Erica Durance Saving Hope at NBC?

We haven’t heard much news from actress Erica Durance since Smallville ended it’s long run on the CW. That was until the end of last month, at least, when Boomtron unveiled a gorgeous look at the actress in a dramatic role as a woman who believes she’s a super hero. Check out the story of Durance as Wonder Woman if you missed out. This week brings more casting news for the bright young actress. Is a shiny scalpel in her future?

There is a Canadian medical drama in the works called Saving Hope that NBC hopes to acquire very soon. It was inspired by several 2005 articles written by Globe and Mail writer Ian Brown after he had to endure eight weeks at Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital. The series would star Erica Durance, Michael Shanks and Daniel Gillies. So far, the show sounds like it would become a younger, slightly more fast-paced version of E.R., set in Toronto, with a whimsical twist.

You may know actor Michael Shanks from Stargate SG-1. He will play Dr. Harris and provide a supernatural touch. Once the chief surgeon of the hospital, he is now in a coma, but his spirit wanders the halls regularly. Durance will be his fiancee and another hospital surgeon, while Daniel Gillies of The Vampire Diaries is the staff’s newest hot shot surgeon.

Yes, the series does sound a bit like A Gifted Man, of which I am a fan, but not enough to make me feel threatened. In fact, the only thing I don’t like about Saving Hope is the name. I’d go for something less generic and more attention grabbing, but that’s just me.

Saving Hope is executive produced by Ilana Frank, who brings us another Canadian drama, ABC’s Rookie Blue. Production should begin in March but we will have to watch and see if all goes well with NBC running the CTV series.