ABC & Canwest Renew 'Rookie Blue' for Second Season

Indie studio, E1 Entertainment is proud to announce that ABC and Canwest have confirmed the renewal of this summer's number one new scripted series, Rookie Blue. The sexy hit drama was green lit for a second season a mere three weeks following the ground-breaking premiere on ABC and Global Television.

A ratings winner since its debut, Rookie Blue has hooked a combined weekly average of 8.5 million viewers on both sides of the border, and has garnered a rap sheet full of critics' accolades. Sparked by this extraordinary response to the new blue, the second season is currently in development and will move into production in Toronto later this summer.

"We are so proud of Rookie Blue's amazing success and are thrilled to announce its renewal alongside ABC," said Barbara Williams, Executive Vice-President of Content, Canwest Broadcasting. "This homegrown series has delivered record-setting audiences, and we're looking forward to giving fans even more of these fresh characters and gripping storylines in season two."

In the U.S., the new series ranks second on Thursday night among the broadcast networks to Fox's time-slot veteran So You Think You Can Dance among young adults (AD18-34/AD18-49). In Adults 18-49, Rookie Blue's premiere telecast stands as TV's top-rated summer scripted series debut in over 1 year and ABC's highest in nearly 6 years - since 5/26/09 and 7/18/04, respectively. Rookie Blue is producing year-to-year gains for ABC in the hour of 4.2 million viewers and 125% in Adults 18-49, from the Net's Summer '09 averages in the time slot.

In Canada, the series premiere garnered a record-breaking 2.1 million viewers on Global (Ind 2+, national - up from the preliminary overnight number of 1.8 million) - the highest-rated premiere for a Canadian drama series on any network in over a decade. Bolstered by an extensive marketing campaign across the country, Rookie Blue is the most successful original Canadian drama ever commissioned by Canwest.

"We're very pleased that the show has connected with viewers, especially considering the challenge of finding an audience in the summer," said Quinn Taylor, Senior Vice President, Movies, Miniseries and Acquisitions, ABC Entertainment Group, "and thrilled to pick it up for a second season."

Rookie Blue was developed by Thump Inc. and produced in partnership with leading indie studio and distributor, E1 Entertainment. The series is executive produced by award-winning Tassie Cameron (Flashpoint), Ilana Frank (The Eleventh Hour, Would Be Kings), Noreen Halpern (Hung, Haven), John Morayniss (Hung, Haven) and David Wellington (The Eleventh Hour, Would Be Kings).

"The creative troika of Tassie, David and Ilana is the secret behind the out-of-the-gate success of Rookie Blue," said Noreen Halpern, President of Dramatic Programming, E1 Television. "They tell heartfelt, immersive human stories burnished with a sexy, glossy pop sheen. We're thrilled that the stars seem to have aligned on this project, and that Canwest and ABC have been such incredible partners."

E1 owns worldwide distribution rights for its TV productions and markets its programs to broadcasters, digital outlets and retailers around the globe. Along with the cptfc sales to ABC and Canwest, the exclusive global pay-TV rights (excluding U.S., Canada, France and Germany) for Rookie Blue were previously acquired by Universal Networks International, the global channels division of NBC Universal.

Rookie Blue follows the lives of five inexperienced rookies thrown into the world of big city policing. The series examines the trials and triumphs, competition and camaraderie of this rookie family learning that no amount of training can prepare them for this job - or for life.

Shot entirely on location in Toronto, Rookie Blue features a diverse lineup of Canadian actors including Missy Peregrym (Reaper, Heroes), Gregory Smith (Everwood), Charlotte Sullivan (M.V.P.), Enuka Okuma (24) and Travis Milne (My Green House). Rounding out the cast is Ben Bass (Would Be Kings), Eric Johnson (Smallville), Matt Gordon (Rent-A-Goalie), Noam Jenkins (Flashpoint) and Melanie Nicholls King (The Wire).

Rookie Blue airs Thursdays at 9pm ET/PT on Global and ABC. In this week's episode, "Signals Crossed" (Thursday, July 15), Andy (Missy Peregrym) trades in her uniform for something more risqu? when she goes undercover as a prostitute. Tensions run high when Dov (Gregory Smith) puts an informant's life in jeopardy and it's up to Andy to infiltrate a risky gun deal in progress to save her.

Viewers can catch up on the first three episodes of Rookie Blue at www.Globaltv.com and www.abc.com.

Canada: Data as of August 31st 2009, BBM Canada PPM Overnight & Confirmed Data based on Ind 2+, Total Canada. All other historical data based on BBM/NMR, BBM Canada or Nielsen People Meter data from January 2001 to August 2009, Total Canada.

U.S.: Nielsen Media Research (Fast Affiliate, Live + Same Day Ratings), Jun24 - Jul8/10 inclusive.

E1 Entertainment (AIM: ETO) is a leading international independent entertainment group of companies that specialises in the acquisition, production and distribution of film and television content. The Group's comprehensive network extends around the globe including Canada, the U.S., the UK, Ireland, Benelux, France, Australia, and New Zealand. Through established Entertainment and Distribution divisions, the company provides extensive expertise in film distribution, television and music production, kids programming and merchandising and licensing. Its current rights library is exploited across all media formats and includes more than 20,000 film and television titles, 2,400 hours of television programming and 45,000 music tracks.

 

 

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