The hugely successful international So You Think You Can Dance franchise now has a bona fide hit Canadian version as well. CTV’s homegrown installment of the competition show debuted on Sept. 11, not only winning its 8 p.m. ET timeslot, but emerging as the number one show of the night. It maintained the top spot in its second episode, averaging 1.23 million viewers.

MONTREAL: Actor/director Jacob Tierney has recruited some of Canada’s biggest stars to paint the town red in his upcoming comedy The Trotsky.

Infinity Features and Escape Factory in Vancouver have joined with Arclight Films (The Bank Job) in L.A. on the supernatural thriller Altitude, with shooting set to begin this winter in B.C. Comic book artist and shorts-maker Kaare Andrews (Unwritten) is signed to direct. International sales will be handled by Arclight’s genre label, Darclight.

C.R.A.Z.Y. director Jean-Marc Vallée is putting the finishing touches on his next project, a disco-era comedy drama about two competing salesmen with an eye for what women want – at least on their feet. Vallée is co-writing the screenplay with Ginger Snaps screenwriter Karen Walton.

Nomadic Pictures has linked arms with Texan filmmaker Tiller Russell on The Last Rites of Ransom Pride, sending the violent western to camera in Drumheller, AB until Oct. 14.

Sword-swinging adventure Dragons of Black Roc has gone to post, just as Vancouver-based Reunion Pictures has closed deals with Movie Central and The Movie Network.

Montreal’s Muse Productions is back at work on Durham County, shooting another six hours of the acclaimed series in Montreal and Ste-Julie, QC, the nearby town that is home to the show’s signature and oddly spooky hydro towers. Michelle Forbes (Lost, Battlestar Galactica) joins the cast, working with returning stars Hugh Dillon, Hélène Joy (Murdoch Mysteries) and Laurence Leboeuf (Human Trafficking).

APTN is eyeing a new talk show, following a pilot taping earlier this month of The Candy Show. Hosted by Candy Palmater, the late-night show shot a pilot earlier this month in Halifax, putting the comedian and activist on screen with sketch comic Réjean Cournoyer, bluesman Charlie A’Court, a local belly dancer and a tattoo artist. The project comes from Halifax-based Pink Dog Productions, and is the second late-nighter that has recently tried its luck in Halifax, following the pilot for Live! at 25:00 from Mill Reef Productions, which shot in June for CBC.