8 /10 1 Votes
8.5/10 TV Original language(s) English First episode date 7 June 2012 | 7.5/10 IMDb Country of origin Canada No. of seasons 5 Writers Sherry White | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Genre Medical dramaSupernatural dramaMysteryThriller Created by Malcolm MacRuryMorwyn Brebner Starring Erica DuranceMichael ShanksDaniel GilliesHuse MadhavjiJulia Taylor RossKristopher TurnerKim Shaw Cast Profiles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ion tv picks up canadian drama series saving hope
Saving Hope is a Canadian supernatural medical drama television series starring Erica Durance, and is set in the fictional Hope Zion Hospital in Toronto. The show's premise originated with Malcolm MacRury and Morwyn Brebner, who are both credited as creators and executive producer. The pilot was filmed in Toronto, Ontario. Saving Hope premiered on June 7, 2012 on CTV and NBC. CTV has renewed the series for a fifth and final season.
Contents
Saving hope series trailer
Plot
The show's central character is Dr. Alex Reid (Erica Durance), a doctor whose fiancé, Dr. Charles Harris (Michael Shanks), is in a coma after a car accident. The show follows the life of Charlie in his comatose state and Alex dealing with her patients, all the while hoping that he will survive. Dr. Reid is the Chief Surgical Resident while Dr. Harris was the Chief of Surgery until his accident. Dr. Harris recovers at the end of season 1, but in subsequent seasons he is able to see the spirits of comatose and dead patients.
The show also stars Dr. Joel Goran (Daniel Gillies), a new orthopedic surgeon and Alex's former lover. Reid also works alongside Dr. Shahir Hamza (Huse Madhavji), a neurosurgeon, Dr. Maggie Lin (Julia Taylor Ross), a third year surgical resident on rotation in the General Surgery department, Dr. Gavin Murphy (Kristopher Turner), a psychiatry resident, Dr. Zachary Miller (Benjamin Ayres), the ER doctor, OR nurse Victor Reis (Salvatore Antonio), Dr. Tom Reycraft (K. C. Collins), Dr. Melanda Tolliver (Glenda Braganza), and Dr. Dawn Bell (Michelle Nolden), a cardiologist, who is Charlie's ex-wife.
Main
Recurring
Episodes
The series premiered on June 7, 2012 on both CTV in Canada and NBC in the United States. On July 25, 2012, CTV ordered a second, 13 episode season for the summer of 2013. NBC, however, pulled the show's final two episodes from its broadcast schedule and made them available on their official website. On November 16, 2012, CTV announced they had increased their episode order for season 2 to eighteen episodes. On November 7, 2013, CTV ordered a third season of Saving Hope that consisted of eighteen episodes and aired in 2014. On November 10, 2014, CTV ordered a fourth season of Saving Hope that will consist of eighteen episodes, and premiered on September 24. 2015. On December 17, 2015, CTV ordered a fifth season of Saving Hope that will consist of 18 episodes.
In 2015, Ion Television announced that they had secured the American broadcast rights to the show, and began airing it in 2016.
Conception
Malcolm MacRury and Morwyn Brebner devised the concept of the series. MacRury had previously co-created the comedy series Republic of Doyle for CBC, while Brebner had previously co-created television drama Rookie Blue for the Global Television Network. Canadian broadcaster CTV had picked up the pilot episode in November 2011. Executive producers of the show went to Los Angeles, California, to pitch the series to U.S. broadcasters. Their efforts convinced NBC to pick up the series for airing in the United States. CTV and NBC ordered 13 episodes for the first season.
The Los Angeles Times claimed that MacRury and Brebner are trying to "combine a doctors-in-love medical soap opera modeled on Grey's Anatomy with something completely different, a paranormal ghost story with elements of A Gifted Man and Ghost Whisperer". Principal photography for the pilot episode took place in Toronto, Ontario in the spring of 2011.
Ratings
In Canada, the premiere figures were the highest recorded for the summer season in 2012. The American premiere attracted 3.1 million viewers on NBC, which some critics were unimpressed with.
Reviews
Saving Hope received mixed reviews on Metacritic with a score of 49 out of 100 based on 15 critics' reviews. Verne Gay of Newsday stated the series "is modeled out of particularly sturdy, comfortable and reliable material." He added that it is "a sober, intelligent, placidly paced drama as only the Canadians can make." The Chicago Sun-Times's Lori Rackl said the series "has some fun, clever and emotion-stirring moments, but they’re handicapped by cheesy montages and one too many scenarios designed to remind us of the importance of having hope." Alan Sepinwall of HitFix called Charlie Harris' "spirit walk" around the hospital "an interesting solution to the problem of telling stories we've seen a million times before. But doing it this way ultimately does more harm than good." He added: "It's not bad so much as tired." The San Francisco Chronicle's David Wiegand called the series "a lukewarm stew of ideas from other shows... and films... with stock characters and situations that occasionally jerk a demi-tear or two, but with absolutely no authenticity. The sloppy sentimentality is cheap and unearned."
Broadcast
In September 2014, the U.S. television network Ion Television announced a partnership with eOne to have exclusive broadcast rights for current and future American television seasons. In Australia, the series premiered on SoHo on February 6, 2015.