TV, eh?

From a media release:

Making its debut in October 2008 is the new Canadian original series Sanctuary that comes from some of the creative talents behind Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. Starring Amanda Tapping, Sanctuary is shot almost entirely on green screen and is the first television series in North America to use the RED camera system, a digital medium that offers more than double the resolution of a high definition camera. In early 2009, The Movie Network will unveil the Paul Gross executive produced drama ZOS: Zone of Separation and playwright George F. Walker’s The Weight, two Canadian original series which chronicle a war abroad over religion and a war at home based around the drug trade.

From Rob Salem of the Toronto Star:

• Everything the traffic will allow: It’s show business again everywhere in Toronto, and most of the new TV production is Canadian
  “Production in town has picked up considerably, and for a change it’s almost entirely our own. … CTV’s Flashpoint and The Listener are out there, fighting crime in the streets of Toronto – which is, at long last, actually Toronto, and not some generic American city, which will no doubt confuse the hell out of the Americans who will be watching. (Both shows have already been sold for export.)” Read more.

From a media release:

The Movie Network and Movie Central announce new original drama series set for production

Astral Media’s The Movie Network (eastern Canada) and Corus Entertainment’s Movie Central (western Canada) today announced production dates for the original drama series Sanctuary, Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures and the second season of The Weight.

Currently in production in Vancouver until September 10, 2008, Sanctuary is a 13-episode series that is shot almost entirely on green screen using cutting-edge visual effects and the latest in camera technology. Sanctuary is commissioned by The Movie Network, Movie Central as well as SCI FI Channel in the U.S. and will premiere in October 2008.

Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures, an eight-part drama series based on the Scotiabank Giller Award-winning best-seller by Vincent Lam, will begin production in Toronto in spring 2009 and will debut on The Movie Network and Movie Central in fall 2009.

The second season of George F. Walker and Dani Romain’s The Weight begins shooting in Toronto in July 2008 with seasons one and two premiering consecutively on Movie Central and The Movie Network in spring 2009.

“From Durham County and ReGenesis to Slings & Arrows and Terminal City, The Movie Network and Movie Central have successfully carved out a niche in Canadian television for original drama that boasts bold and intelligent story-telling, high production values and strong on- and off-air creative talent,” said Michelle Marion, Director of Canadian Independent Production, The Movie Network.

“This year’s slate of new series illustrate the kind of smart, provocative programming that our subscribers have come to expect,” said Erica Benson, Vice President, Programming, Movie Central. “And with the upcoming premieres of ZOS: Zone of Separation and The Weight, our audiences will get to experience the visions of some of the country’s finest creative talents.”

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From Judith Klassen at Movie Entertainment Magazine:

• Freedom Fee
  “‘I’m sorry — I hear Veronica Mars is great, but I mostly watch pay TV.’
  Toronto-born actor Enrico Colantoni (Just Shoot Me, Veronica Mars) laughs off the comment. ‘That’s because (pay TV is) better. You can say fucking shit is what you can say. That’s why network TV is a greater accomplishment: When it’s good, the feat is all that much more difficult to achieve.’” Read more.
• The Weight, The Wire, ZOS, 2008
  “A month of stuffing your cake hole and listening to Uncle Rex rant about foreign policy at the holiday table can lead to a seasonal strain of post-traumatic stress syndrome. Instead of hitting the gym or the January blow-out sales, why not turn to the tube for a little comparative therapy? You think your holiday blues are bad? Try playing Halo 3 for real in Iraq…” Read more.

From a media release:

The Nightingale Company is pleased to announce that it has acquired rights to Peter Mohan’s (Blood Ties, Mutant X) new comedy/drama series Bodies and Soul. Creator Mohan will write and Exec Produce with TNC’s Debbie Nightingale (The Weight, Chick’s With Sticks).

“We’re thrilled to be working with Peter” says Debbie Nightingale, President of the Nightingale Company. “Our strategy is to partner with strong, creative talents and Peter is one of the best in the business.”

Mohan’s past credits include Blood Ties, Mutant X, Code Name: Eternity, Mythquest, Eerie, Indiana, and Due South.

Mohan says “Bodies and Soul recalls the best of Moonlighting. It centers on a husband and wife team of P.I.s for whom the line between life and death has suddenly become very complicated. How complicated? Let’s just say their biggest ongoing case is to solve the hero’s own murder… “

The Nightingale Company is a boutique film, television, and new media production firm led by Debbie Nightingale and Shain Jaffe. Since 2000, the Toronto-based company has produced all types of projects from feature films to dramatic series, documentaries to interactive adventures. Recent credits include Zixx: Level One, Two & Three, Chicks with Sticks, Mob Princess, and Bailey’s Billions. Currently, The Nightingale Company is in post production of The Weight, a television series based on George F. Walker’s hit plays Suburban Motel, co-written with Dani Romain for The Movie Network and Movie Central. A second season is currently in development.

From a media release:

The Nightingale Company is pleased to announce that eight additional scripts for THE WEIGHT have been commissioned by The Movie Network (eastern Canada) and Movie Central (western Canada).

Produced by Debbie Nightingale (Chicks with Sticks, ZIXX), written by acclaimed playwright George F. Walker and writing partner Dani Romain (This Is Wonderland), and directed by Gail Harvey (Things That Say, Terry), THE WEIGHT follows a collection of cops, criminals and everyone in between as they intersect in the suburban wasteland they call home. The series centres on Max (Ron White, Screamers, Tag: The Jonathan Wamback Story) and Donny (Daniel Kash, Fugitive Pieces, Cinderella Man), two cops as damaged and morally ambiguous as the criminals they pursue.

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Danette Dooley of the St. John’s Telegram interviews Sarah Manninen:

• TMN series star has roots in Torbay
  “Manninen has had plenty of meaty acting roles in her career, and perhaps none more challenging than her part in “The Weight,” The Movie Network series that will premiere next fall.” Read more.

Tracy Nita Pender of Playback interviews The Weight writer Dani Romain:

• Walker, Romain add Weight to Pay-TV drama
  “Filming of The Weight, a new 8 x 60 drama about life in a suburban wasteland from powerhouse writers George F. Walker and Dani Romain, has begun in the Scarborough suburb of Toronto.” Read more.

From Variety:

• Canada turns to cable for original TV
  “Now the channels are starting to make their mark with more edgy fare, like serial-killer skein “Durham County” and just-announced eight-part series “The Weight,” a drama from writers George F. Walker and Dani Romain about a pair of unhinged cops in Toronto. The other new series on the way is “ZOS: Zone of Separation,” a wild rock ‘n’ roll take on the life of Canadian peacekeepers in a fictional Sarajevo-like town somewhere in Europe. Skein shot in Bosnia earlier this summer and is now lensing in Toronto. It stars Colm Meaney, Lolita Davidovich and Michelle Nolden.” Read more.

From a media release:

The Weight now in production in Toronto’s Scarborough

From the unique voices of creators/writers George F. Walker and Dani Romain (This Is Wonderland), Debbie Nightingale, President of The Nightingale Company (Chicks with Sticks, ZIXX) announced today that principal photography has begun on The Weight, an eight-part one-hour drama series. The Weight will continue production throughout Toronto until November 2, 2007. The series was developed with Movie Central (western Canada) and The Movie Network (eastern Canada) and is slated for broadcast in fall 2008.

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From an Astral media release:

Looking beyond the fall season to 2008, The Movie Network will debut two new Canadian original series: ZOS: Zone of Separation, an eight-part series from executive-producer Paul Gross, and George F. Walker’s The Weight, a series about two morally ambiguous cops. Also in 2008 the Gemini award-winning series ReGenesis will debut its fourth and final season.

Ilona Beiks of Playback talks about upcoming series from Movie Central/The Movie Network:

• MC and TMN shoot two new series
  “Movie Central and The Movie Network are touting a robust summer schedule of Canadian production, including two new drama series )ZOS: Zone of Separation and The Weight) and a fourth cycle of ReGenesis.”

From a media release:

Corus Entertainment’s Movie Central and Astral Media’s The Movie Network announced today that two new original drama series will start production this summer – ZOS: Zone of Separation and The Weight. In addition, a fourth season of the Gemini award-winning dramatic series ReGenesis will also resume production this summer.

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