CTV's The Bridge & Global's Pilot Slate

CTV HAS JUST ordered eleven episodes of a new scripted series called The Bridge. From the release:

Based on the insights of veteran insider and outspoken former Toronto police union head Craig Bromell, CTV has ordered 11, one-hour episodes, following the production of a two-hour pilot shot in Toronto last summer. THE BRIDGE provides an unflinching look at the struggle street cops face as they not only battle criminals - but also their own bosses - in order to protect society and, ultimately, themselves.

Produced by Barna-Alper Productions, an Entertainment One company, 990 Multi Media Entertainment Company and Jonsworth Productions, in association with CTV, production of THE BRIDGE is scheduled to begin in 2009.

THE BRIDGE becomes the third, new original drama series to be ordered by CTV in the last year, joining last summer’s breakout hit FLASHPOINT and THE LISTENER, currently in production.

“Craig Bromell is one of the most galvanizing figures in the history of policing in Canada,” said Susanne Boyce, President, Creative, Content and Channels, CTV Inc. “We look forward to working with him on THE BRIDGE, and bringing to Canadian audiences a distinct and authentic view of life behind the scenes of a modern police force.”

“We set out to make the most realistic two-hour movie drama about cops ever seen on TV, and it has paid off,” said Craig Bromell, Executive Producer, 990 Multi Media Entertainment Company. “We expose the inner workings of a big city police force - the police, power and politics behind the blue line. It’s something that hasn’t been seen before on TV, and we’re grateful to CTV for this opportunity..”

Written by five-time Gemini Award winner and six-time nominee Alan Di Fiore (DA VINCI’S INQUEST, THE LIFE, THE HANDLER), THE BRIDGE peels away the veneer of a big-city Canadian police force to reveal the political machinations underneath. After the rank and file unanimously vote street cop Frank Leo (Aaron Douglas) into office as union head, he begins his quest to put street cops first and clean up the force from the ground up.

But the old boys’ network running the police force and the city’s self-serving politicians are not about to sit idly by while a former street cop makes up his own rules. Frank walks a thin blue line as he battles wiretaps and a concerted campaign to bring him down, letting nothing stop him from fulfilling his unwavering vow that when cops are in trouble, the union will be there.

There's a lot going for this project, starting with DiFiore and Fawcett. They've also assembled a great cast -- Aaron Douglas was the Chief, and usually the heart, of Galactica, as well as Ona Grauer (who was originally in Flashpoint before the role was recast, post-pilot, at CBS' behest) Inga Cadranel (Frannie on Rent-A-Goalie) and Frank Cassini.

I have to admit, I'm a little uncomfortable with the glorification of Bromell. I think it's great that CTV acknowledges that he was a 'galvanizing' force, but that's kind of an understatement.

His tenure as union head of the Toronto force was controversial in the extreme. He headed up the Operation True Blue campaign, and was contemptuous of civilian oversight. Yup, he fought for his cops, and they loved him for it. But there was much about the man's methods that sent a chill through portions of the city.

One time, when I was worked at CityTV, I found myself leaving work one day in the midst of a Bromell-led wildcat strike. As people left the building, they were treated to catcalls by dozens of police -- some in uniform -- waiting outside. It was the single most sinister thing I've ever been invovled with; really, really upsetting. Seriously, you have no idea what it's like to be catcalled and harassed by dozens of cops. Brrr. I've never really felt the same way about the Toronto Police since. (Before that they'd come to my assistance a couple of key times in my life. I try to give them the benefit of the doubt, but...man.)

But here's the thing: the writer in me, the TV guy in me, rather than being turned off by that, is attracted to it. Because it's frightening, and edgy, and potentially explosive. And very, very real. I find the prospect of a show with Bromell's involvement incredibly exciting. That impulse, the "oh, man, I don't know about this..." could just be lightning in a bottle. We've seen the "thin blue line" done from the outsider perspective. Here's the opportunity for a show that could be exciting and different. I'll sure as hell watch. It will be interesting to see if they can keep it from being an in-the-tank hagiography of Bromell. If the creatives and Bromell can keep it from being too one-sided, if they allow his Douglas-inspired doppleganger to be the anti-hero he should be rather than an apologia for a misunderstood cop, well, this might just be the most exciting Canadian TV series ever. Imagine the fights in that story department! The discussions, the arguments, the back and forth? We could use our own version of The Shield -- where Mackey is both disturbing and sympathetic. If they can bottle that? Wow.

And imagine the publicity tour.

Meanwhile, Canwest has released new details about those upcoming drama pilots they ordered last week:

The one hour drama Shattered, a Force Four Films Ltd./Blueprint Film and Television Ltd. production to be shot in B.C., will be directed by Bobby Roth (Prison Break). The roster of acting talent confirmed today also includes Callum Keith Rennie (Californication, Battlestar Gallactica, Hard Core Logo) as the series lead, Kyle Logan, an ex-cop with a multiple personality disorder.

I was worried that Global might get scooped on this because of My Own Worst Enemy. But that Slater-vehicle on NBC doesn't look like it's lighting any fires, so maybe there's hope for this. I love Rennie. I'm really enjoying him in Californication right now.

EDIT: a commenter below says he's read Drew's script for Shattered and it's great. Awesome! Now all they have to do is not screw up the execution somehow!

David Wellington (Would Be Kings, The Eleventh Hour) directs the House of Films Inc./Four Seasons Productions Inc. drama Clean, to be shot in Toronto. Ben Bass (The Eleventh Hour, Law and Order, Queer as Folk) is cast in the lead role Bobby Gould, an addiction counselor with Tom McCamus (Shake Hands with the Devil, Queer as Folk, Slings and Arrows) confirmed as a series regular, Dr. Wilson McKenna, CEO of Happy Valley Treatment Facility. Sonja Bennet (Young People F(*)cking, Control Alt Delete) plays Caroline, one of Bobby’s colleagues.

This pilot shot out of the same Production Office complex as The Border. Wellington's a good Director, and the script is by a really interesting playwright named Adam Pettle who's branching into TV. I'd need to see this one I think. Could be great, could be depressing and airless. If it's funny, I'll like it better. This one's all about the execution.

Luke Kirby (Tell Me You Love Me, Slings and Arrows, Mambo Italiano, upcoming feature Labor Pains) takes on the role of the lead character, insurance adjuster Jimmy Burns, in the Whizbang Films Inc production of Lawyers, Guns & Money.

Clark Johnson (The Wire, Homicide: Life on the Street, also an Emmy nominated director on The Shield), joins the production as Walker Hearn, a retired cop and Jimmy’s unofficial mentor alongside Carole Cave (The L Word, Regenesis) as Angela, a company lawyer. Steve Bacic (The Guard) is Pavel Korkov, an ambitious local gangster who clashes with Jimmy. Ken Girotti (Mayerthorpe, Rescue Me) takes the directorial helm of this production which will be shot in Hamilton, Ontario.

I ran into Girotti at the Geminis, night 3 (ohgod) just as he was winding down prep for this shoot. He was stoked -- and extremely happy being able to shoot The Hammer for the Hammer, which I am all over. It's a GREAT locale for a story like this. Johnson's a get, and though I haven't read it, I hear the script by Malcolm MacRury -- who's also picking up buzz for the upcoming ZoS. Wonder what they're going to do about Bacic if this gets picked up -- I don't imagine both The Guard and this show, shooting thousands of miles apart, would be able to juggle shoot schedules so he could appear in both. (Besides the fact that it also extends the "same 10 actors in every Canadian show" problem...)

There's also another pilot called The Prodigy, that also has John Fawcett attached, but no other info.

One quibble about the Global release. They've been talking up the need for strong showrunners -- they even established a showrunner training program -- but guess who gets left out of the release? Sigh.

Still, point is, all of these shows sound promising. Of course, a million things could go wrong in the production process. Such is the nature of our collaborative medium. Still, I'm pretty juiced to see every one of these.

Could this be a taste of better things to come?

Stay tuned, citizens.

Thanks to TV, Eh for the releases.

CORRECTION: 01/10/09 - an earlier version of this story identified John Cassini (Robson Arms, Intelligence) as part of the cast. The Bridge actually stars Frank Cassini, his brother. Apologies for the error.