TORONTO – The star of a Canadian medical drama that just premiered its fourth season says he feels elevated by the recent success of other homegrown TV shows such as “Heated Rivalry” and “North of North.”
“We do have a tone, we do have a voice. There is a lot of talented people in Canada. And there’s no reason that we shouldn’t be at the top there doing our thing,” actor Aaron Ashmore said during a video interview in Toronto.
Ashmore stars in “SkyMed,” an action-packed medical drama on air since 2022. It features a mix of romance, daring rescues and a close-up look into the dangers pilots and nurses face while flying in remote parts of Canada.
After three years on CBC, Season 4 is now streaming on Paramount Plus Canada. The public broadcaster did not acquire the fourth season of the show, saying it was part of “difficult programming decisions” it makes each year.
Paramount Plus carried the previous three seasons in international markets.
Ashmore, who was born in Richmond B.C., has been a part of the series since its launch and feels the beauty of the shooting locations in Northern Manitoba, Winnipeg and North Bay plays a role in the show’s international appeal.
“Some countries, some places are so crammed together, the idea of having to fly out to rescue a few people seems like a crazy idea.”
Canadian creator Julie Puckrin was inspired by the sky-high romance between her sister, who was a nurse, and her pilot brother-in-law, after they met and fell in love while working on air ambulances in Northern Canada.
Bringing their love to life are Ashmore as Chief Pilot Wheezer and Natasha Calis as Chief Nurse Hayley.
After building up their chemistry over several seasons, they’re now a couple on the show. So does that mean Season 4 could bring wedding bells, like the real-life story inspiration?
“Let’s just say that it is a real roller-coaster for these two this year. I think they really love each other. And also, there’s a lot of things that are getting in the way,” Ashmore said.
Yes, with all good love stories there has to be some sort of romantic rival — enter Lauren Lee Smith.
Joining the cast this season, Smith plays Captain Riley, who was once engaged to Wheezer. And when Hayley finds out, it tests their relationship.
“Riley doesn’t make it easy,” Smith laughed.
The Vancouver-born actress, best known for her roles in “The L Word,” and “Frankie Drake Mysteries,” enjoyed the script and was on board to play the source of conflict.
She said it’s fun to try and figure out how she’s going to play a role like this, and ramp up the drama.
“Riley really throws a monkey wrench in there, ruffles some feathers, and you know, tries to shoot her shot, maybe a few times,” Smith said with a coy smile.
And even though her character is trying to break up relationships, Smith said she herself made an easy transition into the core group on set, as she knew some of the crew when she arrived.
“It’s always a little daunting coming into, you know, such a well-established show where everyone is so close and it’s a tight-knit family, but honestly it was amazing.”
Although “SkyMed” exaggerates real-life situations for dramatic effect, the show does take the lives of these pilots and nurses seriously.
“We’re in all these crazy scenarios, but I think it is important to our producers and writers that we stay as true as we can to the actual procedure for these things,” Ashmore said.
That includes getting the medical terminology exactly right and correctly portraying how to fly a plane. The production has both an aviation and medical consultants on set to make sure everything is as real as it can be.
Morgan Holmstrom, who grew up in Winnipeg and plays Crystal Highway — a nurse training to become a doctor — really felt the pressure to get it right.
“The amount of times I had to say hemopneumothorax during the season, I was like, I had say that a few times. Um, but yeah, it gets easier as time goes on.”
Scarborough’s Mercedes Morris, who plays pilot Lexi Martine, said she appreciates the realness because she finds some fans are medical professionals or in the world of aviation.
“We want to make them proud. We want to do our best… There’s just like a level of excellence that we want make sure we show,” Morris said.
Filming in North Bay meant being away from their families, which led to bonding moments and after-work outings.
“It’s almost like camp, especially this year. It was like summertime when we shot. There was a lot socializing a lot hanging out, so we definitely went out for drinks a bunch as a group and had a really good time,” Ashmore said.
And while it was summer for most of the shoot, Ashmore remembers one water fight scene that really should have been filmed in the heat, instead of October in North Bay.
“Everybody was like, ‘Well, we warmed the water up. It’s not like tap water.’ And I was like absolutely, I appreciate that. But also the minute you get wet and it’s windy in eight degrees, it doesn’t matter how hot the water was cause you freeze very quickly,” Ashmore said.
“SkyMed” is now streaming all eight episodes of Season 4 on Paramount Plus in Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 25, 2026.
