TV, eh?

From Bill Harris of Sun Media:

• Get caught on Guard
  “The introduction page at Canadian actor Steve Bacic’s official website features the following description: ‘Killer. Lover. Father. Husband. Criminal. Hero. Human. Bug. Vampire. Soldier. Civilian. Past. Future. Serious. Funny.’” Read more.

From a media release:

“The Guard” - Global Television’s Hit Original Series Returns to Primetime

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29 - 10PM ET/PT

• ROGER CROSS (”24″) AND GEMINI NOMINEE SONYA SOLOMAA (”DURHAM COUNTY”) JOIN HIGH CALIBRE ENSEMBLE CAST
• CANADIAN DRAMA SERIES NOW SOLD IN OVER 30 TERRITORIES AND COUNTING

Following its impressive debut as the number one new Original drama series of last Spring*, Global’s The Guard makes its highly anticipated return to primetime with an all-new instalment of 15 episodes.
 
Premiering October 29 - 10pm ET/PT, The Guard completes the network’s already robust Wednesday night line-up of fan favourites Bones (8pm) and NCIS (9pm).

(more…)

From C21 Media:

• The Guard patrols global beat
  “Networks in Latin America, South Africa, Finland and Belgium have acquired Canadian drama series The Guard, ahead of season two’s debut in Canada later this month.” Read more.

From the Winnipeg Free Press:

• Dragons’ Den (Sept. 29, CBC)
• The Border (Sept. 29, CBC)
• The Rick Mercer Report (Sept. 30, CBC)
• The Tudors (Sept. 30, CBC)
• Little Mosque on the Prairie (Oct. 1, CBC)
• Sophie (Oct. 1, CBC)
• Heartland (Oct. 5, CBC)
• Corner Gas (Oct. 6, CTV)
• The Guard (Oct. 29, Global)

From a media release:

The Guard returns to Global with its second season on Wednesday, October 29 - 10pm ET/PT. The water-rescue drama resonated with fans earlier this year making it the No. 1 New Canadian Original drama during its spring run**, and it’s the first of many original productions soon to make their own waves within the television landscape.

** Source: BBM-NMR Meter Data, Adults 18-49 (Sep 10/07-May 25/08)

From a media release:

Canwest Announces Original Production Slate for 2008-2009

Global Television, E! & Specialty Channels Debut All-New Offerings:

THE LAST TEMPLAR, HOWIE DO IT, XIII,
INSTANT BEAUTY PAGEANT, PRODUCING PARKER,
CHEF ABROAD, OUTLAW BIKERS,
MAKE IT RIGHT: NEW ORLEANS, THE FOUNDATION, BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE

- AND –

Returning Hit Series Include:
THE GUARD, ‘DA KINK IN MY HAIR, THE BEST YEARS,
THE RE-INVENTORS, KENNY VS. SPENNY, SARAH’S HOUSE AND PROJECT RUNWAY CANADA

Canwest announced details of its original production slate today at their annual Fall Launch Presentation to advertisers and industry in Toronto.

In addition to unveiling an impressive roster of returning original programming across conventional and specialty networks, Canwest proudly revealed its line-up of new Canadian Original series for the 2008-2009 season, including a total of three NBC simulcasts: romantic adventure-drama, THE LAST TEMPLAR starring Oscar® winner Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite) and Canadian Victor Garber (Alias); comedy HOWIE DO IT starring comedian Howie Mandel (Deal or No Deal); and political thriller, XIII starring Stephen Dorff (Blade) and Val Kilmer (Wonderland, The Doors).  (more…)

From a media release (I’m including Canadian series only):

Key returning 2008 Canadian highlights include the #1 new drama series* THE GUARD; and #1 new Canadian comedy series ’DA KINK IN MY HAIR. (BBM-NMR National Meter Data, Adults 18-49, Sept 10/07-May 25/08)

GLOBAL PRIMETIME 2008 – DAY-AT-A-GLANCE
All times EST. SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

Wednesday
10pm The Guard (Season 2)

Saturday
7pm Global Currents (Season 3)
10pm Renagadepress.com
10:30pm Renagadepress.com

MID-SEASON: ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING (Global)

• THE ANIMATED ADVENTURES OF BOB AND DOUG MACKENZIE (30 minutes; animated)
• COLD BLOOD (10 x 1 hour; documentary)
• HOWIE DO IT (30 minutes; comedy)
• XIII (2 x 2 hour; drama)
• THE LAST TEMPLAR (2 x 2 hour; drama)
• PROJECT RUNWAY CANADA Season 2 (1 hour; reality)

MID-SEASON ORIGINAL SERIES (E!)

• PRODUCING PARKER (animation)

From a media release:

All nominees for the 10th Anniversary Leo Awards were announced today. In addition to the earlier announcement of select program categories included in the Leo Awards Film Festival, the list of nominees for the Leo Awards 2008 is now complete and can be viewed online at http://leoawards.com/nominees_2008.html.

(more…)

From a media release:

DHX Media Ltd., a leading independent international producer and distributor of television programming and interactive content is pleased to announce that Global Television, a Canwest Broadcasting network has commissioned a second season of the primetime original drama series, The Guard, which begins production in Vancouver, BC in June and is slated for broadcast in the 2008-09 season. The series is a co-production between DHX Media’s subsidiary, Halifax Film and Vancouver based Brightlight Pictures Inc, for Global Television.

The Guard is a one-hour character-driven, ensemble drama series that focuses on the lives of four imperfect, offbeat and sometimes difficult, but heroic Coast Guard rescue specialists looking for meaning in their own lives while enduring the daily dangers of life out on the Pacific Ocean. Audiences were captivated by these west coast heroes, as Season I of the series launched with over 800,000 viewers and The Guard was the #1 new Canadian Original in the key demo Adults 18-49.

Charles Bishop, President, Halifax Film said, “We are thrilled to partner once again with Global Television to produce a second season of The Guard. The additional season will continue to help us secure significant international sales.”

From Bill Brioux at TV Feeds My Family:

• Can Sophie Survive Survivor?
  “Did CBC jump the gun on that Sophie renewal? Ever since CBC announced they were picking up two of their four January starts, Sophie and The Border, the rookie comedy series, starring Mimi Kuzyk and Natalie Brown (right), has been sinking like a rock. This Wednesday it was down to 290,000 viewers.” Read more.

• Global Keeps its Guard Up
  “Global announced today that it is renewing three of its rookie shows: The Guard, ‘Da Kink In My Hair and the summer series The Best Years. Hey, the more Canadian shows the better, jobs are jobs and this news keeps people working in Vancouver and Toronto. But Global’s release suggests that these renewals are “based on solid statistics of the first seasons.” Perhaps, but in the case of ‘Da Kink at least, earning brownie points before the CRTC had to be a factor.” Read more.