CanCon finds followers in syndicated re-runs by Lee-Anne Goodman
Source : Victoria Times Colonist
December 19, 2006
The Canadian Press
TORONTO -- Canadians are quick to roll their eyes at the thought of regularly tuning into Canadian TV, particularly when there's American fare like Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives to be had.
But that odd feature of our national psyche -- to puff our chests and take pride in what we produce as soon as Americans start noticing it -- might bode well for Canadian television: Canuck shows are making a huge splash internationally thanks to lucrative syndication deals that are putting homegrown fare in tens of millions of homes in the United States and beyond.
Shows like Corner Gas, Degrassi: The Next Generation and crime dramas that no longer air in Canada -- Da Vinci's Inquest and Cold Squad among them -- are going gangbusters internationally.
"We're in the 100 top TV markets throughout the U.S. -- New York, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New Orleans ... the list goes on and on," says Chris Haddock, the brain behind Da Vinci's Inquest and the new series Intelligence, airing on CBC-TV. "We're routinely beating a lot of American shows like CSI: Miami. "
In its second year of syndication in the U.S., Da Vinci's Inquest, starring Nicholas Campbell as a Vancouver coroner, is even frequently the No. 1 syndicated show in its time slot in markets like Atlanta, Houston and Phoenix. It averages about 3.5 million to four million viewers a week.
"It's a crime drama that appeals to a large audience, and it's also a really well-written, well-acted and beautifully produced show," says Michael Shepard, president of Vancouver-based Thunderbird Films, the company that distributes Da Vinci, Cold Squad and Stone Undercover, a former CBC show that was known here simply as Tom Stone.
Thunderbird will also distribute the critically acclaimed Intelligence, Shepard says -- something he confesses to being "over the moon" about -- and has inked a deal for Degrassi: The Next Generation that will see it go into U.S. syndication in September.
Corner Gas is another Canadian show that recently secured an American syndication deal with cable network Superstation WGN. The two-year, 88-episode deal with the Chicago-based WGN will make the show available in nearly 70 million American homes in 2007.
The show is also licensed internationally to broadcasters serving 26 countries, including Iraq, Finland and Australia -- and so far, the Australians like what they've seen.
"Warmly engaging without indulging in any schmaltz factor," wrote Larissa Dubecki of the Age, a Melbourne-based newspaper. "From simple material, Corner Gas creator, writer and star Brent Butt has made an engaging observational comedy about everyday small-town people."
CTV's Degrassi has also been a hit for the N cable network, where it has aired in the United States for years. It's such a sensation south of the border that the show's young cast members were mobbed when they were in New York City in September promoting the show's Season 6 premiere on the network -- only to return to Canada where they're barely recognized.
Diane Wild, the woman behind the TV, Eh? blog, says it's gratifying knowing that international audiences are embracing Canadian television.
While Corner Gas is a bona fide Canadian hit, other shows struggle to find and hold onto viewers -- and in the case of Da Vinci's Inquest, have to wait to go into syndication in the U.S. to get the respect it has long deserved, Wild says.
TOP SHOWS
Some U.S. syndication facts and figures on Canadian shows:
Da Vinci's Inquest: One of the top-rated weekly series in syndication, it airs on 202 television stations in over 98 per cent of the United States.
Cold Squad and Stone Undercover: Airing together as Thunderbird Film's so-called Crime Watch package, the two shows pull in almost four million viewers a week. Stone Undercover was known as Tom Stone throughout its run on CBC in 2002-2003.
Degrassi: The Next Generation: Already a hit for the N cable network in the U.S., the show goes into American syndication in September 2007.
Corner Gas: Recently secured an American syndication deal with cable network Superstation WGN. The two-year, 88-episode deal with the Chicago-based WGN will make the show available in nearly 70 million American homes in 2007.
© Victoria Times Colonist
TORONTO -- Canadians are quick to roll their eyes at the thought of regularly tuning into Canadian TV, particularly when there's American fare like Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives to be had.
But that odd feature of our national psyche -- to puff our chests and take pride in what we produce as soon as Americans start noticing it -- might bode well for Canadian television: Canuck shows are making a huge splash internationally thanks to lucrative syndication deals that are putting homegrown fare in tens of millions of homes in the United States and beyond.
Shows like Corner Gas, Degrassi: The Next Generation and crime dramas that no longer air in Canada -- Da Vinci's Inquest and Cold Squad among them -- are going gangbusters internationally.
"We're in the 100 top TV markets throughout the U.S. -- New York, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New Orleans ... the list goes on and on," says Chris Haddock, the brain behind Da Vinci's Inquest and the new series Intelligence, airing on CBC-TV. "We're routinely beating a lot of American shows like CSI: Miami. "
In its second year of syndication in the U.S., Da Vinci's Inquest, starring Nicholas Campbell as a Vancouver coroner, is even frequently the No. 1 syndicated show in its time slot in markets like Atlanta, Houston and Phoenix. It averages about 3.5 million to four million viewers a week.
"It's a crime drama that appeals to a large audience, and it's also a really well-written, well-acted and beautifully produced show," says Michael Shepard, president of Vancouver-based Thunderbird Films, the company that distributes Da Vinci, Cold Squad and Stone Undercover, a former CBC show that was known here simply as Tom Stone.
Thunderbird will also distribute the critically acclaimed Intelligence, Shepard says -- something he confesses to being "over the moon" about -- and has inked a deal for Degrassi: The Next Generation that will see it go into U.S. syndication in September.
Corner Gas is another Canadian show that recently secured an American syndication deal with cable network Superstation WGN. The two-year, 88-episode deal with the Chicago-based WGN will make the show available in nearly 70 million American homes in 2007.
The show is also licensed internationally to broadcasters serving 26 countries, including Iraq, Finland and Australia -- and so far, the Australians like what they've seen.
"Warmly engaging without indulging in any schmaltz factor," wrote Larissa Dubecki of the Age, a Melbourne-based newspaper. "From simple material, Corner Gas creator, writer and star Brent Butt has made an engaging observational comedy about everyday small-town people."
CTV's Degrassi has also been a hit for the N cable network, where it has aired in the United States for years. It's such a sensation south of the border that the show's young cast members were mobbed when they were in New York City in September promoting the show's Season 6 premiere on the network -- only to return to Canada where they're barely recognized.
Diane Wild, the woman behind the TV, Eh? blog, says it's gratifying knowing that international audiences are embracing Canadian television.
While Corner Gas is a bona fide Canadian hit, other shows struggle to find and hold onto viewers -- and in the case of Da Vinci's Inquest, have to wait to go into syndication in the U.S. to get the respect it has long deserved, Wild says.
TOP SHOWS
Some U.S. syndication facts and figures on Canadian shows:
Da Vinci's Inquest: One of the top-rated weekly series in syndication, it airs on 202 television stations in over 98 per cent of the United States.
Cold Squad and Stone Undercover: Airing together as Thunderbird Film's so-called Crime Watch package, the two shows pull in almost four million viewers a week. Stone Undercover was known as Tom Stone throughout its run on CBC in 2002-2003.
Degrassi: The Next Generation: Already a hit for the N cable network in the U.S., the show goes into American syndication in September 2007.
Corner Gas: Recently secured an American syndication deal with cable network Superstation WGN. The two-year, 88-episode deal with the Chicago-based WGN will make the show available in nearly 70 million American homes in 2007.
© Victoria Times Colonist
