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I’ve learned that Syfy is finalizing a deal to acquire Canadian sci-fi drama Continuum. Last week, the 10-episode series was picked up by Syfy UK. Talks with the flagship US Syfy channel started shortly after Continuum‘s strong launch in Canada in late May. Its premiere on Showcase became the channel’s highest-rated episodic telecast ever with 900,000 total viewers and 427,000 adults 25-54. Continuum is a futuristic police drama starring Rachel Nichols as a cop from the future who finds herself trapped in present day Vancouver. (Kind of like a time-shifted Life On Mars). Co-starring on the series, produced by Reunion Pictures in association with Shaw Media, are Victor Webster and Erik Knudsen.
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This has nothing to do with rasslin’ or ghost hunting and will sonn be canceled.
Or soon even.
Doubtful. It’s from the same production company behind “Lost Girl,” which has been doing great paired up with “Being Human.” Expect this to be slotted next to Alphas or a similar show in the future.
It’s also a very solid show in it’s own right, with good acting and high production values. Combine all that with it’s low cost, and it’s a no brainer. When I saw the first episode, I knew it was a matter of when and not if SyFy picked it up.
Hey, if you can’t develop it yourself, just airlift it in.
Saw this coming, still exceptionally happy about it.
An obvious move — of course Syfy would want it, and no other US channel would be interested in bidding against Syfy to get it.
No other U.S. channel? Really? I would not have been surprised if the Science Channel had bid for it, given that they have aired reruns of Firefly many times, along with a repackaged version of the anthology drama Masters of Sci-Fi. BBC America also carries a lot of sci-fi programs, including non-British programs, so they might have bid for it. G4 too, if they had the money.
Also, Reelz has picked up some Canadian programs, such as XIII. But the Canadians probably wanted a channel with a higher profile. Can’t blame them.
Visually, the pilot episode is fairly impressive and flashy, so maybe the smaller channels couldn’t afford it, but I would be surprised if some of them hadn’t at least *inquired*….
When I wrote my comment I was thinking of “other channels” being channels big enough to be in the same league as Syfy. The future financial profitability of Continuum really depended on making a sale to a US channel at least as big as Syfy.
More watered down Canadian shows. Great!
Give this show a shot, Baked. I’ve watched the entire first season and it’s quite good.
Also, cut Nichols some slack, she played the Orion green girl in ST (2009).
This show is actually very good and Rachel is excellent. Production values are great. Show is a big hit north of the border and it was only a matter of time before it landed here. Give it a shot.
I’ve already seen the first season. It’s anything but watered down. But hey, if you want to make a snap judgement without even seeing it, your loss.
I agree it’s not very good. It’s expensive, but it’s pretty tedious. Biggest problem is Nichols, who displays all the personality of a cardboard box.
As a Canadian who passes the “can recognize Canadian Content in less than 7 seconds, and change the channel” test. I can honestly say I’m enjoying Continuum. The acting is pretty good, and I have no idea what the end point is going to be, which I like.
Don’t be silly, you’ll never get to see the end point, some annoying CEO in a suit who’s never watched it will have cancelled it long before they get to tell the whole planned storyline – I wish Networks were required to buy the whole planned number of series rather than pick-up and cancel all the time!!
So you get this stupid show but decide not to continue SGA OR SGU ?!?
Don’t worry, its probably too slow for US tastes
I’m in the US and I’ve already seen the first season. Wasn’t slow at all. Though maybe it would be for someone who doesn’t like to think.
I live in south florida and have been a huge scifi/fantasy fans since the mid 70′s. I did everything possible to watch this show and I loved it. I will watch it, when it is on syfy. I hate that scifi became syfi and all the reality and wrestling shows that came with it, but this is the type of show that should be on syfy.
After a fairly solid first episode, this series does a fast fade. It’s no surprise that it shed 2/3 of that initial audience after its premiere. As dull as scifi can get.
Dull? Hardly. It sounds more like you didn’t get it.
Er, right. Me and about 600 000 other viewers.
Licensing a foreign show that’s already been produced is a fraction of the cost that SGU and Caprica cost to produce (both of which were dreadful shows, and probably never should have made it on the air in the first place, though Caprica had a lot of potential on paper).
Well, I’m happy to see shows from other countries instead of US networks “remaking” those shows. I think it is a good move and anything is better than that ghost hunter/wwe crap. Ugh.
The creative team behind this has working on US series for years… This isn’t the typical Canadian half baked material. Give this one a chance.
SB
Continuum is actually a pretty good show. Well, no worse or better than SyFy’s other original programming. It’s also cheaper as they are licensing it instead of developing it themselves. I’ve seen the whole first season. Now that the producers have international distribution (UK, US, Australia, other European countries) it may make for a really interesting Season 2 and onwards.
Plus, it’s based in Vancouver. How cool and unusual is that?
Not very unusual at all, really.
I think that person meant “set in Vancouver.” Americans watch many shows made in Vancouver, and in all those other cases Vancouver is passed off as a generic American city, or Seattle — or sometimes an alien planet, for God’s sake.
Yeah, Supernatural is filmed in Vancouver
So are a number of other shows…
Battlestar Galactica
Smallville
The X-Files
Eureka
Stargate SG-1
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Universe
Sanctuary
Andromeda
Fringe
Dark Angel
and many more as well as many many movies.
Don’t forget Charlie Jade – great show, too bad it was cancelled after only one season.
I’m in the US and having already seen the first season I can tell you this, Continuum does something that even the best sci-fi currently on TV (or even the movies) doesn’t really do anymore. It tries to make you think and it succeeds. The stories hold a mirror up to our society, our politics and our very way of life. Much like the best episodes of original Star Trek did.
Forget the “a cop from the future who finds herself trapped in present day Vancouver hunting terrorists” pitch. That makes it sound derivative. That’s just the basic set up but the show is much more than that.
Sure it’s got all the trappings of great sci-fi: time travel, action (wait until you see the fight scene in episode 3), cool tech, and fantastic visual FX work. And if that’s all you’re looking for you’re going to like the show. But allow yourself to look deeper and you’ll love it because Continuum transcends it’s basic trappings and becomes something more than just another sci-fi show. It’s a cautionary tale where not everything is black and white. It’s a tale in which you’ll love the hero but will also find yourself rooting for the “terrorists” on more than on occasion.
I guessed the big twist and the heroine’s major arc in the first episode. It should be obvious to anyone who’s seen enough sci-fi and picked up on the really blatant and obvious hints they kept dropping.
I`totally agree with your post
This show is much better than those other AWFUL soaps like Young and Restless. This show actually makes u think what we’re doing now and do we want to be like 2077??!! So proud to be CANADIAN.
great news.. I live in the US and have watched all 10 episodes via the internet. It will be great for US audiences to enjoy this show on Syfy, I look forward to seeing the new episodes. Congratulations to the Continuum production team for procedural/scifi drama with many intriguing aspects to numerous to mention here. This show keeps me guessing !
Awesome news. Very cool show.
“a cop from the future who finds herself trapped in present day Vancouver hunting terrorists”
Sounds a bit like TIME-TRAX from the 1990′s
OMG. I am SO EXCITED!!! I love that Rachel Nichols chick. She’s SO HOT. I love watching her kick ass. Did you know she’s like an econ genius too?
I have already watched season 1 online and totally enjoyed the show. Glad SYFY has picked it up and looking forward to season 2
Great, now the Syfy suits can screw up another show and then cancel it.
Fortunately, skiffy can’t screw this one up and cancel it halfway, since there’s only 10 eps and it’s purchased as a package. And they have no say over whether it continues to get made. A second season has already been commissioned.
I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did. I found myself really looking forward to each week, and missing it now that it’s done. O! Canada. Thanks!
VICTOR WEBSTER – yummmmy
The American version of Life on Mars sucked. The UK version was much better.
Stop insulting!!!!! I’m really happy that this show will come to America (finally!!!)!!!!!! I’ve watched it and it’s AWESOME!!!!!!