Networks CBS and CTV gave the new Canadian-made drama Flashpoint a major boost yesterday, moving the cop show from Friday nights to Thursdays, the most-watched night of the week.
Despite a dip in week-over-week ratings, the third episode of Flashpoint will air in the coveted Thursday time slot of 10 p.m. ET, bumping the spicy drama Swingtown, which will now take Flashpoint's Friday slot, effective this week.
Yesterday, co-producers Bill Mustos and Anne Marie La Traverse - who are now shooting episode 10 in Toronto - said they were elated with the news of the swap, adding "they told us it was a vote of confidence in the show."
"Both CBS and CTV are giving it a big lead-in," said Mustos, referring to the American network's popular CSI and CTV's So You Think You Can Dance, which will air before their series. "This is a real opportunity for us. It gives us a chance to reach a broader audience base."
According to Nielsen Media Research, Flashpoint won both the night and the time slot in the U.S. and Canada last Friday, drawing 7.1 million American viewers (down from 8.1 million for the premiere) and 908,000 Canadians (compared with 1.1 million for the premiere).
La Traverse said the networks told them the dip was expected. "It's very typical, after the first airing, for the ratings to go down in the second. The fact that the show won the time slot and the night on both networks is really what counts."
The series, which stars Canadians Hugh Dillon and Enrico Colantoni as part of an elite police force, won the key 18 to 34 and 18 to 49 age demographics. La Traverse said CBS and CTV were impressed by the fact audiences grew in the second half-hour in both countries.
The show is the first Canadian series since CBS and CTV's Due South to air in network prime time in Canada and the U.S. When Due South debuted on a Thursday in 1994, it scored over 15-million viewers in the U.S. and 1.8 million here.
The 13-episode Flashpoint will finish shooting Aug. 22. Mustos said he expects to hear whether the series will get another season in a few weeks. "What CBS told us is that they typically like to see how the show performs over about four weeks to see how the numbers are trending and how the demographics are playing.
"We think we have a few more weeks to go before we know, but I do feel the [night change] is a reflection of the very tangible support we've been getting from the networks the past eight months."
© Globe and Mail
