Although originally developed by CTV for a Canadian audience, it was announced on January 2008 that the US  network CBS had purchased the rights to air the series in the United States. This will be the first Canadian TV series aired in prime time on a US broadcast network since Due South, also a CTV show aired by CBS.

Executive producers Bill Mustos and Anne Marie La Taverse and actors Hugh Dillon, Amy Jo Johnson and Enrico Colantoni recently answered questions about the show.

Question> For Bill and Anne Marie, how big of a deal to CTV and you personally, that CBS picked this show up?

Bill Mustos> We could pretend to be cool but, we won’t and will just tell you that we are thrilled beyond words. 

Anne Marie La Traverse> We are extremely proud.

Question> Why you think audiences like these sorts of shows, and why another episodic cop show now?

Hugh Dillon> I’ve watched a lot of TV, and I was drawn to it as an actor because it’s a unique story.  Usually, what happens is the case is closed when they’ve dealt with the victim or whatever the case may be.  What I found that was fascinating was the lives of these people are so much richer because it isn’t just about the job.  There is a depth and I think that’s what the writers have touched on, outside of just the uniform.  And that these people, as a team, have a special kind of relationship because they do a very unique job.  What we’ve done is brought a little depth to the run of the mill cop show. 

Bill> In addition to the character work that Hugh is referring to, I think that what attracted Anne Marie and I to this project in the first place is that it’s not a franchise that’s just about another dead body at the start of an episode and an investigation into the mystery of who caused that death.  We were more interested in the kind of story telling that would allow us to explore a world, that happens to be a police world, and a very elite one at that, but a world in the here and now; a world that is about life and death; a world that is about a ticking clock; and a world that we could really explore the emotional side of a story that is often ignored in a police procedural.  That’s what we are hoping will appeal to audiences because we think our way into this police show is fresh. 

One of the things that has struck a lot of us is that the men and women who are on the emergency task force here in Toronto who are the front lines of dealing with some of the biggest crises that ever befall this city, is that they are amazing calm, cool and collected at all times.  They are very rarely ruffled by the things they experience, and I think that’s what sets this elite team apart from regular beat cops.  Day in and day out, they are exposed to real high drama crises.

Question>  The show was started at the CTV, but then at some point was brought to CBS.  Did the fact that it was during the writers strike give you any pause?

Bill> We sent the pilot down to CBS before the writers strike.  We then followed that up with a second script, and following that we were invited down for a meeting at CBS.  All of that took place before the strike commenced.  We left LA and 24 hours later we had a phone call waiting for us saying CBS was very keen to get involved.  So while it was certainly from a contractual point, playing itself out during the strike, we were engaged in our discussions prior to the strike, and started production around the time the strike was over.  So we weren’t really concerned very much because of the way the timeline played itself out.  We did look into this with both he WGA and the WGC, and the fact is we were making the show for CTV as well.  That’s where the pilot and development of the show came from.  So we actually felt that we were on the side of the angels when it came to making a fully Canadian show in Toronto for a Canadian network that also happened to have an American home.

Amy>  I had taken a two year break, and when I got the call for the audition, I wasn’t even living in Los Angeles, and was sort out of the loop of what was going on there.

Hugh> For me, we had shot the pilot so long before the strike happened, and I was living in LA and was committed to this project.  It’s a beautiful piece of work, and it’s like the great Indy films.  It’s shot on 35mm and has nothing but great story behind it.  At the time, I was just walking into coming back to Toronto to shoot it here.  Looking at it as actors, we’d won the lottery because it was going.  Then when CBS picked it up, we won an extra million.

Amy Jo Johnson

Anne Marie> The original title of Critical Incident is really what we call the technical term for the incidents we explore from week to week.  In developing the series, we really started to see a pattern in the kinds of stories that we wanted to tell.  In the center of every story is a human being in crisis, and a human being who is brought to a flashpoint, to their own personal flashpoint, to the edge.  Some of those people whose flashpoints we explore are people that you and I can relate to; a father who wants a heart for his daughter as she’s dying. Its people pushed to the brink that do things they wouldn’t necessarily do on a usual day.  That’s how the title Flashpoint came to stick.  When you watch the show, at the center of every story is an individual in that flashpoint moment.  The stories that we tell are the stories of how that person got there and how our team is brought in to help save that person from themselves or the situation they find themselves in.

Question> Toronto is usually used to film stuff that’s supposed to be somewhere else, like New York City.  Why is this show actually set there?

Bill>The reason this show is set in Toronto is that it’s inspired by this real life emergency task force that exists in this city, and the approach that this swat team has is a little bit different from the approach that you find around the world.  One of the distinguishing features about Toronto’s ETF is that in addition to training their men and women in lethal and non-lethal tactics, they also train in negotiation, psychological profiling and the like.  It’s like a fully rounded SWAT team unit in which you get all the skill sets you need to deal with a particular crisis in one team. 

Question> How different is it shooting in Toronto as Toronto?

Bill> That’s a good question.  What’s been really liberating about shooting Toronto as Toronto is that we’ve been able to show off the city in a way that it hasn’t been seen by audiences widely.  You have to constantly avoid certain Toronto landmarks, which are wonderful landmarks when you are shooting it as New York, or it’s other location, Chicago.  One of the treats for Ann Marie and myself is that we get to show the city off in all of its glory, and because our critical incident tends to take place in big locations, it gives us the chance to really pick those wonderful spots in Toronto. Whether it’s on the water, or on the top of a giant office tower, or inside a glorious old historic bank or wherever the story may take us, we get to show off the city for what it is, and it’s a great, great pleasure.

Question> Is the tone of the show going to have the comedic elements of something like Rescue Me, or is it more of a straight drama?  And is it going to be episodic or serialized?

 Bill> The approach to the story telling is very episodic.  We don’t have a serialized kind of story telling approach where we get deeply into the personal lives and home lives of our lead characters.  There is a little layer of that that is absolutely present, but it’s minimal.  The second point I’d make is we discovered in our research with the real ETF here in Toronto, is that one of the ways those men and women deal with the stress they are witness to, is a form of black humor that they use among themselves.  We’ve tried to introduce a little of that around the edges of our script.  Once the team is onsite and dealing with the crisis of that week, it’s all down to business.  It’s all about trying to defuse that crisis without loss of life.  Once they get there on the scenes, it’s all about trying to save the people who are there at the center of it.  So the humor creeps in, but it tends not to be right in the center of the script. 

Question> What’s the schedule between when the show will air on CTV and CBS?

Bill> The show is actually going to go day and day on CBS and CTV, with the same time slot and same day.

Question> How do feel about time slot for the show?

Enrico Colantoni

Bill> We really like it for a bunch of reasons.  One is that we know that the network approach to scheduling is really changing, and in the third week of September as all the shows get launched all at the same time on all of the networks, it is very easy for a good show to get lost in that shuffle.  What we love is the opportunity to be on CBS this summer when we are one of two original dramas in the CBS schedule.  We think that we have the full support of the network right now because they don’t have a lot of other shows to be concerning themselves with.  So we really love the fact that we are going on July 11^th on CBS. 

Question>  But are you concerned about the day the show will air? Friday night can be rough.

Bill>The reason why we are feeling good about that, Friday night is a good night for CBS for starters.  CBS has also moved Numbers out of the 10PM slot and put us into the 10PM slot, giving Numbers as our lead in, so we like that very much.  And as you pointed out, CSI did start it’s life on a Friday night, and that’s a pretty auspicious case study to have gone ahead of us.  So we think that Friday night is a good night and the fact that we’ve got Ghost Whisperer and Numbers ahead of us in a time slot that CBS regularly wins, can be a very positive thing for the show.

Question> Is there any chance of a pickup or more episodes for a Fall run?

Bill> We’ve had just the most preliminary conversations with CBS and Paramount about that, and what they’ve said is that after the show has debuted in July, if it looks like we are off to a good start, conversations would start very shortly thereafter to discuss the possibility of some additional episodes.  But the specifics of that conversation have really been left till we see how the show performs.

Question> What are the differences between being involved in a Canadian series with being involved with a US series?

Enrico> The fact that I was born in Canada, and that I’m a Canadian means I’m coming home.  But ultimately people make TV shows with the same heart and the same commitment.  What I find the biggest difference to me is that because we are here in Toronto and the community is much smaller, there’s a greater level of intimacy and a greater level of process.  Everybody really knows each other.  They’ve worked with each other again, and again, and again.  It doesn’t seem so overwhelming and seems more communal.

Question> Amy, we all saw the recent announcement from your publicist about your pregnancy, so congratulations on that news.  How are you feeling, and how will that affect the show if at all?

Amy Jo Johnson> I’m actually feeling great now.  I’m past my first trimester, so I have a lot more energy.  As for doing the show, it was a bit of a rough start for me.  It was a lot more intense and difficult then I thought it would be, but actually, I’ve gotten into the rhythm and I’m having a lot of fun now, although I am starting to show a little bit.  We’re definitely not incorporating it.

Question> At one point in the pilot Ed is suspended.  Will that carry over in to future episodes?

Bill> Ed will be back in the saddle in episode number two.  We are playing with time a little bit there.  When ever there is a shooting of this nature, there is an internal investigation just to make sure there was no wrong doing on the part of the unit.  And Ed will have emerged from that little inquiry by the time episode two roles around.  We won’t be playing out the removal of team members while they get investigated.

Question> Hugh, in the pilot, Ed seemed like his was together and tough. But he has a surprising reaction after the events of the pilot.  Was that a surprise to the character, or is that his normal reaction?

Hugh Dillon

Question> Finally, for the producers, can you talk about the casting of Enrico and Amy and Hugh, and why they are the right actors?

Bill> We just loved all of these 3 actors and knew their work from previous things.  In the case of the two guys, the thing that you will discover as you watch the show, is that there is this wonderful dynamic between the two men.  Enrico plays Greg Parker, and he is the Sergeant of the team.  But what he really embodies is this emotional intelligence that is really important to the steering of the team.  And there’s a kind of empathy and intelligence that Enrico brings to his performance that was just so perfect for that role.  In Hugh’s case, we have the character of Ed Lane, who is the team leader and what Ed is, is the tactically brilliant guy on the team who knows exactly how to handle every situation, but who bottles up all that he has seen and done over the years, inside of himself.  Hugh is a wonderful example of an actor who is able to portray those deep reserves, and the idea of a life really lived behind his eyes.  So we felt that Hugh in that role, and Enricio in the Sergeant role were going to make a beautiful, beautiful partnership.  When it came to Amy Jo, we were looking for an actress who would be able to be credible as a sharp shooter and a repelling master, but who would also be able to bring a real empathy to the role.  We think that Amy Jo, from all of her wonderful years on the Power Rangers and Felicity and other things, is just an audience favorite wherever she goes.  We thought she’d be able to bring exactly that quality to the role of Jules.  You’ll be the judge, and our viewers will be the judge, but we think we were bang on with these choices.