TORONTO - More music, more female leads, and more daytime talk are on their way to CTV, the top-rated network announced Thursday as it paraded stars Debra Messing, Anderson Cooper, Christina Ricci, and the supporting cast of "The Big Bang Theory" series for media and ad buyers.

The broadcaster says it's adding 16 shows to the fall lineups of CTV and CTV Two, previously known as A Channel. They include Simon Cowell's new singing competition "The X Factor"; Messing's Broadway-themed drama "Smash," produced by Steven Spielberg; Cooper's "Donahue"-inspired chat show "Anderson"; and Ricci's '60s-era flight attendant drama "Pan Am."

The main network's new titles include the Whitney Cummings comedy "Whitney"; the crime/mystery "Unforgettable"; a reboot of "Charlie's Angels"; the fairy-tale inspired crime drama "Grimm"; and the fantasy drama "Once Upon A Time."

"Pan Am" boasts a quartet of female leads including francophone actress Karine Vanasse, who makes her major network debut after 15 years of mostly working in Quebec film.

"It's so unusual to have a French character as one of the leads," Vanasse said at a morning press conference. "It was amazing for me, it was completely unexpected."

Vanasse plays a French flight attendant who has an affair with a married man in the show opener. She says she had watched friends shoot U.S. TV pilots over the years, but never thought it was for her.

"I always thought it would be really difficult for me to get something there," says Vanasse, who got the job with her first audition for U.S. television.

"It's good to see that now it's possible.... To think that there's a place for a French girl, it's cool."

Messing's "Smash"; the gossipy dramedy "G.C.B." with Kristen Chenoweth; and Ashley Judd's "Missing" -- are slated for mid-season.

Many of those celebs attended at a splashy presentation for ad buyers Thursday afternoon in an annual tradition known as the "upfront," when broadcasters seek early ad deals for their upcoming season.

The supporting cast of "Big Bang" appeased the crowd with some local humour.

"We are really thrilled to be back in Vancou... -- in Toronto," joked Simon Helberg, who plays the hapless Howard Wolowitz on the show.

"I know you guys take that really seriously, I don't want you to throw hockey pucks at me or anything."

Added co-star Kunal Nayyar, who plays Raj: "We were here last October and we had such a good time ... I think 'Hangover 2' is based on the time we had in Toronto."

Other stars offered a hint at what was to come next fall, including reality TV star Kendra Wilkinson.

"I promise you one thing: you'll see me, and a lot of parenting, a lot of being a wife and a mother, and a whole lot more booty-shaking. Woo!" said Wilkinson, who stars on "Kendra."

Cooper took the opportunity to poke fun at her only a few minutes later.

"I actually have prepared a talk for you about what the show is, (but) unfortunately Kendra stole all my lines -- because if there is one term to describe 'Anderson,' it's 'booty-shaking,"' he teased.

"So there's going to be two booty-shaking shows on, but you're going to have to pick and choose."

Citytv announced a lineup Monday that includes Spielberg's dinosaur drama "Terra Nova," while Global detailed its slate Tuesday, including a North American adaptation of the U.K. crime series "Prime Suspect." CBC-TV is set to unveil its shows June 8.

Returning series on CTV include "The Big Bang Theory," "Grey's Anatomy," "American Idol," "Flashpoint," "The Amazing Race," "The Mentalist," "Dancing With the Stars" and "Castle."

CTV Two will feature the results episodes of "The X Factor," Lorne Michaels' new parental comedy "Up All Night," with Christina Applegate and Will Arnett; the Hank Azaria comedy "Free Agents"; the comedy "Man Up"; and the LA-set detective series "The Protector." Ashton Kutcher also joins the cast of a revamped "Two And A Half Men."

CTV series "Criminal Minds," "CSI: Miami," and "Law & Order: SVU" also move over to CTV Two.

The fresh lineups follow a year of industry consolidation and a new management regime that saw CTV taken over by phone giant BCE.

Five of CTV's top executives left the company under the shakeup, including Ivan Fecan and Susanne Boyce, who had determined the broadcaster's programming for more than a decade.

New CTV programming president Phil King, who officially took over from Boyce on April 1, says the network focused on beefing up its comedy slate and improving Tuesday numbers.

"Our Tuesdays was, frankly, outside of Saturdays, the only night we didn't win so we've really found what we think is a terrific new show called 'Unforgettable,"' says King, referring to a drama about a former detective with a flawless memory.

"And we really wanted to buy some new shows for CTV Two, formerly the A Channel. We know we had to inject some fresh blood into that."

(CP24, like CTV, is a division of Bell Media.)