More drama and higher-stakes storytelling are in store for the sophomore season of Global Television’s primetime soap Falcon Beach, which was to premiere the first of 13 new episodes Jan. 5 at 8 p.m., after Playback went to press.

‘It’s not just fluff and romance on the beach,’ says Christine Shipton, Global’s VP of original programming. ‘People die this season and one of the characters struggles to stay out of jail.’

The sexy teen drama is getting a second shot at ratings success, after its first season drew only tepid numbers despite a sizable ad push. While Falcon Beach premiered to 576,000 viewers a year ago, the show failed to hang on to that number, averaging only 250,000 by season’s end. In addition, the show’s entire story department was reshuffled in May to make room for a new writing team led by Tracey Forbes (ReGenesis, Buffy the Vampire Slayer).

‘Anytime you launch a new show there are growing pains,’ Shipton says. ‘We don’t have the luxury in this country to do a lot of one-hour pilots the way the U.S. does.’

Global has slotted Falcon Beach into its Friday 8 p.m. timeslot, where it will remain for 13 consecutive weeks. Shipton admits they wanted to ‘avoid bouncing the show around’ like they did last year when it was moved from Thursdays to Wednesdays to Saturdays – likely adding to its audience decline.

Shipton points out early January is a good time to launch a new season since most U.S. shows are still in repeats for the first two weeks of the month.

Storylines this season have a recurring rich-versus- working-class theme, as business magnate Trevor Bradshaw (Ted Whittall) looks to build a swanky resort in Falcon Beach, much to the dismay of the locals.

The show, which has been sold to 30 countries around the world, including the U.K., France and Australia, has also been picked up for a second season south of the border, where it airs on ABC Family.

‘We’re looking forward to airing season two next summer,’ says a spokesperson for ABC, who would only add that the show did ‘pretty well’ last year. ABC Family reaches 90 million homes across the U.S.

www.falconbeach.ca