Flashpoint co-creators Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern were waiting in line at Walt Disney World for the river rapids ride when they got the news: Flashpoint received a record 19 Gemini Award nominations – the most nods ever racked up by a single show in the awards’ 24-year-history.
‘We were in the process of convincing our daughter that she was brave enough to go on the ride when my BlackBerry started lighting up and we received a ton of e-mails all at once – not just from people in the industry, but family and friends,’ says Ellis. ‘It really struck us in that moment.’
The Flashpoint creators are nominated themselves in the writing category for the episode ‘Haunting the Barn.’
‘A lot of the heart of the show is wrapped up in this story,’ explains Ellis. ‘It’s our Passion Play.’
Flashpoint, which airs on CTV, is a success story on many fronts. It first made headlines for being the second Canadian series (after Due South in the ’90s) to be picked up by a major U.S. network (CBS) for primetime broadcast. This police drama – starring Enrico Colantoni, Amy Jo Johnson and Hugh Dillon as members of an elite tactical unit tasked with resolving extreme situations – has also amassed huge audiences on both sides of the border and sold to over 50 international territories.
Flashpoint’s executive producers, Bill Mustos and Anne Marie La Traverse, were named as Playback’s Producer of the Year in ’08, and now the entire drama is being lauded by the Canadian industry for its excellence.
Flashpoint is vying for best dramatic series and a long list of craft nominations, including direction, casting, sound, editing, music and title design.
‘We are really happy for all the members of the team who are nominated because they have worked so incredibly hard on this show,’ says La Traverse of Toronto’s Pink Sky Entertainment.
‘This is an ambitious series and we have worked on an accelerated production schedule, so it has required a tremendous amount of commitment and hard work,’ she adds.
Mustos, who co-executive produces the series through his Toronto company Avamar Entertainment, says he was particularly struck by the reaction of the international community to Flashpoint’s Gemini nods.
‘When our international distributors heard about the record nominations they were really excited,’ says Mustos. ‘The fact that the Canadian industry is giving Flashpoint a stamp of excellence, that this show is so well regarded by its peers, is really of note to them.’
This suggests the overall clout of the awards, he adds. ‘We have felt the reverberations of the Gemini nominations out in the world at large.’
The drama series also has an impressive list of acting nods, some of which are in the same categories.
Johnson is nominated for lead actress and Dillon and Colantoni are both up for best actor in a drama series.
Flashpoint guest stars Nicholas Campbell, Henry Czerny, Mpho Koaho and Ron Lea will face off for best performance by an actor in a guest role. Actresses Kristin Booth, Sarah Gadon and Tatiana Maslany are also all nominated for their guest work on the series.
‘It’s a good problem to have, although it’s going to be tough,’ says co-creator Morgenstern of the fact that they can’t all win. However, she quickly adds that due to the sagging economy, the Geminis are more important than ever to the industry.
‘We are living in times where it is perhaps a bit harder to find reasons to celebrate,’ explains Morgenstern. ‘So any excuse to shine a light on the outstanding work done by the whole country is worth celebrating and being proud of. We aren’t inclined to toot our own horns, but it is nice to make a little racket now and then.’