THE LISTENER and SAVING HOPE Return With All-New Episodes August 15 and 16 on CTV

• Former CFL football player and current TSN broadcaster Glen Suitor guest stars on an all-new episode of THE LISTENER
• Picking up from its emotional cliffhanger episode, Charlie's life hangs in the balance in an all-new episode of SAVING HOPE
• First-ever THE LISTENER live video chat with the series' principal cast takes place August 22 at 10 p.m. ET as a tragic turn of events leads to a death of a main character

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

TORONTO, Aug. 13, 2012 /CNW/ - The torch is passed back to CTV's original hit series THE LISTENER and Canada's #1 summer drama SAVING HOPE, as both series continue their season runs with all-new episodes following the London 2012 Olympic Games. Beginning Wednesday, August 15 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CTV, THE LISTENER returns with Toby (Craig Olejnik) beginning to doubt his abilities. Meanwhile, Oz (Ennis Esmer) intercepts an emergency with former CFL football player and current TSN broadcaster Glen Suitor, who guest stars as himself. Then, SAVING HOPE returns Thursday, August 16 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV, picking up with the aftermath of the life and decision from the cliffhanger episode that delivered a series high 1.9 million viewers (overnight number; 1.7 million) and saw Charlie (Michael Shanks) being taken off his ventilator. The episode stars pre-eminent Canadian actor, Colm Feore (THE BORGIAS, 24), who steps in as a guide to help a stuck Charlie "cross over."

** Media Note ** Download new photos from THE LISTENER and SAVING HOPE at BellMediaPR.ca

In the ultimate companion viewing event, CTV.ca hosts its first-ever live video chat simultaneously with the return of THE LISTENER on Wednesday, August 22 at 10 p.m. ET. Viewers can log on to CTV.ca to watch some of the series' biggest stars - including Lauren Lee Smith, Mylène Dinh-Robic, Rainbow Francks, and Tara Spencer-Nairn - engage in a real-time discussion of the emotional episode that features the shocking death of a beloved main character. As the episode airs simultaneously on television, viewers logged on to ctv.ca/livechat will find a live video stream of the cast and producers discussing the episode with a host. In addition, fans can ask questions and react to the episode through a traditional live chat window, located directly below the video. Select questions will be brought forward to the cast as they occur, giving the audience an unprecedented access to the actors and producers, and ask questions about a particularly riveting episode.

Viewers can also catch up on full episodes of THE LISTENER and SAVING HOPE following their television broadcast across CTV's digital platforms, including CTV.ca, the CTV App, the CTV Mobile channel on Bell Mobile TV, and through video on demand partners such as Bell Fibe TV.

See below for episode synopses. All times in ET/PT. Visit CTV.ca to confirm local broadcast times.

THE LISTENER - "Crossed" - NEW EPISODE
Wednesday, August 15 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CTV
Toby (Craig Olejnik) starts doubting his abilities after Michelle (Lauren Lee Smith) questions the veracity of his insights during their investigation into a wealthy philanthropist's murder. Meanwhile, Oz (Ennis Esmer) fantasizes about impossible-to-get Grey Cup tickets, but when he intercepts an emergency with Saskatchewan Roughriders football legend and TSN broadcaster Glen Suitor, his dream suddenly seems within reach.

SAVING HOPE - "Bea, Again" - NEW EPISODE
Wednesday, August 16 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV
Charlie's (Michael Shanks) ex-wife, Dawn (Michelle Nolden), has pulled the plug on his ventilator. All that's left now is to wait for his breathing to stop. Devastated, Alex (Erica Durance) vows to stay by Charlie's side. Meanwhile, Charlie - resisting his death - bumps into Dr. Mack MacIlreath (guest star Colm Feore), a recently deceased colleague, who has come to help Charlie die. Alex decides to lawyer up and appeal to the Consent & Capacity Board. While the process gets started, Alex is pulled away to meet with a patient: a young woman named Bea (Rachel Cairns), who Alex performed surgery on while working as a first year surgical resident under Charlie. Bea's new symptoms help Alex make a discovery about Charlie's coma situation.

THE LISTENER is produced by Shaftesbury in association with CTV and Fox International Channels. The series is executive produced by Christina Jennings and Scott Garvie for Shaftesbury, and Karen Troubetzkoy (18 TO LIFE) and Peter Mohan (LOST GIRL, THE BRIDGE), who serves as Season 3 showrunner. Robin Johnston and Rebecca Dipasquale are Production Executives for Bell Media. Corrie Coe is Senior Vice-President, Independent Production, Bell Media. Mike Cosentino is Senior Vice-President, Programming, CTV Networks. Phil King is President, CTV Programming and Sports. Sharon Tal Yguado is Executive Producer for Fox International Channels. THE LISTENER is produced with the financial participation of The Canada Media Fund, The Canadian Film or Video Tax Credit and The Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit. THE LISTENER is available in 120 countries and 33 languages worldwide via Fox International Channels and Shine International, which distributes the series internationally. The series has also been licensed to ION Television in the United States.

SAVING HOPE is produced by Ilana C Frank Films (ICF Films) with Entertainment One, in association with CTV and NBC. The series is executive produced by Ilana Frank and David Wellington for ICF Films, John Morayniss (THE FIRM, HAVEN) for Entertainment One and Lesley Harrison. Executive Producers and Showrunners are Morwyn Brebner (ROOKIE BLUE) and Aaron Martin (BEING ERICA). The series was created by Malcolm MacRury (CRASH AND BURN, REPUBLIC OF DOYLE) and Morwyn Brebner. David Wellington directed the pilot. For Bell Media, Trish Williams is Director, Drama, Independent Production; Corrie Coe is Senior Vice-President, Independent Production; Mike Cosentino is Senior Vice-President, Programming, CTV Networks. Phil King is President, CTV Programming and Sports.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:

CTV:
Twitter:
@CTV_Television
@CTV_PR

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ctv

THE LISTENER:
Twitter:
@listenertv
Ennis Esmer: @heyennisshutup
Lauren Lee Smith: @L_L_S
Tara Spencer-Narin: @TSpencerNairn
Mylène Dinh-Robic: @MyleneDinhRobic
Rainbow Sun Francks: @RainbowFrancks
Arnold Pinnock: @ARNOLDPINNOCK Glen Suitor: @GlenSuitor

Facebook:
facebook.com/CTV.TheListener

SAVING HOPE:
Twitter:
@SavingHopeTV
@SavingHopeZ
Michael Shanks: @MichaelShanks
Daniel Gillies: @danieljgillies
Kristopher Turner: @kristopherturn
Huse Madhavji: @HuseM
Julia Taylor-Ross: @juliataylorross

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/SavingHopeTV

Tumblr:
http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/saving+hope

Pinterest:
http://pinterest.com/CTVTelevision/saving-hope/

About CTV
CTV, Canada's Olympic Network, is also Canada's largest private broadcaster. Featuring a wide range of quality news, sports, information, and entertainment programming, CTV is Canada's most-watched television network and lead broadcaster of the London 2012 Olympic Games. CTV is a division of Bell Media, Canada's premier multimedia company with leading assets in television, radio and digital. 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

SOURCE: CTV

Matthew Almeida, CTV, CTV Two, 416.384.2629 or [email protected]
Jacqui VanSickle, CTV, CTV Two, 416.384.5091 or [email protected]