The Best TV Shows on CBC Television

Every CBC Television Show Ranked From Best To Worst

Premiering in 1965 and 1976, Moment of Truth and Second City Television are among CBC Television’s most celebrated shows. CBC Television has delivered an expansive roster of over 20 shows, dating from 1965 all the way to 2019. Discover the best of CBC Television with our list of over 20 series, meticulously updated for May 2025.

  • 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.

  • Kim's Convenience
    Kim's Convenience (2016)7.7

    The funny, heartfelt story of The Kims, a Korean-Canadian family, running a convenience store in downtown Toronto. Mr. and Mrs. Kim ('Appa' and 'Umma') immigrated to Toronto in the '80s to set up shop near Regent Park and had two kids, Jung and Janet who are now young adults. However, when Jung was 16, he and Appa had a major falling out involving a physical fight, stolen money and Jung leaving home. Father and son have been estranged since.

  • Second City Television
    Second City Television (1976)7.4

    Second City Television is a Canadian television sketch comedy show offshoot from Toronto's Second City troupe that ran between 1976 and 1984.

  • Rick Mercer Report
    Rick Mercer Report (2004)7.3

    A weekly helping of topical satire, funny takes on the week's top stories and Canada-wide adventures.

  • The Red Green Show
    The Red Green Show (1991)7.2

    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.

  • Made in Canada
    Made in Canada (1998)7.0

    Made in Canada is a Canadian television situation comedy which aired on CBC Television from 1998 to 2003. Rick Mercer co-created the program and starred as mercenary TV producer Richard Strong. In the United States, France, Australia and Latin America, the show was syndicated as The Industry. It was produced using a single camera setup.

  • Republic of Doyle
    Republic of Doyle (2010)6.9

    Jake Doyle and his ex-cop father, Malachy, run a Newfoundland detective agency. Their rugged seaside town never lacks for intriguing cases, and the Doyles don't always land on the right side of the law.

  • The Fifth Estate
    The Fifth Estate (1976)6.8

    Each week the fifth estate brings in-depth investigations that matter to Canadians – delivering a dazzling parade of political leaders, controversial characters and ordinary people whose lives were touched by triumph or tragedy.

  • Little Mosque on the Prairie
    Little Mosque on the Prairie (2007)6.7

    The series focuses on the Muslim community in the fictional prairie town of Mercy, Saskatchewan (population 14,000).

  • 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.

  • Rolie Polie Olie
    Rolie Polie Olie (1998)6.6

    Rolie Polie Olie was a children's television series produced by Nelvana, distributed by Disney, and created by William Joyce, Maggie Swanson, and Anne Wood. The show centers on a little roly pollie who is composed of several spheres and other three-dimensional geometric shapes. The show was one of the earliest series that was fully animated in CGI, and the first CGI animated preschool series.Rolie Polie Olie now airs in reruns on Disney Junior. Rolie Polie Olie won a Gemini Award in Canada for "Best Animated Program" in 1999. The show also won a Daytime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Special Class Animated Program" in 2000 and 2005. William Joyce won a 1999 Daytime Emmy for Best Production Design for this series. The show has a vintage atmosphere reminiscent of the 1950s and early 1960s, with futuristic elements.

  • Dragons' Den
    Dragons' Den (2006)5.7

    Canadian version of the reality show in which budding entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to a panel of venture capitalists in the hopes of securing business financing.

  • Da Vinci's Inquest
    Da Vinci's Inquest (1998)5.6

    Da Vinci's Inquest is a Canadian dramatic television series that aired on CBC Television from 1998 to 2005. While never a ratings blockbuster, seven seasons of thirteen episodes each were filmed for a total of ninety-one episodes. The show, set and filmed in Vancouver, stars Nicholas Campbell as Dominic Da Vinci, once an undercover officer for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, but now a crusading coroner who seeks justice in the cases he investigates. The cast also includes Gwynyth Walsh as Da Vinci's ex-wife and chief pathologist Patricia Da Vinci, Donnelly Rhodes as detective Leo Shannon, and Ian Tracey as detective Mick Leary.

  • Family Feud Canada
    Family Feud Canada (2019)5.6

    We asked 100 game show-loving Canadians: Name the only iconic TV show featuring two Canadian families competing to guess popular answers to fun survey questions. Top answer on the board? Survey says...get ready for Family Feud Canada!

  • Moment of Truth
    Moment of Truth (1965)5.0

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

  • 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.