Seeing Double: Space Orders Second Season of Hit Original Drama ORPHAN BLACK

Seeing Double: Space Orders Second Season of Hit Original Drama ORPHAN BLACK




- From Temple Street Productions, ORPHAN BLACK is produced in
partnership with Space and BBC America -



- New episodes continue Saturdays at 9 p.m. ET on Space -



To tweet this release: http://bit.ly/Yhw1DN


TORONTO, May 2, 2013 /CNW/ - Space announced today that it has ordered a
second season of its hit conspiracy clone thriller ORPHAN BLACK from Toronto-based Temple Street Productions. Just halfway through its
first season, ORPHAN BLACK has been captivating viewers and keeping them on the edge of their seats
as new twists and turns are revealed Saturdays at 9 p.m. ET on Space. With production set to begin on Season 2 later this year, the
series will return in the spring of 2014 with 10 all-new, mind-bending
episodes.



A record-breaker from the beginning, ORPHAN BLACK had the highest Original Series premiere ever for Space with an average
of 513,000 viewers for its March 30 launch. After five episodes ORPHAN BLACK has been watched in part by 2.8 million Canadians. With a weekly average
of 364,000 viewers, ORPHAN BLACK isthe #2 series for Space this broadcast year behind only DOCTOR WHO.



"ORPHAN BLACK is a huge success - reflective of our focus on exceptional programming
that delivers on the promise of our Specialty brands," said Catherine
MacLeod, Vice-President, Specialty Channels, Bell Media. "This
joint-Canadian production demonstrates our commitment to produce
original, world-class content in Canada while simultaneously showcasing
our amazing homegrown talent."


** Media Note ** Download photography for ORPHAN BLACK at BellMediaPR.ca/Space


"We're delighted with the second season order for ORPHAN BLACK and want to thank everyone at Space, BBC AMERICA, and BBC Worldwide for
their support and commitment to our show," said David Fortier and Ivan
Schneeberg, executive producers of ORPHAN BLACK and Co-Presidents of Temple Street Productions. "We're thrilled to
continue this journey with such a strong team and fantastic cast, led
by the ridiculously talented Tatiana Maslany. A huge thanks to the fans
for their steadfast support of the show. We're looking forward to
giving every one of them more ORPHAN BLACK."



Anchored by Tatiana Maslany (Picture Day) who, to date, portrays Sarah, Beth, Katja, Alison, Cosima, and Helena,
at its core ORPHAN BLACK centres on English punk and streetwise hustler Sarah who returns home
after being separated from her daughter. But her homecoming isn't
exactly what she expected. After witnessing the suicide of a woman who
looks just like her, Sarah takes over Beth's life, including her job as
a cop as well as her boyfriend Paul (Dylan Bruce, NCIS). Sarah soon
discovers that she and Beth are clones, and as she becomes embroiled in
the mystery, she learns that there are more of them out there - all
genetically identical individuals nurtured in completely different
circumstances. Working with her fellow 'orphans,' soccer mom Alison and
PHD student Cosima, Sarah begins to unravel the mystery surrounding
their identities, while also fighting for her life when an assassin
begins killing the clones one by one.


ORPHAN BLACK also starsJordan Gavaris (UNNATURAL HISTORY) as Felix, Sarah's foster brother;
Gemini Award-winner Maria Doyle Kennedy (DOWNTON ABBEY) as Mrs. S,
Sarah and Felix's hard-nosed working class foster mother; Kevin
Hanchard (REPUBLIC OF DOYLE) as Art, a veteran detective who works
alongside Beth; Michael Mando (THE KILLING) as Vic, Sarah's
sporadically violent ex; and Skyler Wexler (ALPHAS) as Kira, Sarah's
seven-year-old daughter.



Episodes of ORPHAN BLACK are available online at Space.ca following their television broadcast.


ORPHAN BLACK is produced by Temple Street Productions in association with Space and
BBC America. Executive producers are Ivan Schneeberg and David Fortier
(BEING ERICA) at Temple Street Productions, and co-creators Graeme
Manson (Cube, FLASHPOINT), and John Fawcett (SPARTACUS, THE SECRET CIRCLE). Manson
also serves as writer and Fawcett as director. Production Executives
for Bell Media are Trish Williams and Gosia Kamela. Corrie Coe is
Senior Vice-President, Independent Production, Bell Media. Catherine
MacLeod is Vice-President, Specialty Channels, Bell Media. Rick Brace
is President, Specialty Channels and CTV Production. Phil King is
President, CTV Programming and Sports.


SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
Space on Facebook
Space on Twitter
Space on Instagram

About Temple Street Productions

Temple Street Productions is a leading producer of television, film and
digital media content based in Toronto, Canada. A selection of Temple
Street's past and present projects includes: BEING ERICA (CBC,
SOAPnet), THE NEXT STEP (Family Channel), WINGIN'IT (Family Channel),
OVER THE RAINBOW (CBC), RECIPE TO RICHES (Food Network, Global), COVER
ME CANADA (CBC), BILLABLE HOURS (Global, Showcase), CANADA'S NEXT TOP
MODEL (CTV), HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE MARIA? (CBC), QUEER AS
FOLK (Showtime, Showcase), and DARCY'S WILD LIFE (NBC, Discovery Kids,
Family Channel). For more company information http://www.templestreetproductions.com, Twitter @TempleStreet, or connect with us on Facebook.


About BBC America

BBC America delivers U.S. audiences high-quality, innovative and
intelligent programming. Established in 1998, it has been the launch
pad for talent embraced by American mainstream pop culture, including
Ricky Gervais, Gordon Ramsay, Graham Norton, and successful programming
formats including ground-breaking non-scripted television like TOP GEAR
and top-rated science-fiction like DOCTOR WHO. Owned by BBC Worldwide,
the commercial arm of the BBC, BBC AMERICA has attracted both critical
acclaim and major awards including an Emmy®, five Golden Globes® and
eleven Peabody Awards. The channel attracts one of cable's most
affluent and educated audiences and is available on cable and satellite
TV in more than 80.4 million homes. It broadcasts in both standard and
high-definition, with content available On Demand across all major
digital platforms. Online, www.bbcamerica.com is the place to go to dig deeper into pop culture with a British twist.
Find out more by visiting www.press.bbcamerica.com or follow us on @BBCAMERICA.


About Bell Media Independent Production

Bell Media has commissioned and co-produced some of Canada's
most-watched and most-acclaimed original programming, while working
with the best Canadian independent producers in the country. Hit CTV
series include ratings success stories SAVING HOPE, MOTIVE, and THE
LISTENER, and the recently concluded game changer FLASHPOINT. New for
2013 on CTV are the drama series PLAYED (working title), relationship
comedy SATISFACTION, multi-cam office comedy SPUN OUT, and THE AMAZING
RACE CANADA, a Canadian-produced, complementary version of the hit
international series. Among the scripted series on Bell Media specialty
channels are the two-time Emmy®-nominated hit DEGRASSI, ORPHAN BLACK,
and upcoming series BITTEN. Bell Media specialty channels are also home
to reality series PANIC BUTTON, game shows MATCH GAME and POP QUIZ, and
factual series HIGHWAY THRU HELL, and LAST CAR STANDING. In total, Bell
Media ordered 27 new original Canadian series in 2012, and put 35
scripted projects into development.


About Space

Space is home to phenomenal programming including imaginative dramas,
epic movies, engaging reality series, and the daily entertainment talk
show INNERSPACE, the source for all-things genre - all in high
definition (HD). Also home to Original Series ORPHAN BLACK, PANIC
BUTTON, and BITTEN, Space content is always available at Space.ca, and on Facebook, @SpaceChannel, and other social media platforms. Space is a division of Bell Media,
which is owned by BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada's largest
communications company.



Source: BBM Canada

Audience 9 p.m.-10 p.m. 3/30/13-4/20/13, Reach Monday-Sunday 2 a.m.-2
a.m. 3/30/13-4/28/13

Audiences prior to August 31, 2009 based on BBM Nielsen Media Research
Mark II meters


SOURCE SPACE

SPACE

CONTACT: Christy Sullivan, Space, 416.384.3624 or christy.sullivan@bellmedia.ca


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