Canada’s Beloved Hope Zion Doctors Scrub in for Fifth and Final Season as SAVING HOPE Returns March 12 on CTV

TORONTO (March 3, 2017) – Five years. Eighty-five episodes. One beloved series. Garnering three nominations for the 2017 Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Performance by an Actress and Supporting Actress nods for Erica Durance and Michelle Nolden respectively, CTV’s original series SAVING HOPE returns for its fifth and final season as part of the network’s hit Sunday night lineup, airing at 10 p.m. ET/PT beginning March 12 on CTV and CTV GO. The premiere picks up the story in the aftermath of the heart-stopping Season 4 cliff-hanger finale which left viewers questioning whether Dr. Alex Reid (Erica Durance) and Dr. Charlie Harris (Michael Shanks) survived a shooting by a former patient. “SAVING HOPE has perennially been a fan favourite cornerstone series of CTV’s schedule, delivering characters that viewers have fallen in love with,” said Mike Cosentino, Senior Vice-President, Content and Programming, Bell Media. “In this special final season, we look forward to the emotional storylines that will play out beginning March 12 and continue through to the series finale.” **MEDIA NOTE**

• Digital press kit complete with cast, character, and creative team bios, fact sheet, and episode descriptions available – CLICK HERE
• First two episodes of SAVING HOPE’s fifth and final season available in their entirety for media review – CLICK HERE

In Season 5, as Alex grapples with her destiny, Hope Zion’s doctors are thrust into turmoil as they face new challenges and a new CEO (Joe Dinicol, ARROW), who threatens to make cuts that may affect the livelihood of the hospital and everything they hold dear. Filmed in Toronto, new episodes of the 2016/17 Golden Screen Award Nominee SAVING HOPE will continue to receive a Canadian first-look on CraveTV™, available to viewers the day before their broadcast premieres. Viewers can also enjoy Seasons 1-4 of SAVING HOPE which are streaming now on CraveTV™. Series stars Erica Durance and Michael Shanks are joined by new cast members Jarod Joseph (ONCE UPON A TIME) as Dr. Manny Palmer, a smart and handsome new doctor who brings some of his spiritual sensibilities to his medical practice; Joe Dinicol (ARROW) as Thomas Leffering, the self-confident new CEO of Hope Zion who has sharp instincts for business and finance and believes in cutting costs; and Greg Calderone (HEROES REBORN) as Dr. Billy Scott, a brash and brazen doctor who uses humour to mask his insecurities as he wants nothing more than to help save lives. Guest stars throughout the series’ farewell season include Don McKellar (SENSITIVE SKIN), Missy Peregrym (ROOKIE BLUE), Greg Bryk (FRONTIER), Tim Rozon (SCHITT’S CREEK), Ben Bass (ROOKIE BLUE), Kristin Lehman (MOTIVE), Jennifer Dale (WHAT WOULD SAL DO), Teresa Pavlinek (AMERICAN GOTHIC), and more. Gregory Smith (ROOKIE BLUE), Jason Priestley (PRIVATE EYES), Steve DiMarco (ROOKIE BLUE), David Wellington (VIKINGS), Peter Wellington (KIM’S CONVENIENCE), and series star Michael Shanks return to direct episodes this season. In the first episode of Season 5 entitled “Doctor Dustiny” (Sunday, March 12 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CTV and CTV GO), after the gunshot at the end of last season’s finale, Dr. Alex Reid (Erica Durance) searches for Dr. Charlie Harris (Michael Shanks) in the following chaos, but instead comes across a caterer named Grace (Masa Lizdek, LOST GIRL) who was unknowingly caught in the crossfire. At Hope Zion, Grace’s mother asks Alex for a priest, but the only person Alex can find is the pious interventional radiologist Dr. Manny Palmer (Jarod Joseph, ONCE UPON A TIME). Together, the two work quickly to try to save Grace’s life. As news of the shooting spreads, Dr. Dana Kinney (Wendy Crewson) arrives at the hospital to lend a hand but instead ends up consulting on a case with Dr. Cassie Williams (Kim Shaw) involving a male stripper instead. SAVING HOPE averaged 1.3 million viewers during its fourth season and was the #1 Canadian drama series of the 2015-16 broadcast season in the key adult demos following its finale in February 2016. Over the last four seasons, the series has racked up 24 nominations and garnered eight wins thus far – including two Canadian Screen Awards and a Leo Award in 2013. The series is up for three CSAs this year including Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role (Erica Durance), Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Series (Michelle Nolden), and Best Performance in a Guest Role, Dramatic Series (Christine Horne). After the broadcast of Season 5, 85 episodes of the hour-long drama will have aired since its 2012 debut, and SAVING HOPE can be seen around the world in over 20 countries. See below for additional fun facts: SAVING HOPE stars Canadian Screen Award nominee Erica Durance (SMALLVILLE) as Dr. Alex Reid; Michael Shanks (STARGATE SG-1) as Dr. Charlie Harris; Canadian Screen Award-winner and 2016 Earle Grey Award recipient Wendy Crewson (Room) as Dr. Dana Kinney; Benjamin Ayres (BITTEN) as Dr. Zach Miller; Canadian Screen Award nominee Julia Taylor Ross (GOTHAM) as Dr. Maggie Lin; Canadian Screen Award-winner Michelle Nolden (Prisoner X) as Dr. Dawn Bell; Huse Madhavji (CALL ME FITZ) as Dr. Shahir Hamza; Kim Shaw (THE GOOD WIFE) as Dr. Cassie Williams, Dejan Loyola (THE 100) as Dr. Dev Sekara, and Jarod Joseph (MISTRESSES) as Dr. Emanuel Palmer. SAVING HOPE is produced by ICF Films with Entertainment One (eOne) in association with CTV, with the participation of the Canada Media Fund and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit. All distribution rights are handled by eOne, and SAVING HOPE airs on ION Television in the U.S. The series is executive produced by Ilana Frank, John Morayniss, and Linda Pope, and co-executive produced by Noelle Carbone, Patrick Tarr, Jocelyn Hamilton, and Sonia Hosko. Adam Pettle is Executive Producer and Showrunner. For Bell Media, Lisa Gotlieb is Coordinator, Independent Production; Kathleen Meek is Production Executive, Drama, Independent Production; Tom Hastings is Director, Drama, Independent Production; Corrie Coe is Senior Vice-President, Original Programming; Pat DiVittorio is Vice-President, CTV and Specialty Programming; Mike Cosentino is Senior Vice-President, Content and Programming. Randy Lennox is President, Bell Media.