Though the NHL released a "bland" statement before the premiere distancing themselves from the fictional world of the show, "I know for a fact that a lot of players and their wives watch the show and love it because we've heard from them," she said.
Not enough people watched on CBC, who cancelled the show due to low ratings, but SOAPnet appears to be a much better fit for MVP's core audience.
"MVP was a real challenge and a risk for CBC because it's an audience they don't normally claim. Our demographic was young and hip and frankly most of the CBC audiences these days tend to be slightly geriatric," Young Leckie commented. "So they were trying to get the younger audience and I think they got as many as they could, given that they started it on a Friday night and then moved it to a Tuesday and put it up against American Idol."
Cost was another factor in CBC's decision to cancel it. "MVP is a very expensive show for CBC to do. The long-term commitment of trying to get a younger audience coupled with the budget was the reason," Young Leckie continued. "They loved the show. They were really behind it. They just had difficulty justifying it with the size of the audience they were getting."
But contrary to a recent report, CBC hasn't given up on the idea of a season two. "If there were an American network involved that would help lower the costs. They're definitely interested, and so is anther network," she revealed, saying a second 13-episode season has been mapped out, with the first four episodes outlined and a writers room waiting on the bench.
In fact, the devoted online fans – a byproduct of the younger audience the show attracted – will be able to take some credit for that hypothetical-for-now season. "For our season two, we spent a lot of time reading what people were saying online, both on the Facebook site and on the CBC site. We were taking from that and pulling a lot of their great ideas into the storylines for season two."
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