Night Heat

Night Heat
Night Heat title screen
Created by	Sonny Grosso & Larry Jacobson
Starring	Scott Hylands Jeff Wincott Allan Royal Louise Vallance Eugene Clark Sean McCann Susan Hogan Stephen Mendel
Country of origin	Canada
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	96
Production
Running time	45 minutes approx.
Production company(s)	Alliance Communications Grosso-Jacobson Productions
Release
Original network	CTV
Original release	January 31, 1985 – January 5, 1989

Night Heat was a Canadian police drama series, which aired on both CTV in Canada and CBS in the United States. Original episodes of Night Heat were broadcast from 1985 to 1989 in the United States, and until 1990 in Canada. Night Heat was the first Canadian-produced drama series to air on an American network: CBS aired the series as part of CBS Late Night, a late night block of drama programming. Despite its late hour, Night Heat received good ratings for CBS, sometimes even beating NBC's Johnny Carson Show. After it was canceled, reruns continued to air on CBS for another two years, and on Canadian TV well into the early 2000s.Night Heat reruns were available on Showcase, TVtropolis and DejaView.

The show starred Allan Royal as journalist Tom Kirkwood, who chronicled the nightly police beat of detectives Kevin O'Brien (Scott Hylands) and Frank Giambone (Jeff Wincott). For Hylands, a 21-year veteran actor, frequently seen playing villains in U.S. TV shows during the 1970s and early 1980s, this was the first time he had been given a leading role, or the role of a "good guy." The Kevin O'Brien character was described as "a somewhat cynical, hardened hero." The cast also included Susan Hogan, Wendy Crewson, Sean McCann, Louise Vallance, Stephen Mendel, Eugene Clark, and Clark Johnson. Concurrent with her work on Night Heat, Vallance was starring in the children's series Zoobilee Zoo, playing a very different character.

The show was conceived by former New York police detective Sonny Grosso, a 25-year veteran with expertise in undercover work. He had an idea for a police show specifically designed for a late night audience, that would feature a realistic look at police work. The show, which featured an all-Canadian cast and crew, was produced in and around Toronto, but the majority of it was shot at the former Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital, described as a "grim and forbidding setting," that fit in with the gritty look that the show's producer, Robert Lantos wanted. All shooting was done at night, to accurately depict police officers who worked the night shift; sometimes, shooting did not end until 3 AM.Night Heat was also produced using "grainy hand-held 16mm film instead of the Hollywood-standard 35 mm," further making each episode seem more realistic.

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