Canal Road is an Australian television drama series on the Nine Network. The series was produced in-house, under producer Susan Bower, in collaboration with writers Sarah Smith, John Ridley and Dave Warner, and directed by Kevin Carlin. It was filmed at Channel Nine's GTV Studio 11 and on location in and around Melbourne. The series reportedly cost A$10 million to produce.
The 13-part series went to air from 16 April 2008. The series debuted to mixed critical reception and only average ratings, which were further eroded when the series was moved to a later timeslot.When Aussie drama is not what it seems Nine removed Canal Road from its schedules after the seventh episode, which drew in only 360,000 viewers;Canal Road: episode guide however the eighth episode was still made available online. Nine eventually aired the remaining episodes during August and December 2008.Returning: Canal Road, Big Bang TheoryReturning: Canal Road
Canal Road was released on DVD on 4 August 2008 in Australia.
Synopsis Canal Road is a medical and legal advisory centre where the lives of inner-city professionals and their patients entwine in a story of mystery and intrigue. At the heart of the series are the tragic deaths of the wife and son of central character Spencer MacKay. Spencer is the centre's psychiatrist who is confronted by the killer of his loved ones and sets out on a journey of revenge which will implicate friends, workmates and his darkest demons.
Cast
Paul Leyden as Spencer MacKay Diana Glenn as Olivia Bates Brooke Satchwell as Bridget Keenan André De Vanny as Danny Havesco Patrick Brammall as Steve Yunnane Peta Sergeant as Holly Chong Charlie Clausen as Tom Squires Alyssa McClelland as Skye Brady Sam Anderson as Henry Walter Grant Bowler as Detective Ray Driscoll Sibylla Budd as Daina Connelly Simon Lyndon as Daryl King Ian Bliss as Bradley Thompson Sullivan Stapleton as Jack Logan Fletcher Humphrys as Colin Burns
Internet downloads Since 1 April 2008, full episodes of Canal Road were offered as a free download as part of ninemsn's "Catch Up TV" service, with new episodes made available before their broadcast on Nine.Nine offers free Canal Road downloads In order to view them a third-party video player must be downloaded, which includes advertisements in the file and disables the ability to skip the ads.
Episodes were later made available for purchase through the iTunes Store.iTunes downloads TV (at last)
Episodes
Reception In 2020, Fiona Byrne of the Herald Sun included Canal Road in her feature about "long forgotten Australian TV dramas that made viewers switch off." Byrne wrote that the series "just never clicked with audiences. It was not soap, but more of a moody, dark drama with the central character, Spencer MacKay traumatised by the death of his wife and son and hellbent on revenge."
Ratings Episode No. Airdate Timeslot Ratings(5 capital cities) Timeslot rank Overall nightly rank 1.01 Wednesday 16 April 2008 21:30 – 22:30 1,089,000 1st 12th 1.02 Wednesday 23 April 2008 21:30 – 22:30 811,000 3rd 20th 1.03 Wednesday 30 April 2008 22:30 – 23:30 433,000 – 28th 1.04 Wednesday 7 May 2008 22:30 – 23:30 386,000 – – 1.05 Wednesday 28 May 2008 22:30 – 23:30 372,000 – – 1.06 Wednesday 4 June 2008 22:30 – 23:30 308,000 – – 1.07 Wednesday 18 June 2008 22:30 – 23:30 360,000 – 42nd 1.08 Sunday 10 August 2008 22:30 – 23:30 259,000 – – 1.09 Tuesday 12 August 2008 22:30 – 23:30 340,000 – – 1.10 Wednesday 13 August 2008 22:30 – 23:30 345,000 – – 1.11 Wednesday 20 August 2008 22:30 – 23:30 306,000 – – 1.12 Friday 5 December 2008 22:45 – 23:45 288,000 – – 1.13 Saturday 13 December 2008 22:30 – 23:30 align="center" – –
See also List of Australian television series
References
External links Canal Road website Catch Up TV – Canal Road – Full episode downloads of Canal Road