HUGH DILLON RETURNS FOR AN EXPLOSIVE THIRD AND FINAL SEASON OF THE CRITICALLY
ACCLAIMED CANADIAN ORIGINAL DRAMA, DURHAM COUNTY

•     New six-part season of The Movie Network and Movie Central original series premieres Monday, October 25 at 10 p.m. ET/MT on HBO Canada
•     Sampling opportunities begin on October 12

TORONTO, Oct 6 /CNW/ - Dangerous relationships, family tragedies, a new murder investigation and the haunting side effects of war all begin Monday, October 25 at 10 p.m. ET/MT, when HBO Canada, a multiplex channel of Astral's The Movie Network (Eastern Canada) and Corus Entertainment's Movie Central (Western Canada), presents the third and final season of Durham County, the Gemini nominated one-hour Canadian drama series that explores the secrets buried deep within suburbia.

"Durham County is first-in-class in terms of offering premium-quality, critically acclaimed, daring Canadian original drama," said Aubie Greenberg, Director, Original Programming, Movie Services, Astral Television Networks. "Viewers can expect a riveting final season full of twists and turns at every corner, with even more spellbinding storytelling from a remarkable production team."

"Hugh Dillon has taken the character of Detective Mike Sweeney into dark and raw crevasses rarely seen in television", said Jocelyn Hamilton, Corus Entertainment, "Like a rare gem, Durham County has shown how creative, unrelenting and edgy television can be."     

Starring Hugh Dillon as the tormented Mike Sweeney, now Superintendent of the Durham police precinct, Season 3 of Durham County picks up as Mike's home life is blossoming: his wife Audrey (Hélène Joy) is expecting a baby and his daughter Sadie (Laurence Leboeuf) is about to graduate from the police academy. Alongside new detective and ex-soldier Ivan Sujic (new cast member Michael Nardone), Mike is on the task force investigating the gruesome murders of two young brothers who were accused of being drug runners along the 401 highway corridor.

As the case deepens, Mike's life begins to spiral out of control as he suspects that Ivan is hiding something about the mysterious disappearance of his wife Katya. At the same time, Sadie's role in an undercover operation and her contact with a known drug dealer has put her in grave danger. Meanwhile,a sudden tragedy occurs that may tear Mike's family apart forever. Durham County also stars Greyston Holt as Ray Prager Jr., Krista Bridges as Sabina Leung, Andreas Apergis as Miro Cercu, Cicely Austin as Maddie Sweeney and Bénédicte Décary as Eva Arcady.

Durham County is a Canadian original production from Astral's The Movie Network and Corus Entertainment's Movie Central, developed and produced by Muse Entertainment Enterprises Inc. and Back Alley Film Productions Ltd. The series is produced with participation from the Canada Media Fund, and is distributed internationally by ITV Global Entertainment Media. Durham County was created by Laurie Finstad Knizhnik, and Adrienne Mitchell and Janis Lundman of Back Alley Film Productions Ltd, and is executive produced by Knizhnik, Lundman and Mitchell, and Michael Prupas of Muse Entertainment Enterprises Inc.

In addition to being the winner of five Gemini Awards in 2008, and two recent Directors Guild of Canada awards, Durham County is nominated for seven Gemini Awards this year including Best Dramatic Series, Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role (Hélène Joy) and Best Direction in a Dramatic Series (Adrienne Mitchell). The 25^th Annual Gemini Awards are scheduled to be presented on Saturday, November 13 in Toronto, Ontario.

SNEAK PREVIEW OPPORTUNITIES
The Movie Network and Movie Central will offer subscribers and non-subscribers a chance to sample the premiere episode of Season 3 beginning Tuesday, October 12 via the following online and on demand platforms:

• Free of charge online at www.hbocanada.com
• In Eastern Canada on The Movie Network OnDemand and available free of charge to Rogers customers through Rogers On Demand and Rogers On Demand Online
• On Movie Central On Demand and video on demand services of participating broadcast partners in Western Canada.
• Via HBO Canada OnLine with Rogers, Bell TV and Videotron

ATTENTION ONLINE MEDIA AND BLOGGERS
A 60-second trailer for Durham County (Season 3) is available to view and share at: http://www.hbocanada.com/durhamcounty/video.php

Durham County will be simulcast on HBO Canada HD, and new episodes will be available on demand following their network premieres.

HBO Canada is a multiplex channel offered by Astral's The Movie Network (Eastern Canada) and Corus Entertainment's Movie Central (Western Canada). HBO Canada brings Canadians the current slate of signature dramatic programs for which HBO is known, together with new and never-before-seen programming including comedy series, live specials, sporting events, behind-the-scenes content and titles from HBO's extensive library - all in an uncut and commercial-free environment. HBO Canada is offered in high definition on HBO Canada HD and programming is accessible on demand where available by service provider. For more information, please visit www.hbocanada.com.

Movie Central is owned by Corus Entertainment Inc. (CJR.B/CJR), a Canadian-based media and entertainment company. Corus is a market leader in specialty television and radio with additional assets in pay television, advertising services, television broadcasting, children's book publishing and children's animation. Experience Corus on the web at www.corusent.com.

The Movie Network is a member of the Astral family. Astral is one of Canada's largest media companies. It operates over 100 of the country's most popular pay and specialty television, radio, out-of-home advertising and digital media properties. Astral plays a central role in community life across the country by offering diverse, rich and vibrant programming that meets the tastes and needs of consumers and advertisers. To learn more about Astral, visit astral.com.

For access to The Movie Network's media room or Movie Central's press site, please visit http://tv.astral.com or http://mediacentre.corusent.com.

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