Internet Interview With Paul and David
This Prodigy interview, featuring both Paul and David, took place sometime last year. I seem to be missing chunks of this interview but I'll print as many replies as poss - can anyone out there help me get the rest! To save space, I've only included the questions if the boys' reply doesn't make the subject matter obvious.
David Marciano.
I had to audition 5 times to get the part of Ray; 2 times with the producer, once with the director and 2 network sessions.
[Do you have input into scripts] Yes, more on this show than others.
[How long is a typical day?] Twelve hours.
[Had you met / worked with any other DS cast member?] No.
[Does writing to CBS help?] Yes, letters help, whoever you write them to.
Is Ray married? Well, the producers and I had entertained the thought that maybe Ray was married and he has been divorced or widowed but it hasn't been addressed yet.
As to your next question, Ray became a cop out of necessity. He grew up in the element; the street. He knew a little about hustling and gambling from growing up in Chicago, so it just made sense.
Thanks. Let me see, I've been acting now for 13 years. I took my first acting class at the request of my mother who reminded me that, back in high school, I took an aptitude test with results pointing to three professions: mathematician, architect and actor! As for inspiration, that came from God.
To answer your 1st question, yes, I am happily married and we have a 7 month old baby girl.
Now do I like dogs? I've never been a dog person but I'm certainly learning to be. I guess you could say I'm impartial.
[Do you like Canadian food?] I don't know what Canadian food is but I sure do love the food at the restaurants I've eaten at up here in Toronto.
My favourite Mexican food is a chicken burrito with rice, beans, salsa, sour cream and a touch of guacamole.
Yes. As long as the dollar stays strong, prime time network shows will continue to be shot in Canada. US companies save up to $.30 on the dollar, and when a show costs a million dollars per episode, you're talking a saving of $30,000! Yahoo!
[Are you anything like your character when it comes to being funny?] Thanks so much for your questions. your note made me feel great. As to my being funny, yes, I've been known to make a few people laugh now and again.
[Do you plan to make a comedy] Yes, yes, yes, I'd love to make a half hour comedy. Of course it probably won't be until this show is over and hopefully that won't be for a long time.
Paul Gross.
We film largely in Toronto but from time to time send a skeleton crew to Chicago for atmosphere shots.
They just asked me to play Fraser, quite out of the blue - why remains a mystery to me.
[Who plays Dief?] One dog - a brilliant animal named Lincoln - plays Diefenbaker.
Thanks for your interest in Due South and yes, I would like to return to Stratford one of these days - hopefully sooner rather than later.
I'm not able to do a lot of appearances south of the border because of the ludicrous shooting schedules, but when time does permit, yes, I do feel somewhat ambassadorial. Whether this is good or bad for our country's image abroad remains to be seen.
I started writing as a ploy to pass time when I was working as a waiter in a restaurant that never had any patrons. It was a hobby that ran out of control, but I've found over the years that it's a fantastic antidote to the overpopulated nature of film sets.
Thanks for your interest in the show and to answer your question I've been married for 7 years.
As for Leslie's return, if we do go for another year I'm pretty confident he'll be back - larger than life and twice as natural.
The music is composed by Jack Lenz, Jon McCarthy and Jay Semko (formerly with the Northern Pikes). But we also use existing tunes once in a while - among them have been the Crash Test Dummies.
Thanks for your interest in the show. To answer your question, in the Pilot episode my father (with whom I'd enjoyed a strong relationship in spite of being separated for stretches of time) was killed. The trail of the murder led me to Chicago and it turned out to have been engineered by an unscrupulous RCMP officer. Fraser's great regret is that he didn't get to spend more time with his father. As to next season's prospects, it all rests in the hands of CBS and any letter to them regarding your support for the show would help immensely. Thanks again.
[Would Paul like to write for DS?] No, I'm not planning on doing any writing for it. We work such a grueling schedule that I really wouldn't have time to do a reasonable job so I'll leave it up to the writing team.
As far as I know we are planning to come up with a CD that is a compilation of the music from various episodes and perhaps even will include a song of mine.
I'm not sure why the wolf was replaced from the Pilot - it might have had to do with monetary reasons, but I'm not sure. In any case I've grown quite fond of the one we have now and I'm glad your cats like him...
Thanks for your interest in Due South. Working on the show is incredibly tiring - we usually work about 70 - 80 hours a week, but still, all in all, it's an awful lot of fun to do. Diefenbaker is a goof, but a loveable goof, so it's fun working with him. I hope you keep watching and enjoying.
Ahh Tales of the City and the Republican Congress. There's a fraught subject. I honestly don't know what's happening with a sequel. I know we would all like to make it and there is definitely an audience, but it's all a question of financing, which seems to have become increasingly political. In my opinion, Tales was an eloquent essay on tolerance, a subject that seems to me to be apolitical and something we could all benefit from having a little more of. Hopefully others will agree and we'll get to make the sequel in the not too distant future.
There's really very little difference between American / Canadian and Canadian - only productions, except money. The function of shooting a show, acting in front of a camera etc. really doesn't change. The only big difference in doing Due South is that it's on prime time in the US and the pressure on the show to perform in the ratings is very intense, as failure generally means cancellation. Thanks for your congratulations on the Gemini and I've passed on your compliments to the rest of the crew. I also want to thank you for your support of the show - it is very much appreciated.
Diefenbaker was Paul Haggis' idea, and no, I don't thank the Americans get it - so let's just keep it our secret. Thanks for your interest in the show.
It took us about 3 nights to shoot the street skating sequence and no, it's not a common occurrence even in Toronto. Additionally the weather was against us, so we were forced to ice them, re-ice them and ice them again. Hockey is the national sport of Canada and it's rare to find a Canadian kid that hasn't played the game. Thanks for your support of the show - it is very much appreciated and hopefully we'll be back for another season.
Most of my work has been in Canada (Buried on Sunday, Whale Music, Chasing Rainbows, Getting Married in Buffalo Jump, Cold Comfort). In the US I've done Tales of the City and Aspen Extreme...
It may sound corny but I've enjoyed working with all the guest actors we've had on the show. If I was forced to pick a favourite, it would probably be Leslie Nielsen and I hope we get to do it again sometime soon.
Lancashire Evening Post's supplement, Tuesday 6th August 1996.
Going South For Success
John Highfield meets the TV series co-star who is fast turning into an unlikely hero.
You could be forgiven for thinking it took just one man and his dog to make off-beat cop show Due South one of the cult hits of the BBC season. But that would be ignoring the role played by David Marciano in the story of the by-the-book Canadian Mountie and the impact he makes on Chicago crime.
David plays the show's more recognizable face of contemporary crime fighting, wisecracking Chicago cop Ray Vecchio.
He's there to add a touch of grit to the adventures of scarlet-coated Benton Fraser - the show's unlikely pin-up Paul Gross - and his loyal pet wolf. But David was always determined his character was going to he more than the 'greasy weasel' of a detective' side-kick described by one Canadian TV critic.
"Playing some greasy, weaselly guy is great for a movie but not every week" he explained as the series returned to British TV with a new peak-time Saturday slot, taking over from Superman.
"We're going into people's homes, into their living rooms and to do that you basically need to be likeable.
"I didn't really like him much at first and didn't like playing him, because every week it was the same thing. So I set out to change things, to soften Ray's edges, and I think the show benefited."
As part of that softening up process, the new series sees the introduction of Vecchio's ex-wife Angela - played by David's real wife, Katayoun Amini.
"She was going to he in the first season but when work started on it our little girl, Ariana, was only three months old and Katayoun didn't really have time to get back into acting," he
explains.
Due South has given the Marciano family financial security, though the lengthy filming schedules mean David has little time to take advantage of the show's success.
At least he doesn't have to leave his family when filming begins in Toronto -standing in for Chicago - because Katayoun is now on the cast list and two-year-old Ariana simply joins mom and dad on the road.
"George Clooney can do ER and go off and do movies too but he's single and can devote the necessary time, effort and energy," David says of the next Batman star. "I know people who are married with kids and they do the same. They neglect their other responsibilities and think throwing money at the problem, showing up once in a while and sending gifts is enough. I don't want that to happen to me and God forbid that it should!"
The Last Don
This article was retrieved from the CBS page. I have edited the original to remove the long list of credits - except DM's of course!
May 11, 13 and 14 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT)
Danny Aiello is The Last Don, Joe Mantegna, Kirstie Alley, Daryl Hannah, Penelope Ann Miller and Jason Gedrick also star in the contemporary saga about the inner workings of the Clericuzio Crime Family. Based on the best-selling novel by Mario Puzo. Mini-series also features k.d. Lang and David Marciano.
MARIO PUZO'S THE LAST DON, a new six-hour mini-series adapted from Puzo's best-selling novel about the aging don of the most powerful Mafia family in America, and the shocking steps he takes to guarantee his family's future.
Danny Aiello is the Last Don in the star-studded mini-series event. Joe Mantegna, Kirstie Alley, Daryl Hannah, Penelope Ann Miller, Jason Gedrick, k.d. Lang, Joe Mantegna, Burt Young and David Marciano also star.
The Last Don is Domenico Clericuzio (Aiello), a powerful, venerated man who is determined to secure his family's future in legitimate business. The Don is close to achieving his vision when secrets buried in his family's past threaten to undermine his plan.
Just as Mario Puzo's classic novel The Godfather examined the conflict between the deep-rooted tradition of the Corleone family and the forces of love outside the family bond, so, too, is THE LAST DON a struggle between love and loyalty. Anguished over the murder of favorite son Silvio (Quinn Duffy) at the hands of the rival Santadio crime family, Don Clericuzio faces a terrible decision when his daughter, Rose Marie (Alley), requests permission to marry Jimmy Santadio (Bruno Campos). He reluctantly allows the union of the star-crossed lovers then assigns his nephew, Pippi De Lena (Mantegna), along with his own sons Giorgio (Marciano), Vincent (Daniel Mastrogiorgio) and Petie (David Gionopoulis), to carry out the murder of Jimmy Santadio on the couple's wedding night. Pippi spares Rose Marie's life, setting the stage for the unrest that dominates the Clericuzio family reign.
DAVID MARCIANO Giorgio De Luna
Marciano starred as Ray Vecchio for three seasons in the critically acclaimed television drama series Due South on the Network. He was also a regular in the series Civil Wars and appeared in Gypsy with Bette Midler on the Network. Among his feature film credits are Harlem Nights, Lethal Weapon II and Come See the Paradise.
Interview with Daniel Aiello
I thought you might be interested in this interview with Daniel Aeillo, who played Don Clericuzio in 'The Last Don,' because it mentions David. I've only copied the interesting bits! ... indicate a missed out section while ,$%^& indicate profanity. TYK to Elyse Dickenson for digging this interview out for us!
INTERVIEWER: It's funny that you say there's almost a poetic quality to it because I look at 'The Godfather' movies as opera.
AIELLO: It is that. I think because it was done once it was found to be phenomenal but trying to do it two or three times after that, people think that's not the way it really is. But I don't know if people want to hear the way it really is or someone's interpretation. I think this is a very romantic piece and I would have loved to have seen it as a move but my feeling is it can really score as a mini-series because there's too much to cover in two or three hours. You need all of the time. And the actors in this thing B I was concerned. But the amount of people that came in like Joe Mantegna, Penelope [Ann Miller], Darryl [Hannah], I found myself with a lot of move actors. That kid Jason Gedrick is terrific, and David Marciano I love. Burt Young, my buddy. My feeling is when Graeme Clifford directed this I think his feeling might have been similar to mine, that these people are articulate people as well. Now that's not the case everywhere. Now, if you were to listen to Marciano, if he was to walk out, you would say Wall Street, finance, accountant, working with money. That's exactly who he is in this movie and its good and its wonderful. You get the feeling they're not galvones. These %^* kids are college kids. Michael [Corleone] would have given birth to these children. That kind of education would have come from Diane Keaton and Al [Pacino]. This could have happened. So all through, and I mean Penelope [Ann Miller], they're white-bread people, and Darryl [Hannah], white-bread people, but the Italians, a fellow by the name of Vincent Pastori, he was in Gotti, a wonderful actor, he plays Danny DeVerta in this movie, a wonderful cast of people, and I really have the feeling that I may be surprised. I'm apprehensive, but, they give you six hours to make a fool out of yourselves, that's a lot of $%%&** time. In a movie it's two ,$%^& hours, maybe ten million people see it. Scary $%^&. ... My wife's a Cohen. We've been together since we're 16 years old. We've got a mob of little Jewish-Italians running around. My son Rick is acting. My son Danny, Jr., actually they call him the third, is a wonderful stunt coordinator. And my son Jamie is really a David Marciano type. He's a financier. And my daughter is just a married girl to a Protestant-Mexican-Jewish kid, a schmuck with a sombrero.
B-Test Secret of Mountie Paul
By York Membery of the Daily Express.
They say the Mounties always get their man. And Due South star Paul Gross should know ... they got HIM. Paul - ramrod-straight Mountie Benton Fraser in the hit BBC show - was arrested by the Canadian cops 14 years ago. "I was 21, I'd been drinking and I was trying to get my car off the road," he revealed. "I was stopped by a Mountie, breathalysed and banned from driving for a year. Mind you, the laws in Canada are so strict you only have to sniff a drink to be over the limit!"
"I was just a kid. Looking back, it was dumb but the important thing is I learnt my lesson." And the clean-cut 35 year old with the matinee idol looks has come a long way since. Due South has catapulted Paul to overnight fame in both the US and the UK - where the quirky comedy has won an audience approaching 10 million.
Now Gross is being bombarded with offers by movie moguls, who want to make him a cinema sex symbol. But he modestly laughs off the 'Hollywood hunk' tag, saying "I don't see myself that way."
Paul almost turned down the chance to play the Mountie, who heads for Chicago with his trusty husky and teams up with a scruffy local cop - actor David Marciano [sic] - to track down his father's killers.
He initially regarded the concept as "just retarded." But he has since grown to love the Mountie he describes as "the straightest man God ever made."
Like his character, Gross is a country boy. He was raised on the Alberta prairies. And producer Paul Haggis knew instantly he was right for the part. He said, "I auditioned hundreds of people and was close to slitting my wrists until he came along."
GETTING INTIMATE WITH PAUL:
PART 1: THE MAN INSIDE THE UNIFORM
VITAL STATISTICS
SEX: MALE
HEIGHT: 6FT
HAIR: DARK BROWN
EYES: BLUE
D.O.B. 30.4.59 - AGE 38yrs
STARSIGN: TAURUS
STATUS: MARRIED - 9YRS
(Wife /Martha Burns Hannah 7 yrs & Jack 4 yrs)
TO many of us Paul first came to our attention in the role of Benton Fraser in Due South, but his acting and writing talents began a long time before he graced our screens in the role of our favourite Mountie. Paul's first taste in front of a camera was at the tender age of 14, when appearing in a Public Service commercial. These commercials continued and helped pay for Paul to study Drama at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. He began writing while at University and shortly after completing his course his first two works went into production. His subject matters were a far cry from the idealistic world of his future counterpart Benton Fraser. His role model was the American black humour playwright Sam Shepard and Paul's own plays - The Deer & the Antelope, Dead of Winter and Sprung Rhythm all dealt with the darker, more gritty elements of life, earning him great acclaim. This then led to him working in the field of TV and Film work and providing the scripts for two CBC dramas Gross Misconduct and In this Corner, an episode for the series For the Record. Both were directed by Atom Egoyan and dealt with angry men on the edge of society, Egoyan hugely admired him and even paid him the compliment of calling him our Sam Shepard.
Writing plays a major part in Paul's life, he stated in a recent interview: If I was faced with the prospect of having everything - writing, directing, producing, acting - stripped away from me but for one thing, then I would hang on to writing. It's the most frustrating thing, but the most rewarding thing I do.
As for acting, once again Paul made his impact - he had coveted 3 roles: Romeo, Brick (Cat On A Hot Tin Roof) & Lear. In 1985 he brought his own unique performance to the part of Romeo (see photo) performed in Toronto's High Park. Rock Star in appearance with his long hair, he performed athletic feats, swinging from the surrounding trees and jumping off a wall onto horseback. His role as the tormented drunk Brick again received rave reviews - Paul now adds Richard III to his list of desired parts.
Paul's father was a Colonel in the Canadian Tank Regiment. A self confessed army brat, he confesses to spending some of his youth as a delinquent! - nothing serious though and even though his activities sometimes had him breaking into properties, he never stole anything - simply looked at their record and book collections (sounds just like Fraser!). His acting career once again came to the fore in 1988 when he starred in Chasing Rainbows, a First World War CBC mini series. His fascination with trench warfare continued when he appeared in Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards The Somme for which he won a Dora Award for Best Performance. Paul's career was now up and running. After Cold Comfort and Buried on Sunday, Hollywood then approached him for Aspen Extreme. Ask for Paul's views on the film and he does not react favourably - indeed, in one interview mock sobs and expletives were all to be heard.
He states how he was cast because of a certain look that they required for their Disney style concept. It was, in fact, Jack Nicholson's Agent who coerced him into taking the role. On an ironic note Paul later auditioned for a role opposite Jack in an upcoming comedy only to be told he was too fine featured for the part!
So what about the man himself?
Now here we are with the latest series of the ever successful Due South which sees Paul in the roles of lead actor, Executive Producer and Senior Writer. His enthusiasm is unlimited and many are on hand to extol his virtues. Work colleagues have nothing but admiration for his hard work, dedication and constant wonder for life. Paul is without doubt a man of many talents - actor, writer, singer, excellent horseman and skier and also party-er! The one key thing that stands out is that throughout all his success the man himself, his outlook and ideals remain unchanged. He is a keen family man, good husband and caring father. As far as the hunk factor is concerned he still remains bemused by all the fuss, regarding it with humour and never taking himself seriously. A friend recently revealed that once when on a camping trip, a group of teenage fans spotted Paul and followed them to the site. Paul was happy to sign autographs and have photos taken with the girls - when asked after how it felt? he simply replied it was not him they wanted but the TV image.
Paul says that the greatest prize doing TV and Film gives me, is that I am afforded a sniff of being inside someone else's life. His down to earth approach found him during the making of Buried on Sunday out in the mornings pulling in the mackerel nets, then relating stories with the fisherman during the evenings.
It is a well known fact that when first approached for the role of Fraser, Paul was not keen., but he fell in love with the idea after reading the script for the 2 hour pilot for the series. As he says, there is no-one quite like the Mountie, and is the first to point out he himself is no saint. The 3rd series sees a more human Fraser. It has, though, been an uphill struggle, not least introducing a new character to a well established format and have overall responsibility for the episodes. He has come through with flying colours, and whilst season 3 now sees the end for now of Benton Fraser - Paul Gross is a busy man. He is currently in the process of finishing two more screenplays - an odd ball western with a time travel element and a depressing World War I film - here's to his continued much deserved success, and to seeing more of him on our screens.
Talking to Paul Gross
I've lost the name of the magazine this interview was in!
* Are you surprised by the success of Due South?
Yes. When the producers first told me about the programme I said, No way! But then I read the script and I was hooked. Fraser is unique. he's cool, he's clever, he's neat.
* Did you ever want to be a Mountie?
I love the great outdoors and I often head for the hills to get back to nature... But I'm no good with animals. I've been bitten by a rattlesnake and once I tripped over what I thought was a log, only to find it was actually a bear trying to sleep.
* Did you ever imagine you'd be a heat-throb?
It's always been one of my ambitions, but I never thought I'd be getting sexy fanmail from women in their 60s and 70s! Actually the dog gets more letters than me. He upstages us all.
* What makes you happy?
It sounds corny but I love working. There's nothing better than an exciting script and a great crew. But that doesn't happen often.
* Who would you like to work with?
Having Leslie Nielsen on the show was great. We got on really well. I guess a toned down version of his Naked Gun style humour is what I'm aiming at with Due South.
* What are the drawbacks?
It's exhausting. Working 16 hours a day, nine months a year doesn't leave much time for anything besides work and sleep. So I tend to spend any free time with my kids.
* What do you watch on TV?
Absolutely Fabulous is seriously funny and Dennis Potter's Singing Detective was amazing but I can't stand most of the American stuff.
* Would you ever consider moving to England?
Yes. I feel really at home here. Actually I saw a nice little place as we were flying into Heathrow - Windsor Castle. I wouldn't say no to that...
From TV and Satellite Week. DUE SOUTH 1994
Chicago provides the setting for the offbeat series starring Paul Gross as Canadian Mountie Benton Fraser, who arrived in the Windy City in search of his father's killer. Accompanied by his pet wolf, Diefenbaker - definitely smarter than the average dog - he teamed up with local detective Ray Vecchio (David Marciano) in what was at first a delightful oddball series which has begun to run out of steam.
['Run out of steam' - excuse me!! Elaine]
Article from the Lancashire Evening Post
, television review section.
Best new series in a long while has to be Due South (BBC1) which pitches honourable Canadian Mountie Benton Fraser - complete with full uniform - into Chicago. The real star of the show however is the Mountie's trusty dog, a half-wolf called Diefenbaker who is deaf but has learned to lip-read.
Warm, funny and beautifully shot, this is a most welcome addition to Tuesday nights.
Review
North's preview,
27th July 96, Teletext page 116.
In the first episode, Ray agrees to help Benton rebuild his dead father's cabin - but they soon run into all sorts of problems when their aircraft is hijacked and crashes in a forest. To make matters worse, their crooked pilot turns out to be an escaped convict and the crash has left Ray [sic] nursing some pretty serious injuries.
An article from the Canadian newspaper, The Record, dated Thursday, November 9, 1995
Due South is up ... at 8pm. Despite CBS bailing out on Due South last spring after its first season run south of the border, it's crime-busting as usual tonight for the odd-couple cops - Paul Gross as pedantically starched RCMP Constable Benton Fraser and David Marciano as wisecracking Chicago Detective Ray Vecchio.
Due South's comical tone is still front and centre, even on tonight's show in which vacationers Fraser and Ray, en route to fix up Fraser's late father's cabin, are nearly killed in a plane crash deep in the wilderness, the result of a hijacking scheme by an escaped convict.
Paltry setbacks, such as being totally lost, Fraser's temporary blindness and the fact that there's a murderer on the loose, don't deter the boys at all, at least not Fraser and his wolf pal, Diefenbaker, who are quite comfortable on their own rugged turf.
Gordon Pinsent does a guest gig as Fraser's dad who appears in a dream sequence to offer him some advice. And Red Green himself, Steve Smith, also appears as the obtuse ticket agent for the tiny airline. It's all might far-fetched but diehard fans won't mind a bit.
Sam Brady
Teletext August 18th 1996
, page 124 after 'Bird in the Hand'.
Characters in drama who register little emotion are rarely worth watching. That is certainly true of young Mountie Benton Fraser in Due South (BBCI). In his latest adventure the po-faced Canadian had another tedious heart to heart with his father's ghost.
Cue loads of silly talk about how men shouldn't have feelings plus the usual North American shoot-out and car sequence.
Boring or what?!'
Review from unknown paper! This show needs no canned laughter track to alert you to the funny bits. The Canadian mountie in the big smoke, Fraser (Paul Gross), goes under-cover as a female teacher at a Catholic- school to help find a pupil who has gone missing. Fraser looks a whole lot better famous cross-dressing actor, the late Divine, who was the housewife with extra-sensory olfactory ability in the cult movie, 'Polyester.' But Fraser's sniffing powers are just as keen. Just as well television doesn't have smellorama (cinema auditoria were treated to that with 'Polyester') as Fraser goes to ground many times, taking all kinds of specimens to sniff out the solution to the mystery.
The missing girl and her boyfriend have discovered a vault in the basement of the musty old school end make the mistake of selling one of the items to a shady antiques dealer, who then has them marked for disposal.
Ray (David Marciano), whose childhood sweetheart Anne, a nun who teaches at the school and asked for the detective's help, is surprised to learn he wasn't the reason Anne turned to the Lord.
Jack on the Box
By Caroline Jack, Ceefax page 595.
Due South BBC1, Saturday.
Before I watched this kooky Canadian caper I wondered: - all the fuss? After one episode I know, and I'm a fan.
Benton (Clark Kent and Superman rolled into one lovely red uniform) finally kissed his stern but beautiful boss (Lois Lane meets DI Tennison.)
The embrace took place on the roof of a train hijacked by terrorists, loaded with Unconscious Mounties and hurtling towards, nuclear catastrophe.
Love it or leave it, for me Leslie Nielsen was the icing on this deliciously surreal cake.
Due South Reprieved
Dreamwatch, March 97
Due South, cancelled at the end of its second season in Canada following its failure to break in to the US market, has been saved. The 'Toronto Star' announced on 27 January that Alliance Communications would begin production in Febuary of 26 new episodes, to comprise 2 full seasons of thirteen apiece, bringing Paul Gross back as Benton Fraser with his deaf wolf Diefenbaker.
David Marciano, who played Chicago Detective Ray Vecchio will appear in only a few episodes owing to other commitments made after the show's supposed demise. A new partner will be brought in for Fraser. Gross, who has contributed scripts to the series, will be the show's executive producer. He says the programme "needs to have a solid dramatic centre around which swirls a fair bit of lunacy, and then it seems to be a lot of fun."
Alliance Communications were able to bring the series back because of support from their foreign partners including the BBC.
The new episodes are to set air in the Autumn in the US and UK.
CANADA'S FAVORITE MOUNTIE IS BACK ON
CTV and Alliance Communications Announce the Return of Due South
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Toronto / Los Angeles / London / Paris -January 27 1997
It's back by popular demand! Alliance Commumcations and CTV have been successful in orchestrating a return of the most successsful Canadian drama series in CTV's history. Due South will return to the CTV line-up in the fall of 1997.
Talks between Alliance Communications and CTV began this past fall in an effort to return this popular series to Canadian viewers. Both CTV and Alliance have been flooded constantly with letters from viewers asking for the return of this popular show.
Due South, one of the most expensive shows ever to be broadcast on CTV was also the highest-rated Canadian drama and achieved audiences as high as 2,100,000 viewers on several occasions on CTV (source: A.C Nielsen) and 2,360,000 viewers including the SRC (source: AC. Nielsen). Since its premier on the BBC, Due South ranks # 1 in its first season on TFl in France. Due South is currently licensed in more than 110 countries.
"We are thrilled to be able to bring back this wonderful Canadian series. The return of Due South is a win for CTV and Alliance but most of all, for all the viewers who stood behind the show," said Arthur Weinthal, CTV's Vice President, Programming.
"Due South represents a genuine Canadian suocess story. We are able to bring this series hack to Canadian audiences because of the tremendous support ftom CTV and our foreign partners, BBC I (UK), TFI (France) and Pro Sieben (Germany)," said Roberi Lantos, Chairman and CEO of Alliance Communications.
Starring Paul Gross, Due South follows the exploits of RCMP Constable Benton Fraser (Gross), an exemplary Canadian Mountie and his deaf wolf, Difenbaker, who were transplanted from Northern Canada to patrol the mean streets of Chicago. David Marciano, who plays Detective Ray Vecchio, will play a recurring character in the series.
Paul Gross will write, star and executive produce Due South, with Frank Siracusa Producing. Peter Bray is supervising producer. Due South is an Alliance Con'rnunications Corporation production with the financial participation of Telefilm Canada, the Cable Inoduction Fund and the Government of Canada (Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit Program).
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