The Associates (Canadian TV series)

The Associates
GenreLegal drama
Created byGreg Ball
Steve Blackman
Alyson Feltes
StarringDemore Barnes
Shaun Benson
Tamara Hickey
Gabriel Hogan
Jennie Raymond
R. H. Thomson
ComposerRobert Carli
Country of originCanada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes30
Production
Executive producerAlyson Feltes
ProducerBrian Dennis
Production locationsToronto, Ontario, Canada
Running time60 minutes
Production companyAlliance Atlantis Communications
Original release
NetworkCTV
ReleaseJanuary 16, 2001 (2001-01-16) –
May 17, 2002 (2002-05-17)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

The Associates is a Canadian television drama series that aired on CTV in 2001 and 2002.[1] The show centred on the professional and personal lives of five junior associate lawyers at the Toronto office of the multinational law firm of Young, Barnsworth & King.[2]

The show's cast included Demore Barnes as Benjamin Hardaway, Shaun Benson as Jonah Gleason, Tamara Hickey as Robyn Parsons, Gabriel Hogan as Mitch Barnsworth and Jennie Raymond as Amy Kassan, as well as R.H. Thomson as Angus MacGregor, the firm's senior partner, and Sean Sullivan as Dale Friesen, the associates' supervising partner.[3] The show also sometimes made differences between Canadian and American law into plot points, notably by writing both Robyn Parsons and Benjamin Hardaway as American transplants who sometimes ran into trouble because of their greater familiarity with U.S. courtroom procedure.[3]

The series was co-created by Greg Ball and Steve Blackman, themselves former associates at a law firm in Edmonton who based it on some of their own experiences.[4]

The show was successful in its first two years of ratings, but due to tax cutbacks from the government, the show could not continue into a third season.[5]

  1. ^ Jane L. Thompson, "The associates deliver their verdict: How close does CTV's new television series come to life at a law firm?". National Post, January 13, 2001.
  2. ^ John McKay, "CTV's The Associates promises to make Canadians `proud'". Brantford Expositor, January 13, 2001.
  3. ^ a b "Law with heart, soul, sex appeal". Toronto Star, January 16, 2001.
  4. ^ Daphne Gordon, "Coming of age in the courtroom; Fresh-faced lawyers struggle to make a name for themselves on The Associates". Toronto Star, January 14, 2001.
  5. ^ Bonnie Malleck, "Bye-bye to The Associates; CTV's retooled legal drama ends its two- year run tonight". Hamilton Spectator, May 31, 2002.