• The Listener’ gets renewed
  “The Listener has been rescued from the sounds of silence. Shaftesbury Films announced Tuesday that the Toronto-set series has been renewed for a second season. A deal has been reached with CTV, Space and Fox International Channels (FIC), with exact air dates for the 13 new episodes still to be determined.” Read more.

SPACE, CTV AND FOX INTERNATIONAL CHANNELS ORDER SEASON 2 OF THE LISTENER

Shaftesbury Films is thrilled to announce its one-hour drama series THE LISTENER has been renewed for a second season by SPACE, CTV, and Fox International Channels (FIC). Shine International will be distributing. Starring Craig Olejnik as ‘Toby Logan’, THE LISTENER follows the adventures of a 25-year-old telepathic paramedic as he moves from crisis to crisis.

“THE LISTENER is proof positive that SPACE and CTV are committed to creating and supporting successful and popular television,” said Christina Jennings, Chairman and CEO, Shaftesbury Films. “Their renewed commitment to THE LISTENER ensures the international partnership led by Fox International Channels and Shine International for the next 13 episodes of this hit Canadian series.”

“The first season of THE LISTENER delivered solid numbers in many of our markets,” said Sharon Tal Yguado, SVP of Content Development at Fox International Channels (FIC). “We are excited about a second season and look forward to working with our creative partners to continue to develop the show to its maximum potential.”

“Thanks to our partnership with Shaftesbury and Fox International, we created a new and different financing model that brought THE LISTENER to viewers in every country of the world. We’re excited to continue this partnership on Season 2 of THE LISTENER and we look forward to working with our partners to ensure the ongoing success of the series,” said John Pollak, Executive Vice President of Shine International.

Toby Logan (Craig Olejnik- The Timekeeper, In God’s Country) is THE LISTENER, a 25-year-old telepathic paramedic. His sole confidant and mentor Dr. Ray Mercer (Colm Feore, 24, Changeling) guides Toby as he learns to use his gift for the benefit of people around him.

The online companion site created for Season one of THE LISTENER was recently nominated as Best Cross-Platform Project by the Canadian New Media Awards for excellence in interactive enhancement of a television property on digital platforms. THE LISTENER Online Experience was created by Shaftesbury’s Digital Division Smokebomb Entertainment and A51 Integrated in conjunction with SPACE and CTV and with the assistance of the Bell New Media Fund and allows visitors to experience the world as Toby Logan does and “hear” people’s thoughts and see their inner-visions. Set in a 360 degree panoramic recreation of Toronto’s Dundas Square, the site received weekly updates with interactive features, online exclusive video and previews of upcoming episodes.

To celebrate the new fall season, TV, eh? has 5 prize packages to give away to 5 Canadian television fans. Winners will be chosen from a random draw of all eligible entries in each of 3 categories. Tweet, blog, or donate to the Actors’ Fund of Canada to win. Details here. Deadline’s today!

From Dwayne MacKinnon:

I’ve decided to write today about a recently concluded (hopefully just for the season) show: The Listener.

I’m a big believer in giving a Canadian show a try, as long as the subject matter is interesting to me. So lately, I’ve been really happy, as there are more and more Canadian shows available that are interesting to me. Everything from sitcoms (Little Mosque on the Prairie) to comedy-dramas (Being Erica) to action/dramas (Flashpoint, The Border) to, just lately… science-fiction.  Which brings us to The Listener.

The Listener is what you would call “light” sci-fi. The world it inhabits is our own world… specifically, Toronto. The only fantastic element of it is that the show’s protagonist, Toby Logan, can read minds.

One of the things I found fascinating, as a sci-fi and comic-book fan, was the particular slant they took with Toby’s telepathy. For one thing, Toby can only receive thoughts; he can’t broadcast his own. For another, he can only pick up on what someone is thinking of at the time that he’s listening. The only way he can go digging around in someone’s head is to engage them in a conversation and try to lead their thoughts to the right place.

The limitations make things a lot easier to handle. It allows for realistic drama. Toby has a real edge, but he can be wrong. If somebody is deluding themselves on a particular subject, Toby will be misled as well.

The show itself had a 13 episode season that was played out fully both on CTV and in several overseas markets courtesy of Fox International. On NBC in the United States, it was cut short. Thankfully, NBC made the remaining episodes available online.

I found the show had a very decent arc. When we first meet Toby, he’s been living with his telepathy for years, and has learned how to tune out the thoughts of other people. Something has changed, though: now when he’s near a person in genuine trouble, he can’t block them out. As he’s a paramedic, being around people in trouble happens to him a fair bit more then the average joe. It leads him to become more engaged in the world, when he’s become used to a certain amount of detachment to stay sane.

Over the course of thirteen episodes Toby reveals his secret to the people closest to him. First his partner, Oz, and then the police detective that he’s been helping solve crimes. Finally, he reveals it to his longtime on and off girlfriend, Oliva. And I have to say, the revelation scenes were a particular strength of this show. The Oz one, in particular, was hilarious. The editing team did a great job of having Craig Olejnik’s Toby parroting the thoughts (done in voiceover) of Ennis Esmer’s Oz.

Other nice touches included the police detective, Charlie Marks, taking advantage of Toby’s gift once she’s informed. Particularly fun were the several occasions when she intentionally “thought at” Toby in order to get him to do something. Even one-way communication can be useful when it can be done silently and quickly, and the show capitalized on this.

Besides Toby’s engagement with the world and opening up to his friends, the other main arc of the first season was Toby remembering his past. We learned quite early that Toby believed his mother was dead, and that his memories of his early childhood were quite shaky. By the time the season finale was done, he had made numerous discoveries, including the fact that his mother was alive and that people were after them both because of their gift.

Acting and story wise, things were solid with this show. Not as strong as they could have been … there is room for improvement. I’m really hoping that CTV will greenlight a second season.

• Top Programs – Total Canada
  #1 So You Think You Can Dance Canada Performance (1.357 million)
  #19 The Listener (843,000)
  #22 Dragons’ Den (791,000)
  #26 So You Think You Can Dance Canada Results (698,000)
  #27 Flashpoint (696,000)

Catch Up to Canada’s Most-Watched TV Programs Online:  CTV.ca Announces Fall Lineup

• Canada’s beloved THE LITTLEST HOBO now available on demand along with other retro classics

Responding to an outpouring of support from fans across Canada, CTV’s own THE LITTLEST HOBO returns home exclusively online with all six seasons to be rolled out over the course of the season.

CTV.ca’s 2009/10 Online Lineup:

Primetime

• THE BRIDGE **New**
• DEFYING GRAVITY **New**
• COMEDY NOW!
• CORNER GAS
• DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION
• FLASHPOINT
• THE LISTENER
• ROBSON ARMS
• SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE CANADA (highlights)

Online Exclusive **New**

• THE LITTLEST HOBO

• Top Programs – Total Canada
  #5 So You Think You Can Dance Canada (1.066 million)
  #19 The Listener (739,000)

Toby (Craig Olejnik) brings Dr. Ray Mercer (Colm Feore) to the hospital to meet “John Doe,” who Ray recognizes as Frank Cardea (Gordon Pinsent, ANGELA’S EYES), the man who brought Toby to Ray twenty years earlier. Due to his Alzheimer’s, Frank continues to have trouble remembering, but he does tell Toby that Toby’s mother Maya (Lara Jean Chorostecki), sent him. Toby is hit with a distress beacon, catching glimpses of a smashed windshield and a mysterious man, and sets course on a journey to learn more about the troubling images in Frank’s mind.

GORDON PINSENT GUEST STARS ON SEASON FINALE OF THE LISTENER

THURSDAY, AUGUST 27th AT 10 PM ON CTV

Canadian icon Gordon Pinsent (Away From Her) stars as a “John Doe”, (real name Frank Cardea), the man who brought Toby (Craig Olejnik) to Dr. Ray Mercer (Colm Feore) 20 years earlier. Despite being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Frank might still be able to help Toby unravel his mysterious past in Thursday’s season finale of The Listener, premiering Thursday, August 27 at 10 pm on CTV and Saturday, August 29 at 8 pm on SPACE. The episode, entitled ‘The Journey’, is directed by Clement Virgo (Poor Boys Game).

Toby Logan (Craig Olejnik- The Timekeeper, In God’s Country), is The Listener, a 25-year-old paramedic with a gift. In addition to being a highly skilled first responder, he’s been blessed, and cursed, with telepathic abilities that allow him to read people’s thoughts. When we meet Toby, we soon discover he’s taken only one person into his confidence, his mentor Dr. Ray Mercer (Colm Feore, 24, Changeling). With Ray’s help, Toby has kept the voices in his head at bay. The Listener follows Toby as he tries to help people in crisis and in the process heal some of his own wounds. http://thelistener.ctv.ca

The Listener is produced by Shaftesbury Films, in association with CTV, SPACE, NBC and Fox International Channels. Produced with the assistance from The Canadian Film or Video Tax Credit. Fox International Channels broadcast The Listener in over 180 countries in March 09. International sales of The Listener are handled by Shine International.

6TEEN

Air Farce

Being Erica

The Border

Chilly Beach

Corner Gas

Degrassi: TNG

Dragons’ Den

Flashpoint

Heartland

Instant Star

jPod

The Jon Dore Television Show

Life’s a Zoo

Little Mosque on the Prairie

The Listener

No Opportunity Wasted

Odd Job Jack

Rick Mercer

Robson Arms

Sophie

Stargate Atlantis

Stargate SG-1

Stargate Universe

Stratusphere

This Hour Has 22 Minutes

Total Drama Action

Total Drama Island

The Tudors

The Week The Women Went

Wild Roses

• Top programs – Total Canada
  #6 So You Think You Can Dance Canada (1.032 million)
  #9 The Listener (894,000)
  #15 Flashpoint (758,000)
  #30 Defying Gravity (573,000)