Following a blockbuster first season that averaged over 1 million viewers (Ind. 2+) per episode, Global’s breakout hit and #1 new series of the summer, Private Eyes is renewed for a second season. The series, from leading independent studio Entertainment One (eOne), has received an impressive 18 episode order, with production set to begin in Toronto this fall.
The Canadian original detective drama follows the P.I. powerhouse duo, Matt Shade (Jason Priestley) and Angie Everett (Cindy Sampson) as they lead Everett Investigations together and test each other both professionally and personally. At the end of Season 1, Angie offers Shade a full and equal partnership in the agency. However, with Shade intent on putting his stamp on Everett Investigations, will Angie live to regret this new arrangement? And will they be able to navigate their complicated – but undeniable – romantic attraction? Only time will tell.
Viewers who missed Season 1, can catch up on Private Eyes on GlobalTV.com and Global Go.
Private Eyes season two is executive produced by John Morayniss and Tecca Crosby for eOne, Shawn Piller and Lloyd Segan for Piller Segan and Jason Priestley.
Private Eyes is produced by eOne in association with Corus Entertainment, with the participation of the Canada Media Fund, the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit.
eOne controls international rights for the series.
Steve Levitan is trying to get Train 48 back on track, and now seems like the perfect time to do it.
“The format that, at the time, I thought was innovative today is even more strategically smart,” Levitan says.
For those who don’t recall, Train 48 was an anomaly on the Canadian TV landscape. Broadcast on Global from 2003 until 2005 and based on the Australian series Going Home, the soapy series followed the daytime commute of a small group of characters from Toronto to Burlington, Ont. Before cell phones became the norm, folks would travel on the train and talk about the day’s events, often amongst the same four people sitting together. Levitan and his writers mirrored that for Train 48, mapping rough conversations and then letting the cast go, free forming the discussions to make them more real. Among the cast on Train 48 were Krista Sutton, Paul Braunstein, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Joe Dinicol, Raoul Bhaneja, Amy Price-Francis and Lisa Merchant, who filmed an episode every weekday for two years.
“I sort of vaguely remember getting up at 4:30 a.m. to drive into the set,” Merchant, who played Brenda Murphy, recalls. “We’d get into costume and have a meeting with the producer, have breakfast, and then it was time to get rolling. We’d be finished by 2:30 p.m. and then would do it all over again the next day.”
“Even though those of us who did it have done a lot of things in our careers, we’ve haven’t done anything like it again,” Bhaneja, who portrayed Pete Subramani, says. “It was such a unique journey. We’d be picked up in a van convoy, climb into our fake GO Train set, film and then what we did would be on TV that night. It was crazy.”
As a daily commuter into Toronto myself at the time, I totally got what Train 48 was all about. Aside from being tonally different from what was on television at the time, Train 48 broke new technological ground as well. Levitan recalls how Global wanted to drive traffic to its fledgling Canada.com website; the show placed Pete on the phone his bookie betting on that night’s Toronto Blue Jays-New York Yankees game. Viewers were urged to visit the website to vote who they thought would win the game; Canada.com crashed for days.
So, why the attention for Train 48 after 13 years? Because episodes are rolling out on the show’s YouTube channel. The show’s distributor, Syndicado (a deal structured through Farrago Media Inc.), suggested they be posted online and Levitan said yes. Train 48 certainly works airing on YouTube, but it would be a perfect fit for Canada’s streaming channels CraveTV and shomi. Levitan thinks so too, but no broadcaster has been interested. He also believes the format is the perfect formula for television today. Levitan points to Orphan Black, which attracts 250,000 viewers for Space every week at a cost of millions per episode versus his show, which attracted 250,000 viewers or more every night of the week at a cost of $40,000 per instalment. The model, he says, still works today.
“There are lots of ways to keep doing Train 48,” Levitan says. “And there are lots of ways to update or change the creative focus of that format, depending on who your network or audience is.”
After an action-packed fourth season which saw an of average of nearly 1.2 million viewers per episode*, Global’s smash hit original series Big Brother Canada returns with casting for its fifth season now underway. Canadians who think they have what it takes can apply online at BigBrotherCanada.ca beginning today. The online submission deadline is October 24, 2016.
The next crop of dynamic and outrageous Canadians interested in appearing on the must-see series can apply online with a short video about why they are the ideal houseguest, along with a photo. Applicants must be 19 years of age by February 1, 2017. Additional information, including a complete list of rules and eligibility, can be found at BigBrotherCanada.ca.
Airing exclusively on Global in spring 2017, Big Brother Canada plucks a group of hand-picked strangers from their homes, sequesters them from the outside world, and places them inside a house outfitted wall-to-wall with cameras and microphones that capture their every move. Competing for a grand cash prize, each week the houseguests battle in a series of challenges that give them power or punishment, voting each other out until the fate of the final two is decided by a jury of fellow houseguests.
Global independent studio Entertainment One (eOne), Big Light Productions, Sienna Films, and Wildcats Productions, in partnership with leading broadcasters Global (Canada), TF1 (France), CBS (US), and RTL (Germany) announce that production has begun in Toronto on the riveting new original drama Ransom. The 13-episode series starring Luke Roberts (Black Sails, Wolf Hall, Game of Thrones) as expert hostage negotiator Eric Beaumont is also set to film in Francethis fall.
Joining the cast as Beaumont’s team are Tony Award-nominated Sarah Greene (Penny Dreadful, Burnt) as Maxine Carlson, a young newcomer eager to prove herself; Brandon Jay McLaren (Graceland, The Killing, Chicago Fire) as Oliver Yates, a psychological profiler; and Nazneen Contractor (Heroes Reborn, Covert Affairs, 24) as ex-cop Zara Hallam.
Ransom follows crisis and hostage negotiator Eric Beaumont (Roberts), whose team is brought in to save lives when no one else can. Eric understands criminals better than they do, and uses his insight into human behaviour to resolve the most difficult kidnap and ransom cases. Despite the stakes, Eric refuses to resort to violence, even when confronted by some of the most dangerous criminals in the world. While Eric’s considerable powers of manipulation make him the best at what he does professionally, they often complicate his relationships with family, friends, and colleagues. Is Eric being himself, or who he needs to be in order to get what he wants? It’s often hard to tell the difference.
Ransom is inspired by the professional experiences of distinguished crisis negotiator Laurent Combalbert. Laurent Combalbert and his partner, Marwan Mery, are among the top negotiators in the world. They travel the globe to help multinational corporations and governmental agencies with complex negotiations and conflict resolution.
Republic of Doyle fans rejoice! You’re got a new wise-cracking, sports car driving primetime private investigator to cheer for with Private Eyes, debuting Thursday on Global. Loosely based on the book The Code by Gare Joyce, Jason Priestley is Matt Shade, an ex-professional hockey player who swaps the rink for investigating high-stakes crimes when he teams with P.I. Angie Everett (Cindy Sampson).
“We’ve only sent one person to the hospital during filming,” Sampson says with a laugh during a break in filming. She is, of course referring to Priestley’s tumble off a horse that briefly shut down production last November. The fact he can laugh about the incident shows how comfortable he is with his co-star, something that comes across in the first episode. Private Eyes‘ theme sets the tone for the series; Vancouver’s Dear Rouge have updated the classic Hall & Oates tune for the opening credits, providing a funky, fun feel.
“Matt’s plate is pretty full,” Priestley says. “He’s taken over primary custody of Jules, so he’s a guy who is struggling to figure out how his new situation is going to work out in his life. But he’s also trying to figure out this new situation in his life. He’s a guy who’s stuck between these two strong women and trying to figure out a balance.”
Will  there be romance between Angie and Shade? That’s not in the cards … yet.
“We’re not exploring that option at this point,” Sampson says. “There are so many other women and so many other men and the cases to be solved too.”
Private Eyes airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Global.
