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Front Page, Industry News
Strike-beleaguered CBS picking up CTV made-in-Canada drama
Wednesday January 30th 2008One of the biggest television networks in the U.S. is set to air at least 13 episodes of a made-in-Canada CTV police drama in the wake of a prolonged Hollywood screenwriters strike that’s prompting every American broadcaster to explore new programming options.
"It’s great news for the Canadian production community," CTV’s Susanne Boyce said Tuesday of the deal reached between the Canadian private broadcaster and CBS, known by some in the U.S. as the "Tiffany Network."
With the writers strike looming last November, CBS executives became interested in "Flashpoint" after seeing the pilot when the show’s producers shopped it around Los Angeles in the fall.
"CBS was impressed with the fact they had extra scripts they could look at, and they liked the writing because it was so strong," Boyce said.
"It’s developed here, produced here, owned and controlled here so there’s no Writers Guild of America issues, the writers are all Canadian – so CBS decided to order the 13 episodes. For us, this is terrific, because we want Canadian shows to be seen throughout the world."
"Flashpoint," with its working title "Sniper," stars Enrico Colantoni of "Veronica Mars" fame, Hugh Dillon, the former punk rocker-turned-actor who starred in the gritty "Durham County," and David Paetkau of CTV’s "Whistler." They play cops on a highly skilled tactical team.
The show, written and created by Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern, was first pitched to CTV in 2005, and was greenlit for production in December. Boyce says it will become the first Canadian series since "Due South" to air on both American and Canadian network TV.
"Due South," produced by Paul Haggis – who later went on to silver screen glory – aired on CTV and CBS in 1994. The show was cancelled on the American network after a 24-episode run, although an additional four episodes were aired on CBS in late 1995.
Negotiations between the Writers Guild of America and major studios on a new contract covering 10,500 striking film and TV writers broke down on Dec. 7. A dispute between writers and studios over royalties from DVD and Internet sales is the primary point of contention.
The strike has brought television productions to a standstill. TV schedules are now being filled with reality shows and reruns.
But much to the relief of those on both sides of the dispute, it doesn’t appear that the strike is affecting viewing habits. A study released Tuesday by Carat, a U.S. media communications company, found that the strike isn’t driving viewers away.
<font size=1>Source: The Canadian Press</font>
Front Page, Industry News
Strike-beleaguered CBS picking up CTV made-in-Canada drama
Wednesday January 30th 2008One of the biggest television networks in the U.S. is set to air at least 13 episodes of a made-in-Canada CTV police drama in the wake of a prolonged Hollywood screenwriters strike that’s prompting every American broadcaster to explore new programming options.
"It’s great news for the Canadian production community," CTV’s Susanne Boyce said Tuesday of the deal reached between the Canadian private broadcaster and CBS, known by some in the U.S. as the "Tiffany Network."
With the writers strike looming last November, CBS executives became interested in "Flashpoint" after seeing the pilot when the show’s producers shopped it around Los Angeles in the fall.
"CBS was impressed with the fact they had extra scripts they could look at, and they liked the writing because it was so strong," Boyce said.
"It’s developed here, produced here, owned and controlled here so there’s no Writers Guild of America issues, the writers are all Canadian – so CBS decided to order the 13 episodes. For us, this is terrific, because we want Canadian shows to be seen throughout the world."
"Flashpoint," with its working title "Sniper," stars Enrico Colantoni of "Veronica Mars" fame, Hugh Dillon, the former punk rocker-turned-actor who starred in the gritty "Durham County," and David Paetkau of CTV’s "Whistler." They play cops on a highly skilled tactical team.
The show, written and created by Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern, was first pitched to CTV in 2005, and was greenlit for production in December. Boyce says it will become the first Canadian series since "Due South" to air on both American and Canadian network TV.
"Due South," produced by Paul Haggis – who later went on to silver screen glory – aired on CTV and CBS in 1994. The show was cancelled on the American network after a 24-episode run, although an additional four episodes were aired on CBS in late 1995.
Negotiations between the Writers Guild of America and major studios on a new contract covering 10,500 striking film and TV writers broke down on Dec. 7. A dispute between writers and studios over royalties from DVD and Internet sales is the primary point of contention.
The strike has brought television productions to a standstill. TV schedules are now being filled with reality shows and reruns.
But much to the relief of those on both sides of the dispute, it doesn’t appear that the strike is affecting viewing habits. A study released Tuesday by Carat, a U.S. media communications company, found that the strike isn’t driving viewers away.
<font size=1>Source: The Canadian Press</font>
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Front Page, Industry News
Strike-beleaguered CBS picking up CTV made-in-Canada drama
Wednesday January 30th 2008One of the biggest television networks in the U.S. is set to air at least 13 episodes of a made-in-Canada CTV police drama in the wake of a prolonged Hollywood screenwriters strike that’s prompting every American broadcaster to explore new programming options.
"It’s great news for the Canadian production community," CTV’s Susanne Boyce said Tuesday of the deal reached between the Canadian private broadcaster and CBS, known by some in the U.S. as the "Tiffany Network."
With the writers strike looming last November, CBS executives became interested in "Flashpoint" after seeing the pilot when the show’s producers shopped it around Los Angeles in the fall.
"CBS was impressed with the fact they had extra scripts they could look at, and they liked the writing because it was so strong," Boyce said.
"It’s developed here, produced here, owned and controlled here so there’s no Writers Guild of America issues, the writers are all Canadian – so CBS decided to order the 13 episodes. For us, this is terrific, because we want Canadian shows to be seen throughout the world."
"Flashpoint," with its working title "Sniper," stars Enrico Colantoni of "Veronica Mars" fame, Hugh Dillon, the former punk rocker-turned-actor who starred in the gritty "Durham County," and David Paetkau of CTV’s "Whistler." They play cops on a highly skilled tactical team.
The show, written and created by Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern, was first pitched to CTV in 2005, and was greenlit for production in December. Boyce says it will become the first Canadian series since "Due South" to air on both American and Canadian network TV.
"Due South," produced by Paul Haggis – who later went on to silver screen glory – aired on CTV and CBS in 1994. The show was cancelled on the American network after a 24-episode run, although an additional four episodes were aired on CBS in late 1995.
Negotiations between the Writers Guild of America and major studios on a new contract covering 10,500 striking film and TV writers broke down on Dec. 7. A dispute between writers and studios over royalties from DVD and Internet sales is the primary point of contention.
The strike has brought television productions to a standstill. TV schedules are now being filled with reality shows and reruns.
But much to the relief of those on both sides of the dispute, it doesn’t appear that the strike is affecting viewing habits. A study released Tuesday by Carat, a U.S. media communications company, found that the strike isn’t driving viewers away.
<font size=1>Source: The Canadian Press</font>
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