Saving Hope
Genre
Created by
Starring
Country of originCanada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes85 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
CinematographySteve Danyluk
EditorTad Seaborn
Running time44 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkCTV
ReleaseJune 7, 2012 (2012-06-07) –
August 3, 2017 (2017-08-03)

Saving Hope is a Canadian supernatural medical drama television series set in Toronto in the fictional hospital Hope Zion. The series stars Erica Durance and Michael Shanks. The show's premise originated with Malcolm MacRury and Morwyn Brebner, who are both credited as creators and executive producers. Saving Hope aired on CTV for five seasons from June 7, 2012, to August 3, 2017, with the first season airing on NBC.

Plot

The protagonist of the show is Dr. Alex Reid (Erica Durance), a doctor whose fiancé, Dr. Charles Harris (Michael Shanks), is in a coma after a car accident while on his way to their wedding. 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 continues to be able to see the spirits of comatose and dead patients.

The show also stars Dr. Joel Goran (Daniel Gillies), an 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.

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Overview

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
113June 7, 2012 (2012-06-07)September 13, 2012 (2012-09-13)
218June 25, 2013 (2013-06-25)February 27, 2014 (2014-02-27)
318September 22, 2014 (2014-09-22)February 18, 2015 (2015-02-18)
418September 24, 2015 (2015-09-24)February 14, 2016 (2016-02-14)
518March 12, 2017 (2017-03-12)August 3, 2017 (2017-08-03)

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.[20] 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.[21] On November 10, 2014, CTV ordered a fourth season of Saving Hope that consisted of eighteen episodes,[22] and premiered on September 24. 2015.[23] On December 17, 2015, CTV ordered a fifth and final season of Saving Hope that consisted of 18 episodes.[24]

In 2014, Ion Television announced that they had secured the American broadcast rights to the show.[25]

Home Media

DVD Title Region 1 Region 2
The Complete First Season July 1, 2016 (U.S.)
May 21, 2013 (Canada) 		October 28, 2013 (UK)
November 28, 2014 (Germany)
The Complete Second Season October 7, 2014 (Canada) December 8, 2014 (UK)
April 10, 2015 (Germany)
The Complete Third Season September 13, 2016 (U.S.)
February 9, 2016 (Canada) 		October 7, 2016 (Germany)
The Complete Fourth Season March 7, 2017 (U.S.)
June 7, 2016 (Canada) 		N/A
The Complete Fifth Season October 24, 2017 (U.S. & Canada) N/A

Production

Conception

Malcolm MacRury and Morwyn Brebner devised the concept of the series.[26][27] 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.[26] Canadian broadcaster CTV had picked up the pilot episode in November 2011.[26][28] Executive producers of the show went to Los Angeles, California, to pitch the series to U.S. broadcasters.[26] Their efforts convinced NBC to pick up the series for airing in the United States.[29][30] 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".[31] Principal photography for the pilot episode took place in Toronto, Ontario in the spring of 2011.

Reception

Ratings

In Canada, the premiere figures were the highest recorded for the summer season in 2012.[32] The American premiere attracted 3.1 million viewers on NBC, which some critics were unimpressed with.[33]

Season Timeslot (ET) Episodes Premiered Ended TV Season Viewers
(millions)
Date Viewers
(millions) 		Date Viewers
(millions)
1 Thursday 9:00 p.m. 13
June 7, 2012
 1.52[34]
September 13, 2012
 1.55[35] 2012–13 1.70[36]
2 Tuesday 10:00 p.m. 18
June 25, 2013
 1.08[37]
February 27, 2014
 1.68[38] 2013–14 1.30[39]
3 Thursday 9:00 p.m. (fall)
Wednesday 9:00 p.m. (midseason) 		18
September 22, 2014
 1.1[40]
February 18, 2015
 — 2014–15 N/A
4 Thursday 9:00 p.m. 18
September 24, 2015
 1.49
February 14, 2016
 1.21 2015–16 N/A
5 Sunday 10:00 p.m. (winter)
Thursday 9:00 (spring) 		18
March 12, 2017
 0.94 August 3, 2017 N/A 2017 N/A

Reviews

Saving Hope received mixed reviews on Metacritic with a score of 49 out of 100 based on 15 critics' reviews.[41] 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."[42] 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."[43] 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."[44] 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."[45]

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.[46] In Australia, the series premiered on SoHo on February 6, 2015.[47] The series will began airing reruns on G4, which will relaunch in the summer of 2021.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Erica Durance". Saving Hope. CTV Television Network. Archived from the original on September 14, 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  2. ^ "Michael Shanks". Saving Hope. CTV Television Network. Archived from the original on July 25, 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  3. ^ "Daniel Gillies". Saving Hope. CTV Television Network. Archived from the original on 28 June 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  4. ^ "Huse Madhavji". Saving Hope. CTV Television Network. Archived from the original on June 28, 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  5. ^ "En Bloc". Saving Hope. Season 2. Episode 11. CTV Television Network.
  6. ^ "Pilot". Saving Hope. Season 1. Episode 1. 7 June 2012. CTV Television Network/NBC.
  7. ^ "Julia Taylor Ross". Saving Hope. CTV Television Network. Archived from the original on September 2, 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  8. ^ "Kristopher Turner". Saving Hope. CTV Television Network. Archived from the original on 20 February 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  9. ^ "Ben Ayres". Saving Hope. CTV Television Network. Archived from the original on January 19, 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  10. ^ "Glenda Braganza". Saving Hope. CTV Television Network. Archived from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  11. ^ "Salvatore Antonio". Saving Hope. CTV Television Network. Archived from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  12. ^ "K. C. Collins". Saving Hope. CTV Television Network. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  13. ^ "Joseph Pierre". Saving Hope. CTV Television Network. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  14. ^ "Michelle Nolden". Saving Hope. CTV Television Network. Archived from the original on October 20, 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  15. ^ "Stacey Farber". Saving Hope. CTV Television Network. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  16. ^ a b "season 4 of CTV's Hit Original Drama SAVING HOPE Starts Production on June 1 – Bell Media". BellMedia. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  17. ^ "Saving Hope | Full Episodes and Clips on". Ctv.ca. 2015-08-27. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  18. ^ "Conrad Coates". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  19. ^ "'Saving Hope' returns for fifth and final season Mar. 12 on CTV". CTV. March 3, 2017. Archived from the original on March 9, 2017.
  20. ^ "CTV – Bell Media". Bell Media. Bellmediapr.ca. 2015-09-20. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  21. ^ Vlessing, Etan (7 November 2013). "CTV Orders Third Season of Erica Durance Starrer 'Saving Hope'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  22. ^ Miller, Thomas. "CTV Renews Saving Hope". Seat42F. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  23. ^ "Saving Hope season 4 release date – September 24, 2015". When-will.net. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  24. ^ Vlessing, Etan (December 17, 2015). "ION Television Renews 'Saving Hope' for Fifth Season". The Hollywood Reporter.
  25. ^ "'Saving Hope' Finds New U.S. Home". The Hollywood Reporter. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  26. ^ a b c d Vlessing, Etan (2011-11-03). "Canadian Drama 'Saving Hope' Seeks U.S. Partner". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  27. ^ Rose, Lacey (2012-01-05). "NBC Eyeing Canadian Drama 'Saving Hope' For Summer Run". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  28. ^ "Breaking News – CTV Orders New One-Hour Original Drama Series "Saving Hope"". TheFutonCritic.com. 2011-11-02. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  29. ^ "Breaking News – NBC to Become U.S. Broadcaster for New CTV Drama Series "Saving Hope"". TheFutonCritic.com. 2012-03-01. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  30. ^ Vlessing, Etan (2012-01-03). "NBC Orders Canadian Drama 'Saving Hope' for Summer Schedule (Exclusive)". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  31. ^ "After an Accident, a Doctor's Lingering Presence : 'Saving Hope' Begins Thursday on NBC". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  32. ^ "The Prognosis is In: SAVING HOPE Debuts #1 in Canada with 1.52 Million Viewers on CTV" (Press release). Bell Media. 8 June 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  33. ^ "Lackluster Ratings for "Saving Hope" Premiere". 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-15.
  34. ^ "Top Programs – Total Canada (English) June 4 – June 10, 2012" (PDF). BBM Canada. 15 June 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  35. ^ "Top Programs – Total Canada (English) September 10 – September 16, 2012" (PDF). BBM Canada. 21 September 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2012.[permanent dead link]
  36. ^ "Press Releases – Bell Media". Bellmediapr.ca. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  37. ^ "Top Programs – Total Canada (English) June 24 – June 30, 2013" (PDF). BBM Canada. 5 July 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  38. ^ "Top Programs – Total Canada (English) February 24 – March 2, 2014" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 14, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  39. ^ "Saving Hope season three". Tvseriesfinale.com. 7 November 2013. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  40. ^ "The Rise of GOTHAM: An Epic Beginning Sees 2.4 Million Viewers Tune Into Series Premiere on CTV". Bell Media Press Room. September 23, 2014.
  41. ^ "Saving Hope – Season 1 Reviews, Ratings, Credits and More". Metacritic. June 7, 2012. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  42. ^ Gay, Verne (June 4, 2012). "'Saving Hope': A ghostly doctor drama". Newsday. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  43. ^ Rackl, Lori (June 6, 2012). "'Saving Hope:' A spoonful of schmaltz makes this medicine hard to swallow". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  44. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (June 6, 2012). "Review: NBC's 'Saving Hope' mixes medical drama with metaphysics". HitFix. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  45. ^ Weigand, David (June 27, 2012). "'Saving Hope' TV review: an otherworldly mishmash". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  46. ^ "ION Television Picks Up 'Saving Hope' Season Three – Ratings". TVbytheNumbers.Zap2it.com. 2014-09-03. Archived from the original on 2015-09-30. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  47. ^ Higgins, D (February 2, 2015). "New this week: Black Sails, Selling Houses Australia, Big Cat Week and Snowboarding World Cup". The Green Room. Foxtel. Retrieved February 3, 2015.

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