Published by Communications and Public Affairs 519 824-4120, Ext. 56982 or 53338

News Release

May 14, 2007

TV Show Filmed on Campus Debuts May 22

The Best Years, a new television series from BLUEPRINT ENTERTAINMENT that stars the University of Guelph campus, will make its debut May 22 at 10 p.m. on Global Television.

U of G’s walkways and buildings will appear on the small screen as the fictitious Charles University attended by characters in the series. Film crews were on campus last fall and shot most of the scenes outside the front entrance of Macdonald Hall, in front of Johnston Hall, at OVC and along Winegard Walk..

Most of the interior scenes for the series were shot at the Toronto Film Studios. There, crews re-created student residence rooms and common areas based on those found on Guelph's campus. Many U of G students worked as extras during the campus shoots, and students in Prof. Pat Flood’s Production Design for Film and Television course went to Toronto for a tour of the set.

The Best Years follows 19-year-old orphan Samantha Best to university and chronicles the social, educational and personal challenges she and her friends face.

“The Best Years is about forgetting who you were, discovering who you want to be and finding the friends who'll get you there," said Aaron Martin, the show's creator and executive producer. He previously served as the head writer and show runner for Degrassi: The Next Generation.

“As a first-time television series creator, I get an adrenaline rush seeing the show come to fruition on the small screen," said Martin, who notes that the cast was hand-picked from across Canada and the United States. The series stars Charity Shea, who appeared in the film Alpha Dog.

“The University of Guelph campus provided a beautiful backdrop for our show,” said producer Brenda Greenberg. “The students and staff were truly stars both on and off screen. We couldn’t have done it without them.”

The Best Years is also slated to premiere this summer on The N, a cable network channel in the United States. The N is owned by Viacom Inc., which runs more than 120 networks around the world, including MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Comedy Central, CMT and Spike TV.

All revenues generated from location fees paid by the TV production company were used to benefit Guelph students and the campus, ranging from residential programs to dealing with deferred maintenance and making improvements to parking lots.

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BLUEPRINT ENTERTAINMENT is a leading television production company involved in the development, production, financing, packaging and exploitation of dynamic and innovative programming for the worldwide marketplace. A canadian company, it was established in January of 2002, by its two principals, John Morayniss and Noreen Halpern and has offices in Los Angeles, Vancouver and Toronto. Its recent productions include Whistler, Til Death Do Us Part (aka Love You To Death), The Best Years, Kenny Vs Spenny, Exes and Oh’s, Iggy Arbuckle, Shoebox Zoo, Noah’s Arc, Intimate Strangers, Cradle of Lies, Crazy for Christmas, Playing House, Absolution, The Road to Christmas, Gospel of Deceit, Man in the Mirror: The Michael Jackson Story and Chasing Freedom.