3

    Strange Paradise is a Canadian occult / supernatural soap opera of 195 episodes, initially launched in syndication in the United States on September 8, 1969, and later broadcast on CBC Television from October 20, 1969 to July 22, 1970. The production was the brainchild of producer Steve Krantz, in an attempt to capitalize on the phenomenal success of ABC's daytime serial Dark Shadows. To develop this series, Krantz hired actor-writer Ian Martin and veteran TV and radio producer Jerry Layton, both of who would be given screen credit for the creation of Strange Paradise. With the CBC and American broadcasters Metromedia and Kaiser Broadcasting handling distribution and co-production, the series was produced in Ottawa at CTV affiliate CJOH-TV and aired for 39 weeks, presenting three separate 13-week story arcs.

  • The Edison Twins
    The Edison Twins (1984)6.3

    The Edison Twins is a Canadian children's television program which aired on CBC Television from 1982 to 1986. The Disney Channel also picked up the rights in the mid-1980s. 6 seasons were produced by Nelvana. It starred Andrew Sabiston and Marnie McPhail as fraternal twins Tom and Annie Edison, Sunny Besen Thrasher as their mischievous little brother Paul, and Milan Cheylov as their bumbling friend Lance Howard. Brian George stars as their police officer friend Sgt. Paganee. The show focused on the adventures of the main cast as they stumbled onto one problem after another, using Tom and Annie's scientific wit to solve the situation. Each episode ends with a short animated sequence illustrating a key scientific principle demonstrated in the preceding live action story. The last name of 'Edison' is an homage to the inventor Thomas Edison. As of 2013, the show has not been released on DVD. All six seasons are available via streaming through Amazon Instant Video.

  • Pretty Hard Cases
    Pretty Hard Cases (2021)6.3

    A fun and honest portrayal of two radically different female detectives in their early 40s following Guns and Gangs detective Sam and Narcotics detective Kelly, who by day are true action heroes in their own particular way: skilled, tough, determined, and ruthless. But by night, they’re both grappling with loneliness, dysfunctional families, screwed-up love lives, and a sense that their professional ambitions may not be totally in line with their personal needs.

  • Moment of Truth
    Moment of Truth (1965)5.0

    Clinical psychologist Dr. Robert Wallace operates a private practice and teaches at the local university.

  • Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans
    Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans (1957)4.8

    Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans was set in New York's Hudson Valley during the French and Indian war in the 1750's and depicted the adventures of Hawkeye and his Indian blood brother Chingachgook, the last member of the Mohican tribe. The series based on stories by James Fenimore Cooper.

  • Life and Times
    Life and Times (1996)3.5

    Life and Times was a series of biographical documentary films broadcast by CBC Television, CBC Country Canada and CBC Newsworld. It was hosted by Ann-Marie MacDonald and first appeared in 1996, ending in 2007. The show won many awards during its run, including Gemini Awards and Leo Awards.

  • Air Farce Live
    Air Farce Live (1993)N/A

    Air Farce Live, also credited as Air Farce, previously Royal Canadian Air Farce, and Air Farce—Final Flight! for the final season, was a Canadian sketch comedy series starring the comedy troupe Royal Canadian Air Farce, that previously starred in an eponymous show on CBC Radio, from 1973 to 1997. The top-rated television show was broadcast on CBC Television, beginning in 1993 and ending in December 2008. The Air Farce Live name was adopted in October 2007. For the show's final season which began October 3, 2008, the series was renamed Air Farce—Final Flight!. The show was a weekly topical sketch comedy series focusing on political and cultural satire and was one of the most popular Canadian television shows. It was initially aired as a radio series beginning in 1973, and on radio, Air Farce continued for 24 seasons through 1997. In terms of the troupe's TV career, the first Air Farce TV special aired in 1980. A short-lived Air Farce TV series was broadcast in 1981, and further TV specials aired in 1982, 1983, and 1984. After a long hiatus from TV, a 1992 New Year's Eve special for CBC-TV was well received, and a new Air Farce TV series began in October 1993. The TV series was retitled Air Farce Live beginning with the October 6, 2007 broadcast and was the first Canadian sketch comedy series to be broadcast in HD. The show was broadcast live in the Atlantic time zone and tape delayed in the other time zones.