Street Legal cancelled

Street Legal, cbc’s flagship television series, has run its course. The corporation has cancelled the show after eight years.

‘Street Legal has been one of the most popular television shows in Canadian history and it’s time to go out on a high. We’ve covered the legal waterfront for eight very prosperous seasons and it’s time to turn our attention to other issues and concerns,’ says cbc executive director arts and entertainment Phyllis Platt, who adds she is going to quickly announce a series replacement.

Platt says she is hoping to shoot a two-hour finale show that will air in the fall.

Series producer Nada Harcourt will be developing other projects for the corporation.

The show’s average per-minute audience ratings to date this year are a respectable 940,000.

St-Pierre named

cbc president Anthony Manera has announced the appointment of Paul St-Pierre as acting vice-president of French television. St-Pierre, whose appointment is effective immediately, replaces outgoing vice-president Guy Gougeon, recently named vice-president, general manager of Cogeco Radio-Television.

St-Pierre, 48, joined the cbc in Ottawa 12 years ago. In June 1989, he was appointed general manager, management services in Montreal, overseeing support services such as engineering, finance and human resources.

Manera says the process of filling the vice-president’s position on a permanent basis is well underway.

Blanche #1 in Cannes

the 11-hour Cite-Amerique historical drama series Blanche has been named best series or miniseries at fifa, Festival international des productions audio-visuelles, the competitive international television showcase held annually in Cannes.

Blanche beat out four other finalists, including the U.S. series NYPD Blue, a big-budget Spanish series and the u.k. series Framed starring Timothy Dalton.

Series lead Pascale Bussieres, director Charles Biname and producer Michel Gauthier were present in Cannes, Jan. 11, to receive the award. The ceremony was followed by a reception organized by Alliance International, Blanche’s exporter.

Earlier this season, Blanche was broadcast on cbc and Radio-Canada, where several episodes drew audiences of more than three million, according to Sondages bbm.