Cold Squad

Cold Squad was originally conceived in 1995 as a one-hour series for the American Lifetime channel, but Lifetime backed out in mid-1996 before the producers partnered with Alliance Atlantis in 1997.

When greenlit, Cold Squad became the first one-hour, prime time dramatic series for Canadian television to be produced out of Vancouver, a city whose production was until then dominated by U.S.-made programs.

An unexpected cash crunch in Telefilm Canada's Equity Investment Program forced the original order of 13 episodes to be reduced to 11, prompting Baton and Alliance Atlantis to increase their financial commitment to over $900,000 CAD per episode.

Except for lead actress Julie Stewart, almost the entire cast was replaced between the second and third seasons as part of a deliberate revamp meant to attract younger and more male viewers.

Starting with season three, the show underwent a major overhaul including new title sequences, new theme music, new sets, and a change in star Julie Stewart's hair color from auburn to blonde along with her wardrobe.

With seven seasons and 98 episodes, Cold Squad became the longest-running prime time drama series on Canadian television.

When CBS's Cold Case premiered in 2003 with a strikingly similar premise—a blond female cop solving cold cases while facing gender discrimination—Canadian critics noted the resemblance to Cold Squad, and it was later revealed that Cold Case creator Meredith Stiehm had attended seminars at the Canadian Film Centre in 2002 where she was informed about the Cold Squad concept.

Following the Cold Case controversy, Cold Squad's creators hired Los Angeles intellectual property attorney Carole Handler to open talks with Cold Case producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Warner Bros., though only written correspondence between the shows' producers was confirmed.

At the 18th Gemini Awards, host Seán Cullen publicly criticized CTV for bumping Cold Squad off its fall schedule in favor of Cold Case, saying on stage, "Screw you Cold Case. I love Cold Squad."

CTV postponed Cold Squad's final season to Fall 2004 and scheduled it opposite Cold Case on the same Sunday night as part of a promoted 'crime theme night,' with Cold Case airing at 8 p.m. and Cold Squad at 10 p.m.