Haven Information

Haven is a supernatural drama television series loosely based on the Stephen King novel The Colorado Kid. The show, which deals with strange events in a fictional town in Maine named Haven, is filmed on the South Shore of Nova Scotia, Canada, and is an American/Canadian co-production. It stars Emily Rose, Lucas Bryant, and Eric Balfour, whose characters struggle to help townspeople with supernatural afflictions and protect the town from the effects of those afflictions. The show is the creation of writers Jim Dunn and Sam Ernst.

The one-hour drama premiered on July 9, 2010, on Syfy. The series was the first property to be produced for Syfy Pay channels around the globe, excluding Canada and Scandinavia. On October 12, 2011, it was renewed for a third 13-episode season, which began airing on September 21, 2012. On November 9, 2012, it was renewed for a fourth 13-episode season.

Premise

When FBI Special Agent Audrey Parker (Emily Rose) arrives in the small town of Haven, Maine, on a routine case, she soon finds herself increasingly involved in the return of "The Troubles", a plague of supernatural afflictions that have occurred in the town at least twice before. With an openness to the possibility of the paranormal, she also finds a more personal link in Haven that may lead her to the mother she has never known.

Parker begins to realize that her arrival in Haven may have been planned and that her name and even her memories may not be her own. As the series progresses, she learns more about the mysteries of both Haven and her true identity.

She and her partner Nathan Wuornos find themselves frequently facing problems caused by both the effects of the Troubles, as well as town folk who take more drastic measures against those who are Troubled.

Cast

Main cast

• Emily Rose as Audrey Parker, the show's protagonist. Though originally believing she is an FBI special agent who quit the bureau to help deal with The Troubles, she eventually discovers that the truth is more complicated than she ever imagined.
• Lucas Bryant as Nathan Wuornos, of Haven PD. He assists Audrey in dealing with The Troubles. He is afflicted with a Trouble that has removed his sense of touch.
• Eric Balfour as Duke Crocker, the port town's smuggler, who is frequently involved in the investigations. He is eventually revealed to have the power to stop individual Troubles for good, though at a very heavy price.
• Nicholas Campbell as Garland Wuornos (Season 1), Haven's hard-nosed chief of police, a veteran of The Troubles and Nathan's father.

Recurring cast

• Richard Donat as Vince Teagues, artist and editor of the Haven Herald along with his brother Dave Teagues.
• John Dunsworth as Dave Teagues, photographer and editor of the Haven Herald along with his brother Vince Teagues.
• Adam Copeland as Dwight Hendrickson (Season 2-), who helps clean up the effects of the Troubles. He is himself Troubled (attracting bullets).
• Stephen McHattie as Ed Driscoll (Seasons 1"2), Haven's preacher with an unsympathetic approach to The Troubles.
• Vinessa Antoine as Evi Ryan (Season 2), Duke Crocker's wife, who re-emerges claiming she wants to be a part of his life.
• Bree Williamson as Claire Callahan (Season 3), Haven's resident shrink who is described as a mental cleaner.

Development and production

Haven was originally developed for ABC Television in 2007 by writers Sam Ernst and Jim Dunn, with production company Piller Segan. A series of incidents, including the writer's strike, put the series on hold. ABC eventually passed on the project. Piller Segan then sought to create an international partnership.

In September 2009, E1 Entertainment announced it was working with Stephen King to develop a television series based on his novel The Colorado Kid. The entertainment company ordered the concept straight to series, with thirteen episodes planned. In November, Syfy announced it had acquired the series.

The pilot episode was written by Sam Ernst and Jim Dunn. In February 2010, Emily Rose was cast in the lead role of Audrey Parker. Eric Balfour and Lucas Bryant came on board in late March. Canadian broadcaster Canwest Global Communications acquired rights to the series in March as well.

In April 2010, Adam Kane signed on to direct the pilot. Production began April 20 in Halifax, Nova Scotia and surrounding areas. Filming occurred primarily in Chester, Nova Scotia (including using the local arena as a studio) and throughout the south shore of the Canadian province, including Lunenburg, Halifax, and Mahone Bay.

The series premiere, "Welcome to Haven", aired on Syfy in the U.S. on July 9, 2010, and on Showcase in Canada on July 12. The show became available to other international markets in October 2010.

Reception

Haven premiered to mixed reviews from critics, with its first season attaining a metascore of 53 (out of 100) according to review aggregator Metacritic. The Miami Heralds Glenn Garvin found it "quite successful" as a "narrative of eccentric, slightly damaged yet ultimately warm characters", while USA Todays Robert Bianco called it a "ludicrously see-through supernatural crime drama that wastes a perfectly fine performance from Emily Rose".

References to other works

Allusions to the written works of author Stephen King are made in the series regularly; the series itself is based upon King's novella, "The Colorado Kid". On Syfy.com's Haven website, many of these references are pointed out as they occur in each episode. For example, Derry and the titular Haven are both fictional towns in Maine previously used in the author's stories. Other references abound: one of the main characters receives a copy of a novel written by a character from King's novel, Misery, while another character has just been released from Shawshank Prison. In some cases the plot of an episode revolves around an idea from the work of King: a character who has precognitive, psychometric visions after touching people or things; or plants that start killing people. Many other, less noticeable references occur in the form of street names, characters and scenes reminiscent of either books by King or films based upon said works.

Syfy notes, "It is a particular favorite Stephen King book for the Haven writers and producers". For example, in "A Tale of Two Audreys", a little boy in a yellow rain slicker is seen outside the church chasing a newspaper boat that he has set in the stream in the gutter. He chases until it falls down into a stormdrain on Witcham Street. He then sticks his right arm down into the drain and screams. The scene can be found in the opening chapter of the book. Also derived from It, the episode "Fear and Loathing" revolves around a Troubled person who (unwillingly) takes the form of a person's worst fear, and in one instance appears as a clown, a visual allusion to Pennywise of the film version of It. Also during season 3 Vince and Dave reveal that 'Audrey' returns every 27 years just like the monster from "It".

Home video release

DVD

Season	Set details	DVD release dates			Special Features
		Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
1	Discs: 4 Episodes: 13	June 14, 2011	June 01, 2011 (FR) June 14, 2011 (NL) September 30, 2011 (DE) November 02, 2011 (NO) November 22, 2011 (DK) November 23, 2011 (SE) January 30, 2012 (UK)	June 01, 2011	Twelve Audio Commentaries with Cast & Crew "Welcome to Haven" featurette "Visual FX of Haven" featurette "Mythology of Haven" featurette Behind-the-Scenes Video Blogs Additional Cast Interviews Season Two Sneak Peek: Inside the Writers' Room
2	Discs: 4 Episodes: 13	September 04, 2012	March 13, 2012 (FR) March 30, 2012 (DE) August 08, 2012 (NL) October 01, 2012 (UK) November 21, 2012 (SE) November 21, 2012 (DK) May 22, 2013 (NO)	May 16, 2012	10 Audio commentaries with Cast & Crew "Silent Night" Christmas episode "Six Exclusive Making-of Featurettes" "Five Behind-the-Scenes" featurettes "Interview with Adam Copeland" "Haven Panel at New York Comic Con"
3	Discs: 4 Episodes: 13	September 3, 2013	(UK)	May 15, 2013	The Haunting Truth about Haven: A Documentary

Blu-ray Disc

In Region A, Entertainment One released the first season on Blu-ray Disc on June 14, 2011. The second season on September 04, 2012

In Region B, Entertainment One released the first season on Blu-ray Disc on September 14, 2011

International Broadcasts

Haven has been sold for broadcast in several countries worldwide, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Country/Region	Channel	Premiere date	Timeslot
	13th Street Universal	October 13, 2010	Wednesday 8:30pm
	ABC2	November 7, 2011	8:30pm
	Showcase	July 12, 2010
	Canal 9	April 13, 2011
	Yle TV2	October 25, 2012	Thursday, 10:05pm
	Syfy	October 26, 2010	Tuesday, 8:45pm (2 Episodes)
	Syfy	October 8, 2010
	Universal Channel	2011
	Universal Channel	January 5, 2011
	Zee Café	March 20, 2012	Weekdays, 10:00pm
	Syfy (Steel), Rai 4 (encores)	October 18, 2010	Weekdays, 9:00pm
	Universal Channel	Fall 2010
	Syfy	Spring 2011
	NRK3	September 8, 2011	Thursday, 10:55pm
	TV2	February 9, 2012	Wednesday, 10:30pm
	Scifi	Fall 2010
	Syfy	Fall 2010
Serbia	Radio Television of Serbia	January 17, 2013	Weekdays, 23:35pm
South Africa	DStv Universal Channel	October 17, 2010	Sunday, 20:00pm
Spain	Syfy Universal (Spain)	October 21, 2010	Thursday, 9:30pm
Sri Lanka	Zee Cafe	March 20, 2012	Weekdays, 10:00pm
	Syfy	Autumn 2010
	Syfy	July 9, 2010
	Universal Channel	12 May, 2011
Venezuela	Syfy LA		Monday, 7:30pm