Orphan Black return blocked from AMC in Canada

Turns out the only place Canadians will be able to catch the Season 3 debut of Orphan Black will be on Space. Bell Media, which owns the specialty channel, announced Monday afternoon that fans would not be able to tune in to AMC for their clone fix on April 18.

“Space is the exclusive Canadian broadcaster for its original series Orphan Black,” confirmed Scott Henderson, vice-president of communications for Bell Media. “As a result, Orphan Black will not air on AMC in Canada.”

It makes sense for Bell Media to make the move; it means their broadcast and ratings aren’t watered down by viewers tuning to another channel.

The news comes days after AMC Networks announced BBC America’s flagship show would be broadcast across four other networks in the U.S.—AMC, Sundance TV, IFC and We TV—in a bid to capture as many viewers as possible. AMC broadcasts in Canada, allowing viewers north of the border access to series like The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul and Halt and Catch Fire.

AMC will air a repeat episode of Mad Men in that timeslot.

“Orphan Black is a truly outstanding original series that has attracted consistent and widespread critical acclaim as well as a considerable, growing following from viewers,” AMC Networks CEO Ed Carroll told Variety at the time. “AMC Networks is a channel group known for high-quality storytelling and creating a premiere television event for Orphan Black is a perfect opportunity to use our programming assets to help extend the reach of this quality series.”

As previously revealed by Space, the third instalment of Orphan Black begins with Sarah (Tatiana Maslany) fighting to locate Helena while a threat from Castor (Ari Millen) looms. Orphan Black is nominated for a total of 13 Canadian Screen Awards, including nods for co-stars Maslany and Jordan Gavaris.

Orphan Black returns Saturday, April 18, at 9 p.m. ET on Space.

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