Mount Royal played a new role when the cast and crew of CBC's beloved Heartland filmed here in June for the show's upcoming 13th season. The campus acted as a welcome centre for new students as the character of Georgie Fleming Morris (played by Alisha Newton) looks into her options for post-secondary education.
Set in the fictional town of Hudson, Alta., Heartland is the longest running one-hour drama in Canadian television history. Showrunner, executive producer and lead writer for Heartland Heather Conkie says the campus fit the bill perfectly for the storyline. "Georgie, like most of her classmates, begins to research universities," Conkie says. "She narrows her options down to one Mount Royal."
Brent Mann, director of Event and Theatre Services at Mount Royal, says it was an easy decision for Mount Royal to take part in filming.
"I felt as though there was a natural fit for the Heartland program to film here, as our institution represents strong Canadian values, top-quality educational programming and has an incredible 110-year history in Calgary," Mann says. "Heartland mirrors our values."
Over two days, staff and students were treated to the sight of a major production at work, and several participated as extras. MRU's locations and amenities worked perfectly for Heartland's needs, Conkie says. "Practically, it offered everything we needed for the script: a beautiful, leafy green quad, many super cafes to choose from for a key scene and on top of that, a fantastic climbing wall.
"As the showrunner and one of the executive producers of Heartland, I speak on behalf of all of us when I say Mount Royal surpassed all our expectations.
