| Genre: | Drama Mystery |
| Creator: | Steve Sohmer |
| Director: | Graeme Campbell Holly Dale Steve DiMarco Alan Goluboff Manfred Guthe Allan King Eleanor Lindo Graeme Lynch David Winning |
| Starring: | Al Waxman Gordie Brown Paul Popowich |
| Theme Music Composer: | Glenn Morley |
| Composer: | Marvin Dolgay Glenn Morley |
| Country: | Canada |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 2 |
| Num Episodes: | 44 |
| Executive Producer: | Stephen J. Brackley (2000-2001) Pamela K. Long (2000-2001) Michael Prupas (1999-2000) Barney Rosenzweig (1999-2000) |
| Producer: | Paul Leishman Deborah Nathan Michael J. Maschio Paula Smith Marilyn Stonehouse |
| Editor: | Jean Coulombe Eric Goddard Rob MacKinnon Brett Sullivan |
| Cinematography: | Manfred Guthe Maris H. Jansons Harald Ortenburger |
| Runtime: | 60 minutes |
| Channel: | CTV |
| Company: | Pebblehut Productions Paxson Entertainment CTV |
Twice in a Lifetime is a Canadian mystery drama television series that originally aired from 1999 to 2001. Created by Steve Sohmer, the series aired on CTV in Canada and PAX in the United States.
The series follows an aspiring angel who for some reason, will not enter heaven, but is assigned to guide someone who has died prematurely. The prematurely deceased, played by the episode guest stars, may choose from the afterlife to correct something that went wrong earlier in their life. The key concept to the series was that each episode featured a different guest star in the leading role, while the series regulars played a supporting role.
Episodes are centered on an individual who had reached the end of their life in one timeline, and due to circumstances seen by their advocate and judge, is then given 3 days to travel into their past, and without revealing their true identity, convince their younger self to make a different choice at a pivotal point to effect a different outcome for example, by quitting smoking, or choosing a different job and in changing this learn a key lesson to make them become a better person. This way, the series was an anthology of many different arenas and characters.
Season One featured Gordie Brown as advocate Mr. Jones, and Paul Popowich played the role of advocate Mr. Smith in Season Two. Al Waxman played Judge Othniel in 40 of the 44 episodes. In Season One he appeared as Judge Jephtah in two episodes and Polly Bergen played Judge Deborah in two episodes. Waxman died in heart surgery on January 18, 2001, while the second season was airing.
Ten episodes were directed by sci-fi veteran David Winning; including "The Trouble with Harry" (Jere Burns, Brent Carver), "Moonshine Over Harlem" (Earle Hyman) and "It's a Hard Knock Life" (Markie Post). Veteran television producer Barney Rosenzweig (Charlie's Angels, Cagney & Lacey) oversaw the first season of the series.
| Year | Award | Result | Category | Recipient |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Won | Best Direction, Variety/Entertainment | David Winning (For episode: "Match Made in Heaven") | |
| 2003 | Special Achievement in Direction | David Winning (For episode: "Then Love Came Along") | ||
| 2000 | Won | Entertainment | David Winning (For episode: "The Trouble With Harry") | |
| 2002 | Nominated | Outstanding Achievement in Direction | David Winning (For episode: "Moonshine Over Harlem") | |
| Won | Outstanding Achievement in a Television Series - Drama | Production crew | ||
| 2000 | Nominated | Best Performance by an Actor in a Guest Role in a Dramatic Series | Brent Carver(For episode: "The Trouble with Harry") | |
| Best Performance by an Actor in a Guest Role in a Dramatic Series | Jere Burns(For episode: "The Trouble with Harry") | |||
| Best Dramatic Series | Stephen Brackley, Michael J. Maschio, Michael Prupas, Barney Rosenzweig and Marilyn Stonehouse | |||
| 2001 | Best Performance by an Actress in a Guest Role in a Dramatic Series | Cloris Leachman | ||
| Best Performance by an Actor in a Guest Role in a Dramatic Series | Frank Moore | |||
| 2000 | New York Festivals | Won | Television Programming & Promotion - Craft: Program - Best Direction | David Winning (For episode: "The Trouble With Harry") |
| 2003 | Television Programming & Promotion - Craft: Program - Best Direction | David Winning (For episode: "Then Love Came Along") | ||
| 2001 | WorldFest Houston | Won | Television and Cable Production - TV Series-Dramatic | David Winning (For episode: "Moonshine Over Harlem") |
| Television and Cable Production - TV Series-Dramatic | David Winning (For episode: "Hard Knock Life") | |||
| 2002 | Television and Cable Production - TV Series-Dramatic | David Winning (For episode: "Then Love Came Along") | ||
| 2001 | Nominated | Best Performance in a TV Drama Series - Guest Starring Young Actor | Trevor Blumas | |
| 2002 | Best Performance in a TV Drama Series - Guest Starring Young Actor | Corey Sevier | ||
| Best Performance in a TV Drama Series - Guest Starring Young Actor | Marc Donato |
Reruns of Twice in a Lifetime are currently airing on the W Network in Canada and Ebru in the United States.[1]
Video Service Corp has released two volumes of Twice in a Lifetime on DVD, with each volume featuring two episodes.
In February 2022, Visual Entertainment released the complete series on DVD in Region 1.[2]