Hard Rock Medical not 'dissing' Sudbury by leaving city

Even though "Hard Rock Medical" has decided to move production for its third season from Sudbury to North Bay, “there's no dissing going on of Sudbury or anything,” said the show's producer.

The first two seasons of the TVO medical drama, loosely based on the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, were filmed at Collège Boréal's Sudbury campus in the summer.

But the third season — featuring nine new episodes — is set to be shot this month and next month, and Boréal wasn't available then.

“Sudbury has also become quite overheated in terms of production,” said Derek Diorio, the show's producer as well as director and co-writer. “There's lots of production going on there. People are duelling for resources.”

The show will instead be filmed at Canadore College in North Bay, as well as other locations in the North Bay area.

Diorio, who also directs and co-writes the show, said the move has allowed "Hard Rock Medical" to partner with Canadore's digital cinema and television production programs.

He said they'll be able to mentor students in everything from the director's chair to the art department.

“It just seemed to be a good fit to move the show to North Bay,” Diorio said.

The move also echoes the way the Northern Ontario School of Medicine itself works — in the students' third year, they begin doing placements in various communities throughout Northern Ontario.

"Hard Rock Medical" is set to get some financial support from the province. Diorio said a funding announcement from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund will take place in North Bay on Feb. 11.

If you're worried about the show's Sudbury content, don't be — you'll get plenty in the form of Sudbury actor Stéphane Paquette, who returns for season three as Charlie Rivière, one of the medical students on the series.

“He's got great storylines,” Diorio said. “He's going through a marital breakup this year while trying to become a doctor.”

Rivière also learns a lot about how to deal with medical emergencies, doing ride-alongs with paramedics and police.

Season three of "Hard Rock Medical" is expected to go to air this fall. To watch previous episodes or to learn more about the series, visit hardrockmedical.com or tvo.org.