From a media release:
- New CTV drama becomes first Canadian series since Due South to air on network television in both Canada and U.S.
- CBS Paramount Network Television Partners with CTV and Toronto-Based Pink Sky Entertainment and Avamar Entertainment
A new CTV original Canadian drama series currently in pre-production has been picked up by CBS for broadcast later this year in the United States. Flashpoint (working title, a.k.a. Sniper) is a new police drama about an elite, big city Strategic Response Unit (SRU). CBS has picked up 13 episodes of the one-hour drama series, which was green-lit by CTV in December. When it premieres later this year, Flashpoint will become the first Canadian series since CTV’s Due South in 1994 to air in network primetime in both Canada and the United States. Production begins in Toronto in April.
“Today’s announcement is a significant achievement for CTV’s development team and Canada’s independent production community,” said Susanne Boyce, President, Creative, Content and Channels, CTV Inc.
Written and created by Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern, Flashpoint evolved from CTV’s Writer-Only development program in 2005 to a pilot (entitled Sniper) that was produced by Pink Sky Entertainment for CTV in July, 2007. The series is executive produced by multiple Gemini Award-winner Anne Marie La Traverse (Hunt for Justice: The Louise Arbour Story, Tripping the Wire) for Pink Sky Entertainment and Bill Mustos for Avamar Entertainment in association with CTV and CBS Paramount Network Television.
Starring Enrico Colantoni (Veronica Mars), Hugh Dillon (Durham County) and Whistler’s David Paetkau, Flashpoint is an emotional journey into the tough, risk-filled lives of a group of cops in the SRU (inspired by Toronto’s Emergency Task Force). They’re unique cops that can do what ordinary cops can’t: rescue hostages, bust gangs, defuse bombs, climb the sides of buildings and talk down suicidal teens. Members of a highly-skilled tactical team, they’re also trained in negotiating, profiling and getting inside the suspect’s head at the very emotional breaking point (the “flashpoint”) that triggered the crisis. They’ll do whatever it takes to diffuse the situation to try to save lives – all in a day’s work.
“It’s an exciting privilege to be able to reach so many people, and we’re thrilled that we have a chance to do it with Flashpoint,” said La Traverse and Mustos. “It’s the brainchild of two brilliant creators, Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern, and showcases the superb visual work of director David Frazee, and the spellbinding talent of Hugh Dillon and Enrico Colantoni.”
