Cold Squad

**Cold Squad** is a Canadian crime drama series that premiered on CTV on January 23, 1998, at 10 p.m., and ran for seven seasons. The series was created by Matt MacLeod, Philip Keatley and Julia Keatley, and produced by Keatley MacLeod Productions and Alliance Atlantis in association with CTV Television Network, with the participation of the Canadian Television Fund.

## Synopsis

Led by Sergeant Ali McCormick (Julie Stewart), a team of homicide detectives from the Vancouver Police Department reopen long-unsolved, or "cold" cases (the titular "Cold Squad"), using present-day forensic technology and psychological profiling to help crack them.

## Production

Cold Squad was originally conceived in 1995 as a one-hour series for the Lifetime channel in the United States. Baton Broadcasting became involved in its development in November 1995. Lifetime, however, backed out in mid-1996 and in 1997 the producers partnered with Alliance Atlantis.

At the time Cold Squad was developed, the production of television series in Vancouver was heavily dominated by programs made for the United States. When Cold Squad was greenlit it became the first one-hour, prime time dramatic series for Canadian television to be produced out of Vancouver.

After Baton committed to local production of the series, the producers reached an agreement with Canadian labor union ACFC West (Association of Canadian Film Craftspeople) to cut the cost of labor on 13 episodes by $225,000 (CAD). With this concession, the overall budget to produce the first season became approximately $12.5 million (CAD).

An unexpected cash crunch by Telefilm Canada's Equity Investment Program affected the corporation's funding for the series and the original order for 13 episodes was reduced to 11 episodes. Funding was adjusted and both Baton and Alliance Atlantis committed to an increased financial investment in the production of Cold Squad, with the budget per episode at $900,000-plus (CAD). Baton thereafter reoriented its involvement to that of being the series' Canadian broadcaster only. Keatley MacLeod Productions retained 75% copyright ownership and the rights to U.S. distribution, and Alliance Atlantis retained 25% ownership with distribution rights in other international territories. (Baton Broadcasting, which had full control of the CTV network, was reorganized and renamed CTV Inc. in December 1998. In March 2000, CTV Inc. was acquired by Bell Canada Enterprises.)

Originally scheduled to start on June 16, 1997, filming on Cold Squad began on July 2, 1997, and the new series' scheduled premiere was changed from September 1997 to January 1998.

## Broadcast

The premiere of the final season was delayed until Fall 2004 and its programming changed to 9 p.m. Saturday as part of CTV's "crime time" block.

Due to the network's sporadic scheduling of the season, the last episodes of the series premiered in their French-dubbed versions on Séries+ in 2004, long before the English-language versions of those episodes aired on CTV in the Spring of 2005.

In July 2000, CanWest Global Communications obtained the international distribution rights for Cold Squad from Endemol Entertainment Holding NV when it purchased the company's television library. Endemol had procured the rights from Alliance Atlantis.

Alliance Atlantis owned Showcase and within Canada reruns of Cold Squad aired on the channel (Showcase was acquired by CanWest in 2007 after its purchase of Alliance Atlantis).

## Controversy

When U.S. television network CBS announced the premiere of Cold Case for its 2003/2004 schedule, John Doyle of The Globe and Mail wrote: "Cold Case...is a new drama about a blond, female cop (played by Kathryn Morris) who tracks down old, cold cases and faces discrimination because she's a woman. It has no connection with Cold Squad, a Canadian series about a blond, female cop who tracks down old, cold cases and faces discrimination because she's a woman." The likeness to Cold Squad was also noted by other Canadian television critics. Stephanie Earp of TV Guide wrote: "Last fall, American viewers got excited about a new crime drama that revolves around a tough blond detective with an edgy haircut who solves cold cases. Of course, Canadian viewers got excited by that show back in '98, when it debuted under the name Cold Squad."

The comparison between Cold Squad and Cold Case became compelling when it was revealed that Meredith Stiehm, the creator of Cold Case, had attended seminars on television writing in April 2002 at the Canadian Film Centre and was informed about the concept of Cold Squad during one of the sessions.

The similarities led Cold Squad series creators Matt MacLeod and Julia Keatley to retain intellectual property attorney Carole Handler, of Los Angeles law firm O'Donnell & Schaeffer, to broker talks with Cold Case producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Warner Bros. MacLeod declined to discuss details but said, "We are deeply concerned [about the shows' similarities]...We're taking the appropriate actions." Confirming that written correspondence was proceeding between the producers of the two shows, Handler stated, "We hope to work out the producers' concerns. This is a real issue. My clients are the creators of the original concept." Recourse in the matter included the option of doing nothing, a settlement involving royalties or a format payment, or a lawsuit.

CTV acquired the rights to broadcast Cold Case in Canada and added the series to its Fall 2003 schedule, at the same time postponing the last season of Cold Squad until Fall 2004. The network took advantage of the resemblance between the two shows by scheduling both during the same prime time day of the week, Sunday, publicizing the programming as a "crime theme night", with Cold Case airing at 8 p.m. and Cold Squad at 10 p.m.

During the 18th Gemini Awards, awards host Seán Cullen bluntly echoed a shared sentiment about CTV bumping Cold Squad off its fall programming in favor of the new American cop show: "Screw you Cold Case. I love Cold Squad."

When Cold Squad went into syndication in the United States the similitude between it and Cold Case raised eyebrows — until American viewers discovered that Cold Squad was the precedent series.

## Reception

In a final season interview with Julie Stewart, media and television columnist Bill Brioux wrote: "Cold Squad has consistently been one of the top-rated Canadian-produced TV shows, despite being booted all over CTV's schedule."

Cold Squad was nominated for 38 Gemini Awards, 49 Leo Awards, one Directors Guild of Canada award, and two Writers Guild of Canada awards during its seven-season run. The series won seven Gemini Awards, including Julie Stewart for "Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role" (2002), Garry Chalk for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series" (2002 and 2001), and Tamara Craig Thomas for "Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series" (2001). It won four Leo Awards, including Julie Stewart for "Best Lead Performance By A Female in a Dramatic Series" (2003).