The Listener: Canadian TV Show Gets Season Two, Will US Viewers See It?

After the show’s unsuccessful summer on NBC, fans of The Listener have been hoping that the drama would still return for a second season. Well, the show has been renewed but viewers here in the states may not be seeing the episodes.

The Listener follows a young paramedic named Toby Logan (Craig Olejnik) who has the mysterious ability to hear people’s thoughts. The series also features the talents of Lisa Marcos, Ennis Esmer, Mylene Robic, Arnold Pinnock, Anthony Lemke, Lara Jean Chorostecki, John Fleming, and Colm Feore.

The series is produced by Canada’s Shaftesbury Films, in conjunction with CTV, Space, and Fox Intl. Channels. In February 2008, during the 2007-08 writers strike, NBC decided to license the first season of 13 episodes.

The show began its run in the US some 16 month later, in early June 2009, but they were not a ratings success. The first two episodes attracted an average rating of 3.7 in the coveted 18-49 demographic but the numbers dropped to a low of 2.2 by week five.

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NBC decided to pull The Listener after eight episodes and released the remaining five installments for online viewing at Hulu.com.

The first season was a bigger success in Canada and other countries so a second season of 13 episodes has been commissioned. CTV and Space will air them in Canada and Fox Intl. Channels will continue to distribute the show to worldwide markets.

Christina Jennings, chairman of Shaftesbury Films, said, “The Listener is proof positive that Space and CTV are committed to creating and supporting successful and popular television. Their renewed commitment ensures the international partnership led by Fox International Channels for the next 13 episodes.”

The series is expected to go back into production sometime in 2010, some two years after the first season was made.

Unfortunately, The Listener’s fate is still up in the air here in the states. NBC has cancelled the series so you won’t see it returning to the peacock network. However, there’s still hope for US fans.

Jennings says that the lack of support from a US network wasn’t a factor in the renewal. “We don’t need a U.S. outlet right now… But once the story department starts up in the new years and we get some scripts under our belt, we’ll canvas the US outlets to see. Certainly The Listener had fans in the states.”

What do you think? Would you like to see The Listener come back to the US or should it stay in Canada? Where would you watch it — on cable, DVD, or does it not make a difference?