Hard Rock Medical

Hard Rock Medical is a Canadian medical drama television series which aired on TVOntario (TVO) from 2013 to 2018. It was the first original drama series for TVO, the public television network for Ontario. The series also aired nationally in Canada on APTN beginning in 2014.[1] The series ended after a five-season run in 2018.

Hard Rock Medical
GenreMedical drama
Created by
Written by
  • Smith Corindia
  • Derek Diorio
  • Kelly Lefever
  • Virginia Rankin
Starring
Country of originCanada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes39
Production
Executive producers
  • Derek Diorio
  • Tracy Legault
  • Frank Taylor
  • Smith Corindia
Production locationsSudbury, Ontario
North Bay, Ontario
Running time30 min.
Release
Original networkTVOntario
Original releaseJune 9, 2013 (2013-06-09) –
January 30, 2018 (2018-01-30)

The series was filmed in Sudbury and North Bay, Ontario,[2] and revolves around a group of medical students attending the fictional Boréal Medical School, loosely based on the real-life Northern Ontario School of Medicine.[3]

Internationally, the series also aired on Australia's National Indigenous Television (a channel operated by the Australian Special Broadcasting Service) as of 2014.[4]

Premise

The series focuses primarily on a core group of eight medical students at Boréal Medical School: Nancy Siebolski (Angela Asher), Cameron Cahill (Jamie Spilchuk), Gary Frazier (Mark Coles Smith), Melanie Truscott (Melissa Jane Shaw), Charlie Rivière (Stéphane Paquette), Eva Malone (Andrea Menard), Gina Russo (Tamara Duarte) and Farida Farhisal (Rachelle Casseus).

The students are learning both a traditional medical curriculum, and how to cope with the unique demands of the school's focus on rural medicine, from professors and consultants including dean Raymond Dallaire (Christian Laurin), associate dean Fraser Healy (Patrick McKenna), doctor Louise Helvi (Danielle Bourgon) and First Nations elder Julie Cardinal (Kyra Harper). In the final season, Eric Peterson joined the cast as Dr. Kesler, the head of a medical clinic where some of the students are doing their practical placements; his unpredictable performance as a doctor leads the interns to suspect that he may be suffering from the early stages of dementia, although he is eventually revealed as struggling with an addiction to prescription painkillers.

Supporting and guest actors appearing over the course of the series include Jennifer Tocheri, Marc Bendavid, Michael Cleland, Derek Miller, Mike Bernier, Jim Calarco, Jeremy Cormier, Megan Fahlenbock, Ron Lea, Jennifer Matthies, Billy Merasty, Atticus Mitchell, Greg Odjick, Samantha Reed, Sera-Lys McArthur and Julian Robino. Many, but not all, supporting and guest actors in the series are local performers from Sudbury and North Bay.[5]

Season 3 added Eric Peterson as Dr. Kesler, and Jennifer Podemski as Bonnie, in recurring roles.[6]

Production

The series was initially a coproduction of three Canadian production firms, Title Entertainment, Carte Blanche Films, and Distinct Features, and an Australian firm, Moody Street Productions;[7] the series was later produced solely by Distinct Features. In addition, the series received funding assistance from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund.[8]

First announced in 2011,[3] production on the series began in 2012[9] and the series premiered on June 9, 2013, with a 13-episode first season.[8][10]

TVOntario announced in February 2014 that it had greenlit a second season for the series,[11] premiering February 15, 2015.[5] In conjunction with the show's second season, Sudbury mayor Brian Bigger issued a civic proclamation declaring February 15, 2015 to be "Hard Rock Medical Day" in the city.[5]

In the show's third season, consistent with the third year of a medical program marking the shift from classroom-based learning to practical internship placements, most filming took place on or near the Canadore College campus in North Bay.[12] The show's third season premiered on January 8, 2017,[12] releasing the season's nine episodes simultaneously online at the TVOntario website for the first time directly following the broadcast premiere.[13] Filming also took place at Nipissing First Nation.[14]

Music used in the series was performed almost entirely by local artists from the region, including Patricia Cano, Kevin Closs, Brian Dunn, Ox, Pistol George Warren, Kate Maki, Frederick Squire, Derek Dino White, Hidden Roots Collective, Tasheena Sarazin and Carden Cove.[15] Students from Canadore College created short documentaries on the featured artists, which aired immediately following the episodes on TVO.[15] The third season also featured North Bay producer Ben Leggett as the show's composer for all nine episodes.[16]

References
  1. "Hard Rock Medical is a Canadian drama series that always surprises". The Globe and Mail, February 18, 2014.
  2. "New TV show inspired by northern medical school". Northern Life, December 9, 2011.
  3. "Canadian Drama 'Hard Rock Medical' Gets Full-Season Order". The Hollywood Reporter, December 9, 2011.
  4. "Indigenous channel reappraises its strategy in reaching out to a broader range of viewers". The Australian, January 27, 2014.
  5. "Med-school series kicks off second season". Sudbury Star, February 9, 2015.
  6. "Jennifer Podemski reveals what she's reading on set". CBC Radio. November 14, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  7. "TVO, APTN order half-hour drama Hard Rock Medical". Playback, December 12, 2011.
  8. "Hard Rock Medical a kind of Canadian Grey’s Anatomy". Toronto Star, June 6, 2013.
  9. "Action! On downtown streets", Northern Life, September 24, 2012.
  10. "TVO's first commissioned drama series Hard Rock Medical premieres June 9 at 8 pm ET". The Wall Street Journal, May 7, 2013.
  11. "TVO’s Hard Rock Medical set for season two". Playback, February 20, 2014.
  12. John Doyle, "Hard Rock Medical is us: True North and fun". The Globe and Mail, January 6, 2017.
  13. "School's back in session with TVO's Hard Rock Medical". TVOntario. December 8, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  14. "Hard Rock Medical returns". North Bay Nugget. December 22, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  15. "The Music of Hard Rock Medical". TVOntario. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  16. "Sowka explores new musical terrain". Sault Star. November 23, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
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