Canada is a nation of backseat drivers. Viewers nationwide can’t look away from the cringe-inducing, metal-against-concrete scraping, highway horrors and dreadful drivers that have turned Monday nights’ CANADA’S WORST DRIVER into record-breaking “must see” appointment television. The Season 5 finale of Discovery Channel’s hit original series sped past the competition to become the first Canadian specialty program (non-sports) to top one million viewers. On Mon., Dec. 14, 1,050,000 viewers tuned in to see Angelina named as Canada’s Worst Driver.
And for those unsuspecting bad drivers still plaguing Canadian roads, there’s nowhere left to hide. Just weeks after wrapping its hottest season ever, Discovery Channel announced today that it has commissioned a 6th season of CANADA’S WORST DRIVER from Proper Television. The producers will soon set their sights on a new bumper crop of road ragers, speed demons, timid left-turners and chronically distracted drivers.
“We’re delighted to announce a 6th season order for CANADA’S WORST DRIVER – we’d have millions of disappointed viewers if we didn’t!” said Paul Lewis, President and General Manager, Discovery Channel. “The fact that after five seasons, this series continues to gain traction is testament to the ingenuity of the production team and universal draw of this series.”
“After putting 40 drivers through Rehab over five seasons, I thought we’d seen it all,” said Guy O’Sullivan, Executive Producer, Proper Television. “But this last season proved that once you get behind the wheel with a new group of drivers, anything can happen! We’re excited to hit the road again and get cracking on Season 6.”
During Season 5, an average of 792,000 viewers tuned in every Monday night across the eight-episode run to watch eight dangerous drivers on the road to rehabilitation.* Additional stats from Season 5:
* The series delivered an average weekly reach of 4.1 million viewers**
* Two episodes from Season 5 rank in the Top 5 non-sports specialty programs of all time: the Episode 8 finale, with 1,050,000 viewers and Episode 5, with 911,300 viewers.***
* Only 123,000 viewers separate the finale of CANADA’S WORST DRIVER 5 from CNN’s 2008 election night coverage of Barack Obama’s U.S. Presidential victory.
Season 5 of CANADA’S WORST DRIVER is available on demand at DiscoveryChannel.ca. Season 6 will debut on Discovery Channel in late 2010.
Source: BBM Canada, P2+
* Oct 26-Dec 14, 2009,
** All airings from Oct 26-Dec 20, 2009
*** Canadian and US English Specialty programs