Production Begins on Season 5 of CTV's Hit Original Drama SAVING HOPE

‒ Eighteen new episodes from ICF Films and Entertainment One are shooting on location in Toronto, upping total episode count to 85 since its debut in June 2012 ‒
‒ Jarod Joseph (THE 100, MISTRESSES) joins the cast for Season 5 ‒
‒ Erica Durance returns to lead an ensemble cast including Michael Shanks, Wendy Crewson, Michelle Nolden, Benjamin Ayres, Julia Taylor Ross, Huse Madhavji, Kim Shaw, and Dejan Loyola ‒
‒ Series stars Erica Durance and Michael Shanks set to direct episodes again this season ‒
‒ Previous seasons of SAVING HOPE are streaming now on CraveTV™ ‒

TORONTO, April 18, 2016 /CNW/ - CTV announced today, in association with Ilana Frank's ICF Films and Entertainment One (eOne), that production is underway on Season 5 of original drama SAVING HOPE. Eighteen episodes will shoot on location in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area until November 2016, bringing the hit series to 85 episodes in total since its 2012 debut. SAVING HOPE's fifth season is set to air as part of CTV's 2016/17 broadcast season, and stars Erica Durance as Dr. Alex Reid. A Best Dramatic Series nominee and finalist for the Golden Screen Award for most-watched Canadian drama at the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards, all past seasons of SAVING HOPE are streaming now on CraveTV™.

The most-watched Canadian drama series among the key demos this broadcast year to date, Season 4 of SAVING HOPE averaged 1.3 million viewers on CTV. A Top 30 program among the key A18-34 demo, SAVING HOPE saw a 17% increase in the demo, as well as a 67% increase in F18-34 over Season 3.

SAVING HOPE's emotional and gripping special two-hour Season 4 finale saw Dr. Charlie Harris (Michael Shanks) undergo brain surgery to remove an aggressive tumour, which could also affect his ghost-seeing abilities. Following Charlie's surgery and a successful recovery, the finale culminated with a vengeful Tom Crenshaw (Travis Milne, ROOKIE BLUE) showing up at the Hope Zion Hospital Fellowship Awards and firing a shot at Alex and Charlie.

Picking up in the aftermath of the heart-stopping finale which ended in a cliffhanger, Season 5 of SAVING HOPE returns with the Hope Zion staff thrust into turmoil. Following her promise to stay away from Charlie if he survived his surgery, Alex faces a big decision while her fellow doctors deal with new challenges as changes come to Hope Zion that will not only affect the livelihood of the hospital, but also its doctors and everything they hold dear.

"With fans still reeling from last season's finale, we're looking forward to heading back to Hope Zion Hospital and delivering another season of this addictive drama to our viewers," said Corrie Coe, Senior Vice-President, Independent Production, Bell Media. "Audiences have embraced this series and its exceptional ensemble cast for the past four seasons and with our production partners ICF Films and eOne again at the helm, this is sure to be another outstanding season."

Joining the cast for Season 5 in a recurring role is Calgary-born actor Jarod Joseph (THE 100, MISTRESSES). The young, charming, and philosophical radiologist Dr. Emanuel Palmer brings a laissez-faire attitude to Hope Zion, as well as a propensity for challenging his medical colleagues with his unique insights. Directing this season are series stars Erica Durance and Michael Shanks, as well as David Wellington (BITTEN), Peter Stebbings (THE LISTENER), Kelly Makin (VIKINGS), Gregory Smith (ARROW), Steve DiMarco (ROOKIE BLUE), and James Genn (CALL ME FITZ).

SAVING HOPE stars Canadian Screen Award nominee Erica Durance (SMALLVILLE) as Dr. Alex Reid; Michael Shanks (STARGATE SG-1) as Dr. Charlie Harris; Canadian Screen Award-winner and 2016 Earle Grey Award recipient Wendy Crewson (Room) as Dr. Dana Kinney; Benjamin Ayres (BITTEN) as Dr. Zach Miller; Canadian Screen Award nominee Julia Taylor Ross (GOTHAM) as Dr. Maggie Lin; Canadian Screen Award-winner Michelle Nolden (Prisoner X) as Dr. Dawn Bell; Huse Madhavji (CALL ME FITZ) as Dr. Shahir Hamza; Kim Shaw (THE GOOD WIFE) as Dr. Cassie Williams, and Dejan Loyola (THE 100) as Dr. Dev Sekara.

SAVING HOPE is produced by ICF Films with eOne in association with CTV, with the participation of the Canada Media Fund and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit. SAVING HOPE airs on ION Television in the U.S., which also renewed the series for a fifth season.

The series is executive produced by Ilana Frank, John Morayniss, and Linda Pope, and co-executive produced by Noelle Carbone, Patrick Tarr, and Jocelyn Hamilton. Adam Pettle is Executive Producer and Showrunner. All distribution rights are handled by eOne. For Bell Media, Lisa Gotlieb is Coordinator, Independent Production; Kathleen Meek is Production Executive, Drama, Independent Production; Tom Hastings is Director, Drama, Independent Production; Corrie Coe is Senior Vice-President, Independent Production; Mike Cosentino is Senior Vice-President, Programming, CTV Networks and CraveTV; and Randy Lennox is President, Entertainment Production and Broadcasting.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:

Twitter:
@CTV_PR
@CTV_Television 
SAVING HOPE: @SavingHopeTV 
Erica Durance: @ED_DURANCE
Michael Shanks: @MichaelShanks 
Benjamin Ayres: @BenjaminAyres 
Julia Taylor Ross: @juliataylorross
Michelle Nolden: @noldenmichelle 
Huse Madhavji: @HuseM 
Kim Shaw: @ItsMeKimShaw 
Dejan Loyola: @dejanloyola 
Jarod Joseph: @JarodJoseph 

Facebook:
Facebook.com/CTV
Facebook.com/SavingHopeTV

Instagram:
BellMediaPR
CTV_Television

About Entertainment One (eOne)
Entertainment One Ltd. (LSE:ETO) is a leading international entertainment company that specializes in the acquisition, production and distribution of film and television content. The company's comprehensive network extends around the globe including Canada, the U.S., the UK, Ireland, Spain, Benelux, France, Germany, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.  Through established Film and Television divisions, the company provides extensive expertise in film distribution, television and music production, family programming, merchandising and licensing, and digital content. Its current rights library is exploited across all media formats and includes more than 40,000 film and television titles, 4,500 hours of television programming and 45,000 music tracks.

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 series commissioned by CTV include ratings success stories SAVING HOPE, MOTIVE, the record-breaking THE AMAZING RACE CANADA, MASTERCHEF CANADA, and the upcoming drama CARDINAL. Among the original scripted series on Bell Media pay, specialty, and streaming platforms are the internationally acclaimed ORPHAN BLACK, the smash-hit thriller BITTEN, Space's most-watched original series KILLJOYS, Bravo's most-watched original drama 19-2, award-winning dramedy SENSITIVE SKIN, CraveTV's first original series LETTERKENNY, and Discovery's upcoming drama FRONTIER. Discovery is also home to Bell Media's hit factual series HIGHWAY THRU HELL, COLD WATER COWBOYS, and CANADA'S WORST DRIVER, among others.

About CTV
CTV is Canada's #1 private broadcaster. Featuring a wide range of quality news, sports, information, and entertainment programming, CTV has been Canada's most-watched television network for the past 14 years in a row. CTV is a division of Bell Media, Canada's premier multimedia company with leading assets in television, radio, digital, and Out-of-Home. Bell Media is owned by BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada's largest communications company. More information about CTV can be found on the network's website at CTV.ca.

– CTV –

Source: Numeris, 2015-16 Broadcast Year To Date (Sept. 21, 2015 – April 3, 2016, final data).

SOURCE CTV

Matthew Almeida, CTV Networks, 416.384.2629 or [email protected]; Christy Sullivan, CTV Networks, 416.384.3624 or [email protected]; Sue Baldaro, Unit Publicist, 647.802.0739 or [email protected]