Global Television, alongside broadcast partner ABC, jointly announced today the renewal of the summer’s popular drama series, Rookie Blue, for a fifth season.
“We’re delighted to ‘renew the blue’ for fans and continue our partnership with ABC on a fifth season, a major feat for Canadian television,” said Barbara Williams, Senior Vice President, Content, Shaw Media. “With addictive plotlines and relatable characters, Rookie Blue has all the hallmarks of a perfect series and has become a cornerstone of the Global Summer schedule.”
Currently, Rookie Blue is the *most watched program in its timeslot since its return on May 23 – with over 1.5 million loyal fans tuning in for the Season 4 debut episode. South of the border on ABC, Rookie Blue ranks #1 Thursday nights in the 10pm hour in Total Viewers this summer to date. Rookie Blue is also broadcast internationally on Universal Networks International’s pay-TV channels. The drama is growing over its prior summer average by 15% in Total Viewers to deliver its most-watched season in 3 years – since Summer 2010.
The fifth season of the series will start development in the fall and will move into production in January 2014.
Rookie Blue is executive-produced by award-winning Tassie Cameron (Flashpoint), Ilana Frank (The Eleventh Hour, Would Be Kings), David Wellington (The Eleventh Hour, Would Be Kings), Russ Cochrane and John Morayniss (Klondike, Rogue). Rookie Blue is a production of ICF Films and Entertainment One.
A one-hour, original dramatic series that provides a candid look at the personal and professional lives of five rookie cops as they navigate their first years on the beat. Now in their fourth year on the job, these officers continue to face brand-new challenges every week — and they’re trying to roll with the punches without looking like the rookies they still feel themselves to be. Andy McNally and Nick Collins were gone six months for their undercover operation. But while they were gone, everything seems to have changed at 15 Division. Last season, our officers all got what they thought they wanted — and then had to deal with the repercussions. This year, they all have to look change right in the eye and learn to adapt to life’s curveballs — leaving them all with some big, bold choices to make. Learning to adapt to change is a huge part of growing up. And these five new officers are putting that life lesson into practice, every single shift of season four.
Shot entirely on location in Toronto, Rookie Blue stars Missy Peregrym (Heroes, Reaper) as Andy McNally, Gregory Smith (Everwood) as Dov Epstein, Charlotte Sullivan (The Kennedys) as Gail Peck, Enuka Okuma (24) as Traci Nash, Travis Milne (Leslie, My Name is Evil) as Chris Diaz, Peter Mooney (Camelot, Falcon Beach) as Nick Collins, Ben Bass (The Eleventh Hour) as Sam Swarek, and introducing this season Priscilla Faia (Eleventh Victim, Psych) as Chloe Price and Rachael Ancheril (The Listener) as Marlo Cruz. Also starring in the series is Matt Gordon as Oliver Shaw and Lyriq Bent as Frank Best.
Rookie Blue airs Thursdays at 10pm ET/PT on Global. In Thursday’s July 18 episode, “Poison Pill,” a chaotic drug arrest by Andy and Marlo triggers an all-out crisis when it’s discovered that the drugs are contaminated with deadly bacteria. Swarek leads the squad in the scramble to get the tainted drugs off the streets before an outbreak sweeps the city. Meanwhile, Andy and Marlo are plunged into an intimate decontamination process, forcing Marlo to expose a shocking secret while under quarantine. And Dov and Chloe see their budding romance threatened when Dov suspects Chloe is hiding secrets.
Source: BBM Canada PPM Data, Total Canada, Ind 2+ AMA(000), Thursday 10p-11p, May 20 – July 14th 2013
