Here's the latest news from the production office for Shirley Holmes... 1998 / 1999


News from November 11, 1999

* The fourth season is now finished filming and should begin airing in January or February.

* Everyone already knows this, but I thought I'd mention that Meredith won a Gemini (kind of like the Emmy Awards for Canada) for Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program at the ceremony held on November 6th, 1999. She dedicated the award to John. :o)

* People in the Winnipeg area should be watching the Free Press for a profile on Meredith very soon. She's doing the interview on Tuesday and the article should follow soon after. I'll try and get a copy of it up on my site for everyone to read once it comes out.

* Brendan is in a movie that I believe is currently in some theatres called The Five Senses. If you're a Brendan fan, go check it out!

News from October 20, 1999

* Meredith signed autographs at a Manitoba Moose hockey game on October 17th. I'm sorry I didn't know earlier, otherwise I would've let you guys know in advance!

* You'll notice someone missing from the fourth season of Shirley Holmes. Brendan is so busy this year that he requested he not be in this season. He was orginally supposed to appear in at least an episode or two, but that won't be happening. :o(

News from October 17, 1999

* Congrats and good luck to Meredith, who is nominated for yet another Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program! The Geminis are kind of like Canadian Emmys and will take place in early November. It's possible they will air on TV in Canada, so I'll keep you posted on where and when.

* Meredith was at the grand opening for the Manitoba Theatre for Young People in Winnipeg on October 2, 1999.

* Brendan is currently shooting the movie Law of Enclosures with Sarah Polley in Winnipeg and Ontario.

* Meredith's mom will appear in one of the fourth season episodes, playing a director.

News from September 12, 1999

* Bill Switzer (who plays Matt) is in Winnipeg now, and the episodes that feature Matt will begin shooting tomorrow! Thus, Shirley is about to have her first kiss!!!

News from September 2, 1999

* If you get the station WTN (The Women's Network), make sure you watch the show "You... Me & The Kids" on September 16th. The episode "Hollywood Kids" is airing and Meredith is interviewed on it!

* It seems the Shirley household will have a new look this season - the attic is more colorful, has some new weird stuff, and new curtains were put up. Plus, the kitchen has been re-done in blues and greens instead of the baiges and browns of before.

* Some jewellery was rented for an episode, and Meredith really liked one of the rings, so she was allowed to keep it.

* In the episode where the cast dresses in Medeival clothing, Mr. Howie thinks he's King Arthur.

News from August 28

* I just got off the phone with Meredith, so this is straight from the source: Everything's going great with season 4 (except for the fact that Meredith has a cold at the moment), and she wanted me to tell you that in one of the episodes, everyone gets to dress up in Medieval clothing. :o)

News from August 21

* You're going to have to hold your noses while you watch episode 5 of the new season - Shirley gets sprayed by a skunk!

News from August 13

* Here's some scoop on the fourth season of Shirley, which starts filming on Monday:
The last episode is going to be a "Flashback" episode, which will use footage from all the episodes, tied together with some new stuff. Parker is going to have a little "crush" on Alicia. Molly is set to appear in only 3 episodes, Alicia is only in 2 because Nikki doesn't want to be missing school, and Stink (you better sit down, Alice and Jenny) is only in one. That may change, but that's the way it looks now. :o( Matt will be making appearances in 2 episodes, and Bart will show up more often this season.

News from August 8th

* For those of you within driving distance of Grant Park Mall, Meredith will be doing an book signing at the McNally Robinson there on Thursday, August 12th from 7pm - 8pm. If any of you get down there to meet her, please drop me an e-mail with a little "story" of how it went; I thought it would be cool to start an 'I Met the Shirley Cast' section. :o)
Big thanks to Craig for this tidbit!

News from July 13th

* Okay, guys, as soon as you see the August issue of BOP Magazine, BUY IT!!!! There's a full-spage spread featuring "A Day in the Life of Meredith Henderson." I'll be putting the article and pictures up here, of course, but pick up your own copy if you can! And, let BOP know you're happy - write 'em a letter... I'll try and get the address up ASAP!!!! Woo-hoo!!!!!

* Some other news: According to Meredith, the fourth season is not necessarily the last! They were told that it might be, but it's not definately the end. Thus, there is still hope! *crossing my fingers*

News from June 12th

* They now have a tentative start date for the filming of the fourth season - August 16th. They'll be filming until November, so chances are, the new ones won't start airing until January, but I'll keep you posted with anything I hear about that.

News from June 3rd

* I've heard from a couple of sources that there is in fact going to be a fourth season of Shirley Holmes, despite the cuts in funding! YAY! Nothing has been officially released yet, but this is good news! Also, just for interests sake, because of the funding cuts, the casting directors will apparently be hiring more actors from Winnipeg, as its cheaper than paying for hotels for out-of-town actors, and they get a tax break, too.

News from May 30th

* The latest news about the fourth season is that not all the funding has come through yet, but pre-production preparations have begun in anticipation of the show being renewed. Keep your fingers crossed! Things are looking pretty good!

* Also, you can watch the YTV Achievement Awards, on which you'll be able to see Brendan Fletcher accept his award, on June 6th.

News from May 23rd

* Okay, this is kind of old, but I thought I'd mention that Brendan Fletcher won the YTV Acheivement Award in the acting category. Thanks to Hope for reminding me of this... I completely forgot to check up on it! Check ou the YTV Website for more information about the awards.

News from April 19th

* We're still waiting for the final word on the funding for the 4th Shirley season, but Meredith's mom says it's a 95% sure thing - they're only waiting for one more sponsor to put their money in place. Also, the fourth season, if it goes, will be shot from August until October/November instead of June to September like the 2nd and 3rd seasons. Meredith is happy to finally be having a summer at home!

News from April 10th

* Great news! According to The Winnipeg Free Press today, "The Adventures of Shirley Holmes will likely begin production on its fourth season this summer. Financing will be confirmed at the end of May." Looks promising! I'll let you know as soon as I hear what's happening.

News from March 28th

* Shirley Holmes is airing in the States again! Watch for it on Saturday and possibly Sunday (I haven't gotten confirmation on that) at 1:00 PM central time on the Fox Family Channel. Also, Australia finally has the third season going, so stay tuned to Nikelodeon!
Thanks to HA, Roger, and Damon for this info!

News from March 19th

* Congratulations to Brendan Fletcher, who has been chosen as a finalist for the Acting award at the YTV Kids Achievement Awards. Check out the full details at the YTV Website and watch the awards on YTV sometime this spring to see if he wins - I'll try and let you know the exact date as soon as I can.

News from February 24th

* A big CONGRATULATIONS to Meredith, who has been nominated for a Blizzard Award (it's like a Oscar/Emmy for Manitoba films and TV) for her performance in The Case of the Forbidden Mountain. Good luck, Meredith! Shirley Holmes has alos been nominated in a couple of other categories. The awards will be handed out March 13th, 1999. Keep your fingers crossed, and I'll let you know how things turn out.

* A little more news... Meredith's episode of You... Me & The Kids will be airing March 3rd at 8:00 EST on WTN. Don't miss it!

News from February 14th

* A bit of news about the fourth season of Shirley: Credo Entertainment is currently applying for a grant in order to pay for the new episodes. It's going to cost them $5.4 million to shoot the next 13 installments of Shirley, so let's keep our fingers crossed that the grant comes through!

News from February 9th

* I've been trying to find out when Meredith's episode of You...Me & the Kids will air on WTN, and I haven't got an exact date, but I e-mail WTN and they said that March is Violence month, so Meredith's episode (which is called 'Kids & Violence') will probably air then. Also, I just thought I'd mention that the news from January 29th doesn't mean there will be a fourth and fifth season, it just means there's a good possibility of it. People seem to be getting the wrong idea and I figured I should point out that this news, right now anyway, is just a rumor.

News from January 29th

* I'm not sure whether this is good news or bad news, but I have found out that the producers of Shirley plan on shooting both the fourth and fifth seasons of Shirley Holmes this summer because Meredith is growing so fast. This hasn't been confirmed, but I guess it's a good sign that there'll be a fifth season!
Thanks to Catherine for this info!

News from January 22nd

* I e-mailed the Fox Family Channel and apparently, Shirley Holmes is merely on hiatus and will begin airing again soon. They didn't say exactly when, but at least it isn't gone forever!

News from January 10th

* I know this isn't exactly good news, but it appears that Shirley Holmes has been cancelled by the Fox Family Channel, or at least they aren't showing two in a row any more. I'm looking further into this, and if they've cancelled it completely, I'll have an e-mail address where people can write and complain!

News from December 26

* Meredith has been doing a lot of interviews lately, so keep an eye out for her. Her latest one was on Open Mike with Mike Bullard on December 14th. I'm trying to get pictures, so hopefully I'll have some soon.

Thanks to Mr. Henderson for this info!

News from December 4

* The Shirley Holmes book series is supposed to be released in February of 1999. YAY!!!! Other stuff should be coming a bit later, as well, but there's no exact date.

News from October 2

* For those of you who are in the Winnipeg area, Meredith is going to be attending the Freeze Frame International Children's Film Festival from March 18-21, 1999. Her film Kayla will be screened there, and there will be workshops to go to. I'll let you know when I find out how to get involved, but if you want a little more information, visit the Freeze Frame Website: