Vancouver Film Industry Needs 22 Episodes Network TV Shows

What's your favorite show that was filmed in Vancouver? Fringe? X-Files? Supernatural? The Good Doctor? Or is it Arrowverse shows like Arrow, The Flash and Supergirl?

Vancouver has long been known as Hollywood North for its generous tax credits and savings from a low Canadian dollar against the US. Before the streaming wars ended and COVID decimated the worldwide industry, Vancouver was running up to 60 productions which has now dropped to under 20 leaving many crew unemployed and film stages empty.

The downturn hasn't just been caused by COVID, Hollywood union strikes and Trump's tariff threats but by the television industry model changing from 22 episodes a season that you would find for the big networks to the streaming channels' episode count of between 8 and 13.

Vancouver now only has two remaining network shows with a high episode count, Fire Country and Tracker. Scott Caan's Alert: Missing Persons Unit filmed season 2 and 3 back to back for 20 episodes but was cancelled last week.

The Last Of Us employed a large amount of crew for 7 episodes but is said to be leaving due to the high cost of filming outside Vancouver in Minaty Bay (which is forty minutes away). Hotels and food prices for crew have inflated to the point of no longer financially making sense.

The big network shows that were filmed here include:

CW's Arrowverse- With five shows filming at one time, Arrow, Supergirl, The Flash, Legends Of Tomorrow, and Batwoman employed most of the background extras and stunt community.

Supernatural- The show ran for 15 seasons with the episode count averaging 23 except for the last two which were 20 episodes. It maintained its core cast and crew throughout making it a favorite for crew to work on.

The Good Doctor- While it only filmed 18 episodes a season, it ran for seven seasons. The show's set at Bridge Studios was a hit with crew for its accessibility and much-loved catering and crafty.

Fringe- Running five seasons, the show had 22 episodes for the first four seasons before dropping to 13 for its final run. While Lost was lambasted for its series finale, Fringe's was beloved for answering all the plot questions it had raised.

X-Files- Although the series moved to Los Angeles after its first five seasons, the show made Vancouver a hotbed for science fiction shows like Battlestar Galactica and Stargate. It would later return in 2016 for its two-season revival.

The only two network shows left are:

Fire Country- Going into its fourth season the show is creating a franchise with spin-off's Sheriff Country and Fire Country: Surfside. Unfortunately the first is filming in Toronto and the second starring Jared Padelecki is rumoured to film in Austin or California.

Tracker- Was the top scripted network show this season with 20 episodes and should go on for a long time as it goes into its third season. Producers have discussed spin-offs but nothing concrete has been moved to the writing stage.

If Vancouver wants to remain strong in global production, the time for federal incentives is now. Until then, one solution is clear: bring back 22 episode shows to Vancouver. Comment below with your thoughts.

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Source: Dan Lalonde

Photo Credit: AI