The CW Back to Canada With a Slew of Drama Pilots

TORONTO – Pilot season has rebounded strongly for Vancouver, thanks to The CW.

Six U.S. network pilots are currently shooting in the west coast city, with five coming from CW, which usually shoots its drama pilots in Canada.

Despite the high Canadian dollar, the latest CW pilots shooting in Vancouver are Arrow, based on DC Comics’ long-running Green Arrow, Joey Dakota, Cult, First Cut and The Selection.

That’s a turnaround from last year when Vancouver and Toronto lost U.S. pilot shoots to New York City and rival U.S. locales.

This year, Joey Dakota, a repurposing of the Israeli format Danny Hollywood, and starring Craig Horner, Amber Stevens and Leah Renee, is shooting in Vancouver for CW, as is the Arrow drama top-lined by Toronto actor Stephen Amell and Paul Blackthorne.

And the CW pilot shoot for the Jessica Lucas-starrer Cult portrays a young female production assistant on a popular TV show investigating its rabid fans, while First Cut, executive produced by Dan Jinks and Jennie Snyder Urman, is shooting in Vancouver through March 31.

CW, which last year brought three of its six 2011 pilots to Canada, will also see its Beauty & The Beast pilot, starring Kristin Kreuk and Jay Ryan, shoot in Toronto.

In 2010, CW brought five of its six pilots to Vancouver and Toronto.

It turns out CW is this year shooting two pilots stateside for looks.

The Sex in the City prequel The Carrie Diaries, a pilot based on the novel by Candace Bushnell, is shooting in New York City, while CW’s Shelter, set in a New England summer resort and starring Elizabeth Henstridge, is being lensed in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Vancouver is also hosting a pilot shoot for NBC’s Midnight Sun, a Universal Television thriller about a female FBI cult specialist that stars Julia Stiles, Titus Welliver and Michael Raymond-James.

The CW Back to Canada With a Slew of Drama Pilots

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