“The Assembly,” Cirque du Soleil docuseries among new unscripted titles on CBC’s 2025-26 slate

By Andrew Tracy, Realscreen

Canadian pubcaster CBC is bringing the first Canadian edition of a buzzy international format to its schedule as part of its original unscripted offerings for 2025/26.

Premiering this fall, The Assembly (6 x 30 min.) will see a number of well-known Canadian celebrities and public figures taking part in a one-on-30 live interview with a group of neurodivergent amateur journalists, with no questions off the table. Confirmed guests for the Canadian adaptation include singer Jann Arden; comedian and Got Talent presenter Howie Mandel; actor, writer and producer Allan Hawco, co-creator of the CBC detective series Republic of Doyle; and actress Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (pictured top), star of the Netflix comedy series Never Have I Ever.

Vancouver-based Small Army Entertainment is handling production for the local version of the format, which was a Realscreen MIPCOM Pick in 2024. CBC’s French-language counterpart, Radio-Canada, has also greenlit a corresponding French version of the series, to be titled Facteur A, that will premiere in 2025-26.

Also premiering this fall is the previously announced Locals Welcome (10 x 30 min., Artifactual Media), a format created by one of the producers of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown that accompanies food writer and expert Suresh Doss as he seeks out the culinary gems hiding in plain sight within Canadian communities.

Rounding out the new titles on the factual series slate is Must Love Dogs (10 x 26 min.), which follows Canadian Football League star Brady Oliveira and his partner, realtor and animal rescue influencer Alex Blumberg (pictured left), as they work with the dedicated volunteers of K9 Advocacy to rescue and find forever homes for dogs in need across Manitoba, before the province’s famously brutal winter sets in.

Must Love Dogs is produced by Omnifilm Entertainment, with Cheryl Binning serving as series producer. Executive producers are Brian Hamilton, Gabriela Schonbach, Cathy Schoch, Daniel Wan, John Hall, Kayvon Saremi and Farzin Toussi. The series will premiere on CBC in 2026.

The pubcaster has also added a trio of new docuseries to its upcoming unscripted slate.

Premiering in the fall, Diamonds & Plastic (4 x 60 min.) profiles Montreal-based Maria Meriano, one of the top Tupperware product sellers on the planet, as she strives to keep her business empire alive — and sustain her thousands-strong community of fiercely loyal sales consultants, the “Diamonds” — while the iconic brand faces down bankruptcy. The series is produced by Pixcom, with Nathalie Bibeau serving as director, Alexandra Cliche-Rivard as producer, and Nicola Merola and Charles Lafortune as executive producers.

Slated for winter 2026, Cirque Life (5 x 60 min., pictured right) from Cineflix Productions offers an inside look at Quebec’s legendary Cirque du Soleil troupe as they return to their home base of Montreal for a summer season under the big top performing their smash-hit show Luzia. The series is executive produced by Tanya Blake and J.C. Mills for Cineflix, and Richard Lowell and Susan Levison for Cirque du Soleil. Cineflix Rights is handling international distribution.

Finally, arriving in 2026 is Running Smoke (3 x 60 min.), which tells the story of Derek White, a Mohawk from Kahnawake who became the first Indigenous driver to compete in NASCAR’s premier Sprint Cup Series. His dream came crashing down less than a year later, however, when he was arrested for cross-border tobacco smuggling, a long-standing legal and political flashpoint between Canada’s First Nations and the federal government. Indefinitely suspended from NASCAR and facing charges of smuggling and defrauding the government, White is faced with the choice of taking a plea deal, or fighting the charges, and the Constitution, to stand up for his people’s rights.

Running Smoke is produced by Muse Entertainment in association with Campside Media. The director is Alexandra Lazarowich, who also serves as a producer along with Chad Charlie, Kaniehtiio Horn, Michael Kronish, Jonas Prupas and Joe Tuck.