Canada's Beloved Hope Zion Doctors Scrub in for Fifth and Final Season as SAVING HOPE Returns March 12 on CTV

– SAVING HOPE lands 10 p.m. ET/PT timeslot as part of CTV's Sunday night lineup –
– Season 5 sees stars Erica Durance and Michael Shanks joined by new cast members Jarod Joseph (ONCE UPON A TIME), Joe Dinicol (ARROW), and Greg Calderone (HEROES REBORN) –
– Viewers can enjoy Seasons 1-4 of SAVING HOPE, streaming now on CraveTV™ –

Exclusive Final Season Video: The Cast Reflect on SAVING HOPE Ahead of Season 5 Broadcast

To tweet this release: http://bmpr.ca/2m4tYW1

TORONTO, March 3, 2017 /CNW/ - Five years. Eighty-five episodes. One beloved series. Garnering three nominations for the 2017 Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Performance by an Actress and Supporting Actress nods for Erica Durance and Michelle Nolden respectively, CTV's original series SAVING HOPE returns for its fifth and final season as part of the network's hit Sunday night lineup, airing at 10 p.m. ET/PT beginning March 12 on CTV and CTV GO. The premiere picks up the story in the aftermath of the heart-stopping Season 4 cliff-hanger finale which left viewers questioning whether Dr. Alex Reid (Erica Durance) and Dr. Charlie Harris (Michael Shanks) survived a shooting by a former patient.

"SAVING HOPE has perennially been a fan favourite cornerstone series of CTV's schedule, delivering characters that viewers have fallen in love with," said Mike Cosentino, Senior Vice-President, Content and Programming, Bell Media. "In this special final season, we look forward to the emotional storylines that will play out beginning March 12 and continue through to the series finale."

**MEDIA NOTE**

• Digital press kit complete with cast, character, and creative team bios, fact sheet, and episode descriptions available – CLICK HERE
• First two episodes of SAVING HOPE's fifth and final season available in their entirety for media review – CLICK HERE

In Season 5, as Alex grapples with her destiny, Hope Zion's doctors are thrust into turmoil as they face new challenges and a new CEO (Joe Dinicol, ARROW), who threatens to make cuts that may affect the livelihood of the hospital and everything they hold dear. Filmed in Toronto, new episodes of the 2016/17 Golden Screen Award Nominee SAVING HOPE will continue to receive a Canadian first-look on CraveTV™, available to viewers the day before their broadcast premieres. Viewers can also enjoy Seasons 1-4 of SAVING HOPE which are streaming now on CraveTV™.

Series stars Erica Durance and Michael Shanks are joined by new cast members Jarod Joseph (ONCE UPON A TIME) as Dr. Manny Palmer, a smart and handsome new doctor who brings some of his spiritual sensibilities to his medical practice; Joe Dinicol (ARROW) as Thomas Leffering, the self-confident new CEO of Hope Zion who has sharp instincts for business and finance and believes in cutting costs; and Greg Calderone (HEROES REBORN) as Dr. Billy Scott, a brash and brazen doctor who uses humour to mask his insecurities as he wants nothing more than to help save lives.

Guest stars throughout the series' farewell season include Don McKellar (SENSITIVE SKIN), Missy Peregrym (ROOKIE BLUE), Greg Bryk (FRONTIER), Tim Rozon (SCHITT'S CREEK), Ben Bass (ROOKIE BLUE), Kristin Lehman (MOTIVE), Jennifer Dale (WHAT WOULD SAL DO), Teresa Pavlinek (AMERICAN GOTHIC), and more. Gregory Smith (ROOKIE BLUE), Jason Priestley (PRIVATE EYES), Steve DiMarco (ROOKIE BLUE), David Wellington (VIKINGS), Peter Wellington (KIM'S CONVENIENCE), and series star Michael Shanks return to direct episodes this season.

In the first episode of Season 5 entitled "Doctor Dustiny" (Sunday, March 12 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CTV and CTV GO), after the gunshot at the end of last season's finale, Dr. Alex Reid (Erica Durance) searches for Dr. Charlie Harris (Michael Shanks) in the following chaos, but instead comes across a caterer named Grace (Masa Lizdek, LOST GIRL) who was unknowingly caught in the crossfire. At Hope Zion, Grace's mother asks Alex for a priest, but the only person Alex can find is the pious interventional radiologist Dr. Manny Palmer (Jarod Joseph, ONCE UPON A TIME). Together, the two work quickly to try to save Grace's life. As news of the shooting spreads, Dr. Dana Kinney (Wendy Crewson) arrives at the hospital to lend a hand but instead ends up consulting on a case with Dr. Cassie Williams (Kim Shaw) involving a male stripper instead.

SAVING HOPE averaged 1.3 million viewers during its fourth season and was the #1 Canadian drama series of the 2015-16 broadcast season in the key adult demos following its finale in February 2016. Over the last four seasons, the series has racked up 24 nominations and garnered eight wins thus far – including two Canadian Screen Awards and a Leo Award in 2013. The series is up for three CSAs this year including Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role (Erica Durance), Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Series (Michelle Nolden), and Best Performance in a Guest Role, Dramatic Series (Christine Horne). After the broadcast of Season 5, 85 episodes of the hour-long drama will have aired since its 2012 debut, and SAVING HOPE can be seen around the world in over 20 countries. See below for additional fun facts:

SAVING HOPE stars Canadian Screen Award nominee Erica Durance (SMALLVILLE) as Dr. Alex Reid; Michael Shanks (STARGATE SG-1) as Dr. Charlie Harris; Canadian Screen Award-winner and 2016 Earle Grey Award recipient Wendy Crewson (Room) as Dr. Dana Kinney; Benjamin Ayres (BITTEN) as Dr. Zach Miller; Canadian Screen Award nominee Julia Taylor Ross (GOTHAM) as Dr. Maggie Lin; Canadian Screen Award-winner Michelle Nolden (Prisoner X) as Dr. Dawn Bell; Huse Madhavji (CALL ME FITZ) as Dr. Shahir Hamza; Kim Shaw (THE GOOD WIFE) as Dr. Cassie Williams, Dejan Loyola (THE 100) as Dr. Dev Sekara, and Jarod Joseph (MISTRESSES) as Dr. Emanuel Palmer.

SAVING HOPE is produced by ICF Films with Entertainment One (eOne) in association with CTV, with the participation of the Canada Media Fund and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit. All distribution rights are handled by eOne, and SAVING HOPE airs on ION Television in the U.S.

The series is executive produced by Ilana Frank, John Morayniss, and Linda Pope, and co-executive produced by Noelle Carbone, Patrick Tarr, Jocelyn Hamilton, and Sonia Hosko. Adam Pettle is Executive Producer and Showrunner. For Bell Media, Lisa Gotlieb is Coordinator, Independent Production; Kathleen Meek is Production Executive, Drama, Independent Production; Tom Hastings is Director, Drama, Independent Production; Corrie Coe is Senior Vice-President, Original Programming; Pat DiVittorio is Vice-President, CTV and Specialty Programming; Mike Cosentino is Senior Vice-President, Content and Programming. Randy Lennox is President, Bell Media.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:

Twitter:
@CTV_PR
@CTV_Television
SAVING HOPE: @SavingHopeTV
Erica Durance: @ED_DURANCE
Michael Shanks: @MichaelShanks
Wendy Crewson: @wendy_crewson
Benjamin Ayres: @BenjaminAyres
Julia Taylor Ross: @juliataylorross
Michelle Nolden: @noldenmichelle
Huse Madhavji: @HuseM
Kim Shaw: @ItsMeKimShaw
Dejan Loyola: @dejanloyola
Jarod Joseph: @JarodJoseph

Facebook:
Facebook.com/CTV
Facebook.com/SavingHopeTV

Instagram:
BellMediaPR
CTV_Television

About Bell Media Independent Production
Bell Media has commissioned some of Canada's most-watched and most-acclaimed original programming, working with the best Canadian independent producers in the country. Hit series commissioned by CTV include ratings success stories SAVING HOPE, the record-breaking THE AMAZING RACE CANADA, MASTERCHEF CANADA, hit drama CARDINAL, and upcoming original series THE DISAPPEARANCE. Among the original series on Bell Media pay, specialty, and streaming platforms are the internationally acclaimed ORPHAN BLACK, Space's most-watched original series KILLJOYS, Bravo's award-winning and most-watched original drama 19-2, award-winning dramedy SENSITIVE SKIN, CraveTV comedies LETTERKENNY and RUSSELL PETERS IS THE INDIAN DETECTIVE, Discovery's first-ever drama FRONTIER, Comedy's new satirical news series THE BEAVERTON, and nine new series and specials for food and lifestyle channel Gusto, including ONE WORLD KITCHEN and FISH THE DISH. Discovery is also home to Bell Media's hit factual series HIGHWAY THRU HELL, COLD WATER COWBOYS, and CANADA'S WORST DRIVER, among others. Bell Media is one of the first media companies in North America to commit to producing all new original scripted series in 4K.

About CTV  
CTV is Canada's #1 private broadcaster. Featuring a wide range of quality news, sports, information, and entertainment programming, CTV has been Canada's most-watched television network for the past 15 years in a row. CTV is a division of Bell Media, Canada's premier multimedia company with leading assets in television, radio, digital, and Out-of-Home. Bell Media is owned by BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada's largest communications company. More information about CTV can be found on the network's website at CTV.ca.

SOURCE CTV

please contact: Matthew Almeida, CTV Networks, 416.384.2629 or [email protected]