Enter the Clones: Space Orders Third Season of Ground-Breaking Original Thriller, ORPHAN BLACK

− From Temple Street Productions, ORPHAN BLACK is produced in partnership with Space and BBC America -
- Starring Golden Globe^®-nominee Tatiana Maslany, production begins in Toronto this fall -

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TORONTO, July 9, 2014 /CNW/ - Space announced today the order of a third season of its critically-acclaimed, clone conspiracy thriller, ORPHAN BLACK. Picking up from a hair-raising Season 2 finale reveal, Season 3 sees the return of the phenomenal, award-winning Canadian actor, Tatiana Maslany, who's portrayed an astonishing, nine distinct clones to date. The Season 3 order consists of 10, all-new, one hour episodes. Production is set to begin this fall in Toronto.

"In its edge-of-your seat sophomore season, ORPHAN BLACK continued to thrill audiences and critics alike" said Catherine MacLeod, Senior Vice-President, Specialty Channels and Bell Media Production. "We look forward to working alongside Temple Street Productions and BBC America to bring the clones' next chapter to life, in what is sure to be a brilliant and captivating third season."

"We're absolutely delighted to continue on this incredible journey, and can't wait to deliver more thrilling twists and turns in Season 3," commented David Fortier and Ivan Schneeberg, Executive Producers and Co-Presidents, Temple Street Productions. "This is a huge achievement which wouldn't have been possible without the tremendous support from our partners Bell Media and BBC America, as well as our terrific directing/writing team headed up by John Fawcett and Graeme Manson (respectively), the talented cast and crew led by the incomparable Tatiana Maslany, and of course the amazing Clone Club fans."

** Media Note ** Download photography for ORPHAN BLACK at BellMediaPR.ca/Space

Since its premiere in April, Season 2 of ORPHAN BLACK drew in an impressive average audience of 337,000 viewers, Saturdays at 9pm, making it the #1 series on Space for W25-54 and 18-49, this broadcast year-to-date.  More than 800,000 unique viewers watched ORPHAN BLACK a week, and the series has reached nearly million Canadians.

ORPHAN BLACK stars Canadian Screen Award winner and Golden Globe^® nominee Tatiana Maslany (Picture Day, PARKS AND RECREATION), who to date has portrayed nine different characters (Sarah, Beth, Katja, Alison, Cosima, Helena, Rachel, Jennifer, and Tony). Season 3 will also see the return of the incredible ensemble cast comprised of Jordan Gavaris (UNNATURAL HISTORY) as Felix, Sarah's foster brother; Maria Doyle Kennedy (DOWNTON ABBEY) as Mrs. S, Sarah and Felix's hard-nosed working class foster mother; Dylan Bruce (NCIS) as Paul, Beth's boyfriend with a secret linked to his army days in Afghanistan, Kevin Hanchard (REPUBLIC OF DOYLE) as Art, a veteran detective; Michael Mando (BETTER CALL SAUL) as Vic, Sarah's sporadically violent ex; Michelle Forbes (THE KILLING) as Marion Bowles, a Dyad agent with a birds-eye view on the war between Sarah and Rachel; Skyler Wexler (ALPHAS) as Kira, Sarah's seven-year-old daughter; and Michiel Huisman (GAME OF THRONES) as Cal Morrison, Sarah's mysterious ex-boyfriend and Kira's father. Season 3 also sees the return of Ari Millen (Monster Brawl) as the recently revealed new clone.

For those who have yet to join the #CloneClub, Season 2 of ORPHAN BLACK can be viewed in its entirety online on Space.ca, until August 9.

ORPHAN BLACK is executive produced by Ivan Schneeberg and David Fortier (Being Erica, THE NEXT STEP), Graeme Manson (Cube, FLASHPOINT) and John Fawcett (SPARTACUS, GINGER SNAPS). The series is co-created by Manson and Fawcett, with Manson also serving as writer and Fawcett as director. BBC Worldwide distributes the series internationally.

ORPHAN BLACK is produced by Temple Street Productions in association with Space and BBC America. Production Executives are Trish Williams and Gosia Kamela. Corrie Coe is Senior Vice-President, Independent Production, Bell Media. Catherine MacLeod is Senior Vice-President, Specialty Channels and Bell Media Production. Phil King is President, CTV, Sports, and Entertainment Programming.

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About Bell Media Independent Production
Bell Media has commissioned some of Canada's most-watched and most-acclaimed original programming, working with the best Canadian independent producers in the country. Hit CTV series include ratings success stories SAVING HOPE, THE LISTENER, MOTIVE, and THE AMAZING RACE CANADA, the record-breaking, Canadian-produced complementary version of the hit international series. New to CTV in 2014 are hit international format MASTERCHEF CANADA and multi-cam office comedy SPUN OUT, one of the most-watched new comedies of the season. Among the scripted series on Bell Media pay and specialty channels are the two-time Emmy®-nominated hit DEGRASSI, the internationally acclaimed ORPHAN BLACK, the most-watched original series in Space history BITTEN, Bravo's most-watched new drama 19-2, TRANSPORTER: THE SERIES, and upcoming dramas SENSITIVE SKIN, and KILLJOYS. Bell Media specialty channels are also home to hit factual series HIGHWAY THRU HELL and CANADA'S WORST DRIVER, among others. In 2013, Bell Media ordered 27 original Canadian series and currently has 84 projects in various stages of development.

About Temple Street Productions
Temple Street Productions is a leading producer of television, film and digital media content based in Toronto, Canada. A selection of Temple Street's past and present projects include ORPHAN BLACK (BBC America, Space), BEING ERICA (CBC, SOAPnet), THE NEXT STEP (Family Channel), WINGIN' IT (Family Channel), OVER THE RAINBOW (CBC), RECIPE TO RICHES (CBC), COVER ME CANADA (CBC), BILLABLE HOURS (Global, Showcase), CANADA'S NEXT TOP MODEL (CTV), HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE MARIA? (CBC), QUEER AS FOLK (Showtime, Showcase), and DARCY'S WILD LIFE (NBC, Discovery Kids, Family Channel).  For more company information www.templestreetproductions.com twitter @TempleStreet or connect with us on Facebook.

About BBC AMERICA
BBC AMERICA delivers U.S. audiences high-quality, innovative and intelligent programming. Established in 1998, it has been the launch pad for talent embraced by American mainstream pop culture, including Ricky Gervais, Gordon Ramsay, Graham Norton, and successful programming formats including ground-breaking non-scripted television like Top Gear and top-rated science-fiction like Doctor Who. Owned by BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, BBC AMERICA has attracted both critical acclaim and major awards including two Emmy® Awards, five Golden Globes® and eleven Peabody Awards. The channel attracts one of cable's most affluent and educated audiences and is available on cable and satellite TV in 80 million homes. It broadcasts in both standard and high-definition, with content available On Demand across all major digital platforms. Online, www.bbcamerica.com is the place to go to dig deeper into pop culture with a British twist. Find out more by visiting www.press.bbcamerica.com or follow us on www.twitter.com/bbcamerica.

About Space
Space is home to phenomenal programming including imaginative dramas, epic movies, engaging reality series, and the daily entertainment talk show INNERSPACE, the source for all-things genre - all in high definition (HD). Named "Channel of the Year" in 2013 by Playback Magazine, Space is also home to Original Series ORPHAN BLACK, PANIC BUTTON, and BITTEN. Space content is always available at Space.ca, and on Facebook, @SpaceChannel, and other social media platforms. Space is a division of Bell Media, which is owned by BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada's largest communications company.

- Space -

SOURCE: SPACE