From a media release:
TVO’s first commissioned drama series, Hard Rock Medical, returns with nine new episodes in January 2017. The episodes premiere on TVO starting on Sunday, January 8 at 8 pm, and for the first time, all of new the episodes will be available on demand on tvo.org following the January 8 broadcast.
Loosely inspired by the world-renowned Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM), Hard Rock Medical’s students navigate their way through an offbeat medical training program in the North at Hard Rock U. With another year of med school under their belts, the stakes are raised with the students travelling by snowmobile to rescue a lumberjack with severed fingers, tending to patients with hypothermia, and caring for seniors with addiction issues.
The students are immersed in all areas of Northern life, as they grapple with issues of medical ethics, and struggle to keep their personal lives together. In the Nipissing First Nation, Eva and Melanie face a difficult cancer case that is complicated by Eva’s relationship with the patient’s mother. Gary and Charlie are embedded with EMS teams, working alongside paramedics, local police, and emergency room doctors. Cameron and Gina are based out of a downtown clinic doing outreach to street kids, seniors, and drug addicts, and Nancy and Farida learn what it takes to be a doctor in a small regional hospital.
The series’ ensemble cast returns including Canadian talents, Patrick McKenna (The Red Green Show, Traders), Angela Asher (18 to Life, Degrassi: The Next Generation), Tamara Duarte (Degrassi: The Next Generation) and Northern Ontario favourite, Stéphane Paquette.
Mini docs that give an in-depth look into life in the North accompany the series. Created by students at North Bay’s Canadore College, topics include: the Full Moon Ceremony, inspiring accounts from the Nipissing First Nation, and the art and music of Hard Rock Medical. The short films will air on TVO in January and be available on tvo.org following the broadcast.
New episodes of Hard Rock Medical premiere on TVO beginning on Sunday, January 8 at 8 pm and repeat Mondays at 10:30 pm and Fridays at 7 pm. All nine 30-minute episodes will be available on demand on tvo.org, directly following the broadcast premiere, where viewers can also catch up on past episodes. The series will also be broadcast on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN).
Hard Rock Medical is produced by Distinct Features and was co-created by Smith Corindia and Derek Diorio. The series received funding from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) to support the regional production of the series, which is shot entirely in Northern Ontario. Filming for the new episodes took place exclusively in North Bay.
