''Saving Hope'' is a Canadian supernatural medical drama television series set in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

in the fictional hospital Hope Zion. The series stars

Erica Durance Erica Durance (; born June 21, 1978) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her role as Lois Lane in the WB/ CW superhero television series ''Smallville'' and as Dr. Alex Reid in the CTV medical drama '' Saving Hope''. Early life Durance was b ...

and

Michael Shanks Michael Garrett Shanks (born December 15, 1970) is a Canadian actor, writer and director. He is best known for his role as Daniel Jackson in the long-running military science fiction television series '' Stargate SG-1'' and as Charles Harris ...

. The show's premise originated with Malcolm MacRury and Morwyn Brebner, who are both credited as creators and executive producers. ''Saving Hope'' aired on CTV for five seasons from June 7, 2012 to August 3, 2017, with the first season airing on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

Plot

The protagonist of the show is Dr. Alex Reid (

), a doctor whose fiancé, Dr. Charles Harris (

), is in a coma after a car accident while on his way to their wedding. The show follows the life of Charlie in his comatose state and Alex dealing with her patients, all the while hoping that he will survive. Dr. Reid is the Chief Surgical Resident while Dr. Harris was the Chief of Surgery until his accident. Dr. Harris recovers at the end of season 1, but in subsequent seasons he continues to be able to see the spirits of comatose and dead patients. The show also stars Dr. Joel Goran (

Daniel Gillies Daniel John Gillies (born 14 March 1976) is a New Zealand-Canadian actor, film producer, director and screenwriter. He played the role of Elijah Mikaelson on the television series '' The Vampire Diaries'' and its spin-off '' The Originals,'' as ...

), an orthopedic surgeon and Alex's former lover. Reid also works alongside Dr. Shahir Hamza (

Huse Madhavji Husein "Huse" Madhavji (pronounced Ma-dav-gee; born July 19) is a Canadian actor and television personality. He is best known for his role as Dr. Shahir Hamza on the medical drama '' Saving Hope'' and as the former face of Star! Canada’s Entertain ...

), a

neurosurgeon Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty concerned with the surgical treatment of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord and peri ...

, Dr. Maggie Lin ( Julia Taylor Ross), a third year surgical resident on rotation in the General Surgery department, Dr. Gavin Murphy ( Kristopher Turner), a

psychiatry Psychiatry is the specialty (medicine), medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psych ...

resident, Dr. Zachary Miller ( Benjamin Ayres), the ER doctor, OR nurse Victor Reis ( Salvatore Antonio), Dr. Tom Reycraft ( K. C. Collins), Dr. Melanda Tolliver (

Glenda Braganza Glenda Braganza is a Canadian television and stage actress who has appeared in several Canadian and American television shows and films. Braganza was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia to Indian-Goan parents, and was raised in Ottawa, Ontario. She liv ...

), and Dr. Dawn Bell ( Michelle Nolden), a

cardiologist Cardiology () is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular ...

, who is Charlie's ex-wife.

Cast and characters

Main

* *

as Dr. Alex Reid: At the start of the series, Chief Surgical Resident and Charlie Harris' fiancée. *

as Dr. Charles "Charlie" Harris: Chief of Surgery, orthopedic surgeon, and Alex's fiancé. *

as Dr. Joel Goran: New orthopedic surgeon at Hope Zion and Alex's on-and-off boyfriend (seasons 1–3). *

as Dr. Shahir Hamza: Chief of Neurosurgery, who is highly skilled but socially awkward due to his

Asperger syndrome Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's, is a former neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of beha ...

. * Julia Taylor Ross as Dr. Maggie Lin: A third year surgical

resident Resident may refer to: People and functions * Resident minister, a representative of a government in a foreign country * Resident (medicine), a stage of postgraduate medical training * Resident (pharmacy), a stage of postgraduate pharmaceuti ...

on rotation in the hospital's General Surgery department and then in the OB-GYN department. * Kristopher Turner as Dr. Gavin Murphy: A psychiatry resident and Maggie's former boyfriend (seasons 1–2; recurring season 3). *

Wendy Crewson Wendy Jane Crewson (born May 9, 1956) is a Canadian actress and producer. She began her career appearing on Canadian television, before her breakthrough role in 1991 dramatic film ''The Doctor (1991 film), The Doctor''. Crewson has appeared in ma ...

as Dr. Dana Kinney: Chief of Plastic Surgery, who is appointed Interim Chief of Surgery following Charlie's coma (seasons 1 & 4; recurring seasons 2, 3 & 5). * Benjamin Ayres as Dr. Zach Miller: An ER doctor. *

as Dr. Melanda Tolliver: A friend of Alex's and an ICU doctor (seasons 1–3). * Salvatore Antonio as Victor Reis: An OR nurse and Shahir's former boyfriend (seasons 1 & 2). * K. C. Collins as Dr. Tom Reycraft: A fourth year surgical resident, who is appointed Chief Surgical Resident in place of Alex (seasons 1 & 2; recurring season 3). * Joseph Pierre as Jackson Wade: An ICU nurse (seasons 2–5; recurring season 1). * Michelle Nolden as Dr. Dawn Bell: A cardiologist and Charlie's ex-wife, later chief of staff (seasons 2–5; recurring season 1). * Stacey Farber as Dr. Sydney Katz: An OB/GYN and later Maggie's girlfriend (season 3; guest seasons 4 & 5). * Kim Shaw as Dr. Cassie Williams: A book-smart intern learning to apply the applications of medication rather than just reading about them (seasons 4–5).

Recurring

Conrad Coates Conrad Coates (born July 12, 1970) is a British-born Canadian actor and teacher. He is best known for his roles as Morgan in '' The Dresden Files'' and in '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' as Jimmy Brooks' father. Biography Early life Coate ...

as Bryan Travers: The main executive of Hope Zion (seasons 1 & 2). * Steve Cumyn as Dr. George Baumann: An anesthesiologist (seasons 2–4). * Mac Fyfe as Dr. James Dey: A psychiatry resident (season 3). * Max Bennett as Dr. Patrick Curtis: A general surgeon and surgical fellow who filled in for Alex during her maternity leave (season 4). * Dejan Loyola as Dr. Dev Sekara: A junior resident doctor (seasons 4 & 5). * Parveen Kaur as Dr. Asha Mirani: A junior resident doctor (season 4). * Jess Salgueiro as Nurse Carbrera: A nurse (seasons 4 & 5). * Nicole Underhay as Kristine Fields: A nurse in palliative care who, like Charlie, is a medium (season 4). *

Peter Mooney Peter Mooney (born August 19, 1983) is a Canadian actor, known for his role as Officer Nick Collins on the police drama series ''Rookie Blue'' and for playing Sir Kay on the historical fantasy series ''Camelot''. Early life Mooney was born in Wi ...

as Dr. Jeremy Bishop: A general surgeon and who has a past with Charlie (seasons 4 & 5). * Allison Wilson-Forbes as Nurse Alice: A nurse who works in the ER. * Jarod Joseph as Dr. Emanuel Palmer: A young interventional radiologist with a unique prospective and a laissez-faire attitude (season 5). * Greg Calderone as Dr. Billy Scott: A new transfer intern and Dev's former med school rival (season 5). *

Christopher Jacot Christopher Jacot (born June 30, 1979) is a Canadian film, television and voice actor. He has appeared in 3 seasons of ''Slasher''. Early life Jacot was born in Toronto. He attended Earl Haig Secondary School in the Claude Watson programme for d ...

as Jonathan: Shahir's boyfriend (season 5).

Overview

The series premiered on June 7, 2012 on both CTV in Canada and

in the United States. On July 25, 2012, CTV ordered a second, 13 episode season for the summer of 2013. NBC, however, pulled the show's final two episodes from its broadcast schedule and made them available on their official website. On November 16, 2012, CTV announced they had increased their episode order for season 2 to eighteen episodes. On November 7, 2013, CTV ordered a third season of ''Saving Hope'' that consisted of eighteen episodes and aired in 2014. On November 10, 2014, CTV ordered a fourth season of ''Saving Hope'' that consisted of eighteen episodes, and premiered on September 24. 2015. On December 17, 2015, CTV ordered a fifth and final season of ''Saving Hope'' that consisted of 18 episodes. In 2014,

Ion Television Ion Television is an American broadcast television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network first began broadcasting on August 31, 1998, as Pax TV, focusing primarily on family-oriented en ...

announced that they had secured the American broadcast rights to the show.

Home Media

Production

Conception

Malcolm MacRury and Morwyn Brebner devised the concept of the series. MacRury had previously co-created the comedy series ''

Republic of Doyle ''Republic of Doyle'' is a Canadian comedy-drama television series set in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, which aired on CBC Television from January 6, 2010, to December 10, 2014. The show stars Allan Hawco as private investigator and f ...

'' for CBC, while Brebner had previously co-created television drama ''

Rookie Blue ''Rookie Blue'' is a Canadian police drama television series starring Missy Peregrym and Gregory Smith. It was created by Morwyn Brebner, Tassie Cameron, and Ellen Vanstone. The series premiered on June 24, 2010, at 9:00 p.m. Eastern/8 ...

'' for the Global Television Network. Canadian broadcaster CTV had picked up the pilot episode in November 2011. Executive producers of the show went to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, to pitch the series to U.S. broadcasters. Their efforts convinced

to pick up the series for airing in the United States. CTV and NBC ordered 13 episodes for the first season. The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' claimed that MacRury and Brebner are trying to "combine a doctors-in-love medical soap opera modeled on ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into s ...

'' with something completely different, a paranormal ghost story with elements of '' A Gifted Man'' and '' Ghost Whisperer''.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...

for the pilot episode took place in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

in the spring of 2011.

Reception

Ratings

In Canada, the premiere figures were the highest recorded for the summer season in 2012. The American premiere attracted 3.1 million viewers on NBC, which some critics were unimpressed with.

Reviews

''Saving Hope'' received mixed reviews on

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

with a score of 49 out of 100 based on 15 critics' reviews. Verne Gay of '' Newsday'' stated the series "is modeled out of particularly sturdy, comfortable and reliable material." He added that it is "a sober, intelligent, placidly paced drama as only the Canadians can make." The ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...

''s Lori Rackl said the series "has some fun, clever and emotion-stirring moments, but they’re handicapped by cheesy montages and one too many scenarios designed to remind us of the importance of having hope."

Alan Sepinwall Alan Sepinwall (born October 19, 1973) is an American television reviewer and writer. He spent 14 years as a columnist with ''The Star-Ledger'' in Newark until leaving the newspaper in 2010 to work for the entertainment news website HitFix. He ...

HitFix HitFix, or HitFix.com, was an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information, and reviews and critiques of film, music, and television. In mid-2010 HitFix crossed the 1,00 ...

called Charlie Harris' "spirit walk" around the hospital "an interesting solution to the problem of telling stories we've seen a million times before. But doing it this way ultimately does more harm than good." He added: "It's not bad so much as tired." The ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...

''s David Wiegand called the series "a lukewarm stew of ideas from other shows... and films... with stock characters and situations that occasionally jerk a demi-tear or two, but with absolutely no authenticity. The sloppy sentimentality is cheap and unearned."

Broadcast

In September 2014, the U.S. television network

announced a partnership with eOne to have exclusive broadcast rights for current and future American television seasons. In Australia, the series premiered on

SoHo Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develo ...

on February 6, 2015. The series will began airing reruns on G4, which will relaunch in the Summer of 2021.

References

External links

* at CTV *
''Saving Hope''
at ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Saving Hope (Tv Series) 2012 Canadian television series debuts 2017 Canadian television series endings 2010s Canadian drama television series 2010s Canadian LGBT-related drama television series 2010s Canadian medical television series English-language television shows Ghosts in television Television shows filmed in Toronto Television series by Bell Media Television series by Entertainment One Television shows set in Toronto CTV Television Network original programming