The locally-filmed show Heartland proved to be pretty popular in 2021.

It placed fifth in Nielson's 2021 Top 15 Streaming Shows (Acquired) of 2021, with 20 billion viewing minutes.

The 'Acquired' category includes shows that are available on streaming services but aren't original to those services. Criminal Minds took the top spot in the category, with shows like Seinfeld, The Walking Dead, and Shameless appearing lower down.

The 'Originals' category features big hitters like Ted Lasso, Squid Game, and Lucifer, which took the number one spot.

Heartland has run for 15 seasons spanning 234 episodes, originally hitting the airwaves in 2007.

Head of Advocacy for 'Keep Alberta Rolling,' Brock Skretting, says it's quite an accomplishment for such a long-lived Canadian show.

"Canadian producers Tom Cox, Jordy Randall, Michael Weinberg, and Dean Bennett who's done a lot of the directing. By and large all local crew, many of them have worked on it the entire run of the series which is in and of itself such an accomplishment. It speaks to how this production company fosters community and has been such a staple for the Alberta film industry."

It's been around long before Alberta's recent production boom, which has seen major American companies filming in the province, including Ghostbusters: Afterlife, HBO's The Last of Us, and the latest entry in the Predator franchise.

Skretting says Heartland laid a lot of the groundwork for Alberta's recent success as a filming location.

"A lot of the success we're seeing in other productions and being able to service large American productions is thanks to local productions as well. Training crew, keeping people working, so many good things have come out of Heartland."

With a few major productions either still filming or in the post-production stage, Skretting says the future looks bright for Alberta productions.

"The film industry is continuing on after a record year last year and picking up speed. Lots of training initiatives and work going in by all the different organizations to make sure we continue to grow and continue the economy, so exciting things ahead and it's always good to celebrate a longstanding staple like Heartland."

 

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