TV, eh?

I don’t normally post about industry business, just programs, but since people have been asking how Canwest Global’s bankruptcy protection filing will affect those programs … here’s the news for now.

From Cassandra Szklarski of the Canadian Press:

• Canwest assures viewers, TV partners of regularly scheduled programming
  “Williams said that she and other programming managers spoke with producing partners Wednesday to assure them that series orders would proceed as planned, and that they would be paid for their work. … Big homegrown series on deck include the Global crime drama, “Copper,” set to also air south of the border on ABC, the Showcase series “Crash and Burn” and the Callum Keith Rennie vehicle, “Shattered,” also bound for Showcase.” Read more.

Via The TV Addict. Premiering in 2010:

From the Vancouver International Film Festival website:

TV TALK – Wednesday, September 30
3:30– 4:45 PM
Co-ventures in TV Land (FTV11)
Defying Gravity, Copper, Flashpoint, The Guard, and The Listener – these are a few of the Canadian-made scripted television series that have recently met with co-venture success in the US. The upside to the squeeze on production financing internationally is that US networks are looking to Canadian producers with renewed interest to carry the freight. But putting together an international TV deal is far from easy. It takes skill, talent and great timing – not just a great concept. Stop by for an in-depth session on getting a green light on scripts, budgets, cast, crew and financing on a series produced in Canada for the North American and, hopefully, world TV market.

Click here for more information and registration.

From a media release:

Canwest Announces Start of Production on Highly Anticipated Original Series – Copper

Developed by Thump Inc. and produced in partnership with leading indie studio and distributor, E1 Entertainment, Copper (working title), began production last week and will continue shooting in and around the GTA through November 2009. This one-hour, 13-episode series commissioned by Canwest and picked up by ABC Television Network during development, will be simulcast on Global and ABC Television Network later this season.

(more…)

From Gayle MacDonald of the Globe and Mail:

• Top copper
  “With just over two months to prepare, (Tassie) Cameron – who is Copper’s executive producer, head writer and show runner – had a check list a mile long. Which, among other things, included setting up a production office, pounding out scripts, hiring real police officers to impart words of wisdom to actors and nailing down an all-Canadian cast, which includes Surrey, B.C.’s Missy Peregrym (Reaper, Heroes) and Toronto’s Greg Smith (Everwood). The remainder of the cast, Cameron adds, will be announced by CanWest this week.” Read more.

From Daniel at The TV Addict:

• Exclusive: EVERWOOD’s Gregory Smith Returning to TV?
  “Although it’s not yet been confirmed, it appears Smith has joined REAPER’s Missy Pergrym in the cast of the currently-shooting pilot COPPER.” Read more.

From Nellie Andreeva of the Hollywood Reporter:

• ‘Reaper’ actress corners ‘Copper’
  “Reaper co-star Missy Peregrym has been tapped as the lead of Canadian cop drama Copper, which will air on ABC.” Read more.

From John Doyle of the Globe and Mail:

• Canadian TV writers take themselves too seriously
  “The Listener (CTV, NBC, 10 p.m.) continues. It drew more than one million viewers in Canada last week, and although it got some negative reviews in the U.S., it’s certainly worth seeing as another example of a Canadian-made show that’s been picked up by an American network. I don’t care for it at all, but to each his own. And Toronna does look gorgeous in it.” Read more.

From Katrina Onstad in the New York Times:

• Funny, You Don’t Look Canadian
  “Soon television audiences will be seeing a lot more red mailboxes, as shows created in Canada infiltrate the American broadcast networks. NBC just introduced “The Listener,” about a telepathic paramedic; ABC has picked up “Copper,” described as “Grey’s Anatomy” with rookie officers; CBS has scheduled another police procedural, “The Bridge,” as a midseason replacement next winter. All three programs are shot in Toronto.” Read more.

From in the Globe and Mail:

• Hollywood goes Toronto
  “Shooting the second half of its first season for CTV and CBS, Flashpoint is trying the same trick on the small screen. Focusing on a SWAT team that swoops into crises, its Toronto is big, urban, urgent – they’ve shot at Metro Hall, Dundas Square, Queens Quay marina, City Hall.” Read more.

The US upfronts, where networks roll out their schedules to advertisers, are a signal that Canadian networks will bring their shopping carts down to buy US shows. But there are also kernels of information about Canadian shows buried in the US scheduling news:

• Flashpoint (CTV) will return to CBS for a third season next year (reportedly summer 2010)
• Howie Do It (Global) has been cancelled by NBC
• As previously announced, The Listener begins airing June 4 on NBC, CTV, and Space
• The Bridge (CTV) will air mid-season on CBS
• No scheduling news yet on Copper (ABC/Canwest Global)

- Diane Wild

From Etan Vlessing of the Hollywood Reporter:

• Canadian dramas get Hollywood leg-up
  “Credit Los Angeles agents and distributors with the heavy lifting behind recent U.S. network deals for Canadian series like CBS’ Flashpoint and NBC’s Howie Do It.” Read more.

From CBC’s Q:

• Q: The Podcast for Wednesday, April 29th, 2009 (mp3 file – Cameron is up first)

From CBC news:

• U.S. eager to team up on Canadian shows, says TV screenwriter
  “The success of CTV’s elite police unit drama Flashpoint has whet the American appetite for co-productions with Canadian partners, according to screenwriter and producer Tassie Cameron. Like Flashpoint, CTV’s co-production with CBS, Cameron’s latest project Copper has been picked up by a U.S. network, in this case ABC. The upcoming drama follows a handful of rookie cops just starting out.” Read more.

From Michael Schneider of Variety:

• ABC picks up ‘Copper’
  “ABC has picked up 13 episodes of the cop drama Copper, a Canadian co-production from indie studio E1 Entertainment. Series reps the latest international co-prod to make its way onto the U.S. airwaves – a quickly growing trend in primetime. Copper will air in Canada on Canwest Global.” Read more.