From a media release:

Astral Media’s The Movie Network (eastern Canada) and Corus Entertainment’s Movie Central (western Canada) have commissioned 13-episodes of one of the first television series ever to be conceived from an Internet-based concept. Initially developed as eight broadcast-quality webisodes from the creative talent behind Stargate: SG-1 and Stargate: Atlantis, Sanctuary is an original drama series that is also the first to be shot entirely on green screen.

Commissioned by and airing on The Movie Network and Movie Central, the series has also been green lit by the SCI FI Channel in the U.S. which will broadcast the series day and date with the Canadian broadcasters in fall 2008.

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Sphere Media Sells First 13 Episodes of Comedy-Drama Sophie to ABC Family

February 4, 2008 Diane Wild 2 Comments

From a media release:

Sphere Media Plus has sold the first 13 episodes of Sophie, its Montreal-produced comedy-drama – broadcast by CBC since January 9 – to ABC Family. The network, a member of the Disney-ABC Television Group, also took an option on the series’ second season.

“I am particularly proud of this production, especially since Sophie is the product of a rewarding partnership between Canadian actors and Quebec creative talent,” said producer Jocelyn Deschenes, founding president of Sphere Media Plus. “The purchase of this series by ABC Family shows us that new possibilities are now opening up in the Canadian television industry.”

Sophie1

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Degrassi, Flashpoint, Heartland, Industry News, Little Mosque on the Prairie, Rick Mercer Report, The Listener

Canadian Television Fund Successfully Supports Industry’s Cultural and Commercial Goals

February 4, 2008 Diane Wild 3 Comments

From a media release:

The Canadian Television Fund (CTF) today presented an overview of the organization’s successes in funding popular, critically acclaimed television programming in its opening presentation at the CRTC’s public hearing on the future of the Fund.

“Canadians are watching CTF-funded programs,” said Valerie Creighton, President of the CTF. “Shows like The Rick Mercer Report and Little Mosque on the Prairie, regularly attain audiences of over one million. Les Boys, Annie et ses hommes, and DestinÃ©es all have drawn from one to one and a half million viewers. New shows, such as The Border, Sophie, Heartland, and The Guard are attracting 500,000 to 800,000 viewers. And a recently launched success story in the French market, Les Lavigueur, la vraie histoire, averaged over two million viewers in its first two episodes.”

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In the news: The Border and The Guard as ‘Jack Bauer knockoffs’

February 4, 2008 Diane Wild

From Robert Cushman of the National Post

Bullet-proof vetted
“The Border, apart from contributing to CBC’s new drama push, is part of a movement to shine a glamorous light on government departments with less than glamorous titles. In The Border it’s Immigration and Customs Security; in Global’s The Guard, it’s the Canadian Coastguard’s Search and Rescue Team. The latter sounds as if it should be more thrilling, but so far it’s The Border that’s hit the ground running.” Read more.