Everything about The Listener, eh?

The Listener

On set with The Listener

From Andrea Nemetz of the Chronicle Herald:

N.S. actor attuned to The Listener
Olejnik’s telepathic hero has new confidence on the popular show now in 4th season. Continue reading.

From Huffington Post Canada:

The Listener’ Season 4: Mind Games And Familiar Faces
“Once again, Toby takes the reins and puts himself in jeopardy,” offers Smith on the set of “The Listener.” “An IIB operative from Vancouver and I have to figure out how to save him. That’s going to put viewers on the edge of their seats because he’s been put in a very compromising position, as he likes to do. Continue reading.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
The Listener

New Wednesday: The Listener season premiere

TheListener401-D6-0181sm[1][2]

The Listener, CTV – “Blast from the Past”
In the Season 4 premiere, Toby (Craig Olejnik) and Michelle (Lauren Lee Smith) are sent to Vancouver to investigate after a string of high-tech thefts spreads West. Toby is surprised when he crosses paths with his ex-girlfriend Lori Black (Jewel Staite, THE L.A. COMPLEX) who may be connected to the potential suspect. The 2013 JUNO Award-nominated indie band Walk Off The Earth makes a special guest appearance in this episode.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, The Listener

The Listener’s Craig Olejnik and Lauren Lee Smith on their Vancouver adventure

4 Comments

TheListener401-D6-0191sm[1][3]

After three seasons as The Listener‘s paramedic with a psychic secret, Toby (Craig Olejnik) learns what it really means to be a fish out of water in Wednesday’s season four opener: a Torontonian in Vancouver.

In the episode, Toby and Michelle (Lauren Lee Smith) are sent to the IIB’s west coast branch to help prevent a bomb threat in the city, “probably because of their 100% solve rate” Olejnik joked.

The actors aren’t out of place in the city, though – the Vancouver shoot was something of a homecoming for both. Olejnik has lived in Vancouver and is an investor in local bar/art studio Raw Canvas, while Smith is a native Vancouverite and still has family here.

Additional British Columbia content includes guest stars Jewel Staite — as Toby’s ex-girlfriend who holds the key to the case — and Justin Chatwin.

The rest of season four will take place, as usual, in Toronto, though much of the season is being shot on location in Hamilton at least partially for tax credit reasons. Olejnik says that gives the show a grittier feel and allows for less office, more action.

For Michelle, that action translates to taking down suspects with her bare hands. For Toby, well …

“Toby is a little looser this year because he’s getting some action – he’s in a relationship,” joked Olejnik. “It’s chilled him out a little bit. He’s dusted off the cobwebs and everything still works. That lends itself to his life being in more balance. He has a job, he has a girlfriend besides Oz.”

As Smith explained, “everyone is fully aware of what Toby does in the IIB so it frees us up to focus on each case as opposed to the B storyline we’ve had to do in previous seasons, explaining how we know what we know.”

“I think he’s so comfortable that he forgets that he does something differently than anyone else,” said Olejnik, who sees the upside in his character’s freedom and a downside to the lowered caution. “It’s become so much of who he is and he’s so much a part of their team that he’s just as normal as anyone else.”

Toby’s developing comfort with his powers has mirrored Olejnik’s own developing comfort with the character. “I’m definitely getting more comfortable being a lead on a TV show and I think that translates to my ability to inhabit the character better. When I was first starting out on the show it was overwhelming because you never knew what was around the next corner.”

“A week ago I got to a new place with the character that I’d never gotten to before, a new sense of his voice and a sense of ease. It’s very hard to describe, very intangible, but it was like going home.”

Smith, who joined the cast in season two, feels that “every season lets you be a bit bolder and take more risks and come into it with a bit more ease.”

The show itself has evolved away from its psychic paramedic roots to become more of a police procedural. With Toby’s secret weapon and that resulting 100% solve rate, the tension of each episode has to come from something other than will they or won’t they solve the case.

Smith points to the more complex cases as Toby’s secret has become less of a secret and therefore less of a plot point. Olejnik adds that people watch for the characters, who over time are further developed separately and in their relationships with each other.

Neither actor sees much of a will they or won’t they tension in the friendship between Toby and Michelle, either, believing there is no romantic future for the two.

“I think it’s nice that the writers haven’t gone there,” said Smith. “It’s so rare that they don’t.”

The Listener season four premieres Wednesday, May 29 on CTV.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
The Listener

The Listener returns May 29

Listener

From a media release:

After Last Year’s Most-Watched Season Ever, Canadians Are All Ears as THE LISTENER Returns for Season 4, May 29 on CTV

  • Shot in Vancouver, Season 4 premiere features special appearance by JUNO Award nominated indie band, Walk Off The Earth
  • Season 4 guest stars include Justin Chatwin, Jewel Staite, Michael Filipowich, Michael Cram, Gabrielle Miller, Erin Karpluk, Krystin Pellerin, and Canadian mixed martial arts fighter Elias Theodorou
  • Original digital series DOUBLE DATE… WITH DEATH to premiere with first episode of THE LISTENER exclusively on CTV.ca, CTV App, and CTV Mobile

Following its most-watched season yet, CTV’s hit Original Series THE LISTENER returns with a mind-bending Season 4 premiere Wednesday, May 29 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CTV and CTV Mobile. In the all-new season, which travels to Vancouver for the first time in the season premiere, telepath Toby Logan (Craig Olejnik) works hard to sharpen his police skills as a full-time Special Consultant with the Integrated Investigative Bureau (IIB). Also this season, Ingrid Kavelaars (WHISTLER) joins the cast as Nichola Martell, the ambitious new police superintendent.

DOUBLE DATE… WITH DEATH, an original digital extension of THE LISTENER, will also premiere Wednesday, May 29 on CTV.ca/TheListener, CTV App, and CTV Mobile. Bell Media’s first digital series to feature broadcast tie-ins, episodes of DOUBLE DATE… WITH DEATH will roll out once per week concurrently with new episodes of THE LISTENER.

With an impressive Season 3 average audience of 1.2 million viewers, THE LISTENER has achieved year-over-year audience growth every year since it debuted in 2009. The home-grown hit saw double-digit growth in Season 3 from Season 2 with A18-34 (+32%), A18-49 (+19%), and total viewers (+16%). Last season was also the drama’s most-watched premiere, finale, and overall audience on record for the series.

In the Season 4 premiere episode entitled “Blast from the Past”, Toby (Craig Olejnik) and Michelle (Lauren Lee Smith) are sent to Vancouver to investigate after a string of high-tech thefts spreads west. Toby is surprised when he crosses paths with his ex-girlfriend Lori Black (Jewel Staite, THE L.A. COMPLEX) who may be connected to the potential suspect. 2013 JUNO Award-nominated indie band Walk Off The Earth makes a special guest appearance in the episode.

In Season 4, Toby’s personal life also heats up as his relationship grows with crime reporter Tia Tremblay (Melanie Scrofano, BEING ERICA), who is inexplicably the one person he can’t read. Life will be no less dramatic for Toby’s colleagues as Sgt. Michelle McCluskey struggles through a complicated marriage with her husband, while IIB head Alvin Klein (Peter Stebbings, MADISON) attempts to protect himself and his team from the political manoeuvrings of the ambitious new police superintendent, Nichola Martell. Meanwhile, new director of emergency services Oz Bey (Ennis Esmer, THE L.A. COMPLEX) realizes that being the boss is harder than he expected.

Season 4 also welcomes a stellar list of guest stars including Justin Chatwin (SHAMELESS), Michael Filipowich (24), Michael Cram (FLASHPOINT), Gabrielle Miller (CORNER GAS), Erin Karpluk (BEING ERICA), Krystin Pellerin (REPUBLIC OF DOYLE), and Canadian mixed martial arts fighter Elias Theodorou.

In THE LISTENER’s digital companion series DOUBLE DATE… WITH DEATH, series characters Oz (Ennis Esmer) and Sandy (Tara Spencer-Nairn) work with local reporter Missy (Stephanie Anne Mills, Come Dance with Me) to uncover the secret behind a “Jane Doe’s” death and the mysterious key she left behind. All clues lead to a deadly virus outbreak set to take place at a high-stakes ping pong competition. Mills makes her debut in the digital series premiere (May 29) before joining the broadcast cast in Episode 2.

DOUBLE DATE… WITH DEATH is THE LISTENER’s second digital series following THE SWITCH, which featured Craig Olejnik and Ennis Esmer in a Season 3 companion series.

THE LISTENER by the Numbers
With four seasons wrapped, below are 10 interesting facts about CTV’s THE LISTENER:

7,280 – total amount of extras used to film the series
2,000 – production jobs created
600+ – earplugs used by the crew for on-set explosions during Season 4
542 – total guest stars and speaking roles
364 – shooting days for all 4 seasons
250+ – cups of coffee (actually tea) Toby (Craig Olejnik) drinks in Season 4
200+ – total locations used
125 – ties worn by Dev (Rainbow Francks) in Season 4
27 – writers over the past four seasons
16 – directors over the past four seasons
Number of minds read…countless!

Viewers can catch encore episodes of THE LISTENER Saturdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CTV (visit CTV.ca for local broadcast times), and Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo beginning June 7 (visit bravo.ca for local broadcast times). Following its television broadcast, viewers can also catch up on full episodes of THE LISTENER across CTV’s digital platforms on CTV.ca, the CTV App, CTV Mobile available on Bell Mobile TV, and through video on demand partners.

The ensemble cast of THE LISTENER includes Craig Olejnik as Toby Logan; Gemini-nominated Lauren Lee Smith as IIB Sergeant Michelle McCluskey; Ennis Esmer as director of emergency services Oz Bey; Rainbow Sun Francks (STARGATE ATLANTIS) as Corp. Dev Clark, McCluskey’s computer maven partner; Peter Stebbings as Alvin Klein, the head of the IIB; and Tara Spencer-Nairn (CORNER GAS) as Sandy, Oz’s girlfriend and St. Luke Hospital’s triage nurse, who runs the floor with military precision.

THE LISTENER is produced by Shaftesbury in association with CTV and Fox International Channels. The series is executive produced by Christina Jennings and Scott Garvie for Shaftesbury, and Karen Troubetzkoy (18 TO LIFE) and Peter Mohan (LOST GIRL, THE BRIDGE), who serves as Season 4 showrunner. Sharon Tal Yguado is Executive Producer for Fox International Channels. Tom Hastings and Rebecca DiPasquale are Production Executives for Bell Media. Trish Williams is Director, Independent Production, Bell Media and Corrie Coe is Senior Vice-President, Independent Production, Bell Media. Mike Cosentino is Senior Vice-President, Programming, CTV Networks, Bell Media. Phil King is President, CTV Programming and Sports. THE LISTENER is produced with the financial participation of The Canada Media Fund, The Canadian Film or Video Tax Credit and The Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Amazing Race Canada, Featured, Satisfaction, Saving Hope, The Listener

The Listener, Saving Hope, Satisfaction and Amazing Race Canada in CTV summer lineup

1 Comment

From a media release:

On Your Mark, Get Set, Go! CTV Sets Amazing Summer Lineup

  • Canadians get in the game with the premiere of THE AMAZING RACE CANADA, July 15
  • New CTV comedy SATISFACTION couples begins June 24
  • Fan favourite THE LISTENER returns for its fourth gripping season, May 29
  • Last summer’s #1 drama SAVING HOPE returns June 25

It’s shaping up to be an eh-mazing summer on CTV as the network unveiled the first wave of its summer lineup today. As announced yesterday, Canada’s must-see reality TV program of the year anchors a new must-see Monday lineup on CTV as adventure-seekers across the country go head-to-head on THE AMAZING RACE CANADA (@AmazingRaceCDA). With new programs still to be announced, CTV’s summer schedule already features a lineup of returning hits such as SAVING HOPE (@SavingHopeTV) and THE LISTENER (@listenertv), along with the premiere of the all-new comedy SATISFACTION (@SatisfactionTV), as well as encore broadcasts of this season’s newest hit MOTIVE (@MotiveTV).

CTV’s new Monday night destination lineup kicks off the week with laughs and thrills starting with the debut of SATISFACTION (June 24), a hilarious exploration of romantic woes and wins, life crises, and personal ambitions starring a sexy young cast. Mondays will then thrill audiences as THE AMAZING RACE CANADA starts to make its way to the finish line.

Dramas hitting the summer schedule on CTV include the return of CTV’s hit original series THE LISTENER (May 29), back for an action-packed fourth season, as telepath Toby Logan (Craig Olejnik) goes up against increasingly dangerous criminals. As well, last summer’s most-watched drama series SAVING HOPE (June 25), starring Erica Durance, Michael Shanks, and Daniel Gillies, joins the Tuesday lineup for its highly-anticipated second season.

Completing CTV’s unstoppable summer lineup is MOTIVE (May 20), the #1 new Canadian series of the 2012/2013 broadcast season, which returns with encore presentations in simulcast with ABC.

NEW SERIES

SATISFACTION – Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CTV beginning June 24
CTV original comedy SATISFACTION takes a humorous look at a group of friends who are completely uninhibited as they share their relationship woes and romantic wins, life crises, and personal ambitions. Dedicated single man Mark (Ryan Belleville, THE L.A. COMPLEX) hustles the dating scene while his best friends and long-term couple Jason (Luke MacFarlane, BROTHERS & SISTERS) and Maggie (Leah Renee, BLUE MOUNTAIN STATE) work at keeping the sparks flying as they face the day-to-day challenges of being in a committed relationship.

THE AMAZING RACE CANADA – Mondays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV beginning July 15
Get ready for the race of the summer! THE AMAZING RACE CANADA is set to give Canadians the opportunity to race around Canada and discover the country they love in a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Teams will race to the finish line, criss-crossing up to 9,000 kilometres. A stunning depiction of the Canadian fabric, the teams will travel through both the country’s urban centres as well as the most remote outposts in the land, all while exploring its broad cultural and ethnic diversity, wildlife, and iconic landmarks.

RETURNING SERIES

THE LISTENER – Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CTV beginning May 29
Season 4 of CTV’s hit original series THE LISTENER, sees telepathic former paramedic Toby Logan (Craig Olejnik, The Timekeeper) working hard to sharpen his police skills, as he becomes involved in the Integrated Investigative Bureau’s (IIB) cases as a Special Consultant. His personal life also heats up as he deepens his relationship with crime reporter Tia Tremblay (Melanie Scrofano, BEING ERICA), who is inexplicably the one person he can’t read. Life will be no less dramatic for Toby’s colleagues, as Sgt. Michelle McCluskey (Lauren Lee Smith, CSI) navigates a complicated marriage with her husband, and IIB head Alvin Klein (Peter Stebbings, MADISON) attempts to protect himself and his team from the political manoeuvrings of the ambitious new police superintendent Nichola Martell (Ingrid Kavelaars, LIVING IN YOUR CAR). Meanwhile, new director of emergency services Oz Bey (Ennis Esmer, THE L.A. COMPLEX) realizes that being the boss isn’t as easy as he thought it would be.

MOTIVE – Airs Monday, May 20 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CTV, moves to Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV beginning May 23
MOTIVE, the #1 new Canadian series of the 2012/2013 broadcast season joins the summer schedule, with encore presentations airing in simulcast with ABC. The CTV hit original series is a captivating one-hour crime drama that follows spirited female homicide detective Angie Flynn on a backwards chase for clues to a killer that has already been revealed to viewers. An unconventional way to watch a crime unfold, the “whydunit” stars Kristin Lehman (THE KILLING), Gemini Award-winning Louis Ferreira (SGU STARGATE UNIVERSE), and Lauren Holly (NCIS).

SAVING HOPE – Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CTV beginning June 25
Last summer’s #1 Canadian drama SAVING HOPE returns for a compelling second season with former Chief of Surgery, Dr. Charlie Harris (Michael Shanks, STARGATE SG-1) awake from his coma and reunited with his fiancée Dr. Alex Reid (Erica Durance, SMALLVILLE). This season, Alex and the other doctors of Hope Zion Hospital – including Alex’s ex-boyfriend, Dr. Joel Goran (Daniel Gillies, VAMPIRE DIARIES) – continue to handle gripping medical cases full of twists and turns, while Charlie struggles with a secret that could jeopardize his career and his relationship with Alex: he can still see and communicate with ghosts. Gemini-nominated actor Jason Priestley (CALL ME FITZ) and Gregory Smith (ROOKIE BLUE) are each set to direct an episode this season, joining directors David Wellington (THE ELEVENTH HOUR, WOULD BE KINGS, ROOKIE BLUE) Ken Girotti (BOMB GIRLS), John Fawcett (ORPHAN BLACK), and Jeff Woolnough (Jack). Plus, Gemini Award-winning actress Erin Karpluk (BEING ERICA) joins SAVING HOPE for a recurring guest starring role this season, playing a single mother and one of Dr. Joel Goran’s (Daniel Gillies) patients.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail