Saving Hope

Saving Hope
Genre	Medical drama Supernatural drama Mystery Thriller
Created by	Malcolm MacRury Morwyn Brebner
Starring	Erica Durance Michael Shanks Daniel Gillies Huse Madhavji Julia Taylor Ross Kristopher Turner
Country of origin	Canada
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	3 (4 ordered)
No. of episodes	49 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Ilana Frank David Wellington Lesley Harrison Morwyn Brebner Aaron Martin Malcolm MacRury
Producer(s)	Linda Pope Kathy-Avrich-Johnson Erica Durance
Editor(s)	Tad Seaborn
Cinematography	Steve Danyluk
Running time	44 minutes
Production company(s)	Ilana C. Frank Films Entertainment One Bell Media
Distributor	CTV Television Network Entertainment One International
Broadcast
Original channel	CTV, NBC
Picture format	480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV)
Audio format	Stereo Dolby Digital 5.1
Original run	June 7, 2012 (2012-06-07) – present (present)
External links
Official website
Production website

Saving Hope is a Canadian television supernatural medical drama, set in the fictional Hope Zion Hospital in Toronto. The show's central character is Dr. Alex Reid (Erica Durance), a doctor whose fiancé, Dr. Charles Harris (Michael Shanks), is in a coma after being in a car accident. The show follows the life of Charlie in his coma state, and Alex dealing with patients, and 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 is able to see the spirits of comatose and dead patients through season 2. This comes in handy at the start of season 3, when Dr. Reid ends up in a coma.

The show also stars Dr. Joel Goran (Daniel Gillies), a new orthopedic surgeon and Alex's former lover. Reid also works along with 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 and Charlie's ex-wife.

The show's premise originated with Malcolm MacRury and Morwyn Brebner, who are both credited as creators and executive producers alongside Ilana Frank, David Wellington, Lesley Harrison, and Aaron Martin. The pilot was filmed in Toronto, Ontario.

Saving Hope has received mixed reviews from television critics for its storylines. Commentators noted that the show seemed like other dramas such as Grey's Anatomy. The series premiered on June 7, 2012 on both CTV and in the United States on NBC. On July 25, 2012, CTV ordered a second, thirteen-episode season for the summer of 2013.^[1] NBC, however, pulled the show's final two episodes from its broadcast schedule and made them viewable 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 will consist of eighteen episodes and air in 2014.^[2] On November 10, 2014, CTV ordered a fourth season of Saving Hope that will consist of eighteen episodes and air in 2015.^[3]

In September 2014, the U.S. cable network, Ion Television, announced a partnership with eOne to have exclusive broadcast rights for current and future American television seasons.^[4] In Australia, the series will premiere on SoHo on February 6, 2015.^[5]

Production

Conception

Malcolm MacRury and Morwyn Brebner devised the concept of the series.^[6][7] 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.^[6] Canadian broadcaster CTV had picked up the pilot episode in November 2011.^[6][8] Executive producers of the show went to Los Angeles, California, to pitch the series to U.S. broadcasters.^[6] Their efforts convinced NBC to pick up the series for airing in the United States.^[9][10] 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".^[11] Principal photography for the pilot episode took place in Toronto, Ontario in the spring of 2011.

Plot

After a car crash on the way to his wedding, the Chief of Surgery, Charlie Harris (Michael Shanks), of Toronto's Hope Zion Hospital ends up in a coma. He finds out that he can roam the hospital in spirit form.^[12]

His fiancée and fellow surgeon, Alex Reid (Erica Durance), tries to save his life with the help of other doctors, including surgeon Joel Goran (Daniel Gillies), as they struggle with their day to day lives to keep the hope alive at Hope Zion.

Cast and characters

Main Cast

Name	Portrayed by	Position and Role	Seasons
			1	2	3
Charles "Charlie" Harris	Michael Shanks	Chief of Surgery and Orthopaedic surgeon	Main
Alex Reid	Erica Durance	Chief Surgical Resident	Main
Joel Goran	Daniel Gillies	Orthopaedic surgeon	Main
Shahir Hamza	Huse Madhavji	Chief of Neurosurgery	Main
Maggie Lin	Julia Taylor Ross	Third Year Surgical Resident	Main
Gavin Murphy	Kristopher Turner	Psychiatry Resident	Main		Recurring
Zach Miller	Benjamin Ayres	ER Doctor	Main
Melanda Tolliver	Glenda Braganza	ICU Doctor	Main
Victor Reis	Salvatore Antonio	OR nurse	Main
Tom Reycraft	K. C. Collins	Chief Surgical Resident	Main		Recurring
Dana Kinney	Wendy Crewson	Chief of Plastic Surgery	Main	Recurring
Jackson Wade	Joseph Jomo Pierre	ICU nurse	Recurring	Main
Dawn Bell	Michelle Nolden	Cardiologist	Recurring	Main
Dr. Sydney Katz	Stacey Farber	OB/GYN			Main

• Erica Durance as Dr. Alex Reid, at the start of the series Chief Surgical Resident and Charlie Harris' fiancée^[13]
• Michael Shanks as Dr. Charles "Charlie" Harris, Chief of Surgery, orthopedic surgeon, and Alex's fiancé^[14]
• Daniel Gillies as Dr. Joel Goran, new orthopedic surgeon at Hope Zion and Alex's former lover^[15]
• Huse Madhavji as Dr. Shahir Hamza, Chief of Neurosurgery and Victor Reis's longtime boyfriend^[16]
• Julia Taylor Ross as Dr. Maggie Lin, a third year surgical resident on rotation in the hospital's General Surgery department^[17][18]
• Kristopher Turner as Dr. Gavin Murphy, a psychiatry resident^[19]
• Wendy Crewson as Dr. Dana Kinney, Chief of Plastic Surgery, who is appointed Interim Chief of Surgery following Charlie's coma
• Benjamin Ayres as Dr. Zach Miller, an ER doctor^[20]
• Glenda Braganza as Dr. Melanda Tolliver, a friend of Alex's and an ICU doctor^[21]
• Salvatore Antonio as Victor Reis, an OR nurse and Shahir's longtime boyfriend^[22]
• K. C. Collins as Dr. Tom Reycraft, a fourth year surgical resident,^[23] who in season 1, episode 9 ("Bea Again") is appointed Chief Surgical Resident in place of Dr. Reid
• Joseph Pierre as Jackson Wade, an ICU nurse^[24]
• Michelle Nolden as Dr. Dawn Bell, a cardiologist and Charlie's ex-wife^[25]
• Stacey Farber as Dr. Sydney Katz, the new OB/GYN who appears in Season 3^[26]

Recurring Cast

• Conrad Coates as Bryan Travers, the main executive of Hope Zion.^[27][28] (Season 1-2)
• Steve Cumyn as Dr. George Baumann, an Anesthesiologist. (Season 2-3)
• Mac Fyfe as Dr. James Dey, a psychiatry resident. (Season 3)

Episodes

Season		Episodes	Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired
	1	13	June 7, 2012 (2012-06-07)	September 13, 2012 (2012-09-13)
	2	18	June 25, 2013 (2013-06-25)	February 27, 2014 (2014-02-27)
	3	18[29][30]	September 22, 2014	February 18, 2015

Reception

Ratings

In Canada, the premiere figures were the highest recorded for the summer season in 2012.^[31] The American premiere attracted 3.1 million viewers on NBC, which some critics were unimpressed with.^[32]

Season	Timeslot (ET)	# Ep.	Premiered		Ended		TV Season	Viewers (in millions)
			Date	Premiere Viewers (in millions)	Date	Finale Viewers (in millions)
1	Thursday 9:00 p.m.	13	June 7, 2012	1.520[33]	September 13, 2012	1.548[34]	2012	1.700[35]
2	Tuesday 10:00 p.m.	18	June 25, 2013[36]	1.083[37]	February 27, 2014	1.675[38]	2013–14	1.300[39]
3	Thursday 9:00 p.m. (fall) / Wednesday (midseason)[40][41]	18	September 22, 2014	TBA	February 18, 2015	TBA	2014–15	TBA

Reviews

Saving Hope received mixed reviews on Metacritic with a score of 49 out of 100 based on 15 critics' reviews.^[42] 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."^[43] 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."^[44] 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."^[45] 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."^[46]

References

External links

• Official website for CTV
• Official website for NBC
• Saving Hope at the Internet Movie Database
• Saving Hope at TV.com
• Saving Hope on Twitter for CTV
• Saving Hope on Twitter for NBC

CTV Network programming (current and upcoming) Primetime Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (since 2013) American Idol (since 2002) The Amazing Race (since 2001) The Amazing Race Canada (since 2013) Anger Management (since 2012) The Big Bang Theory (since 2007) Blue Bloods (since 2010) Castle (since 2009) Criminal Minds (since 2005) CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (since 2000) The Daily Show (since 1996) Dancing with the Stars (since 2005) The Ellen DeGeneres Show (since 2003) The Flash (since 2014) Forever (since 2014) The Goldbergs (since 2013) Gotham (since 2014) Grey's Anatomy (since 2005) Grimm (since 2011) Hollywood Game Night (since 2013) Hot in Cleveland (since 2010) How to Get Away with Murder (since 2014) Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (since 1999) MasterChef (since 2010) MasterChef Canada (since 2014) The McCarthys (since 2014) The Mentalist (since 2008) Mike & Molly (since 2010) The Millers (since 2014) Motive (since 2013) The Mysteries of Laura (since 2014) Once Upon a Time (since 2011) Person of Interest (since 2013) Saving Hope (since 2012) So You Think You Can Dance (since 2005) Spun Out (since 2014) Two and a Half Men (since 2003) The Vampire Diaries (since 2009) The Voice (since 2011) Late night Conan (since 2009) Late Night with Seth Meyers (since 2014) Daytime Bethenny (since 2013) The Bold and the Beautiful (since 1987) The Dr. Oz Show (since 2009) Dr. Phil (since 2002) Live! with Kelly and Michael (since 1983) The Marilyn Denis Show (since 2011) The View (since 1997) News Canada AM (since 1972) CTV Morning Live (since 2011) CTV National News (since 1961) CTV News (since 1973) etalk (since 1995) Question Period (since 1967) W5 (since 1966)

NBC's "Must See TV" 1980s debuts Buffalo Bill Cheers The Cosby Show Day by Day The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd Dear John A Different World Fame Family Ties Gimme a Break! Hill Street Blues L.A. Law Mama's Family Night Court Seinfeld Taxi We Got It Made 1990s debuts Battery Park Boston Common Caroline in the City Daddio ER Fired Up Frasier Friends Grand Hope and Gloria Jesse Just Shoot Me! Mad About You Madman of the People The Naked Truth Out All Night 3rd Rock from the Sun Rhythm & Blues The Single Guy Stark Raving Mad Suddenly Susan Union Square Veronica's Closet Will & Grace Wings 2000s debuts 30 Rock Andy Barker, P.I. The Apprentice Community Coupling Cursed Deal or No Deal Four Kings Good Morning, Miami Inside Schwartz The Jay Leno Show Joey Kath & Kim Leap of Faith Lipstick Jungle My Name Is Earl The Office Parks and Recreation Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday Scrubs Southland 2010s debuts 1600 Penn Allegiance Awake Do No Harm The Firm Go On Hannibal Love Bites The Marriage Ref The Michael J. Fox Show Outsourced The Paul Reiser Show Parenthood Perfect Couples Prime Suspect Rock Center with Brian Williams Save Me Saving Hope Sean Saves the World Undateable Up All Night Welcome to Sweden Welcome to the Family Whitney