Space Orders Second Season of its Original Smash-Hit Series, BITTEN

Sexy Thriller is Space's Most-Watched Original Series

− To date, Season 1 has reached nearly 5 million viewers -
− Celebrities take to Twitter for #RenewBitten campaign -
− Production to begin this summer, on location in Toronto, Hamilton, and Hespeler −

To tweet this release: http://bit.ly/RX8E2c

TORONTO, May 22, 2014 /CNW/ - Space announced today it has ordered a second season of the sexy, high-octane thriller, BITTEN, Space's most-watched original series ever. Picking up after an exhilarating Season 1 finale, Space has ordered 10 additional, one-hour episodes from No Equal Entertainment, Entertainment One Television, and Hoodwink Entertainment. Production is expected to begin this summer and will once again be shot on location in Toronto, Hamilton, and Hespeler. Viewers who have yet to join The Pack can catch encore episodes Sundays at 11 p.m. ET on Space following new episodes of the bewitching series SALEM at 10 p.m. ET. The entire first season of the werewolf thriller encores on CTV this summer.

"BITTEN has been such an exciting addition to Space," said Phil King, President - CTV, Sports, and Entertainment Programming. "When we signed on for Season 1 we knew it was a unique series and when fans and critics agreed with us, we knew we had a hit. Here's to another season of making great television with our terrific production partners."

"BITTEN has been such a rewarding and collaborative experience," said J.B Sugar, Executive Producer, No Equal Entertainment. "We are looking forward to producing another fantastic season with partners at Bell Media, Entertainment One Television, and Hoodwink. The Pack is so ready and thankful for the opportunity to run again!"

"We're thrilled to be a part of the killer team bringing another season of BITTEN to the fans," said Margaret O'Brien, President (Canada), Entertainment One Television. "This action-packed series has resonated extremely well with viewers and across social media. We look forward to building upon the success and excitement established in Season 1."

** Media Note ** Download photography for BITTEN at BellMediaPR.ca/Space

Since its debut in January, BITTEN has amassed a loyal following with an average weekly audience of 347,000 viewers on Saturdays at 9 p.m., making it Space's #1 original series of all time and the #1 program on Space this broadcast year. Each week, BITTEN reached more than 1 million viewers, and to date has reached nearly 5 million viewers. The series also gained a loyal social media following with 903 million estimated impressions from 364,430 Twitter mentions, by 288,071 users using the hashtag #Bitten. Celebrities also took to Twitter to rally for the return of BITTEN with the #RenewBitten campaign, which included supporters Lance Bass, Stacey Dash, Nikki Reed, and Dean Cain. This campaign alone generated 18.1 million estimated impressions, from 29,446 Twitter mentions, by 3,212 users.

Based on the critically-acclaimed series of novels by Kelley Armstrong, 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.

BITTEN is executive produced by J.B. Sugar (THE COLLECTOR, JPOD) for No Equal Entertainment, John Barbisan, and Patrick Banister (WHISTLER) for Hoodwink Entertainment, and Tecca Crosby, John Morayniss, and Margaret O'Brien for Entertainment One (eOne). Daegan Fryklind (MOTIVE, THE LISTENER) is Showrunner. eOne is the worldwide distributor for the series.

BITTEN is produced by No Equal Entertainment, Hoodwink Entertainment, and eOne in association with Space and Bell Media. Rebecca DiPasquale and Tom Hastings are Production Executives, Drama, Bell Media. Trish Williams is Director of Drama, Independent Production, Bell Media. Corrie Coe is Senior Vice-President, Independent Production, Bell Media. Catherine MacLeod is Senior Vice-President, Specialty Channels and Bell Media Production. Phil King is President, CTV, Sports, and Entertainment Programming.

Source: BBM Canada, 1/11/14-4/8/14
Twitter Source: Sysomos

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
Space on Facebook
Space on Twitter
Space on Instagram
Laura Vandervoort on Twitter
Greg Bryk on Twitter
Greyston Holt on Twitter
Steve Lund on Twitter
Michael Xavier on Twitter
Kelley Armstrong on Twitter
eOne TV on Twitter
BITTEN on Facebook
BITTEN on Twitter

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 Space
Space is home to phenomenal programming including imaginative dramas, epic movies, engaging reality series, and the daily entertainment talk show INNERSPACE, the source for all-things genre - all in high definition (HD). Named "Channel of the Year" in 2013 by Playback Magazine, Space is also home to Original Series ORPHAN BLACK, PANIC BUTTON, and BITTEN. Space content is always available at Space.ca, and on Facebook, @SpaceChannel, and other social media platforms. Space is a division of Bell Media, which is owned by BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada's largest communications company.

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, South Africa and South Korea.  Through established Entertainment and Distribution divisions, the company provides extensive expertise in film distribution, television and music production, family programming and merchandising and licensing. Its current rights library is exploited across all media formats and includes more than 35,000 film and television titles, 2,800 hours of television programming and 45,000 music tracks.

Through strong relationships with broadcasters and content providers, eOne Television International has successfully sold eOne's original and third-party productions to over 500 broadcasters in 150 countries, including key US networks and international pay TV channels.

SOURCE: SPACE

Andrea Allen, Space, 416.384.5375 or [email protected]
Mary Costa, Space, 416.384.7702 or [email protected]