| The Listener | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Science fiction Drama |
| Created by | Michael Amo |
| Starring | Craig Olejnik Ennis Esmer Mylène Dinh-Robic Lisa Marcos Lauren Lee Smith Rainbow Sun Francks Peter Stebbings |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 26 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
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| Running time | 40 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CTV |
| Original run | June 3, 2009 – present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The Listener is a Canadian science fiction drama, set in Toronto about a young paramedic named Toby Logan (Craig Olejnik) with the ability to listen to people's minds. It premiered in Canada on CTV on June 3, 2009.
The Listener was renewed by CTV for a third season on June 1, 2011. It is expected to premiere in 2012.
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The series premiered on Fox International Channels beginning with the Arabic-speaking area of northern Africa and south-western Asia on March 1, 2009. The Listener' premiered in Canada on June 3, 2009 on CTV and in the United States one day later on NBC. NBC removed the show from their broadcast schedule part way through the first season due to low ratings.[1] It was announced on November 17, 2009 that CTV had renewed The Listener for a second season of 13 episodes.[2] After a delay of over one year, the second season premiered on February 8, 2011, airing Tuesday nights. After that, it moved to Fridays and then Saturdays.[3] It was announced on June 1, 2011 that The Listener had been renewed for a third season.
Toby is a 28-year-old[4] first year paramedic who's never known his father and grew up in foster homes. Until now, Toby has kept his ability to listen to people's surface thoughts a secret and the only one he has shared it with is his old counsellor and confidant, Dr. Ray Mercer (Colm Feore), prior to the series' first episode. While he crosses the city of Toronto in his ambulance with his partner Osman "Oz" Bey (Enis Esmer), Toby helps people in crisis and on the way come to terms with his own past. With the help of Detective Charlie Marks (Lisa Marcos) and his on-and-off girlfriend Olivia Fawcett (Mylène Dinh-Robic), an E.R doctor, Toby realizes that his gift can serve to help other people.
It's a year and a half later and Toby has finally come to terms with his telepathic powers and is still working with his paramedic partner Osman Bey. After assisting with an undercover case investigated by the Integrated Investigative Bureau (a special unit of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police) Toby reveals his gift to Sgt. Michelle McCluskey (Lauren Lee Smith). Despite her initial skepticism, she realizes that Toby's special abilities could be her team's secret weapon. So alongside his paramedic work Toby joins Michelle and other members of the IIB to help solve some of their most difficult and high profile cases ranging from suspicious homicides to cases of arms dealing. But the price to pay for having such a gift is the emotional and physical effects of delving into some of the most deranged criminal minds out there and it is his old flame Dr Olivia Fawcett who helps him deal with his problems.[5]
The Listener was renewed for a third season on June 1, 2011. It is expected to premiere in 2012.
The series is produced by Shaftesbury Films in association with CTV and Space and was created by Michael Amo. The pilot episode was directed by Clement Virgo.[6] Production began in spring 2008.
Production for the second season began in September 2010 and ended February 2011.[7]
With the delayed second season came several production changes. Firstly, the entire writing staff has been replaced. The likes of Michael Amo and Dennis Heaton have been replaced by writers like Jason Sherman and Wil Zmak.[8]
In terms of storylines and overall tone, star Craig Olejnik has said that "season two is more mature, stronger, smoother, and it really picks up... it really moves into a whole new world."[9] Examples of this "new world" include the ways in which Toby finds himself in cases. In season one, the majority of cases in which Toby was involved were approached by Toby. That is, Toby, as a paramedic, was called to a location and found himself wrapped inside of a case. On the other hand, season two sees Toby approached by Sergeant McCluskey on most cases. In addition, season one had more of a mysterious, conspiracy sci-fi theme whereas season two has, as star Lauren Lee Smith states, "no real sci-fi aspect to it... It’s a guy who can read people’s minds and he helps the cops out with that." [10] Season two nearly abandons Toby's search for his mother and an understanding of his powers. Colm Feore's character is gone, and the telepathic link is only through Toby solving crimes. Rather than try to discover what has happened to his mother and to learn more about his psychic sense, Toby "further embraces his telepathic powers to help solve criminal investigations." [11]
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In Italy The Listener not only grew the timeslot average by 470%, according to research company Auditel/AGB, but it was the second-most watched show ever on Fox.[12]
NBC pulled the show off the air after the July 23rd airing of "Inside the Man" due to low ratings.[13]
Fox International Channels premiered the series on the first week of March 2009, in 180 territories American television network NBC announced on February 1, 2008, a deal to pick up 13 episodes.[6][14] The show is distributed through Program Partners, which owns the American rights with advertising sales by Sony Pictures Television. The show began airing in the U.S. on Thursday evenings in June 2009, but was removed from the schedule after the ninth episode due to low ratings. The remaining four episodes, were available for screening online at no charge through the NBC.com and Hulu.com websites until 31 December 2009 for U.S. viewers.
The second season premièred February 8, 2011 in Canada on CTV and internationally in the UK on FX on March 1, 2011.
| Country/Region | Network | Premiere Date |
|---|---|---|
| Arab World | Fox Series | March 1, 2009 |
| Latin America | Fox | March 2, 2009 |
| Greece | Fox Life Greece | March 2, 2009(season 1) June 8, 2011(season 2) |
| Japan | FOX | March 2, 2009 |
| South Korea | FOX | March 2, 2009 |
| Portugal | FOX | March 2, 2009 |
| Argentina | FOX | March 3, 2009 |
| Bulgaria | Fox Crime | March 3, 2009 |
| Germany | FOX | March 3, 2009 |
| RTL II | January 30, 2010 | |
| Malaysia | RTM's tv2 | March 30, 2011 |
| Spain | FOX | March 3, 2009 |
| Antena 3 | August 4, 2009 | |
| Italy | FOX Italy | March 5, 2009 |
| Cielo | March 29, 2010 | |
| Russia | Fox Life | March 6, 2009 |
| Asia | FX | March 6, 2009 |
| Poland | Fox Life | March 8, 2009 |
| Polsat | December 5, 2011 | |
| United Kingdom | FX | March 8, 2009 |
| Ireland | FX | March 8, 2009 |
| Brazil | FOX | March 31, 2009 |
| Mexico | FOX | March 10, 2009 |
| Azteca 7 | January 13, 2010 | |
| Netherlands | Net 5 | April 19, 2009 |
| Canada | CTV | June 3, 2009 [15] |
| A | June 4, 2009 [16] | |
| United States | NBC | June 4, 2009 |
| Israel | Yes Stars Action | June 23, 2009 |
| Slovenia | Supernova | August 10, 2009 |
| France | 13ème Rue | October 19, 2009[17] |
| New Zealand | Prime | November 16, 2009 |
| Australia | GO! | March 3, 2010 |
| W | March 6, 2011 (season 1) July 24, 2011(season 2) |
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| Hungary | RTL Klub | June 24, 2010 |
| Norway | FEM | Unknown |
| Denmark | Kanal 4 | Unknown |
Season one of The Listener was released on DVD in Region 2 in the UK on September 13, 2010.[18] Release dates for other regions are yet to be announced.