Shaw Media plans to premiere 15 new scripted dramas in 2011-2012 many will be announced later

May 31, 2011 (Canada NewsWire Group) --

15 New Dramas Build On Record-Breaking
2010/11 Homegrown Lineup

Enthusiastic International Partners, Award-Winning Creative Teams
and an Abundance of Compelling Stories Bring It All Together


TORONTO, May 31, 2011 /CNW/ - Illustrating its continuing commitment to the Canadian television production industry, Shaw Media announced today that it has 15 new scripted dramas planned for the next year - more than any other Canadian broadcaster. This ongoing focus on outstanding Canadian productions, co-productions and partnerships delivered record audiences during the 2010/11 season with homegrown programs Rookie Blue, Lost Girl and The Kennedys.

Upcoming titles include:

►Combat Hospital ►Rookie Blue - Season 2 ►The Firm
►Lost Girl - Season 2 ►World Without End ►Haven - Season 2
►Titanic ►Bomb Girls ►Almost Heroes
►Single White Spenny ►King - Season 2 ►Producing Parker- Season 2
►Rave Squad
►Triumph Of Will
►Drunk And On Drugs Happy
Funtime Hour

"We're extremely proud of the role we've played in championing original Canadian dramas," said Barbara Williams, Senior Vice-President, Content, Shaw Media. "This past year proved to be a real turning point for our local productions attracting record Canadian audiences and unprecedented attention from the US. And with four US network simulcasts scheduled over the next 12 months, the future is only looking brighter for homegrown productions."

Through Shaw Media's many US and international partners, audiences can expect to see a wide spectrum of top notch productions - some based on best-selling novels, others inspired by true events and many original dramas from some of the country's best creative team.

Productions of note include:

GLOBAL

Combat Hospital
Combat Hospital is set in 2006 when Canadians played a pivotal role overseeing the medical and military personnel at the NATO Multinational Medical Unit at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan. This highly charged series follows the frantic lives of the hospital's resident doctors and nurses as they navigate their way through the relentless life-and-death battles on the operating table. Global's latest original drama makes its series premiere Tuesday, June 21 - 10pm ET/PT in simulcast with ABC. Combat Hospital is a joint production of Canada's Sienna Films and the UK's Artists Studio, and is currently filming in Toronto

Rookie Blue, Season 2
This summer, the personal and professional lives of the rookies continue to collide. On and off the job, these cops still have a lot to learn. After premiering on Global last year as the most-watched debut season of any scripted Canadian TV series in two decades, Rookie Blue is back with season two Thursday, June 23 - 10pm ET/PT in simulcast with ABC. Developed by Thump Inc. and produced in partnership with Entertainment (eOne) Television, the 13-episode series was commissioned by Shaw Media and picked up last year by ABC Television Network during development. Rookie Blue II was shot earlier this year in Toronto.

The Firm
Already a bestselling novel and a box office smash hit, John Grisham's The Firm has now been commissioned by Shaw Media for Global as an original 22-episode x 60-minute series. The Firm will premiere midseason 2012 in tandem on Global and NBC as part of the networks' fall TV seasons, and will be shot on location in Toronto. The Firm is produced by Entertainment (eOne) Television in association with Sony Pictures Television Networks and Paramount Pictures.

Bomb Girls
Set in 1940s Toronto, the 6-part x 1 hour series Bomb Girls delves into the lives of the exceptional women - peers, friends and rivals - who find themselves thrust into new worlds, building bombs on the assembly line in the munitions factory. Bomb Girls is a Muse Entertainment /Back Alley Film production set to shoot on location in Toronto. Written by Michael MacLennan (Queer as Folk, Godiva's) and co-created by Michael Maclennan and Adrienne Mitchell (Durham County, Bliss), the series is Executive Produced by Janis Lundman (Durham County, Bliss), Michael MacLennan, Adrienne Mitchell and Michael Prupas (The Kennedys, The Pillars of the Earth). Bomb Girls will premiere on Global in winter 2012.

Titanic
Shaw Media, along with ABC, ITV Studios and Lookout Point present Titanic, an epic four-part (4x1hr) miniseries set to premiere in simulcast on Global and ABC. The story that continues to generate interest globally is brought back to life with a fresh take from BAFTA® winning producer Nigel Stafford Clark (Bleak House) and Oscar® winning writer Julian Fellowes, (Gosford Park). The television debut of the Titanic in spring 2012 will aptly commemorate the 100th anniversary of the tragic event. Filming began this spring on location in Budapest, Hungary.

SHOWCASE

Lost Girl, Season 2
Lost Girl follows supernatural seductress Bo (Anna Silk: Being Erica; Billable Hours), a Succubus who feeds on the sexual energy of mortals. The premiere on September 12, 2010 garnered the highest ratings ever for an original Canadian scripted series on Showcase, pulling in over 400,000 viewers (2+). Based on this great success, work began almost immediately on season two. Lost Girl is developed and produced in partnership with Prodigy Pictures Inc. and Shaw Media, and is shot in the Hamilton area.

King, Season 2
King, starring Amy Price-Francis (The Cleaner, 24, Californication) as gutsy, no holds barred police detective Jessica King, is currently in early pre-production for season two. A critical success in its first season on Showcase, King is shot on location and in studio in Toronto. The series was developed by Greg Spottiswood (Shattered) and Bernie Zukerman (This Is Wonderland, Million Dollar Babies) for Indian Grove Productions Ltd. and commissioned by Showcase for Shaw Media.

World Without End
World Without End is based on Ken Follett's multi-million bestseller of the same name and will air on Showcase in 2012. Budgeted at US$43 million, this eight-hour special event is a Canadian/German production with Tandem Communications and Canada's Take Five Productions in association with Ridley Scott and Tony Scott´s SCOTT FREE FILMS. Principal

photography with director Michael Caton-Jones (Rob Roy, Shooting Dogs) is set for a July start on location in Hungary.

Haven, Season 2
Haven centres on the small town of Haven, Maine, where FBI agent Audrey (Emily Rose, ER, Brothers and Sisters) discovers that this curious enclave is a long time refuge for people with supernatural afflictions. Currently in production for season two in Nova Scotia, this fantasy-noir series premieres Monday, July 18 on Showcase. Developed and produced by Entertainment One, and co-commissioned by Shaw Media with the Syfy Channel in the United States, Haven secured 2.6 million total viewers on Syfy and ranked as one of the top five series for Showcase (A25-54) for season one. Haven is based on The Colorado Kid by Stephen King.

About Shaw Communications Inc.
Shaw Communications Inc. is a diversified communications and media company, providing consumers with broadband cable television, High-Speed Internet, Home Phone, telecommunications services (through Shaw Business), satellite direct-to-home services (through Shaw Direct) and engaging programming content (through Shaw Media). Shaw serves 3.4 million customers, through a reliable and extensive fibre network. Shaw Media operates one of the largest conventional television networks in Canada, Global Television, and 18 specialty networks including HGTV Canada, Food Network Canada, History Television and Showcase. Shaw is traded on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges and is included in the S&P/TSX 60 Index (Symbol: TSX - SJR.B, NYSE - SJR). For more information about Shaw, please visit www.shaw.ca.


Source: Shaw Media

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