| The Border | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Created by |
|
| Starring | |
| Composer | Mark Korven |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 38(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Peter Raymont |
| Producers |
|
| Cinematography | Gavin Smith |
| Editor | Christopher Donaldson |
| Running time | 45 mins. approx. |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBC Television |
| Release | January 7, 2008 (2008-01-07) – January 14, 2010 (2010-01-14) |
The Border is a Canadiandrama television series that aired onCBC Television and 20 other TV networks worldwide. It was created by Peter Raymont, Lindalee Tracey, Janet MacLean and Jeremy Hole of White Pine Pictures. The executive in charge of production is Janice Dawe. Episodes in the first season were directed byJohn Fawcett,Michael DeCarlo,Ken Girotti,Kelly Makin, Brett Sullivan and Philip Earnshaw.[1][2] The first season had a total budget of 20 million dollars, with about 1.5 million dollars per episode.[3]
The series is set inToronto and follows agents of Immigration and Customs Security (ICS), a fictitious agency described as being created by theGovernment of Canada to deal with trans-border matters includingterrorism andsmuggling.
The cancellation ofThe Border was announced by the CBC after three seasons were aired.[4]
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||
| 1 | 13[5] | January 7, 2008 (2008-01-07)[6][7] | March 31, 2008 (2008-03-31) | |
| 2 | 13[8] | September 29, 2008 (2008-09-29)[6][7] | December 22, 2008 (2008-12-22) | |
| 3 | 12 | October 8, 2009 (2009-10-08) | January 14, 2010 (2010-01-14) | |
The show stars many Canadian television actors such asJames McGowan,Graham Abbey andCatherine Disher.Sofia Milos andDaisy Beaumont are the only non-Canadian actresses to star, asUnited States Department of Homeland Security special agent Bianca LaGarda and British intelligence agent Charlotte Bates respectively.[9]
Grace Park joined the cast in Season 2. She appeared in six episodes of thirteen[10] as American Homeland Security agent Liz Carver, and continued the role into Season 3.[11][12]
Immigration and Customs Security (French:Sécurité de l'immigration et des douanes) is a fictional federal agency based inToronto, with its headquarters in a formerly used ferry terminal used for the formerRochester fast ferry (43°38′18″N; 79°21′06″W).[13] The agency is led by Major Mike Kessler, an ex-Special forces operator fromJoint Task Force 2, and is said to be under the supervision ofPublic Safety Canada.[14]
Sofia Milos, who plays Bianca LaGarda, had said thatThe Border demonstrates how people should be fighting against crime and terrorism of all types. She said that the show hopefully would make a dialogue with viewers and ask themselves if they "believe in your government? Whose point of view is right? There is a border between justice and crime.", hence the show's title.[15]
Another viewpoint in the show is the reference between theAmerican and Canadian ways of handling situation involving criminal and terrorist suspects. The show contrasts American-style, results-oriented anti-terrorism efforts in handling a situation with Canadians taking a more relaxed approach to ensure an innocent person is not caught up while conducting anti-terrorist duties.[16]
Lindalee Tracey had been following immigration issues before she had started to work with her husband, Peter Raymont, starting with theNational Magazine Award-winning articleThe Uncounted Canadians written forToronto Life in 1991 with the 1997documentaryInvisible Nation on the underground illegal immigrant community inToronto.[3] She then collaborated with Raymont to create the 2002documentaryThe Undefended Border.[3][17] Raymont says that scripts forThe Border are often informed or inspired by real news stories dealing with terrorism, border security, illegal immigration and other contemporary issues.[3][18]
Raymont said that the series and the issues in the show are drawn from issues that currently face Canada and the rest of the world such as9/11, theDarfur Crisis, human rights violations in China and trans-national crimes such as pedophiles and international crime rings.[19] He also said that he wanted to show the Canadian perspective in facing national security issues that would affect the country. Raymont wanted to show viewers that Canadians are more understanding and open-minded than the Americans are.[19]
To honour Lindalee's work on creating the series, Raymont had given cards out to the cast and crew of the show to remind them that they should give credit to his wife, whose photo was on it, for being the driving force of the show as a means of honouring Lindalee for her work, after she died in October 2006 frombreast cancer.[3][20]
Conception of the series started in 2001, before the 9/11 attacks, when Peter Raymont and his late wife, Lindalee Tracey, pitched the CBC on a fictitious series featuring immigration/border security agents. That fall, shortly after 9/11, Raymont and Tracey began shooting a three-hour documentary mini series, commissioned byTVOntario and other broadcasters entitled "The Undefended Border" following Canadian immigration/border security agents. The CBC put "The Border" drama series into active development at the same time.[3][21] Raymont had said thatThe Border is similar, but a bit different from "24 with a conscience."[3][20]
Production ofThe Border had hit some problems inOshawa,Ontario, where residents expressed concern when aPiaggio P.180 Avanti twin-engine plane was seen on Stevenson Road, which was located nearOshawa Airport.[22][23] The plane's presence, as well the filming of gunfire scenes, had prompted residents to make calls regarding its unusual appearance in the area.[22]Oshawa Airport manager Stephen Wilcox, in a press statement, assured the public on the events inOshawa that "Today is the one day it's OK if you see a plane on the road."[22]
According to Kristine Layfield, the CBC executive director of network programming, it was fortunate that the show had aired on January 7, 2008, whilst theWriters Guild of America-led strikes continued in the United States, as it would give the audience something different from watch, especially ifCBC Television benefited from the strikes to gain more viewers.[13][24]
James McGowan had said that he eagerly agreed to be cast as the show'sprotagonist after meeting with Raymont and Tracey because "Their humanity really influences this show ... it's their convictions that are at the heart of the whole show".[25]
For filming the headquarters of the fictional Immigration and Customs Security agency,The Border production crew used the abandonedRochester fast ferry building that fell to disuse in January, 2006.[13] Brian Dennis, one of the producers onThe Border commented that the use of the abandoned ferry building was "great, it was a production designer's dream" since the interior of the building had "customs hall and the interrogation rooms that are brand, spanking new and the jail cells."[13]
InQuebec, the show's first season has been aired in French on the cable channelSéries+[26] since September 4, 2008.
Rights to airThe Border have recently been bought byFrench media company Midnight Media to air the show in France.[27]
Several United States-based television networks have expressed interest in purchasing the rights to air the series on American television networks, includingABC,USA,TNT andCBS.[28][17][29]
CBC Television had also given a portfolio of its programs to British media company ContentFilm, as they are interested in broadcasting CBC programs in other countries.[30]
The Border has been sold to some undisclosed broadcasters by Fireworks International inEurope.[31] They include Belgium (on Flemish public broadcaster VRT), Denmark, the Netherlands (onVeronica), Norway, Sweden and the UK (onFX).[32] Australia started airing the series from 14 September 2009 onW Channel. Since November 2009, it is airing in theRepublic of Macedonia on Telma TV. It is also airing inGreece onET3 starting from the 2010-11 season.
| Country | TV Network |
|---|---|
 United States | Ion Television (February 24, 2009 – December 20, 2012)[33] Cozi TV (December 21, 2012 – Present) Hulu |
 Belgium | VRT RTL TVI[34] |
 Luxembourg | RTL TVI[34] |
Video Service Corp released all three seasons ofThe Border on DVD in Region 1 in Canada between 2008 and 2010.[35][36][37]
On July 16, 2013, Mill Creek Entertainment released the complete first season on DVD in the USA.[38]
| Season | Episodes | Release Date | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 (Canada) | Region 1 (USA) | Region 4 (Australia) | ||
| 1 | 13 | November 18, 2008 | July 16, 2013 | 2010 |
| 2 | 13 | August 25, 2009 | N/A | 2010 |
| 3 | 12 | August 10, 2010 | N/A | May 9, 2011[39] |
In a February 4, 2008 article of theNational Post, the show was faulted on the basis that it had some similar elements to the American show24.[40] There have also been some claims ofanti-Americanism, shown in the character of LaGarda and the portrayal of the American government.[16][41] The show has also been criticized for an unrealistic portrayal of cooperation between Canadian law enforcement and intelligence agencies, but it is acknowledged this was done in order to avoid making it too complicated for viewers.[42]
Formerly secret diplomatic cables published by thewhistleblower organizationWikiLeaks revealed that US diplomats in Canada warned their superiors thatThe Border and several other popular Canadian dramas had an"insidious" anti-American bias.[43][44][45][46]
In its series premiere, the drama had an audience of 710,000.[47] In a press release, Kirstine Layfield said she was optimistic "with the numbers, given the difficulty Canadian dramas have in trying to tear viewers' attention away from U.S. fare".[48] In the second week, ratings fell to 600,000,[49] improved to around 760,000 by the fourth episode,[50] then dipped to a low of 548,000 viewers during the seventh episode,[51] but improved once again the following week to 716,000.[52]
WhenThe Border returned for its second season, viewership was around 704,000.[53] In addition,Grace Park's presence in the show had given the show an audience of 765,000.[54]
OniTunes Canada,The Border was among the Top 30 downloads with numbers around 800,000.[50]
The series was nominated for Best TV Drama at the 2008Monte Carlo Television Festival, including nominations toJames McGowan for Best Actor andSofia Milos for Best Actress.[55] In addition, it was also nominated for 9Gemini Awards[56] and 1Young Artist Award at the30th Young Artist Awards.[57]The Border was the recipient of an award at the 2008Banff International Television Festival for Best Mobile Enhancement. The show was nominated for five awards at the 2009Monte Carlo Television Festival.
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