Saving Hope is a Canadian television supernatural medical drama, set in the fictional Hope Zion
Hospital in Toronto. The show's central character is Dr. Alex Reid, a doctor whose fiancé,
Dr. Charles Harris, is in a coma after being in a car accident. The show follows the life
of Charlie in his coma state, and Alex dealing with patients, and 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 is able to see the spirits
of comatose and dead patients through season 2. This comes in handy at the start of season
3, when Dr. Reid ends up in a coma. The show also stars Dr. Joel Goran, a new
orthopedic surgeon and Alex's former lover. Reid also works along with Dr. Shahir Hamza,
a neurosurgeon, Dr. Maggie Lin, a third year surgical resident on rotation in the General
Surgery department, Dr. Gavin Murphy, a psychiatry resident, Dr. Zachary Miller, the ER doctor,
OR nurse Victor Reis, Dr. Tom Reycraft, Dr. Melanda Tolliver, and Dr. Dawn Bell, a cardiologist
and Charlie's ex-wife. The show's premise originated with Malcolm
MacRury and Morwyn Brebner, who are both credited as creators and executive producers alongside
Ilana Frank, David Wellington, Lesley Harrison, and Aaron Martin. The pilot was filmed in
Toronto, Ontario. Saving Hope has received mixed reviews from
television critics for its storylines. Commentators noted that the show seemed like other dramas
such as Grey's Anatomy. The series premiered on June 7, 2012 on both CTV and in the United
States on NBC. On July 25, 2012, CTV ordered a second, thirteen-episode season for the
summer of 2013. NBC, however, pulled the show's final two episodes from its broadcast schedule
and made them viewable 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 will consist of eighteen episodes and
air in 2014. In September 2014, the U.S. cable network,
Ion Television, announced a partnership with eOne to have exclusive broadcast rights for
current and future American television seasons.
Production Conception
Malcolm MacRury and Morwyn Brebner devised the concept of the series. MacRury had previously
co-created the comedy series Republic of Doyle for CBC, while Brebner had previously created
television drama Rookie Blue 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, California, to pitch the series to U.S. broadcasters. Their efforts convinced
NBC 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 claimed that MacRury
and Brebner are trying to "combine a doctors-in-love medical soap opera modeled on Grey's Anatomy
with something completely different, a paranormal ghost story with elements of A Gifted Man
and Ghost Whisperer". Principal photography for the pilot episode took place in Toronto,
Ontario in the spring of 2011. Plot
After a car crash on the way to his wedding, the Chief of Surgery, Charlie Harris, of Toronto's
Hope Zion Hospital ends up in a coma. He finds out that he can roam the hospital in spirit
form. His fiancée and fellow surgeon, Alex Reid,
tries to save his life with the help of other doctors, including surgeon Joel Goran, as
they struggle with their day to day lives to keep the hope alive at Hope Zion.
Cast and characters Erica Durance as Dr. Alex Reid, at the start
of the series Chief Surgical Resident and Charlie Harris' fiancée
Michael Shanks as Dr. Charles "Charlie" Harris, Chief of Surgery, orthopedic surgeon, and
Alex's fiancé Daniel Gillies as Dr. Joel Goran, new orthopedic
surgeon at Hope Zion and Alex's former lover Huse Madhavji as Dr. Shahir Hamza, Chief of
Neurosurgery and Victor Reis's longtime boyfriend Julia Taylor Ross as Dr. Maggie Lin, a third
year surgical resident on rotation in the hospital's General Surgery department
Kristopher Turner as Dr. Gavin Murphy, a psychiatry resident
Wendy Crewson as Dr. Dana Kinney, Chief of Plastic Surgery, who is appointed Interim
Chief of Surgery following Charlie's coma Benjamin Ayres as Dr. Zach Miller, an ER doctor
Glenda Braganza as Dr. Melanda Tolliver, a friend of Alex's and an ICU doctor
Salvatore Antonio as Victor Reis, an OR nurse and Shahir's longtime boyfriend
K. C. Collins as Dr. Tom Reycraft, a fourth year surgical resident, who in season 1, episode
9 is appointed Chief Surgical Resident in place of Dr. Reid
Joseph Pierre as Jackson Wade, an ICU nurse Michelle Nolden as Dr. Dawn Bell, a cardiologist
and Charlie's ex-wife Conrad Coates as Bryan Travers, the main executive
Episodes
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 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 '​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 of HitFix 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 '​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."
References
External links Official website for CTV
Official website for NBC Saving Hope at the Internet Movie Database
Saving Hope at TV.com Saving Hope on Twitter for CTV
Saving Hope on Twitter for NBC