Bravo announced today from the Banff World Media Festival that it has ordered 19-2, an English adaptation of popular French-Canadian series of the same name, for broadcast in early 2014. The scripted series is the latest to join Bell Media’s ever-growing slate of original specialty productions. Ten, one-hour episodes will be shot in Quebec this fall, to be produced by Montreal’s Sphere Media Plus and co-producers Echo Media. Bruce Smith (DURHAM COUNTY) acts as showrunner with Jesse Mckeown (DAVINCI’S INQUEST, ROGUE) serving as co-executive producer. With an average audience of 1.4 million viewers, 19-2 was a monster hit in Quebec, where the series premiered in 2011 and consistently won its timeslot in the A25-54 demo.
A richly-nuanced character-driven drama, 19-2 follows the lives of patrol officers Ben Chartier (Jared Keeso, FALLING SKIES) and Nick Barron (Adrian Holmes, ARROW).Nick is a veteran on Montreal’s urban police force and has just returned from a three-month leave following the traumatic shooting of his partner. On his first day back, he is unhappy to learn he has been partnered with Ben, who has just transferred from a small town to restart his life in the big city. Both men are good cops, who deeply care about the job, yet struggle to move beyond painful events in their past. Ben and Nick must attempt to put their differences aside as their lives further intertwine, both professionally and personally, and continue to take surprising and dramatic turns.
“Fuelled by a terrific cast and strong storylines, we’re tremendously excited to add 19-2 to the Bravo lineup,” said Catherine MacLeod, Vice-President, Specialty Channels, Bell Media. “We are confident that our partnership with Sphere Media Plus and Echo Media on this project will deliver a series that audiences will be fully engaged in.”
“It’s a great pleasure to be collaborating for the first time with Bravo and Bell Media,” said Jocelyn Deschênes, President Sphere Media Plus. “19-2 is an unprecedented hit in Quebec, and we’re sure Bravo viewers will love this adaptation.”
“We are very proud to bring 19-2 to a larger audience,” said Luc Chatelain, President Echo Media. “Viewers will be compelled by Nick and Ben’s stories and the intimate lives of the police officers brought to life by this talented ensemble cast.”
19-2 is co-produced by Sphere Media Plus and Echo Media in association with Bravo. Executive producers are Jocelyn Deschênes and Carolyn Newman from Sphere Media Plus and Luc Chatelain from Echo Media. Showrunner Bruce Smith (DURHAM COUNTY) also acts as writer, with Jesse Mckeown (DAVINCI’S INQUEST, ROGUE) and Virginia Rankin as co-executive producers. Supervising Director is Louis Choquette. Production Executives for Bell Media are Gosia Kamela and Tom Hastings. Trish Williams is Director, Independent Production, Bell Media. Corrie Coe is Senior Vice-President, Independent Production, Bell Media. Catherine MacLeod is Vice-President, Specialty Channels, Bell Media. Rick Brace is President, Specialty Channels and CTV Production. Phil King is President, CTV Programming and Sports.
TV Ratings Source: BBM Canada, Quebec Franco
