(including Road to Avonlea and the animated Anne films and series covering over 130 hours of production) have been seen in almost every country around the world. The films have now been translated and seen in more places than even the original novels. During filming of the original movies an open casting call was held throughout Canada in order to find a young actress to play Anne Shirley. Katharine Hepburn recommended that her great niece, Schuyler Grant, play the role of Anne Shirley. Director Kevin Sullivan liked Grant's performance and wanted to give her the role. However, broadcast executives were resistant to cast an American as a Canadian icon. Schuyler Grant ended up playing Anne's best friend, Diana, and Anne Shirley was ultimately played by Megan Follows. In her first audition, Megan Follows came highly recommended, but she was quickly dismissed by Kevin Sullivan. For her second audition, after a turbulent morning leading up to her audition, a frantic Megan made a much better impression and was given the role. Sequels and spin-off TV series Film series In 1987, Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel (also called Anne of Avonlea) was released. The sequel is a conglomeration of Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, and Anne of Windy Poplars. The third movie, Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story, was aired on March 5, 2000 in Canada and on July 23, 2000 in the United States. Due to the spin-off television series Road to Avonlea creating a different timeline from the books, The Continuing Story passed over Anne's House of Dreams – the corresponding Anne novel – in favor of an original story not featured in Montgomery's series. In 2008, the fourth in the series, Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning was completed. Both a sequel and a prequel, the film starred Barbara Hershey (replacing Megan Follows), Shirley MacLaine, and Rachel Blanchard, and introduced Hannah Endicott-Douglas as young Anne Shirley. Spin-off series The first two Anne films generated the spin-off television series Road to Avonlea (1990-1996), starring Sarah Polley. The show explored the lives of residents in the town of Avonlea, drawing inspiration from Montgomery's work beyond the Anne books. The main characters and early episodes were inspired by The Story Girl and The Golden Road, with many other episodes based on short stories from Chronicles of Avonlea and Further Chronicles of Avonlea. Anne did not appear, but