TORONTO - CTV, the private broadcaster often criticized for padding its primetime TV schedule with American hits, focused on its made-in-Canada programming on Monday, bidding an emotional adieu to the beloved "Corner Gas" while celebrating two new and unmistakably Canadian dramatic series.
"Our strategy is to originate more of our own programs, in order to better control our destiny," Ivan Fecan, president and CEO of CTVglobemedia, told a crowd laden with advertisers at the network's fall launch.
Last summer, Fecan said, CTV put a lot of money into four new pilots so that "foreign" stakeholders wouldn't insist on diluting the Canadian flavour of the shows.
"These pilots were proudly all-Canadian - cast, writers, producers - and they were visibly all set here," Fecan said. "Two of them - 'Flashpoint' and 'The Listener' - were home runs and we immediately gave them series orders."
Those shows, in fact, have been picked up by two major American networks. "Flashpoint," about a crack response unit inspired by Toronto's own emergency task force team, premieres next month on CBS and CTV. "The Listener," about a young loner who hears the thoughts of people around him, is slated to air on NBC some time next year.
The producers of both shows said earlier Monday that they were determined that Toronto - from its leafy neighbourhoods to its rattling streetcars and gleaming skyscrapers - played itself instead of standing in for an American metropolis.
"We really are taking a feature film-ic approach and we're showcasing Toronto in a very beautiful way which we're very proud of," said Anne Marie La Traverse, executive producer of "Flashpoint."
Her co-executive producer, Bill Mustos, said CBS officials asked him if he was determined to set the show in Toronto when they were negotiating a deal with the network amid the run-up to the prolonged Hollywood writers' strike earlier this year.
"We said it's how we envisage the show moving forward and we have no desire to relocate it," Mustos said, adding the network was fine with his decision.
Christina Jennings, executive producer of "The Listener," was also adamant about celebrating Toronto and not trying to disguise it as an American city once it sold to NBC.
"We're showing the streetcars and the CN Tower and the beaches - we're showing Toronto as Toronto, not as any other city," said Jennings, head of Shaftesbury Films.
This year's fall launch from CTV was in stark contrast to previous years, when a parade of Hollywood stars came north to promote their shows to a Canadian audience.
Because of a potential strike by the Screen Actors' Guild in the weeks to come, many U.S. shows are currently in production and frantically trying to finish shooting in time for the fall. Luring stars to Canada likely would have proven difficult for CTV, although network officials say they had no plans to invite U.S. celebrities to the launch this year.
Susanne Boyce, head of programming for CTV, said the private broadcaster made a conscious decision this year to celebrate its Canadian success stories.
"We love doing Canadian shows," she said. "It's kind of the year of Canada for us because we've been building shows, and creating shows for MTV. We've got more stuff happening - it's all part of our plan."
The day also marked another "Corner Gas" love-in, as the stars of the beloved sitcom kicked off the launch festivities to discuss the final season.
"We wanted the last season to be the best one ever," Brent Butt, creator and star of "Corner Gas," told a news conference. "I was tempted to do a major cash grab and do another season, but outside of a bank heist, it's never a good idea to do something just as a cash grab."
Butt has another comedy pilot in the works for CTV, and added that a "Corner Gas" film was a definite possibility.
"I would not be surprised if at some point in the future there's a 'Corner Gas' movie - it should come together," said Butt, who became emotional later in the day at the downtown opera house as he thanked the cast of the show.
Also airing on CTV and its complementary A channel this fall:
"So You Think You Can Dance Canada," the Canadian version of the hit international show;
"Fringe," a sci-fi mystery/drama from J.J. Abrams of "Lost" fame, starring Canadian actor Joshua Jackson;
"Eleventh Hour," a drama from Jerry Bruckheimer about what happens when biology is placed in the wrong hands;
"The Mentalist," about a man who uses his acute observational skills to solve crimes;
"Star Wars: The Clone Wars," a new animated series.
American favourites like "Lost," "Grey's Anatomy," "CSI: Miami" and "Desperate Housewives" are also returning to CTV.
Shows in development include the new Butt series and "The Marilyn Denis Show," a new daytime show airing on CTV and starring Gemini Award winner Marilyn Denis. On the A channel, there will be all-new season of "Canada's Next Top Model."
The new projects join "Spectacle," the previously announced CTV music/talk series starring Elvis Costello, currently in production and set to premiere later this year.
News from �The Canadian Press, 2008
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