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Featured, Saving Hope, Spun Out

CTV’s unwavering support for Saving Hope, Spun Out’s future still uncertain

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CTV is happy with Saving Hope. So much so when executives from Bell Media jetted to Los Angeles to purchase American acquisitions, the one untouchable timeslot was Thursdays at 9 p.m.

“We wanted to plant a flag that on the biggest night of the week in the home run timeslot of that night, Saving Hope is not only our choice but is going to compete for the No. 1 spot every week,” says Mike Cosentino, senior vice-president of programming for CTV Networks and CraveTV. “We think this is a great opportunity for Saving Hope.” The broadcast veteran notes there a big stories headed viewers’ way in Season 4, which began production on 18 episodes in and around Toronto.

Appearing in recurring roles are Kim Shaw (The Good Wife) as Dr. Cassie Williams, a book smart intern learning how to practice medicine, not just read about it; and Max Bennett (Anna Karenina) as Dr. Patrick Curtis, a surgical fellow who has been filling in during Alex’s mat leave. Travis Milne (Rookie Blue) appears in a four-episode arc. Repeats of Hope will air Saturdays at 10 p.m. on CTV.

CTV and CTV Two’s 2015-16 broadcast schedules were announced Thursday morning in Toronto, with the Erica Durance/Michael Shanks drama, newsmagazine W5, culinary competition MasterChef Canada and crime drama Motive all being part of the mix. Those last two join CTV’s midseason schedule.

Saturdays on CTV Two, meanwhile, boast old instalments of The Listener, Flashpoint and Motive, a move Cosentino says offers new viewers a chance to catch up on the crime trio.

One series absent from either schedule was the second season of Dave Foley’s sitcom, Spun Out. Plans to launch the laffer this past March after a high-profile return following the Super Bowl was scuttled when co-star J.P. Manoux was charged with voyeurism following an incident in the Toronto condo he rented during filming. The series remains in programming purgatory until the case is sorted out.

“We said it then and we’re still in the same place,” Cosentino says. “We’re holding off on our decision until we can get more information. As to whether it will make air or not is to be continued at the moment.”

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Featured, Masterchef Canada, Saving Hope

Saving Hope returns to CTV this fall

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This morning, CTV was the last of the major Canadian networks to announce a 2015/16 schedule after the annual Hollywood buying spree.

CBC this fall has a predominantly Canadian lineup with some UK and Australian acquisitions, City has more Sunnyside plus CBC’s Mr. D crossing networks, and Global has … nothing. While  boasting “17 hours of simulcast, more than any other Canadian network,” CTV has made room in their fall schedule for a new season of Saving Hope in a plum Thursday 9 pm timeslot, as well as their Saturday stalwart newsmagazine W5 celebrating 50 years on air.

Continuing Canadian daytime shows include The Marilyn Denis Show and The Social, and CTV will host The 2016 Juno Awards as well.

MasterChef Canada and Motive will return midseason in 2016, making CTV the home to the most Cancon of the major private networks this coming year (thanks at least in part to their required benefits spending after the Astral acquisition).

Saturday on baby sister network CTV TWO is repurposed Cancon night, with reruns of The Listener, Flashpoint, Motive and W5.

Look for the full 2015/16 schedule announcement here.

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Featured, Strange Empire, X Company

X Company, Strange Empire among CBC shows available for Netflix binge-watching

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Good news for binge watchers: Netflix Canada recently added CBC’s X Company and Strange Empire to their lineup, joining fellow CBC mates Murdoch Mysteries, Heartland, Republic of Doyle and more to the service’s ever-rotating and growing lineup.

The shows not only get exposure to a broader audience through browsing plus Netflix’s superior recommendation engine, but CBC gets an additional revenue stream from Netflix licensing on top of advertising, iTunes sales, and selling their kidneys.

World War II spy drama X Company is currently working on a second season, so a Netflix catch up may boost the future audience for the show. It will be interesting to see if there is a measurable effect, or if once a Netflix viewer always a Netflix viewer — if the audience simply waits for season two to appear on the service. Best case scenario for CBC is audiences find it so compelling they want to watch as it airs instead and binge watch later.

Dark, female-driven western Strange Empire was cancelled after one season, but other than some last-minute action that would have set up a second season, the first feels mostly like a satisfyingly complete mini series.

While CBC keeps most of their series available online, the Netflix user experience is vastly superior to the glitchy, repetitive-advertising-filled network website players. Netflix also captures an audience who may not watch CBC, search for CBC’s website, or even have heard of CBC’s shows.

Licensing agreements have expiration dates, so Netflix content comes and goes, but audiences should have plenty of time to discover X Company and Strange Empire and see what they’ve missed — for good or for bad — or relive the experience at their own pace.

Don’t look for Bell, Shaw or Rogers series on the streaming service any time soon — they want you to sign up for their own streaming services, CraveTV or shomi, instead.

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Featured, Podcast, Strange Empire

TV Eh B Cs podcast 22 – Joanne Boland’s Groovy Empire

JoanneBoland

Joanne’s role as Morgan Finn in CBC’s Strange Empire comes after an impressive list of television appearances in Copper, Saving Hope, Lost Girl, Flashpoint, Haven, The Listener, Being Erica and Blue Murder.

Some remember her as Gail Summers in Zone of Separation, Margaret from Slings and Arrows or Dana Davin on Train 48.

Boland’s other acting credits include Khaled, Sex, Lies & Obsession, Charms For the Easy Life, UBU The Barbarian, Angels In The Infield, Two of Us, Year of the Phoenix, Harlan County, Thin Blue Line, and, Rated X.

Listen or download below, or subscribe via iTunes or any other podcast catcher with the TV, eh? podcast feed.

Want to become a Patron of the Podcast? We’ve got a Patreon page where you can donate a small amount per podcast and get a sneak peek of each release.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Featured

Coming soon-ish: The Code and Houdini & Doyle

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While Global has no scripted Canadian series in its just-announced fall lineup,  and they recently cancelled Remedy, the network did use the opportunity to — look, shiny thing over there! —  remind us they have a couple of new shows coming up at some unspecified point in the future (aka when they’ve been produced and when Global has a spot open in its schedule that doesn’t have an American simulcast in it) .

Besides a new cycle of Big Brother Canada and rumours of an unexpected new season of Rookie Blue, Global has a couple new series in the works — The Code and Houdini and Doyle — and gives us some tidbits.

The Code is the working title of a  procedural drama series starring Jason Priestley,  who is also an executive producer. He plays “an ex-pro hockey player who uses his celebrity status and reputation as an enforcer on the ice in his new gig as a crime-solving PI.” Because Canadian TV has a dearth of crime procedurals with a “twist” apparently. But I’m open to seeing what’s next for the actor, late of my beloved Call Me Fitz. I presume someone will be writing the show, too, but no word on that.*

House creator David Shore and fellow House writer David Hoselton bring us the supernatural crime series Houdini and Doyle, a co-production that will apparently also air on Fox and the UK’s ITV and is “inspired by the real-life friendship between Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini.” I’m pretty much on board with anything from the people behind the show that started my online TV writing habit.

Global hasn’t committed to scheduling for any of their Canadian series yet but if the past is any indication, don’t hold your breath until at least spring 2016.

 

* EDIT: A Twitter follower points out it must be an adaptation:

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