Fans of ‘Smallville’ and ‘SG-1’ may get to see Erica Durance and Michael Shanks grace their TV once again if NBC gets its way. Deadline reports that the peacock network is in negotiations to acquire the Canadian medical drama ‘Saving Hope’ for a summer run.
‘Saving Hope’ is a fast paced Toronto hospital drama that centers on chief surgeon Dr. Harris (played by Michael Shanks) who suddenly finds himself in a coma. He wanders the hospital in spirit form as he watches his fiancée (Erica Durance) and the rest of the hospital staff struggle to go on after his sudden illness. Daniel Gillies from ‘The Vampire Diaries’ also stars as a hot new surgeon hired on staff (after all, doesn’t all hospital dramas deserve a McDreamy?). The series will also star Huse Madhavji (‘Combat Hospital’) and Julia Taylor-Ross (‘Rookie Blue’). The premise of the show is being likened to CBS’s supernatural medical drama ‘A Gifted Man.’
In the past, NBC has filled their summer line up with reality shows such as ‘The Voice’ and ‘America’s Got Talent.’ The last time they aired an imported drama was in 2009 with the telepathic paramedic series ‘The Listener’ but it was quickly pulled due to low ratings. NBC hopes that the series will have the same success as ABC’s import ‘Rookie Blue’ as the executive producers behind that show, Ilana Frank and David Wellington, are also the executive producers of ‘Saving Hope.’
The series joins the growing number of imports that networks have decided to turn to when looking for unique programs to air in the summer months. They are financially more economical than having to pay for something that is homegrown. ‘Saving Hope’ is one of two Canadian dramas that are near to closing a deal for summer.
As much as I like medical dramas, I wonder what take the show will have with Dr. Harris’ spirit. Does he help patients cross over? Does the hospital staff begin to notice an increase in hauntings? Does the hunky new surgeon become the only one that can see him? Or maybe his fiancée? I guess we’ll have to wait to see what the exact storyline of ‘Saving Hope’ will be. If the negotiations go well, we’ll soon see ‘Saving Hope’ sometime this summer on NBC.
