Funny, You Don’t Look Canadian
By: Katrina Onstad
Date: June 5, 2009
Source: NYTimes.com (A version of this article appeared in print on June 7, 2009, on page MT2 of the New York edition).

 

Note: The below is a copy and paste of just the part about THE BRIDGE. To read the full article please click on the link above.

 

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Soon television audiences will be seeing a lot more red mailboxes, as shows created in Canada infiltrate the American broadcast networks. NBC just introduced “The Listener,” about a telepathic paramedic; ABC has picked up “Copper,” described as “Grey’s Anatomy” with rookie officers; CBS has scheduled another police procedural, “The Bridge,” as a midseason replacement next winter. All three programs are shot in Toronto.
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“The Bridge,” a CBS-CTV co-production, is another street cop show, this time loosely based on the career of a former Toronto police union boss named Craig Bromell. A controversial figure, he was once accused of being one of several officers who beat up a homeless man. (The case was settled.)

“All around the world people have this uneasy alliance with their police: ‘Do what you can to protect us, but if you have to break the rules to do it, don’t let us catch you,'” said Alan DiFiore, a show runner of “The Bridge.”

While members of the Strategic Response Unit on “Flashpoint” sport Canadian flags on their jackets, “The Bridge” seems to be moving toward a more generic sense of place. “Cops are the same in Italy, Canada, Spain,” said the show’s star, Aaron Douglas, best known as Galen Tyrol in “Battlestar Galactica.” “I’m playing it like Anytown, U.S.A.”

This is, in part, because of Mr. Bromell: a Toronto setting could leave the show vulnerable to lawsuits. But a Canadian-generated program set in Anytown, U.S.A., may be philosophically problematic for a heavily regulated television system, one that offers significant tax breaks and subsidies for shows that employ only Canadians in key positions on and off camera. The tax dollars that contribute some of the $2 million-an-episode budget of “The Bridge” are there to promote local productions, part of a larger policy intended to help Canada achieve some kind of artistic independence from the cultural behemoth next door.

 

 

E1 Wraps Screenings Deals
By: Kristin Brzoznowski
Date: June 4, 2009
Source: World Screen

 

LOS ANGELES/TORONTO: E1 Entertainment has continued to expand its presence in the Latin American market, closing a number of deals for titles such as The Bridge and The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler at the L.A. Screenings.

The 13×1-hour procedural drama The Bridge was sold to AXN for pay-TV rights in Latin America. The show presents the struggles of charismatic police union leader Frank Leo, played by Aaron Douglas of Battlestar Gallactica. The 90-minute The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler was sold to Leda Films for all TV rights in Latin America. The title recounts the true story of the Holocaust heroine who saved the lives of nearly 2,500 Jewish children.

E1 concluded further deals with Leda Films for The Deadliest Sea and the original Lifetime movie Murder on Her Mind.

Bridge goes to Latin America
By: Amy Haggar
Date: June 3, 2009
Source: Playback

 

E1 Entertainment has revealed two television deals for Latin America, inked during the L.A. Screenings.

The studio has sold its cop drama The Bridge to broadcaster AXN, which has taken the pay TV rights to the 13-episode series drama that stars Aaron Douglas (Battlestar Galactica). E1 produced the series, which also has homes on CBS and CTV, with 990 Multi Media Entertainment and Jonsworth Productions.

The deals were negotiated by E1’s Val Cabrera.

E1 also closed a number of deals with distributor Leda Films, selling the Latin American TV rights for The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler, an MOW starring Anna Paquin and Marcia Gay Harden. It tells the true story of a woman who helped smuggle children out of the Warsaw ghetto during the Holocaust.

Leda also picked up the MOW The Deadliest Sea and the Lifetime movie Murder On Her Mind.

CTV and ‘A’ Announce Their Fall Schedules
Date: June 2, 2009
Source: CTV PROGRAMS and CTV ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

Note: The below is a copy and paste of just the part about THE BRIDGE. To read the full article please click on the link above.

 

Toronto, ON (June 2, 2009) – CTV, Canada’s #1 network, and ‘A’, now Canada’s third-ranked private network, revealed their Fall 2009 programming lineup and schedule today. The announcement was made by Susanne Boyce, President, Creative, Content and Channels, CTV Inc.

“In yet another tumultuous year, we’ve remained focused on creativity,” said Susanne Boyce, President, Creative, Content and Channels, CTV Inc. “Staying #1 requires stability, flexibility and surprise. Strategic moves last year resulted in this past season’s biggest hits, while ‘A’ became a destination network with remarkable growth. We remain committed to producing original Canadian programming that stands shoulder to shoulder with the best on our schedule.”

Coming to CTV in 2009/2010 is the eagerly anticipated Original CTV Series THE BRIDGE. Starring Aaron Douglas (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA) as controversial police union head Frank Leo, THE BRIDGE is a gripping one-hour drama about police, power and politics, currently in production and set to premiere on CTV and CBS in midseason.

I finally had a chance to go through the bazillion google alerts for the CBS upfront. Here are some of the great comments/praise for Aaron and THE BRIDGE ….

1:56 p.m.: The Bridge appears to be Norma Rae meets The Wire meets Third Watch. Aaron Douglas looks fabulous; it’s great to see him break out from the Battlestar Galactica ensemble.

Source: Watch with Kristin – E! Online

Not too much was shown for the mid-season but we did get a look at Aaron Douglas‘ police drama The Bridge and Reality series Undercover Boss. Douglas was born to play a cop, at least once in his career, and he seemed to do a fine job in the trailer we saw. The show seems to deal more with politics of policing and unions than the actual police work itself, which I liked. Tassler also played up Douglas‘ star potential, which she hopes The Bridge will shine a light on.

Source: UGO – TV Blog

The Bridge: This Canadian import stars “Battlestar Galactica’s” Aaron Douglas as a beat cop who becomes head of the union for his fellow officers and takes on all the burdens that entails. Douglas shows a ton of charisma in the role, and it’s a slightly different take on the typical cop show that could make it worth checking out.

Source: Zap2it

I love the comment about how Nina Tassler (CBS President of Entertainment) “played up Douglas’ star potential”. It’s so great to hear that the network is behind Aaron and the show.

Bromell and Bridge team get to work
By: Etan Vlessing
Date: April 24, 2009
Source: Playback

 

It’s always fun to ride the crest of a perfect wave. Just ask Craig Bromell. The former Toronto cop’s story inspired The Bridge, the latest Canadian cop drama headed to CBS and CTV after Flashpoint.

“I told CBS I’ve got five cop shows in my head,” said Bromell when asked how he might top landing his first-ever TV show on a U.S. network.

But before Bromell, the outspoken insider on Toronto police politics, can talk more about becoming Canada’s answer to Joseph “Police Story” Wambaugh, his producer/partner Adam Shully taps a pile of scripts on his desk and interjects: “First we have to do this!”

And “this” means getting 11 episodes of the police procedural in the can between now and Aug. 12 to ride out this perfect wave with CBS and CTV and possibly get another.

“I know you’re typing as fast you can,” series producer Wendy Grean later tells showrunner Alan Di Fiore as they pass each other in the Toronto production office.

Di Fiore promises a finished script before nightfall as he disappears back into the writers’ room.

As befits a Canadian drama with high promise, everyone is under pressure to deliver. With much of the cast and crew, including director John Fawcett, migrating from the pilot to series, the first week of shooting in Toronto appears seamless. Still, the shoot will be mostly exteriors around the city until the interior sets are finished.

Creatively, The Bridge is no garden-variety cops and cons series. Here, the bad guys are often police brass and know-nothing politicians who prevent street cops from doing their job.

“The force will cut down a forest of good cops to get to the one bad cop,” Bromell says.

Each episode will feature police union head Frank Leo, played by Aaron Douglas, attempting to salvage a good cop’s career after he or she has bent or broken the rules to bust the bad guys. But making his own rules also lands Leo with powerful enemies in high places.

The Bridge is the latest Canadian cop drama to partner with one of the U.S. nets, which can no longer shoulder production costs for dramas on their own.

John Morayniss, president of E1 Television, which is producing The Bridge with Brass I Productions and 990 Multimedia Entertainment, says there’s a financial bonus for the Canadians too.

“The budget goes up, there’s more financing for the show. You have increased profile, advertising and marketing in the U.S. [from CBS] that trickles up to Canada,” he says.

Characters in The Bridge, including the police chief (Michael Murphy) and Crown attorney (Ona Grauer), are composites of people Bromell recalls from his 26 years as a cop, and from material Di Fiore stored up over 17 years researching and writing crime dramas like Da Vinci’s Inquest, The Handler, Vendetta and The Life.

But Di Fiore, Shully and Bromell — the series’ creative triumvirate — caution that The Bridge is no pro-cops show. There’re good and bad cops, otherwise the series wouldn’t be authentic.

Bromell knows he’ll take heat from fellow lawmen for not taking the secrets of their job to his grave.

“That’s the toughest part of this. How far do I go? I’ve struggled with that a lot. Some might not be happy with this. I may open too many closets. But to make it real, we have to show both sides,” he adds, reflecting on the risk that he could topple off this perfect wave instead of riding it out.

The Bridge is expected to launch this summer.

Cast assembles for CBS/CTV’s ‘The Bridge’
Stuart Margolin joins as an actor and will direct an episode
By: Etan Vlessing
Date: April 20, 2009
Source: The Hollywood Reporter

 

TORONTO — Stuart Margolin, Ona Grauer, Theresa Joy and Toby Proctor have joined the cast of “The Bridge,” the CBS and CTV cop drama shooting in Toronto.

Margolin, who plays the father of lead character Frank Leo (Aaron Douglas), also will direct an episode of the police procedural from Brass Prods., 990 Multimedia Entertainment and E1 Entertainment.

The other new castings will see Grauer play a city prosecutor and Joy tackle the role of a feisty police constable while Inga Cadranel and Genadijs Dolganovs will play detectives.

In February, CBS agreed to co-finance 11 one-hour episodes of the Canadian procedural drama as an international co-production with CTV after it found success with another of the Canadian broadcaster’s cop dramas, “Flashpoint.”

Written and executive produced by Alan Di Fiore, “The Bridge” is the brainchild of Craig Bromell, a former Toronto police officer who partnered with Di Fiore to develop the Canadian drama at CTV.

Bridge to CBS
By: Etan Vlessing
Date: March 2, 2009
Page: 35
Source: Playback

 

 

 

 

The Bridge has been picked up by CBS. The Tiffany network has signed a coproduction deal with CTV to co-finance and air 11 one-hours of the procedural drama, created by career cop Craig Bromell, which will start production in Toronto this May.

“This is special. I’m extremely privileged to be so surrounded by so many talented people that got us to this point,” said Bromell, formerly a combative police union boss, on news of the deal for the drama from E1 Television, 990 Multi Media Entertainment and Jonsworth Productions.

CTV’s Ivan Fecan and Susanne Boyce – who fielded Bromell’s original pitch in 2005, putting it in development with Barna-Alper Productions as a two-hour MOW/backdoor pilot – this past December pitched the cop drama to CBS executives in Los Angeles after the success of their first collaboration, Flashpoint. CBS’ Nancy Tellem and Nina Tassler then brought Bromell and writing partner Alan Di Fiore (Da Vinci’s Inquest) to L.A. for their own grilling.

“It was the Mount Everest of interviews. You don’t get any higher than that,” Bromell recalls.

 

[click thumbnail to enlarge image]

CBS orders new series ‘The Bridge’
By: Etan Vlessing
Date: February 19, 2009
Source: The Hollywood Reporter

 

CBS has picked up another Canadian cop drama that could serve as a potential companion series to “Flashpoint.” Filing from Toronto, here’s THR’s Etan Vlessing:

CBS on Thursday crossed over to “The Bridge” with a deal to co-produce its second Canadian cop drama with CTV after the Canadian network last year brought it the police procedural “Flashpoint” during the WGA strike.

“The Bridge,” from E1 Entertainment and 990 Multi Media Entertainment, was created by former cop and Toronto police union head Craig Bromell and written by Alan Di Fiore (“Da Vinci’s Inquest).

Bromell and Di Fiore collaborated on the two-hour pilot for CTV and will executive produce the first season of 11 one hours along with Laszlo Barna, Adam J. Shully and Robert Wertheimer. John Fawcett (“The Border”) will direct.

“The Bridge” portrays cops battling criminals on the streets and their bosses and know-nothing politicians in the corridors of power. The series stars Aaron Douglas (“Battlestar Galactica”) as a police union head who locks horns with the police brass in an attempt to combat corruption.

Bromell said the Canadian series, a twist on the cops and cons procedural, takes viewers behind police lines to where ordinary officers are forced to combat corruption and skullduggery by their top brass and know-nothing politicians when not patrolling the streets.

The Canadian cast includes Paul Popowich as Frank’s partner and confidante, Inga Cadranel, Frank Cassini, Michael Murphy (“Away From Her”) and Stuart Margolin (“The Rockford Files”).

“The Bridge” is the second series greenlighted by CBS’ Nancy Tellem from CTV senior program executives Ivan Fecan and Susanne Boyce, who developed “Flashpoint” before the series was produced by Toronto-based Pink Sky Entertainment and Avamar Entertainment.

“We look forward to working with our creative partners at CBS, Nancy Tellem, Nina Tassler and David Stapf, in bringing yet another great Canadian production to a North American audience,” said Susanne Boyce, president of creative, content and channels for CTV.

“Like Flashpoint, we see ‘The Bridge’ as a series that works creatively and financially for both our network and studio — and importantly, for CBS Television viewers,” added Nancy Tellem, president of CBS Paramount Network Television Entertainment Group.

As with “Flashpoint,” “The Bridge” was in development for four years before CTV ordered a two-hour TV movie for itself. It then helped shop the series to CBS. Both series are set in Toronto.

A third CTV series, “The Listener,” produced by Toronto-based Shaftesbury Films, was picked up by NBC and Fox International.

Production on “The Bridge” is set to begin in May in Toronto. No word on an airdate. E1 Entertainment will handle international sales of the Canadian series.

CBS building The Bridge with CTV
By: Etan Vlessing
Date: February 19, 2009
Source: Playback

 

The Bridge has been picked up by CBS.

The Tiffany network this week signed a coproduction deal with CTV to co-finance and air 11 one-hours of the procedural drama, created by career cop Craig Bromell, which will start production in Toronto this May.

“This is special. I’m extremely privileged to be so surrounded by so many talented people that got us to this point,” said Bromell, formerly a combative police union boss, on news of the deal for the drama from E1 Television, 990 Multi Media Entertainment and Jonsworth Productions.

CTV’s Ivan Fecan and Susanne Boyce — who fielded Bromell’s original pitch in 2005, putting it in development with Barna-Alper Productions as a two-hour MOW/back-door pilot — this past December pitched the cop drama to CBS executives in Los Angeles after the success of their first collaboration, Flashpoint.

CBS’ Nancy Tellem and Nina Tassler, their interest stirred by the pitch and The Bridge pilot, two weeks ago brought Bromell and writing partner Alan Di Fiore (Da Vinci’s Inquest) to L.A. for their own grilling.

“It was the Mount Everest of interviews. You don’t get any higher than that,” Bromell recalls.

After a whirlwind of meetings, e-mails and calls between CBS and CTV, the partnership was unveiled on Thursday, the latest sign that the appetite for Canadian dramas at the U.S. network continues to grow.

“Like Flashpoint, we see The Bridge as a series that works creatively and financially for both our network and studio — and importantly, for CBS Television viewers,” said Tellem, president of the CBS Paramount Network Television Entertainment Group.

As if Boyce, president of creative, content and channels at CTV, needs more drama.

“You just finish and here we go again,” Boyce sighs happily. Her development efforts at CTV have in recent years spawned Flashpoint, The Listener for NBC and Fox International, and So You Think You Can Dance Canada.

The cop and cons drama, set in Toronto, has been no less a locomotive for Bromell. In January 2008, CTV suggested Di Fiore could help the former cop hone the scripts about his 26 years in the police force.

The two clicked, with Bromell pouring out ideas and Di Fiore turning them into storylines. John Fawcett (The Border) was then brought on to direct the MOW, and Aaron Douglas (Battlestar Galactica) was cast in the lead as the cops’ union boss who battles police brass and know-nothing politicians in Toronto’s corridors of power.

The MOW/pilot was shot in Toronto in summer 2008, and delivered to CTV last September, along with the series bible. By November, CTV ordered The Bridge to series.

CBS, CTV team for ‘The Bridge’
By: Michael Schneider
Date: February 19, 2009
Source: Variety

 

CBS, CTV team for ‘The Bridge’
Pair already collaborating on ‘Flashpoint’

CBS is once again plucking a drama from the Great White North, handing a 13-episode order to Canadian police drama “The Bridge.”

Eye is partnering with Canuck broadcaster CTV for the deal. The two nets already collaborate on the cop-oriented “Flashpoint,” which airs Friday nights on the Eye.

“The Bridge” is set to air on both the Eye and CTV next season.

“The Bridge” centers on the world of a police union leader, who must both battle criminals and fight his own bosses in order to protect other officers.

Show is based on real-life former Toronto police union head Craig Bromell.

Toronto-based E1 Entertainment is behind the show, which was ordered in November by CTV. The Canadian broadcaster then shared the pilot with CBS execs.

“Like ‘Flashpoint,’ we see ‘The Bridge’ as a series that works creatively and financially for both our network and studio, and importantly, for CBS Television viewers,” said CBS Paramount Network TV Entertainment Group topper Nancy Tellem, who added that the show fit in with the network’s and studio’s rosters.

“Flashpoint” repped the first scripted Canadian series to hit the U.S. networks’ primetime skeds since “Due South.” NBC also has an upcoming Canadian co-production in the works, “The Listener.”

Craig Bromell and Alan Di Fiore created “The Bridge” and exec produce, along with Laszlo Barna, Adam J. Shully and Robert Wertheimer. Besides E1, CTV and CBS Par, the show is also produced by 990 Multi Media Ent. Co. and Jonsworth Prods.

Aaron Douglas, Paul Popowich, Inga Cadranel, Frank Cassini, Theresa Joy, Ona Grauer, Michael Murphy and Stuart Margolin star.

CTV expands police-drama pilot into 11-part series
By: Michael Posner
Date: November 4, 2008
Source: The Globe and Mail

 

Toronto — The Bridge, a two-hour pilot TV show based on the work of former Toronto police-union head Craig Bromell, is to become an 11-part series of one-hour dramas, CTV announced yesterday.

The show is produced by Barna-Alper Productions, 990 Multi Media Entertainment Co. and Jonsworth Productions.

A two-hour pilot, written and directed by Alan di Fiore, was shot this summer. CTV executives liked it well enough to commission a full series. The pilot will now air as the first two separate one-hour episodes. Production of the remaining nine episodes will start in January.

The Bridge stars Aaron Frank as rank-and-file cop Frank Leo.

 

CORRECTION

The Bridge, CTV’s newly commissioned 13-part drama series, is directed by John Fawcett and stars Aaron Douglas. Incorrect in formation appeared in Tuesday’s paper.

[This Correction appeared on Thursday November 06, 2008]

The Bridge joins CTV slate
By: Marise Strauss
Date: November 3, 2008
Source: Playback

 

CTV will begin production on the new cop drama The Bridge early next year, announcing on Monday that it has greenlit 11 episodes of the TV series following completion of a two-hour MOW this past August.

“We’re beyond thrilled,” executive producer Adam J. Shully tells Playback Daily, adding that CTV executives Susanne Boyce and Ivan Fecan started seeing cuts of the MOW very early and “liked what they saw.” The MOW has not yet aired.

Shully (Blood Ties, Odyssey 5) exec produces with former Toronto police union head Craig Bromell through their 990 Multi Media Entertainment Company, and with Laszlo Barna of Barna-Alper Productions.

The series is centered on the inner workings and politics of a big-city police department, based on Bromell’s own experiences after 26 years in law enforcement. It is written by Alan Di Fiore (Da Vinci’s Inquest, The Handler) and stars Aaron Douglas (Battlestar Galactica) as an outspoken union head.

Shully says the show will give unique insight into police power and politics, not usually seen on other cop shows, which are generally driven by the pursuit and arrest of suspects.

The Bridge is the third drama ordered by CTV following Flashpoint and The Listener. There’s no word on an airdate for the MOW.

Bromell is not the only former Toronto cop who has turned to TV. Police officer-turned-director Calum deHartog plans to turn his six-minute short Urban Trenches, about a cop and a criminal with close ties, into a TV series with writer Brad Smith (All Hat). DeHartog is currently in discussions with Canuck broadcasters.