Remember The Listener? Starring Craig Olejnik and Ennis Esmer, this is the show about a young paramedic who can hear people’s thoughts.
NBC picked up the sci-fi drama and started airing it back in June 2009. It wasn’t a success so they cancelled it. However, the series is a success for CTV in Canada and has been running there for four seasons. Last October, it was picked up for a fifth year.
In 2011, US cable channel ION purchased the rights to air the first two seasons of The Listener, with an option to purchase later seasons. They’ve now made a deal to co-produce season five and will air previous episodes as well. The newest installments are expected to be released later this year.
Here are some more details from ION:
ION TELEVISION ENTERS INTO ORIGINAL CO-PRODUCTION DEAL ON TV DRAMA SERIES “THE LISTENER”
“The Listener” Will Launch Mid-Season as an Original Series on ION Television
WEST PALM BEACH, February 24, 2014 – ION Television today announced an agreement to produce new original episodes of the procedural drama “The Listener.” ION joins Shaftesbury, CTV and Fox International as co-producers on the drama, which started production on 13 new original episodes earlier this year. The agreement makes ION the exclusive original U.S. television network for current and future seasons of the series.
“‘The Listener’ fits seamlessly into our lineup of drama series, providing the reliable quality and originality our loyal audience and clients look for,” said Brandon Burgess, Chairman and CEO of ION Media Networks. “An equally important dimension is the collaboration with CTV and Shaftesbury, as we look for additional new original projects in this genre.”
“‘The Listener’ is an original blend of drama, investigation, action and humor.” said Christina Jennings, Chairman and CEO of Shaftesbury. “We’re thrilled to be able to introduce the series to viewers in the U.S. in partnership with ION.”
ION plans a 2014 mid-season launch for “The Listener,” joining its lineup of strong procedural dramas that have made it one of the few U.S. television networks showing season-to-date ratings growth.
“The Listener” joins ION’s portfolio of acclaimed dramas, including “Criminal Minds,” “Cold Case,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”, “Burn Notice,” “Psych” and “Leverage.” This announcement comes on the heels of ION’s recent acquisition of the high profile drama “Blue Bloods” from CBS, which will be joining the ION schedule this fall.
“The Listener” is the latest scripted ION Television original and joins the network following the success of the original series, “Flashpoint”, along with ION’s made-for-TV original movies.
Starring Craig Olejnik, “The Listener” centers on mind-reading police consultant Toby Logan, who uses his telepathic ability to help a special law enforcement unit solve the most complicated cases. Having kept his unique power hidden for years, Toby learns to harness his skill to help others and save lives. The series also stars Ennis Esmer as Oz Bey; Lauren Lee Smith as Sergeant Michelle McCluskey; Rainbow Sun Francks as Corporal Dev Clark; Peter Stebbings as Alvin Klein; Tara Spencer-Nairn as Sandy; and Mylène Dinh-Robic as Olivia Fawcett.
“The Listener” is produced by Shaftesbury in association with CTV and Fox International Channels, and is distributed by Shine International. The series was created by writer Michael Amo and is executive produced by Christina Jennings and Scott Garvie for Shaftesbury, Sharon Tal Yguado for Fox International Channels, and Peter Mohan, who serves as showrunner.
About ION Television
A leading U.S. general entertainment network, ION Television combines high-quality programming and dependable distribution with an attitude of innovation and growth. Its “Positively Entertaining” network brand positioning features a formula of proven series, an expansive catalog of blockbuster movies and a commitment to introduce new original programming. ION Television has grown its Adults 25-54 audience by 69% since launching just six years ago and has consistently remained among the top 15 entertainment networks. For more information, visit www.iontelevision.com.
About Shaftesbury
With offices in Toronto and Los Angeles, Shaftesbury is a global thought leader and innovator of original content for all platforms in more than 120 countries. Shaftesbury’s slate includes five seasons of The Listener for CTV and Fox International Channels; seven seasons of Murdoch Mysteries for UKTV, ITV STUDIOS Global Entertainment, Citytv and CBC; and the hit kids’ series Life with Derek. Shaftesbury’s groundbreaking digital media division, Smokebomb Entertainment, creates convergent extensions for television and original transmedia content including the comedy series Backpackers for CTV and CW Seed; tween series Totally Amp’d and Unlikely Heroes for YTV.com and Hulu; and 3D science fiction series State of Syn for Hulu. Visit us online at http://www.shaftesbury.ca and http://www.smokebomb.ca.
What do you think? Do you like The Listener series? Have you been watching on ION?
Please bring back “The Listener” ! We love this show. If it had more publicity during its run more people would have watched it. Most people are just finding out about it now. New ones, we’ve watched the reruns twice each now. We’re ready for some new ones.
I have just started watching the Listener and it is great! ION TV, please continue making the series.
I absolutely love this show ! I DVR every episode over and over again and I would love to be able to watch the entire episodes from start to finish. I personally can’t understand why it was cancelled.
They didn’t promote the show before it aired, so I never even realized it was there. I watched an episode on ION one evening in early 2015 and loved it. After that I began recording all episodes and have seen most of them from 2009 to 2014. I wish they had not cancelled it. I personally loved all the characters and think the acting was great.
Toby McGuire would have been a better choice and The Listener is being run into the ground.
I am strangely drawn to this show, even though half the actors are not very good.
Ilike this showvand hope it keeps going
I just found this show a couple weeks ago because of a commercial that ION ran. I have now finished season 5 and I want more!!!! Will ION produce season 6? Please please please! With only 13 episodes per season, 5 seasons is nowhere near enough.
I love this show! I definately want to see more!
I really enjoy The Listener. I’m now into round 2 of reruns. Hoping new episodes will start soon.
I love this show! I want to see more!
I have been watching the reruns of the listener and I hope they renew it for season 6.
We love this show. Hope we’ll be seeing new episodes in 2015 & 2016. This is one of the shows on ION that keep us coming back. We’ve watched almost all of the re-runs.
I just started watching on ion tv…..I love this show! His eyes are amazing!!
It’s the greatest show on ION. Why wasn’t it renewed?? Been watching all the re-runs, but want MORE!
I really really like The Listener! I never miss it. Please renew it!
What happened to Klein and where is Oz’s girlfriend Sandy. She went to Africa then came back but he is single again??? I recently found this show and have it as first priority for taping to watch!!! I love it!