Corus Entertainment’s CMT (Canada) is kicking off summer with a live broadcast of the CMT Music Awards in Nashville on Wednesday, June 5. Starting at 7 p.m., CMT will get up close and personal with country’s hottest stars as they walk the red carpet. At 8 p.m. the Awards begin with hosts Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars, House of Lies) and country music artist Jason Aldean.
Then on Friday, June 14, viewers can look forward to the anticipated Canadian premiere of Swamp Pawn, featuring a colourful cast of characters from Bayou Pigeon, Louisiana and owner of Phillips Swamp Seafood as the main focus of the series. Also on the menu for the summer, CMT has two new, original food reality series starring Canadian Country star Jason McCoy in Jason McCoy Eats America and comedian Cris Nannarone in Burger Wars, Taco Wars and Pizza Wars.
Tim McGraw fans will be treated to a night of programming that includes a performance, celebrity interview and the CMT premiere of Country Strong on Saturday, July 26. Rounding out the schedule is the return of popular series including America’s Funniest Home Videos, My Big Redneck Vacation and Bayou Billionaires.
SPECIAL EVENTS
CMT MUSIC AWARDS and RED CARPET SHOW
Premieres: Wednesday June 5, Red Carpet show at 7 p.m. ET/PT and Awards at 8 p.m. ET
Live from Nashville, the fan-voted awards show honouring the best videos and achievements in country music will feature star-studded performances from musical acts including Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Jason Aldean, Hunter Hayes, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Pistol Annies.
LADY ANTEBELLUM: ONE 2 ONE
Premieres: Friday, June 7 at 6 p.m. ET
An intimate in-studio performance with Lady Antebellum, followed by a one-on-one interview with CMT’s own Paul McGuire.
BLUE COLLAR COMEDY TOUR MOVIES
Premieres: Friday, June 14 and Saturday, June 15 at 7:30 p.m. ET
Renowned comedians Jeff Foxworthy and Bill Engvall and fellow Blue Collar comics Ron White and Larry The Cable Guy are reunited in a stage experience to perform their hilarious live stand-up routine. Viewers get a chance to see their down-home humour up close and personal from the best seat in house in these two concert movies.
TIM MCGRAW DAY/COUNTRY STRONG
Premieres: Saturday, July 15 (schedule below)
Spend a day with Tim McGraw on CMT. At 11 a.m. ET the channel will air a Tim McGraw spotlight. Then at 8 p.m. an entire Tim McGraw evening begins with the premiere of Tim McGraw Live at the Cannery Ballroom, followed by the CMT premiere of Country Strong at 9 p.m. ET At 11:30 p.m. ET, viewers will have a chance to see Tim share candid anecdotes and information about himself and his career during Naked: Tim McGraw.
NEW SERIES
SWAMP PAWN
Premieres: Fridays at 10 p.m. ET beginning June 14
Not your typical pawnshop, Phillips Swamp Seafood buys and sells anything the bayou serves up — including alligators, turtles, bullfrogs and crawfish. Watch as “swampers” make their living fishin’, huntin’ and hagglin’ in Bayou Pigeon, Louisiana. Swamp Pawn follows Rick Phillips who runs the pawnshop and the neighbouring characters in this tiny, self-sustaining community deep in the heart of the bayou.
JASON MCCOY EATS AMERICA
Premieres: Mondays at 7 p.m. ET beginning July 8
Premiering with two back-to-back episodes, this new food reality series follows Country music superstar Jason McCoy on the road and off the beaten track, in a quest to experience a unique and inspiring American adventure. He uncovers the food, people and places that rarely found in tourist guides. Each episode is a celebration of stories, life and values in the southern states. Some highlights include a five-pound cupcake in Arkansas, Kentucky’s famous Louisville Slugger Factory, an alligator mission in the Louisiana bayou and the Alabama memorial honouring the first monkey to successfully return from outer space.
BURGER WARS, TACO WARS and PIZZA WARS
Premieres: Burger Wars Mondays at 7 p.m. ET beginning August 12, Taco Wars at 7 p.m. ET beginning September 9 and Pizza Wars beginning October 14.
CMT’s new food competition reality show is a three-in-one series, rolling out with a new favourite food in August, September and October. Comedian Cris Nannarone hosts this quest to discover the best burgers, tacos and pizza across North America. Scouring five-star restaurants, diners, food trucks and everything in between, Nannarone will get up close and personal with three chefs in each episode to learn the secrets of their specialties. He’ll also meet with a cast of colourful locals on the street to get their opinions and insights. The three contender chefs will go up against each other in a taste-test showdown. With stops like Los Angeles, Toronto, Chicago, Vancouver, Toronto, Tucson and Las Vegas, this battle for favourite food supremacy will hit major food cities across North America.
CONTINUING SERIES
BAYOU BILLIONAIRES – Season 2 Premiere
Premieres: Saturdays at 10 p.m. ET beginning June 15
The beloved Dowden family of Shreveport, Louisiana is back for a second season of Bayou Billionaires. This season, the family led by Gerald and Kitten, whose home sits on the fourth largest deposit of natural gas in the United States, are even more over the top, planning exotic trips and embracing life and their newfound riches as only they know how. This all-new, 12-episode season kicks off with a special one-hour premiere and new half-hour episodes will premiere back-to-back each Saturday. On July 20, three back-to-back episodes will lead into the finale.
MY BIG REDNECK VACATION – Season 2 Premiere
Premieres: Saturdays at 10 p.m. ET beginning August 3
The Clampets are gearing up for another family vacation, this time trading in the ritzy Hamptons vacation home for fish and chips and a fancy British estate, when the Clampets head to England for season two of My Big Redneck Vacation. Funnyman Tom Arnold also returns to host the second season, giving his two cents on how the Clampets are adapting to their new lifestyle full of butlers, aristocrats and all things foreign. Throughout the season, southern hospitality and unabashed American pride are guaranteed to clash with the traditional, formal ways of the English as the family interacts with locals and their very own wait staff. Whether it’s traveling to destinations including Scotland, where they hunt for the Loch Ness Monster, heading over to Paris for a romantic weekend or hosting their own Redneck Summer Games, the Clampets are ready to represent the South and show the United Kingdom how to party.
