Sunday, February 17, 2008

Stephanie Morgenstern’s Pilot Picked Up By Major US Network!

As of last week, the Writers Guild of America’s strike had ended. However, before that, networks were faced with a problem, should the strike have carried on for longer. What were they to do about the upcoming television season? Many turned to Canada, where the writers were not on strike, and signed deals with many Canadian television productions. One such production was one that we have been following since last fall, Flashpoint (A.K.A. Sniper and Critical Incident). Stephanie Morgenstern (Sailor Venus #1) and her husband, Mark Ellis, created the show and are also writers for it! We are incredibly happy that finally, fans across the border can also catch this sighting, as CBS is the lucky network who has picked up the first season’s 13 episodes! Most times, a former VA will appear on a Canadian television show and their fans in the United States are unable to catch them - unless a pilgrimage is made to Canada! Flashpoint is the first series since Due South to be sold to a US network! The show has been in development since 2005 and got the greenlight for a pilot last summer. CTV greenlighted the drama last December. CTV has put a video preview of the show on their site, however the link appears to be broken as it takes you to a video of Canada AM. We will as always, keep you informed on future developments of this show! According to a press release, Flashpoint is about "an emotional journey into the tough, risk-filled lives of a group of cops in the SRU (inspired by Toronto's Emergency Task Force). They're unique cops that can do what ordinary cops can't: rescue hostages, bust gangs, defuse bombs, climb the sides of buildings and talk down suicidal teens. Members of a highly-skilled tactical team, they're also trained in negotiating, profiling and getting inside the suspect's head at the very emotional breaking point (the "flashpoint") that triggered the crisis. They'll do whatever it takes to diffuse the situation to try to save lives - all in a day's work." Congratulations again to Stephanie and Mark!