Winnipeg Beach Stunned as TV Series Cancelled

Falcon Beach TV series cancelled

By ROSS ROMANIUK
SUN MEDIA
April 23

A bit of television glamour is leaving Manitoba's Interlake, putting a dent in the pride and prosperity of Winnipeg Beach.

The Lake Winnipeg shoreside town was stunned after learning this weekend that TV series Falcon Beach, a drama about the goings-on of a sexy group of residents of a Manitoba resort community, has been cancelled after two seasons.

Daryl Carry, the town's deputy mayor, said he was told Friday night by Kim Todd, an executive at Winnipeg production firm Original Pictures, the series is pulling the plug due to a sharp drop in funding support from the networks that have carried it -- ABC Family in the U.S. and Global TV in Canada.

"We've had tourists here every summer, coming to see where Falcon Beach is shot. It was great exposure for my business and great exposure for the town," Carry, who also runs a restaurant, told Sun Media yesterday.

"But I guess at the end of the day, it didn't add up. The money offered isn't enough. They had to make a decision to pull the plug."

ABC Family reportedly cut its cash support to the show because of what it sees as a failure to attract a sufficient number of viewers in a demographic wider than teens with whom the program is popular.

And Global's financial assistance has decreased, making Falcon Beach's production no longer feasible.

News of the show's demise came as a sudden blow to residents and entrepreneurs of the picturesque lakeside town of about 900, whose population in outlying cottage areas booms to 20,000 during summers.

"Falcon Beach made it cool to go to the beach again, and we have seen such an influx of young people coming here since Falcon Beach started filming," said Karen Bridgwater, owner of the Blue Rooster store in the town about 75 kilometres north of Winnipeg.

"Some local businesses reported people coming from B.C. and Ontario and even as far away as Japan ... because they saw the location on Falcon Beach.

"Everyone who came into my store today was saddened by the news, and we are hoping that another smart TV channel will pick up Falcon Beach because we have to know what happened to Jason and Paige, to Trevor -- that jerk! -- and is Mook still alive?"

PRIDE

Jim Hollingworth, owner of Lake Winnipeg's Pizza Place eatery, noted the area's pride in having the show.

"It has certainly helped a few businesses survive, or expand. There's no doubt about that," he said of the series. "A lot of people came out to have a look around, and see what's happening. They came to see how they filmed it."

Producers could not be reached for comment.

Despite the cancellation, Carry pointed out the beach region's use as a location for movies such as K-19 The Widowmaker with Harrison Ford and the recently shot Whiteout with Kate Beckinsale.