CTV Renews 'Saving Hope' with Shanks and Durance; Numbers Up for NBC As Well

Saving Hope, the medical drama centering around a hospital's comatose Chief of Surgery, has been renewed by Canada's CTV for a second season of 12 shows. The series, also airing on NBC, has been a steady ratings winner for Canada, where numbers tend to be lower than in America. The last episode from July 26 drew in 1.7 Canadians, an amazing number for the show.

On NBC, Thursday's outing, the eighth of 13 to be aired, was the show's best since June 28. More importantly, the growth for the key demographic of the 18 to 49 age group reported a solid 2.9 million viewers. The other good news element of the ratings number is that the program is having better results than last summer's NBC offering, up 23 percent in that area. Fans are hopeful for a renewal, but nothing has yet to come from the peacock network.

The last episode, Heartsick, was an emotionally charged one in which Chief of Surgery Charlie Harris' fiance and ex-wife went head to head over who had the rights to call the shots on Charlie's care. The dramatic conclusion illustrates the power of the show's stars as they played out the winner's desires.

Michael Shanks portrays Harris with Erica Durance as Alex Reid. Also appearing as a recurring character is Michelle Nolden as Dawn Bell, the ex-wife and also a surgeon.