The Listener (TV series)

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The Listener
The Listener Titles.jpg
Genre Science fiction
Drama
Created by Michael Amo
Starring Craig Olejnik
Ennis Esmer
Mylène Dinh-Robic
Lisa Marcos
Lauren Lee Smith
Rainbow Sun Francks
Peter Stebbings
Country of origin Canada
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 3
No. of episodes 39 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
Running time 38~43 minutes
Production company(s) Shaftesbury Films
Bell Media
Broadcast
Original channel CTV
Original run March 1, 2009 – present
External links
Website

The Listener is a Canadian science fiction drama created by Michael Amo. It premiered on Fox Series on March 1, 2009 in the Arab world and had its domestic debut in Canada on CTV on June 3, 2009. The third season of The Listener premiered on May 30, 2012.[1] The Listener has been renewed for a fourth season. Fox International Channels controls the rights of the show outside of Canada.[2]

Contents

History [edit]

The series premiered on Fox International Channels beginning with the Arabic-speaking area of northern Africa and south-western Asia on March 1, 2009. The Listener' premiered in Canada on June 3, 2009 on CTV and in the United States one day later on NBC. NBC removed the show from their broadcast schedule part way through the first season due to low ratings.[3] It was announced on November 17, 2009 that CTV had renewed The Listener for a second season of 13 episodes.[4] After a delay of over one year, the second season premiered on February 8, 2011, airing Tuesday nights. After that, it moved to Fridays and then Saturdays.[5] It was announced on June 1, 2011 that The Listener had been renewed for a third season, which now airs on Wednesday at 10:00pm Eastern time.

Plot [edit]

Main article: List of The Listener episodes

Season One (2009) [edit]

Toby is a 28-year-old first year paramedic who never knew his father and grew up in foster homes.[6] Until now, Toby has kept his ability to listen to people's surface thoughts a secret and the only one he has shared it with is his old counsellor and confidant, Dr. Ray Mercer (Colm Feore), prior to the series' first episode. While he crosses the city of Toronto in his ambulance with his partner Osman "Oz" Bey (Ennis Esmer), Toby helps people in crisis and on the way come to terms with his own past. With the help of Detective Charlie Marks (Lisa Marcos) and his on-and-off girlfriend Olivia Fawcett (Mylène Dinh-Robic), an E.R doctor, Toby realizes that his gift can serve to help other people.

Season Two (2011) [edit]

It's a year and a half later and Toby has finally come to terms with his telepathic powers and is still working with his paramedic partner Osman Bey. After assisting with an undercover case investigated by the Integrated Investigative Bureau (a special unit of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police) Toby reveals his gift to Sgt. Michelle McCluskey (Lauren Lee Smith). Despite her initial scepticism, she realises that Toby's special abilities could be her team's secret weapon. So alongside his paramedic work Toby joins Michelle and other members of the IIB to help solve some of their most difficult and high-profile cases ranging from suspicious homicides to cases of arms dealing. But the price to pay for having such a gift is the emotional and physical effects of delving into some of the most deranged criminal minds out there and it is his old flame Dr Olivia Fawcett who helps him deal with his problems.[7]

Season Three (2012) [edit]

Toby stopped being a confidential informant for IIB after Liz Simmons was killed. He had been having intense headaches that Olivia said could kill him. He finds himself in trouble again after he goes into the bank that's about to be robbed. He makes the decision to go into the bank after withdrawing cash and Michelle and Dev race to rescue him. Klein finds out about his abilities after he demands to know why Michelle and Dev are so insistent on saving Toby. It isn't until after the guard who was shot tells Michelle personal details about the robbers that he begins to believe it. He makes a deal to start a cold case unit that are either cold and/or can't be solved by normal procedures. Toby joins IIB as a special consultant, working for the IIB the majority of the time, while picking up shifts as a paramedic.

Season Four (2013) [edit]

Bell Media announced the series was ordered for a fourth season on July 25, 2012.[8] It is to premiere May 29, 2013 in Canada.[9]

Production [edit]

The series is produced by Shaftesbury Films in association with CTV and Space and was created by Michael Amo. The pilot episode was directed by Clement Virgo.[10] Production began in spring 2008.

Production for the second season began in September 2010 and ended February 2011.[11]

With the delayed second season came several production changes. The entire writing staff was replaced, Michael Amo and Dennis Heaton have been replaced by Jason Sherman and Wil Zmak.

In terms of storylines and overall tone, star Craig Olejnik has said that "season two is more mature, stronger, smoother, and it really picks up... it really moves into a whole new world."[12] Examples of this "new world" include the ways in which Toby finds himself in cases. In season one, the majority of cases in which Toby was involved were approached by Toby. That is, Toby, as a paramedic, was called to a location and found himself wrapped inside of a case. On the other hand, season two sees Toby approached by Sergeant McCluskey on most cases. In addition, season one had more of a mysterious, conspiracy sci-fi theme whereas season two has, as star Lauren Lee Smith states, "no real sci-fi aspect to it... It’s a guy who can read people’s minds and he helps the cops out with that." [13] Season two nearly abandons Toby's search for his mother and an understanding of his powers. Colm Feore's character is gone, and the telepathic link is only through Toby solving crimes. Rather than try to discover what has happened to his mother and to learn more about his psychic sense, Toby "further embraces his telepathic powers to help solve criminal investigations." [14] Season three continues the strictly procedural trend, with Toby becoming more officially involved with Sgt. McCluskey's position in IIB.

Cast [edit]

Main Cast
Also Starring
Recurring Characters

Reception [edit]

In Italy The Listener not only grew the timeslot average by 470%, according to research company Auditel/AGB, but it was the second-most watched show ever on Fox.[15]

NBC pulled the show off the air after the 23 July airing of "Inside the Man" due to low ratings.[16]

Crossover [edit]

In episode 8 of the third season The Listener crossed over with Flashpoint when the character Michaelangelo "Spike" Scarlatti crossed over in a brief scene where he was getting medical attention and interacted with Osman "Oz" Bey.

International airings [edit]

Fox International Channels premiered the series on the first week of March 2009, in 180 territories American television network NBC announced on February 1, 2008, a deal to pick up 13 episodes.[10][17] The show is distributed through Program Partners, which owns the American rights with advertising sales by Sony Pictures Television. The show began airing in the U.S. on Thursday evenings in June 2009, but was removed from the schedule after the ninth episode due to low ratings. The remaining four episodes were available for screening online at no charge through the NBC.com and Hulu.com websites until December 31, 2009 for U.S. viewers.

The second season premiered February 8, 2011 in Canada on CTV and internationally in the UK on FX on March 1, 2011.

Country/Region Network Premiere Date
 Canada CTV June 3, 2009 (2009-06-03) [18]
CTV Two June 4, 2009 (2009-06-04) [19]
addikTV (in French) September 12, 2011 (2011-09-12)
 France 13ème Rue October 19, 2009 (2009-10-19)[20]
NRJ 12 March 9, 2010 (2010-03-09)
Arab League Arab World Fox Series March 1, 2009 (2009-03-01)
Latin America (orthographic projection).svg Latin America Fox March 2, 2009 (2009-03-02)
 Greece Fox Life Greece March 2, 2009 (2009-03-02)(season 1)
June 8, 2011 (2011-06-08)(season 2)
June 14, 2012 (2012-06-14)(season 3)
 Japan FOX March 2, 2009 (2009-03-02)
 South Korea FOX March 2, 2009 (2009-03-02)
 Portugal FOX March 2, 2009 (2009-03-02)
 Argentina FOX March 3, 2009 (2009-03-03)
 Bulgaria Fox Crime March 3, 2009 (2009-03-03)
 Germany FOX March 3, 2009 (2009-03-03)
RTL II January 30, 2010 (2010-01-30)
 Malaysia RTM's tv2 March 30, 2011 (2011-03-30)
 Spain FOX March 3, 2009 (2009-03-03)
Antena 3 August 4, 2009 (2009-08-04)
Italy Italy FOX Italy March 5, 2009 (2009-03-05)
Cielo March 29, 2010 (2010-03-29)
 Russia Fox Life March 6, 2009 (2009-03-06)
Serbia Serbia Fox Crime March 8, 2009 (2009-03-08)
 India FX March 6, 2009 (2009-03-06)
 Poland Fox Life March 8, 2009 (2009-03-08)
Polsat December 5, 2011 (2011-12-05)
 United Kingdom FX March 8, 2009 (2009-03-08)
 Ireland FX March 8, 2009 (2009-03-08)
 Brazil FOX March 31, 2009 (2009-March-31)
 Mexico FOX March 10, 2009 (2009-03-10)
Azteca 7 January 13, 2010 (2010-01-13)
 Netherlands Net 5 April 19, 2009 (2009-04-19)
Republic of Macedonia Macedonia Fox Crime March 8, 2009 (2009-03-08)
Bulgaria Bulgaria Fox Crime March 8, 2009 (2009-03-08)
 United States NBC June 4, 2009 (2009-06-04)
Ion Television 2012 (2012)
 Israel Yes Stars Action June 23, 2009 (2009-06-23)
 Slovenia Fox Life August 10, 2009 (2009-08-10)
 New Zealand Prime November 16, 2009 (2009-11-16)
Australia Australia GO! March 3, 2010 (2010-03-03)
W March 6, 2011 (2011-03-06) (season 1)
July 24, 2011 (2011-07-24)(season 2)
Hungary Hungary RTL Klub June 24, 2010 (2010-06-24)
Finland Finland MTV3 June 6, 2012 (2012-06-06)[21]
Norway Norway FEM Unknown
Denmark Denmark Kanal 4 Unknown
Latvia Latvia Fox Life Unknown
Sweden Sweden Kanal 9 Unknown

DVD release [edit]

Season one of The Listener was released on DVD in Region 2 in the UK on September 13, 2010.[22] Release dates for other regions are yet to be announced.

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ "A ‘Flashpoint’ crossover and the death of a major character in store on Season 3 of ‘The Listener’" (Press release). Bell Media. May 2, 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2012. 
  2. ^ "CTV, FOX International Channels, and Shaftesbury Announce Start of Production on Season 3 of The Listener". FOX International Channels. 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2012-12-17. 
  3. ^ "NBC Cancels Canadian Imported “The Listener”, July 15, 2009". Tvdonewright.com. Retrieved 2012-12-17. 
  4. ^ By BILL HARRIS, Sun Media (2009-11-17). "'The Listener' gets renewed, Nov 17, 2009". Torontosun.com. Retrieved 2011-03-02. 
  5. ^ "Season 2 of 'The Listener' returns Feb. 8 on CTV". Shows.ctv.ca. 2011-01-28. Retrieved 2011-03-02. 
  6. ^ "Foggy Notion". The Listener. Season 1. Episode 6. April 7, 2009.
  7. ^ "The Listener - Shows". FXUK.com. 2009-10-12. Retrieved 2011-03-02. 
  8. ^ "CTV Orders New Seasons of Hit Canadian Dramas THE LISTENER and SAVING HOPE". Bell Media. July 25, 2012. 
  9. ^ "Canadians are all ears as 'The Listener' returns for Season 4 on May 29". Bell Media. Retrieved May 19, 2013. 
  10. ^ a b "NBC picks up "The Listener" - CTV's original drama series from Shaftesbury Films". The Futon Critic. 2008-02-01. 
  11. ^ Sep 22 2010. "The Listener starts production on Season 2 | TV, eh?". Tv-eh.com. Retrieved 2011-03-02. 
  12. ^ Tyrone Warner (2011-02-08). "Craig Olejnik talks season two of The Listener on CTV". CTV. Retrieved 2011-06-13. 
  13. ^ Tyrone Warner (2011-02-10). "Q&A with the newest star of The Listener, Lauren Lee Smith". CTV. Retrieved 2011-06-13. 
  14. ^ Tyrone Warner (2011-01-28). "Season 2 of The Listener returns Feb 8 on CTV". CTV. Retrieved 2011-06-13. 
  15. ^ Whiteman, Bobby (March 11, 2009). "Global audiences love 'The Listener'". Variety. Retrieved 2009-03-31. 
  16. ^ Schneider, Michael (July 15, 2009). "NBC Tuning out 'The Listener'". Variety. Retrieved 2009-07-15. 
  17. ^ "Canada's CBC and ABC wedded to teen sitcom". The Hollywood Reporter. 2008-07-29. 
  18. ^ "The Listener Premiere on CTV, CTV press release, May 28, 2009". Ctv.ca. Retrieved 2011-03-02. 
  19. ^ "The Listener to Premiere on A". Atv.ca. Retrieved 2011-03-02. 
  20. ^ "The Listener Premiere on 13ème Rue, October 19, 2009". Serieslive.com. Retrieved 2011-03-02. 
  21. ^ "Kuuntelija: Uusi sarja alkaa!" (in (Finnish)). MTV3.fi. June 6, 2012. Retrieved July 20, 2012. 
  22. ^ "The Listener - Season 1 (DVD)". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved March 28, 2011. 

External links [edit]

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Listener_(TV_series)&oldid=555892861"