‘Continuum’, joins science-fiction genre buddies ‘Fringe’ and ‘Eureka’ in Vancouver for filming. The difference with Continuum is that it’s actually set in Vancouver, which is probably because it’s actually tagged as a Canadian sci-fi series — airing on Shaw’s specialty channel: Showcase.

“A detective from the year 2077 finds herself trapped in present day Vancouver and searching for ruthless criminals from the future.” (IMDb)

‘Continuum’ character promo: Kiera

‘Continuum’ character promo: Travis

It’s no secret that Canada’s film industry is often referred to as Hollywood North. The provinces of British Columbia and Ontario seem to be formidable competition yet complement each other just as well. British Columbia proves lavish in landscape as a coastal region with great mountains and forests and in turn attracts numerous TV series and films looking for some scenic production value. Ontario, the city of Toronto in specific, is an ideal location for urban hub / downtown core shoots for shows like the recently cancelled ‘The Firm’ (NBC) or ‘Suits’ (USA) which premieres it’s second season on June 14, 2012.

It was disappointing when I found out that ‘Alcatraz’ (FOX), filmed in Vancouver and set in San Fransisco was not renewed for a second batch of episodes during it’s first season run (13 episodes total); similarly ‘The Secret Circle’ (The CW), filmed in the Steveston area of Richmond, BC was cancelled after one season. But out of these 2011/12 season cancellations came some other news such as the second season of ‘Falling Skies’ (TNT) being shot in Vancouver, previously in various parts of Ontario. Also, The CW is filming ‘Arrow’ based on DC Comic’s Green Arrow character in Vancouver.

British Columbia, despite an impressive list of past (‘Smallville’) and recurring TV series (‘Supernatural’, ‘The Killing’, ‘Fairly Legal’, ‘Psych’) and big-budgeted films (‘Twilight’), has some distinct disadvantages to it’s counterpart in Ontario: one being that Ontario simply has better film tax incentives; two being that just south of the border is Portland with a similar city-landscape and climate in Seattle to British Columbia’s Vancouver; three being that neighbouring province Alberta may be gaining traction in the film and production space with hits like ‘Hell on Wheels’ (AMC).