Men With Brooms tells a new story inspired by the 2002 film. Cast members include, from left: Siobhan Murphy, William Vaughan, Joel Keller, Glenda Braganza, Anand Rajaram, Aliyah O'Brien and Brendan Gall. (CBC)

Hockey pros and skating stars, 20-somethings who hang out at a curling club and unsung heroes from across Canada will be featured on CBC-TV's prime-time lineup this fall.

The public broadcaster unveiled a slate of new and returning programs at a glitzy noon-hour event in Toronto on Thursday, with a host of famous faces — from new Battle of the Blades competitor Russ Courtnall, Men With Brooms producer Paul Gross, lifestyle guru Debbie Travis to environmental activist David Suzuki — offering a glimpse of the forthcoming offerings.

"We're going into the fall 2010 season with some of the strongest, highest-rated, most celebrated shows," Kirstine Stewart, general manager of CBC Television, said.

Stewart also touted CBC's programming as "shows that reflect [Canadians'] interests, their lives, their stories. They're set in towns and cities across our beautiful country. And they feature the great talents of Canadian writers, director, producers and actors."

Reality hits Dragons' Den and Battle of the Blades will return in the new season, with the latter matching a new batch of eight former NHLers — including Courtnall and Theo Fleury — with returning and new figure-skating stars. Skater Kurt Browning and Hockey Night in Canada host Ron MacLean return to emcee the competition.

Though he was sworn to secrecy about his participation, the Los Angeles-based Courtnall said he did consult with former L.A. King Wayne Gretzky about doing Battle of the Blades.

"He told me I had to do it, so I got the blessing of the Great One," he said.

Sitcom spins off from hit film

Actor, director, screenwriter and producer Gross was on hand to introduce the new TV adaptation of his 2002 Canadian film Men With Brooms.

'You're taking something that people have loved and have a personal connection with and it's becoming something different, so there is a responsibility there.'—Siobhan Murphy, Men with Brooms

Inspired by the original and set in the same small-town curling club, the half-hour sitcom will feature Gross as narrator and making the occasional guest appearance as local curling legend Chris Cutter. He is also one of the producers of the Paul Mather-created series.

"You're taking something that people have loved and have a personal connection with and it's becoming something different, so there is a responsibility there," actress Siobhan Murphy told CBC News.

"But because we're making it our own and it has evolved into something totally different with a new group of people, there's a freedom at the same time. You have this wonderful foundation that's been built for you and the possibility to create something new out of it is exciting and fun."

Debbie Travis, known for her lifestyle and home-renovation programs, hosts All for One. (CBC)Set to begin 10 weeks of filming in mid-June in Winnipeg, the ensemble comedy — which cast member Joel Keller described as having a "Friends element, but dysfunctional" — will chronicle the lives of seven people who are drawn together at the club.

The young cast cited a host of other sitcoms as influences and inspiration for the new show, including 30 Rock, Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, Parks and Rec, Community and even Cheers.

Coming back to CBC this fall are the comedies Rick Mercer Report, 22 Minutes and The Ron James Show, along with dramas Being Erica, Heartland and the fourth and final season of The Tudors.

Cross-country hero search

Though best known for her renovation, decor and other lifestyle programming, design expert and TV producer Travis will join the CBC schedule with All for One, a series profiling real-life unsung heroes across the country, from urban communities to rural villages.

Often, big cities suffer a blasé attitude about the idea of community or those who go "above and beyond," Travis said. But when you drill down into smaller communities, people get excited about celebrating their friends and neighbours, she said.

"Toronto is like 'whatever.' But you go to Drumheller [in Alberta] ... and it’s, 'Oh my god!' You feel like Mick Jagger," she said.

Travis, who was raised in a small, close-knit village in Britain, said she's always been interested in personal stories and real people, even from when she worked as an interior painter after first arriving in Canada and got an inside look into her client's lives at home.

David Suzuki hosts The Nature of Things, which is feting its 50th season. (CBC)"The home where you think they've got it all is the one where the husband doesn't talk to the wife," she noted.

"People are the most fascinating [thing to me]. That's why reality, when done well, is the best television because real is real."

Also returning to the sked this fall will be longstanding investigative program The Fifth Estate, Hockey Night in Canada, new seasons of late-night interview show The Hour and flagship newscast The National, documentary showcase Doc Zone and science and nature program The Nature of Things, which will celebrate its 50th season.

Canadian networks CTV, Canwest and Rogers will unveil their fall lineups next week.

With files from The Canadian Press