Bell Media Completes 2014/15 Canadian Independent Production Slate with Season 2 Order of SPUN OUT
- CTV orders new two-hour MASTERCHEF CANADA holiday special -
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TORONTO, June 5, 2014 /CNW/ - In advance of the #CTVUpfront presentation this afternoon, CTV announced today it has ordered a second season of original comedy series SPUN OUT, completing Bell Media's English-language Canadian commissioned production slate for 2014/15 to date. The 13-episode order from Project 10 Productions comes as SPUN OUT completes its inaugural season as one of the Top 4 returning new comedy series for 2014/15.
CTV also announced today it has ordered a two-hour, spin-off special to complement the recently renewed and ratings smash MASTERCHEF CANADA. Strategically scheduled to premiere this December, MASTERCHEF CANADA: A HOLIDAY SPECIAL will position, for the first time in the world, teams of family home cooks competing against other families. The special, from Proper Television and created in collaboration with MASTERCHEF format holder Shine International, will feature home cooks of all ages.
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"With its fantastic cast, deep writing room, and experienced producers, we think SPUN OUT has great potential for a terrific second season," said Phil King, President - CTV, Sports, and Entertainment Programming. "We are also proud to pioneer an innovative twist for the MASTERCHEF franchise with our new holiday special."
The two orders complete Bell Media's Canadian independent production slate to date featuring nine dramas, two competition series, two comedy series, four factual series, and the recently announced, Corner Gas: The Movie.
"We are proud to work with a long list of talented producers, writers, and showrunners on some of the most respected and engaging productions on television," continued King. "Our Canadian slate is the strongest in the country and we look forward to continuing to work with our production partners to deliver the extraordinary Canadian programming that viewers have come to expect from Bell Media."
Earlier this week, it was revealed that CTV was the only network to place any Canadian original series in the Top 30 list of most-watched programs of the season: MASTERCHEF CANADA (1.8 million viewers), SAVING HOPE (1.6 million viewers), and MOTIVE (1.3 million viewers). MASTERCHEF CANADA ended its inaugural season as Canada's most-watched homegrown series and one of the most-watched new programs of the season.
Meanwhile, SAVING HOPE and MOTIVE are Canada's #1 and #2 original drama series, and SPUN OUT is Canada's most-watched original sitcom. Last summer, THE AMAZING RACE CANADA became the most-watched Canadian television program on record and the #2 program of the year overall with an average audience of 3.5 million viewers.
Bell Media's entertainment specialty productions also continue to resonate with viewers and define their respective channels. On Space, BITTEN is the #1 original series of all time, making Space the #1 specialty network in its timeslot across all key demos. The award-winning and internationally recognized ORPHAN BLACK continues to make waves, ranking as the #1 series among F18-49 and F25-54 on Space. The character-driven cop drama 19-2 was the #1 new series of the season on Bravo, and ranked among the Top 3 programs overall. Throughout its entire run, it reached more than 3.3 million views. On Discovery, the Season 1 debut of COLD WATER COWBOYS stands as the channel's second-highest series premiere ever - Canadian production or otherwise - drawing 610,000 viewers for its series opener.
New Orders
SPUN OUT
Season 2, Project 10 Productions, 13 x :30, CTV
Starring KIDS IN THE HALL alumnus Dave Foley, CTV's original multi-cam workplace comedy SPUN OUT follows the ups and downs of DLPR, a public relations agency staffed with people who can spin everyone's problems but their own. No matter how bizarre the cases are that the agency takes on, they pale in comparison to the workplace romances, rivalries, personal successes, and often hilarious failures of the close-knit and dysfunctional colleagues at DLPR. The ensemble cast features some of Canada's top comedic talent, including Paul Campbell (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA), Rebecca Dalton (THE L.A. COMPLEX), Al Mukadam (RADIO FREE ROSCOE), Holly Deveaux (BAXTER), JP Manoux (COMMUNITY, ER), and Darcy Michael (ENDGAME). From Project 10 Productions, CTV's multi-cam office comedy is created by Gemini Award-winners Jeff Biederman (LIFE WITH DEREK), Brent Piaskoski (ACCORDING TO JIM) and Brian K. Roberts (EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND), and is produced by Andrew Barnsley (HOTBOX). Season 2 is set to begin production later this summer in Toronto.
MASTERCHEF CANADA: A HOLIDAY SPECIAL
Special, Proper Television, 1 x :120, CTV
Canadians are hungry for more MASTERCHEF! And this upcoming holiday season, viewers will get just that with MASTERCHEF CANADA: A HOLIDAY SPECIAL - a brand new heart-warming instalment of the hit culinary competition franchise. Following the success of MASTERCHEF CANADA, the new two-hour special features a handful of fan-favourite home cooks from MASTERCHEF CANADA Season 1, along with members of their families, who will chop, slice, sauté, and bake their way together through a variety of challenges for the win. Fan-favourite Canadian judges Michael Bonacini, renowned for his exacting taste and the refined creator of a high-end restaurant empire; Michelin-Starred and wildly innovative chef, Alvin Leung; and celebrated champion of nuance and flavour, Claudio Aprile, will also be back for the festive fun. Production on the primetime special is set to begin this September in Toronto.
Additional Titles
19-2
Season 2, Sphère Média Plus and Echo Media, 10 x :60, Bravo
After a break-through inaugural season, Bravo's hit character-driven drama, 19-2 will return for a second heart-stopping season. Since its premiere in January, the critically-acclaimed series averaged 190,000 viewers an episode, making it a Top 3 program on Bravo and making it the channel's #1 new series of the season. An English-adaptation of the hit Québec series, 19-2 stars Adrian Holmes and Jared Keeso as Detectives Nick Barron and Ben Chartier. Production details to be announced.
AIRSHOW
Season 1, Great Pacific TV, 12 x :60, Discovery Canada
With just three days left until the next airshow, stunt pilots have got to pack up and move out. Miss it and they'll miss the paycheque that means the difference between grounded by bankruptcy or flying for thousands of fans. AIRSHOW takes viewers behind the scenes of the most dangerous part-time profession on the planet. This is a business where competition is high and pilots are forced to push their planes through severe weather and mechanical problems to get to that next payday. From the ground, it's glamorous. But in the cockpit, it's a G-force-inducing grind where pushing weather, pushing tin, and pushing the body is a must.
THE AMAZING RACE CANADA
Season 2, Insight Productions, 12 x :60, CTV
The race of a lifetime restarts with the season premiere of the blockbuster, record-breaking, original series THE AMAZING RACE CANADA, which kicks off its exhilarating second edition on a new night this summer, airing Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT beginning July 8 on CTV and CTV GO. Hosted once again by Olympic champion and Canadian hero Jon Montgomery, the hit series became a country's obsession and the most-watched Canadian series on record last summer, with an average of 3.5 million viewers.
BITTEN
Season 2, No Equal Entertainment, Hoodwink Entertainment, and Entertainment One Television, 10 x :60, Space
Space's sexy werewolf thriller BITTEN, wrapped its first season as the most-watched original series ever for the channel, reaching more than 1 million viewers each week. The series amassed a fervent social media following resulting in 903 million estimated impressions, including a #RenewBitten campaign which included celebrity supporters Lance Bass, Stacey Dash, Nikki Reed, and Dean Cain. Production on Season 2 is expected to begin this summer and will once again be shot on location in Toronto, Hamilton, and Hespeler. BITTEN stars Laura Vandervoort (SMALLVILLE, Ted) as Elena, the world's only female werewolf along with Greg Bryk (A History Of Violence, ROOKIE BLUE) as The Alpha pack leader Jeremy Danvers, and Greyston Holt (ALCATRAZ, Durham County) as passionate Clayton Danvers. The series also stars Steve Lund (BEING ERICA, HAVEN) as Nick Sorrentino and Michael Xavier (THE BEST YEARS) as Dr. Logan Jonsen.
CANADA'S WORST DRIVER
Season 10, Proper Television, 8 x :60, Discovery Canada
An epic season, a decade in the making… Across nine seasons, 64 drivers have gone through Driver Rehab, and as 53 drivers graduated and earned back their keys, viewers have learned about safer driving techniques, braking on ice, road rules, parking, reversing, and how fundamentals from the racetrack can apply to everyday driving situations. But there's still more work to do to make Canadian roadways safer, so host Andrew Younghusband hauls eight more disastrous driver off the highway for a 10th Season of Rehab. And what has made these drivers so shockingly bad, has made CANADA'S WORST DRIVER so gleefully good. After nine seasons of bumper-busting bad behaviours behind the wheel, the series stands as Discovery's most successful program ever.
COLD WATER COWBOYS
Season 2, Paperney Entertainment, 8 x :60, Discovery Canada
With the second-highest series debut in Discovery's history, the men of The Rock head back out to sea for an all-new season of this hit Canadian series. Following the Newfoundland captains and their crews, COLD WATER COWBOYS ventures hundreds of kilometres offshore in the North Atlantic, facing swells as high as houses and icebergs the size of small cities. Part of a time-honoured industry in the midst of an unprecedented sea of change, these captains are stubborn men who stuck to and survived this calamity by retooling and rebuilding the industry on new catches: crab, shrimp, turbot, herring, and mackerel. It's a tough job - tough on the boats, tough on gear, tough on the human body - but these bred-in-the-bone fishermen will never trade their boats for boardrooms.
Corner Gas: The Movie
Holiday Event, Corner Gas The Movie (SK) Inc. and Corner Gas The Movie (ON) Inc., 1 x :120, CTV, The Movie Network, The Comedy Network
Bell Media, Telefilm Canada and Executive Producers Brent Butt, Virginia Thompson and David Storey announced Corner Gas: The Movie, a 90-minute feature film to be distributed on multiple screens across Canada this holiday season. The landmark film opens with an exclusive Cineplex Front Row Centre Events theatrical debut, followed by premieres on The Movie Network, CTV, and The Comedy Network, while also complemented by a special collector's edition DVD to be available for purchase before the holidays. Corner Gas: The Movie begins production June 23 in Rouleau, Saskatchewan with crews from Ontario and Saskatchewan. Corner Gas: The Movie is an inter-provincial co-production produced by Corner Gas The Movie (SK) Inc. and Corner Gas The Movie (ON) Inc. in association with CTV, Telefilm Canada, Cineplex Inc., Tourism Saskatchewan, Creative Saskatchewan, and the Canada Media Fund.
DEGRASSI
Season 14, Epitome Pictures Inc., a DHX Media company, 28 x :30, MTV Internationally acclaimed and Emmy®-nominated, original Canadian series DEGRASSI continues its longstanding tradition of creating the most provocative and life-altering storylines seen in teen programming.
In Season 14, DEGRASSI continues to stay relevant and relatable, without being preachy or condescending. With a strong and loyal following, the series is consistently ranked within the Top 50 episodes downloaded on iTunes Canada, averaging over 2000 unique user downloads monthly. The impact of the show is also seen in its social media networks - currently boasting over 3.4 million followers on dedicated Facebook and Twitter accounts. In 2012, DEGRASSI marked an impressive milestone, airing its 300th episode. That episode also marked the 400th episode of the entire franchise, making the series the longest-running English language drama in Canadian history. DEGRASSI is licensed in over 140 countries around the world, which speaks to the universal appeal of the hit series. DEGRASSI is produced by Epitome Pictures (THE L.A. COMPLEX, INSTANT STAR) in association with Bell Media. The series was co-created by Linda Schuyler, co-producer of the original Degrassi series and Yan Moore. Schuyler and Stephen Stohn, and Sarah Glinski serve as Executive Producers.
HIGHWAY THRU HELL
Season 3, Great Pacific TV, 17 x :60, Discovery Canada
With bigger rigs and wilder wrecks, HIGHWAY THRU HELL joins Jamie Davis Heavy Rescue for an all-new season - one which sees Davis expand his operation into Alberta, while maintaining his business on B.C.'s Coquihalla Highway. HIGHWAY THRU HELL travels some of the most economically vital - and most inhospitable - trucking routes in North America. Plagued by winter storms, truckers spin out and smash up, and during the worst conditions, the big wrecks can come as often as every 12 hours. And when this happens, the call goes out for heavy rescue to clear the highway carnage and get the road open again.
JUST FOR LAUGHS: ALL ACCESS
Season 3, Just For Laughs Television, 13 x :60, The Comedy Network
As the primary partners of one of the largest and most prestigious comedy festivals in the world, the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal, The Comedy Network brings viewers a star-studded lineup of Canadian, international icons, and buzz-worthy up-and-comers for a third season of the original stand-up series JUST FOR LAUGHS: ALL ACCESS. In production this summer and featuring the biggest stand-up acts in comedy today, Season 3 of JUST FOR LAUGHS: ALL ACCESS will include performances by Andy Samberg, BROAD CITY stars Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson, Nick Offerman, Paul F. Tompkins, James Adomian, Nikki Glaser, Ron Funches, TJ Miller, Seán Cullen, Sara Hennessey, Arthur Simeon, Graham Chittenden, Dave Merheje, and many more.
KILLJOYS
Season 1, Temple Street Productions, 10 x :60, Space
The brainchild of writer, creator, and showrunner Michelle Lovretta (LOST GIRL), KILLJOYS is an adventure drama series that follows a trio of interplanetary bounty hunters sworn to remain impartial as they chase deadly warrants throughout the Quad, a distant star system on the brink of a bloody, multi-planetary class war. In development since 2012 as part of Bell Media's Writer Only Drama Development program, the project was ordered to series by Space in October, 2013. The 10-episode series will begin production this August in Toronto, and is set to premiere on Space as well as Syfy in the U.S. in 2015. KILLJOYS is executive produced by Lovretta and Temple Street Production's David Fortier and Ivan Schneeberg who are joined by lead director and consulting producer, Chris Grismer.
THE LISTENER
Season 5, Shaftesbury, 13 x :60, CTV
Season 5 of CTV's hit original series THE LISTENER is currently airing Mondays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV and CTV GO. The all-new season sees the IIB team moving forward professionally and personally as telepathic crime-solver Toby Logan (Craig Olejnik) advances in his policing skills to become an even-more effective member of the elite unit, while Sgt. Michelle McCluskey (Lauren Lee Smith) struggles to balance motherhood and a fulfilling career. CTV also launches, for a third year in a row, THE LISTENER's exclusive, digital companion series THE TOBY LOGAN FILES for Season 5 on Monday, June 9 on CTV EXTEND. Produced by Shaftesbury in association with CTV and Fox International Channels, THE LISTENER ranks among the Top 5 most-watched Canadian series of last year.
MASTERCHEF CANADA
Season 2, Proper Television, 15 x :60, CTV
The most-watched Canadian series of the 2013/2014 broadcast season with an average audience of 1.8 million viewers, Season 2 of CTV's hit culinary competition series MASTERCHEF CANADA has been ordered for the 2014/2015 broadcast season. Canadian judges Michael Bonacini, Alvin Leung, and Claudio Aprile are back for a second helping. The series will once again be produced by Proper Television, with Shine International as the worldwide distributor. Production on Season 2 set to begin this fall. Casting for Season 2 is now open at ctv.ca/masterchefcanada.
MOTIVE
Season 3, Lark Productions and Foundation Features, 13 x :60, CTV
CTV has ordered of a third installment of its hit original crime drama MOTIVE from Foundation Features and Lark Productions. With a unique "whydunit" format that reveals the killer and victim at the start of each episode, 13 additional one-hour episodes have been ordered with production on Season 3 set to begin this fall in Vancouver. With an average audience of 1.3 million viewers, MOTIVE ends its second season as the second most-watched Canadian drama of the season (following CTV's SAVING HOPE), and the third most-watched Canadian series overall of the season (with MASTERCHEF CANADA).
SAVING HOPE
Season 3, ICF Films and Entertainment One, 18 x :60, CTV
CTV's hit original drama SAVING HOPE, which wrapped its second season as the #1 Canadian drama of the 2013-14 broadcast year, up double digits from its previous season, delivering an impressive average audience of 1.6 million viewers on CTV. Production on 18 new episodes from ICF Films and Entertainment One begins June 11 in Toronto. Set to share the Wednesday night at 9 p.m. GREY'S ANATOMY timeslot on CTV and CTV GO this season, SAVING HOPE stars Erica Durance (SMALLVILLE), Michael Shanks (STARGATE SG1), Daniel Gillies (THE VAMPIRE DIARIES), Wendy Crewson (REVENGE), Huse Madhavji (COMBAT HOSPITAL, STAR! DAILY), and Julia Taylor-Ross (ROOKIE BLUE). New for Season 3, Stacey Farber (DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION) joins the staff at Hope Zion Hospital in the recurring role of Dr. Sydney Katz, OB/GYN.
Directors this season include David Wellington, along with guest director and series lead Michael Shanks, and returning guest directors Jason Priestley (CALL ME FITZ) and Gregory Smith (ROOKIE BLUE).
SENSITIVE SKIN
Season 1, Rhombus Media, in association with Baby Cow Productions, 6 x :30, HBO Canada
SENSITIVE SKIN is the story of Davina (Golden Globe® Award winner and Emmy® Award nominee Kim Cattrall), a woman of a certain age and her long-time husband Al (Tony Award® winner Don McKellar) attempting to change their lives. The couple have sold their comfortable family home and moved downtown to an ultra-modern condo, in a conscious effort to keep relevant, and begin again. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happens. The series is executive produced by Kim Cattrall along with co-star McKellar, who directs all six episodes, and Gemini Award winner Bob Martin (MICHAEL: TUESDAYS & THURSDAYS, SLINGS AND ARROWS), who wrote the entire series. SENSITIVE SKIN was shot in Toronto and is adapted from the acclaimed BBC Two program of the same name. SENSITIVE SKIN premieres Sunday, July 20 at 8 p.m. ET/MT on HBO Canada.
TRANSPORTER: THE SERIES
Season 2, QVF Inc.,12 x :60, The Movie Network
Chris Vance (PRISON BREAK, DEXTER) returns as Frank Martin, a professional transporter who carries anything, anywhere, no questions asked. New to the creative team is award-winning writer and producer Frank Spotnitz (STRIKE BACK, HUNTED), who serves as showrunner for Season 2. With shoots in Morocco, the Czech Republic and the Great Toronto Area, TRANSPORTER: THE SERIES is a France/Canada international treaty co-production produced by Atlantique Productions SA and QVF Inc. in association with broadcast partners The Movie Network, Super Écran, and Movie Central as well as M6 (France). The series is currently slated to premiere on The Movie Network, Super Écran, and Movie Central in Fall 2014.
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About Bell Media Independent Production
Bell Media has commissioned some of Canada's most-watched and most-acclaimed original programming, working with the best Canadian independent producers in the country. Hit CTV series include ratings success stories SAVING HOPE, THE LISTENER, MOTIVE, and THE AMAZING RACE CANADA, the record-breaking, Canadian-produced complementary version of the hit international series. New to CTV in 2014 are hit international format MASTERCHEF CANADA and multi-cam office comedy SPUN OUT, one of the most-watched new comedies of the season. Among the scripted series on Bell Media pay and specialty channels are the two-time Emmy®-nominated hit DEGRASSI, the internationally acclaimed ORPHAN BLACK, the most-watched original series in Space history BITTEN, Bravo's most-watched new drama 19-2, TRANSPORTER: THE SERIES, and upcoming dramas SENSITIVE SKIN, and KILLJOYS. Bell Media specialty channels are also home to hit factual series HIGHWAY THRU HELL and CANADA'S WORST DRIVER, among others. In 2013, Bell Media ordered 27 original Canadian series and currently has 84 projects in various stages of development.
About Bell Media
With passion and an unrelenting commitment to excellence, Bell Media creates content and builds brands that entertain, inform, engage, and inspire audiences through the platforms of their choice. Bell Media is Canada's premier multimedia company with leading assets in television, radio, out-of-home advertising, and digital media. Bell Media owns 30 local television stations led by CTV, Canada's #1 television network; 35 specialty channels, including TSN and RDS, Canada's most-watched specialty channels in English and French; four pay TV services, including The Movie Network and Super Écran; and is managing shareholder of premium pay-per-view service Viewers Choice Canada. Bell Media is also Canada's largest radio broadcaster, with 106 licensed radio stations in 54 markets across Canada. Bell Media owns Astral Out-of-Home, one of Canada's most dynamic and innovative out-of-home advertising companies with a network of more than 9,500 advertising faces in Québec, Ontario and British Columbia. Bell Media also operates more than 200 websites, delivers TV Everywhere with its innovative GO video streaming services, including CTV GO, TMN GO and Bravo GO, and owns Dome Productions Inc., a multi-platform production company. Bell Media is part of BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada's largest communications company. For more on Bell Media, please visit www.bellmedia.ca.
Source: BBM Canada, BY2013-14: Sept 23, 2013 - May 18, 2014 (Weeks 5-38, final data), BY2012-13: Sep 24, 2012 - Aug 25, 2013 (Weeks 5-52, final data).
CTV electronic audience databases incorporate data beginning in 1994.
Audiences prior to August 31, 2009 based on BBM Nielsen Media Research Mark II meters.
SOURCE: Bell Media
Renée Dupuis, Director, Communications, Bell Media, 416.384.3154 or [email protected]
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