Amid all the amazing season finales last Friday, some of us probably needed two DVRs just to keep up. Flashpoint, the riveting police drama that’s full of tense scenarios with an emotional backdrop, had some modest ratings for its Season 2 finale, Exit Wounds (8.4 million…just behind Numb3rs’ 9.6 million).

Hugh Dillon, who portrays sniper Ed Lane, talks about the finale, the camaraderie of the actors on and off the series, and what it’s like to be the lead singer of a hardcore rock band.

My favorite part of the TV Guide interview is when he mentions how he was able to originally get into his character, a sniper. Dillon says he spent some time with a real police officer, and from that he was able to glean some of what it’s like to be an elite officer, and then apply his own life experiences to make his portrayal of the character real.

So what’s next for this amazing series? We wont know for sure until CBS announces its Fall schedule. Flashpoint may begin in the summer again in case they decide not to air it this fall. Another scenario is the series may stay on Fridays nights, and switch time slots with Numb3rs. Also, the show could be moved to a different night in place of another completed series (Harper’s Island). I think the current slot, Friday nights at 9:00 PM, is a perfect time for the series.

Whatever the network decides to do, the series has staying power and will no doubt continue to wow us in Season 3 with its storytelling and emotion that somehow seems to go together well in this high energy police drama. For now, you can still catch the rebroadcasts on Friday nights at 9:00 PM on CBS.

Image via CTV

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Friday night’s episodes of Flashpoint and Numb3rs helped bring CBS to the ratings winner’s circle. Flashpoint’s new episode attracted 8.2 million viewers which left ABC’s Supernanny in the dust.

Flashpoint’s episode, called Remote Control, featured a bank worker whose wife is kidnapped, and he learns his own brother may be responsible. In this short clip above, you see the bank worker as he is apparently speaking to his wife one last time. Talk about tense..she’s also pregnant with their child.

The new episode of Numb3rs, which put agent Don Eppes (Rob Morrow) in the hospital, and the show in the top slot for the 10:00 PM hour, attracted 8.8 million viewers.

In this episode called The Fifth Man, the team is under a lot of of pressure to catch the bad guys. One highlight is that Granger (Dylan Bruno) and Sinclair (Alimi Ballard) get into an intense discussion after Sinclair stops Granger from going a little too far with a suspect in the interrogation room. Check out the official promo for the episode in the short clip above.

Rating info via TV By The Numbers

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John Morayniss, the president of Canadian producer E1 Television has three new cop dramas that could very well make the grade with American viewers:

The Bridge – a project ordered by CTV, and follows the stories of a big-city police force and street cops who must catch criminals, yet struggle with their own bosses to protect the innocent and themselves.

What I really like about this premise is that it seems to throw the theory of the The Shield on its head. In that show, the cops themselves seemed to be corrupt, and the bosses had to be the good guys (…to an extent).

Copper – A 13 episode series from Global Television. It’s been described as a homegrown cop drama, and has been ordered straight to series, which means it shows some great promise.

Shattered – Another Global Television project and it’s directed by Bobby Roth (Prison Break). Shattered features an ex-cop with multiple personality disorder. It stars Kallum Keith Rennie (Battlestar Galactica, Californication) and as the ex-cop. He uses his disorder as a forensic tool!

The Listener - An NBC crime drama inked co-venture with CTV sporting another Toronto setting. This one is balanced with humor, emotional adventure and drama as it follows a tormented 24 year-old paramedic who has a secret – he can read minds. Each week, he uses his gift to solve crimes.

With the number of crime dramas we already have, it will be interesting to see if these new shows will be fresh and compelling. For those who say there’s no new crime stories out there, I say let’s wait and see what these gems have to offer.

Image permission via CTV

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It seems this cop drama series is extremely popular for CTV, bringing in 1.74 million viewers with its episode that aired last Friday.

This weeks new episode which airs Friday is called Haunting The Barn. It features the team investigating a suspicious piece of luggage they suspect may be an explosive device. Also, a former SRU agent barricades himself in the SRU briefing room with a plan to commit suicide.

Guest stars for this episode include Pascale Hutton (Shred, Trial By Fire), Janaya Stephnes (Death Race, The Lookout), and Ron Lea (Saw IV, Punisher: War Zone).

Flashpoint stars Enrico Colantoni, Hugh Dillon, Amy Jo Johnson, and David Paetkau, and follows the lives of a highly-skilled strategic response unit that specializes in negotiating, profiling, and getting inside the minds of suspects.

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Of course we expect that on CBS, Without A Trace, Criminal Minds and Numb3rs will continue its success on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday nights respectively. Notably, Criminal Minds and Numb3rs have both had some amazing guest stars, and we look forward to more of the same.

There is some speculation the police drama Flashpoint might figure into the mix. Also, the new murder mystery series, Harper’s Island might become a fixture on Thursday or Friday nights.

The science crime drama, Eleventh Hour currently airs on Thursday nights. If you haven’t seen this one, it’s definitely worth a look. From acclaimed producer Jerry Bruckheimer, it features a biophysicist/advisor to the FBI, and his watchful protector, a decorated FBI protection officer. In the series, scientific crimes and crises are investigated.

On Fox, Fringe will no doubt continue to reap huge rewards in viewership, especially with its fan following, and the prime spot of Tuesday night, right after House. Bones is still ever-popular, and 24 will be back in a big…big way!

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.Net; Info Via Bloomberg

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Simulcast in the US and Canada, Flashpoint was a top scripted original series, and averaged 7.73 million viewers during the summer, winning its time period against non-Olympic competition.

Flashpoint tells the story of a group of cops who are part of a highly skilled tactical police unit, the Strategic Response Unit. Their daily lives are filled with risks, as they take on hostage rescues, gang busts, and defusing live bombs. The series stars include Enrico Colantoni, Hugh Dillon, Amy Jo Johnson, and David Paetkau.

Although the show is currently not on CBS’ fall schedule, it will be back as a summer hit. Matt Roush at TV Guide answered a fan’s question about the series in August. Though he isn’t a big fan of the show, he did note the series has done well enough that it could even show up again mid-season if another show fails. For now, we wait for Flashpoint to heat up our summer!

Update: The series is scheduled for 2009, and we assume it will be back in the summer since it began as a summer series.

Via CBS Press

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As noted this is nothing new, except what was once just a few foreign actors has now become a boatload. The reason behind the shift is economics, but as viewers, we just simply enjoy our stars.

So let’s see who some of these FBI drama stars are, what we like about them, and who is our favorite?

Anna Torv of Fringe – As Agent Olivia Dunham, she lends a fresh face to Fox’s new season line-up. She was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Notably, other foreign stars of Fringe include Joshua Jackson, and John Noble.

Anthony LaPaglia of Without A Trace - Portrays Senior Agent Jack Malone, leader of the New York Missing Persons Squad of the FBI. He was born in Adelaide, Australia, and lives in Los Angeles.

Poppy Montgomery of Without A Trace – As Agent Samantha Spade, she adds to the team’s success with her complex approach to investigation. She was born in Sydney, Australia, and lives in Los Angeles.

Marianne Jean-Baptiste of Without A Trace – She has a special insight into victim’s families. She was born in London, and lives in London and Los Angeles.

Other Crime Drama Stars We Love

Rufus Sewell of Eleventh Hour – Portrays a biophysicist and special science advisor to the government. He was born in Twickenham, England, and was raised in Wales and London, where he currently resides.

Simon Baker of The Mentalist - He portrays Patrick Jane, a man who uses his sharp skills of observation to solve crimes for the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Most of the cast of Flashpoint – This series is inspired by Toronto’s Emergency Task Force, and portrays the stories of a highly-skilled tactical team. Stars include Enrico Colantoni, Hugh Dillon, and Amy Jo Johnson.

Image ©2008 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: George Holz/FOX

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Flashpoint stars include Enrico Colantoni, Hugh Dillon, Amy Jo Johnson, and David Paetkau. These spoiler images are from tonight’s episode!

Guest cast for tonight’s episode include Nicolas Campbell, Shauna MacDonald, Kevin Bundy, and Christine Brubaker. You can also check out video and more photos from the series over at the official site for Flashpoint at CBS.com.

Images with permission & property of CBS Broadcasting Inc.

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CBS’s police crime drama Flashpoint, the story of an elite tactical task force, has been making some good news! First, it placed on top with viewers 25-54 and has it’s new time slot of Thursdays, at 10:00 PM on CBS.

It has 4 consecutive time period wins. This sounds like a great start for a series that crossed the border to us from Canada. This is also a good omen for other quality shows to cross over. So what’s the appeal of this show, and how does it compare to other crime drama fare?

CBS’s Nina Tassler was recently quoted, saying if the series continues to go above their expectations, they may consider extending it beyond the 13 episode plan.

Hostage negotiation, bombs being defused, and team members scaling walls using tactical methods to diffuse dangerous situations…all pretty exciting stuff for crime drama fans. The other compelling part of Flashpoint is the portrayal of the emotion of characters who work in this day-to-day stress-filled environment. It’s a dark reality of the job.

For some crime drama series, the action on the job is pretty much what we see. Flip the coin, and other series do a great job of putting us in the backstory. My favorite example is TNT’s The Closer. We know that Chief Brenda Johnson of the LAPD is tough, and wily in the interrogation room when she’s working a case, but when we realized her addiction/obsession with sweets, it made her a lot more interesting, and and lot more like us.

Flashpoint does have some things we’ve seen in other series, such as the high strung female officer who has problems in the romance area, the officer who seems to have to choose between his family and his job, and the team leader who is their dad of sorts. You have to admit, there is still something compelling about this series, and it may be that it’s just a little off-focus of the norm.

Image permission: CTV

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