Vancouver: With his audience numbers in decline, Canada’s busiest and longest-running television coroner is getting a new job and new series this fall on CBC. Dominic Da Vinci, played by actor Nicholas Campbell for seven seasons so far, will move from Da Vinci’s Inquest to become Vancouver’s mayor in the sequel Da Vinci’s City Hall – a move identical to that of the character’s inspiration, Larry Campbell, Vancouver’s former chief coroner and current mayor.

Vancouver: The New VI is looking a lot like the old CH. CHUM’s struggling Victoria station has recently hired three senior journalists from the market-leading CH Victoria, owned by CanWest MediaWorks, and is now shooting for an older audience.

Next month Insight Film & Video and Shavick Entertainment head into production on Young Blades, described as a next generation of Musketeers set in 17th century Paris. Karen Cliche (Mutant X) stars as a woman posing as a man among the new group of swordsmen. The 22 hours will air on CHUM in Canada some time in Fall 2005 and PAX TV in the U.S. The per-episode budget is in the $1-million range.
The two prodcos are also working on another CHUM project, a $1.6-million MOW. Fatal Reunion, a thriller about marriage and fidelity, stars Calgary resident Erika Eleniak (Baywatch) and Canadian David Millbern (Zolar).
Courtesy sister pub Playback, October 25 2004

When Susanne Boyce strolls the floor at TV trade show MIPCOM, Oct. 4-8 in Cannes, she won’t be worried about les Joneses. CTV’s president of programming says that if you are going to win the program acquisitions game at the international entertainment content fair, you can’t fret about the competition or latest focus group results. You have to break rules. ‘You have to play to win,’ Boyce explains. ‘It doesn’t always mean you do. You have to stay focused.’