While Fox declined to continue with Once a Thief, the Canadian broadcaster CTV Television Network opted to pay for the broadcast rights, enabling Woo to turn it into a full-fledged television series[1]
Alliance decided to spend approximately $1.3 million an episode to deliver a season of 22 episodes[2]
Woo served as executive producer on the project[3]
His frequent collaborators, cinematographer Bill Wong and editor David Wu, were involved in the project[4]
The series toned down the violence compared to the television film, adding in more comedic elements[5][6]
By winter of that year, it had been put on temporary hiatus, resuming January 1998 with 13 episodes[8][9]
The series was shortly canceled, with its final episode airing 2 May 1998[10]
Eventually wound up in syndication on American television by 2002[11]
At the 12th Gemini Awards, Woo was nominated for Best Direction in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series[12]
The series garnered more accolades at the 13th Gemini Awards: Bert Kish won Best Picture Editing in a Dramatic Program or Series for his work on the episode "Rave On", and the series gained three additional nominations for Best TV Movie or Mini-Series, Best Original Music Score for a Program or Mini-Series (Amin Bhatia, for the piece "Jaded Love"), and David Wu also earned a Best Picture Editing nomination for the episode "True Blue"[13][14]
^Carlson, Daryl-Lynn (1997-08-15). "It takes a Canuck: CTV rescues John Woo action series". Calgary Herald. p. E.3. Retrieved 2024-06-11 – via ProQuest. The Fox Network didn't want it, but CTV paid good money for the broadcast rights to Once A Thief: The Series, breathing life into the all-Canadian television production.
^Alioff, Maurie (Winter 1998). "John Woo's Once a Thief". Take One. Vol. 6, no. 18. Toronto, Ontario: Wyndham Wise. p. 30. ISSN1192-5507. Retrieved 2024-06-11 – via ProQuest. The cinematographer and editor, long-time Woo collaborators Bill Wong and David Wu, know how to get down those flying bodies, Mexican standoffs, romantically score firefights and whirling kick punches straight to the gut.
^Atherton, Tony (1997-06-07). "CTV gambles with Due South". The Standard. pp. E2. ISSN0837-3434. Retrieved 2024-06-11. [Gary] Maavara says, however, that the CTV series will have less violence and mayhem than the $7.5-million Once a Thief telefilm pilot Woo shot for Global TV two years ago.
^Atherton, Tony (1997-09-15). "Series all-Canadian, behind a veil of bullets". The Ottawa Citizen. pp. D.10. ISSN0839-3222. Retrieved 2024-06-11 – via ProQuest. But don't expect the series to be quite like the movie, which was set in Hong Kong and Vancouver, took itself seriously and had a surfeit of pricey explosions. [...] "I'm not wearing in knee pads (for stunts) as much," says actor Lea. "It's much more a comedy than the pilot; there's not nearly as many blowups or shootouts and I think it's better than the pilot."
^Helm, Richard (1997-09-19). "Gore with a twist new CTV fare: Canadian entertainment content delivered in somewhat short supply". Edmonton Journal. p. D.8. Retrieved 2024-06-11 – via ProQuest. Time to pause, amid the steamroller parade of new American fall shows, to consider the state of Canadian entertainment programming on CTV. [...] Once you exclude the extensively praised Due South, the exercise pretty well begins and ends with Once a Thief, debuting tonight at 8 on CFRN, and FX: The Series, returning Saturday night for its second season.
^McDonald, Jonathan (1997-11-30). "The Hot 10". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia. pp. C4. Retrieved 2024-06-11 – via ProQuest. 10: Once a Thief - Stinker pulled in favor of Nikita, which had been on hiatus. The network says it'll return. It should be jailed indefinitely.
^Strachan, Alex (1997-12-02). "Lea hot on power of TV". Vancouver Sun. pp. C5. ISSN0832-1299. Retrieved 2024-06-11 – via ProQuest. Lea has a starring role in the CTV series John Woo's Once a Thief, which will return to CTV in January with 13 new episodes (Mondays at 10 p.m.).
^Blakey, Bob (1998-04-25). "Worth watching". Calgary Herald. pp. H10. ISSN0828-1815. Retrieved 2024-06-11 – via ProQuest. 8 p.m. -- The producers of Once a Thief scheduled this episode as half of a season finale, but the recent series cancellation means we're seeing the drama's final goodbye tonight and next Saturday (Ch. 3-4).
