'North Shore' series picked up for fall
By Mike Gordon and Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writers
The Hawai'i film industry, already enjoying a banner year, got a boost this week when Fox Television ordered nine more episodes of its "North Shore" summer series.
The additional episodes would bring more than $9 million to the Hawai'i economy, said state film commissioner Donne Dawson.
The hourlong drama, which premiered in June, features life at a luxury hotel. Two other series being filmed in the Islands — ABC's "Lost" and NBC's "Hawaii" — will premiere next month. A pilot for a fourth show, "Rocky Point," is about to begin filming.
Each show contributes about $1 million to $1.5 million per episode to the economy, said Walea Constantinau, Honolulu Film Office commissioner.
"Fox has enough faith in the show and feels it is going in the right direction ... they are going to continue with it and that is good for everyone," Constantinau said. "It is continued employment for people. It is continued visibility for the state on national television."
Producer Harry Bring said the nine-episode order was something of a surprise, given the number of interruptions — including a three-week hiatus for the Olympics — scheduled for this season.
Fox could have waited as late as Sept. 1 to inform producers about the decision whether to pick up the show, but Bring said the network gave them a three-show order (beyond the original 13 episodes) last month, enabling them to begin securing crews and plot storylines.
If the show had not been picked up, the last episode would have been filmed next month. Now, Bring said, cast and crew will continue working through to the new year.
While an exact schedule has not been determined yet, Bring said production will likely continue through most of December, break for the holidays ("or else everybody will rebel"), then resume filming of the final episode in January.
"North Shore" appeared to be on shaky ground as it struggled with ratings earlier this summer. But with tighter writing, some intriguing plot twists, and a string of notable guest appearances, the show has improved it ratings, particularly among the coveted demographic of 18- to 34-year-olds.
Those numbers could improve with the addition of Xer soap icon Shannon Doherty, of "Beverly Hills 90210" fame, who has signed on for a three-episode run and could eventually become a regular.
Despite a reputation for being volatile and combative, Doherty remains immensely popular and her addition to the show should give the show an automatic boost, Bring said.
And he should know.
As a unit production manager with "Melrose Place," Bring saw firsthand how the addition of an established star — Heather Locklear — could take a fledgling TV show to the next level.
"We went through our first 16 or 17 episodes on the fence," Bring said. "When Heather came, it gave us an instant boost.
"If that's what happens with Shannon — perfect," he said.
