Blue Ant Media on Wednesday announced its 2026-27 original programming slate, which includes six new series and documentaries spanning history, paranormal, space, pets and wildlife genres, as well as a two-season renewal for Mysteries from Above.
Commissioned from a diverse range of established Canadian producers, the new titles will roll out across Blue Ant’s portfolio of Canadian specialty networks, including Smithsonian Channel, Cottage Life, T+E and BBC Earth in 2026-2027, followed by its global streaming channels.
Sam Linton, Blue Ant’s vice president of production and development for global media, is overseeing the slate’s rollout, and Blue Ant Rights oversees licensing opportunities for multiple titles in the slate outside of commissioning territories. Kelly Payne, vice president of business strategy and operations, original programming, global media, is representing Blue Ant’s Canadian networks at Prime Time in Ottawa, where Blue Ant announced its 2026-27 programming on Wednesday.
“We’re continuing our momentum as a public company with a slate of homegrown, globally relevant originals that spotlight Canadian creatives shaping what audiences watch next,” Craig Junner, senior vice president of programming and content strategy for global channels and streaming at Blue Ant Media, said in a statement. “Blue Ant’s integrated model brings local stories to platforms around the world, first by premiering in Canada on our specialty TV networks, then by rolling out across our own global streaming platforms in addition to international sales to global partners through our distribution arm, Blue Ant Rights.”
Blue Ant’s 2026-27 slate includes three new history titles for Smithsonian Channel in Canada. History Unsolved: The Investigations Files (10 episodes x 60 minutes), produced by Blue Ant Studios and scheduled to premiere in winter 2026, follows a team of historians and criminologists as they tackle some of the past’s most enduring mysteries. “From the legendary curse of King Tutankhamun to the truth behind the Mona Lisa heist, each episode presents three cases that play out like real-time forensic investigations, filled with twists, intrigue, and unexpected revelations,” reads a series description.
Debuting on Smithsonian Channel in summer 2026, Angkor: Hidden Jungle Empire is a new one-hour documentary from Winnipeg-based Zoot Pictures that uses archaeological evidence, expert analysis and historical insights to investigate what happened to the extraordinary civilization of Angkor, which was once home to Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument on Earth, and for 600 years served as the seat of kings and a remarkable achievement of urban engineering before being mysteriously abandoned and reclaimed by the jungle.
Also coming to Smithsonian Channel is Season 6 of Hitler’s Last Stand (eight episodes x 60 minutes), with Blue Ant coming on board to commission the latest installment of this long-running series. Produced by Vancouver-based Omnifilm Entertainment in association with Surrey-based Parallax Film Productions, the new season is scheduled to premiere in spring 2027.
All of the three new titles for Smithsonian Channel will roll out on Blue Ant’s streaming channel Declassified following their linear broadcast premieres.
Paranormal Nation: Guardians (six episodes x 60 minutes) is a new Blue Ant Media and APTN co-production, which is set to debut on T+E in fall 2027 during the channel’s nationwide free preview, followed by its streaming premiere on HauntTV. Produced by Aurora North Media in partnership with Great Pacific Media, this documentary series follows a Syilx spirit warrior, a Cree psychic medium, and a Navajo medicine man as they confront spiritual disturbances in Indigenous communities and other notorious haunted sites across western Canada, acting as spiritual protectors tasked with restoring and maintaining balance between the living and the dead.
Debuting in summer 2026 on BBC Earth, followed by Declassified, Cosmic Vistas (eight episodes x 60 minutes) is an all-new reboot building on the original series’ consistent ratings performance, Blue Ant said. “The reboot features the most diverse team of passionate space experts ever assembled, bringing clarity and insight to the abstracts of space science in a way that resonates on a human level,” reads a synopsis. Produced by Blue Ant Studios, each episode of the series “dives into three extraordinary stories of achievements in the race to better understand space, using stunning new imagery to transport viewers across the cosmos.”
The new one-hour documentary Pet Search and Rescue will premiere in spring 2027 on Cottage Life during the channel’s nationwide free preview, followed by its streaming debut on Love Pets. Produced by Vancouver-based Fireworks Media Group, this heartwarming documentary follows a family-run team led by real-life pet detective Parker Mills as they search for missing pets, capturing the emotional urgency of families desperate for answers.
Finally, Mysteries from Above has been renewed for Season 5 (10 episodes x 60 minutes) and Season 6 (eight episodes x 60 minutes), which are scheduled to premiere on Cottage Life in fall 2026 and spring 2027, respectively, followed by streaming premieres on Declassified. This hit franchise series sets out to investigate significant historic and contemporary sites from above using drones, satellites and aerial photography “to uncover long-forgotten secrets, solve earth-bound enigmas and explore bizarre natural phenomena”, Blue Ant said.
All of the new programming announced by Blue Ant Media on Wednesday, with the exception of Angkor: Hidden Jungle Empire, are produced with the financial participation of the Canada Media Fund.
Photos from (clockwise from top left) Cosmic Vistas, Hitler’s Last Stand (Season 6), Paranormal Nation: Guardians, and Pet Search and Rescue courtesy of Blue Ant Media
