From Bill Brioux of Brioux.tv:
Crull, Conway and others clash at lively Prime Time in Ottawa panel
This 20th anniversary edition of Prime Time in Ottawa included a sparkling panel who addressed the topic “Getting Ahead of Change.†For those of us who couldn’t make it to Ottawa this year the Thursday morning session was live streamed and it was, I must say, pretty compelling viewing. Continue reading.
From Cassandra Szklarski of The Canadian Press:
Jared Keeso to create comedy for CraveTV
The crass musings of a country boy named Wayne are leaping from YouTube to CraveTV.
Bell Media says its on-demand streaming service has commissioned its first original Canadian series: a six-part, half-hour comedy called Letterkenny that will star 19-2 actor Jared Keeso.
Keeso just won Best Actor in a Drama Series at the Canadian Screen Awards. Continue reading.
From Marty Thompson of BlackburnNews:
Listowel’s Jared Keeso Awarded ‘Letterkenny’ TV Show
Just days after winning a Canadian Screen Award for his work on the television show 19-2, Listowel’s Jared Keeso has seen one of his projects turn into a TV show.
Bell announced on Thursday that Keeso will star in the comedy ‘Letterkenny’ which, in partnership with The Comedy Network, will air on their new digital TV service, Crave TV.
The six-part half-hour comedy will be based off of the wildly successful web series called Letterkenny Problems, which Keeso says came from his upbringing in Listowel. Continue reading.
From a media release:
− Based on the internet hit with more than 8 million views, half-hour comedy becomes first Canadian series commissioned for a Canadian SVOD service –
− Created, starring, and executive produced by 19-2’s Jared Keeso –
It’s a great day for hay, eh? Bell Media announced today from Prime Time in Ottawa that CraveTVTM, in partnership with The Comedy Network, has commissioned its first original Canadian series. The six-part, half-hour comedy LETTERKENNY becomes the first original series commissioned for a Canadian SVOD service. In development at Bell Media since November 2013, LETTERKENNY is based on the internet sensation Letterkenny Problems, a five-part series of shorts which have garnered more than 8 million views and earned a Canadian Screen Award nomination in 2014 for Best Web Series. Click here to see the original Letterkenny Problems shorts.
LETTERKENNY is created by Listowel, Ontario native Jared Keeso, co-star of Bravo’s critically-acclaimed, original drama series 19-2. Hot off the heels of a Canadian Screen Award win for Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role, Keeso will star in LETTERKENNY, and also acts as executive producer and co-writer. Nathan Dales (KING & MAXWELL) stars as Wayne’s quick-tongued sidekick, Daryl. Produced by New Metric Media in partnership with DHX Media and in association with Four Peaks Media Group, Jacob Tierney (The Trotsky) is executive producer, director, and co-writer. Patrick O’Sullivan and Mark Montefiore are executive producers for New Metric Media. Production begins in Northern Ontario this summer.
LETTERKENNY is about Wayne (Keeso), a good-ol’ country boy in Letterkenny, Ontario trying to protect his homegrown way of life on the farm, against a world that is constantly evolving around him. The residents of Letterkenny belong to one of three groups: Hicks, Skids, and Hockey Players. The three groups are constantly feuding with each other over seemingly trivial matters; often ending with someone getting their @ss kicked.
LETTERKENNYÂ is produced by New Metric Media, in partnership with DHX Media and in association with Four Peaks Media Group, in association with Bell Media, with the participation of Canadian Media Fund, OMDC Tax Credits and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit. Sarah Fowlie is Director, Independent Production, Comedy, Bell Media. Executives for Bell Media are Kara Haflidson and Bill Lundy. Corrie Coe is Senior Vice-President, Independent Production, Bell Media. Tracey Pearce is Senior Vice-President, Specialty and Pay, Bell Media. Phil King is President, CTV, Sports, and Entertainment Programming.
From Etan Vlessing of The Hollywood Reporter:
Canadian TV Producers Take on Hollywood With Streaming Dramas
Canadians are headed to Hollywood again, only this time to get their digital-first dramas on Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu slates.
After Canadian dramas like Flashpoint, The Listener and Rookie Blue nabbed co-production deals with the U.S. networks nearly a decade ago, a lack of subsidies back home for online dramas is once again driving indie producers south. Continue reading.
From a media release:
Super Channel, Canada’s only national English pay-television network, is pleased to announce that submissions are now being accepted for the next round of funding through the Super Channel Development Fund. Since launching in November, 2013, the fund has received hundreds of applications from coast to coast and has supported over 80 feature films, documentaries and television series.
Super Channel’s next funding deadline is March 27, 2015. For more information on selection history, criteria, eligibility and the selection process, please go to:
http://superchannel.ca/
In addition to Melissa Kajpust, the development team at Super Channel includes Julie Di Cresce, Director of Canadian Programming, Maureen Levitt, Creative Development Executive, Western Canada and the Territories, Richard Paradis, Creative Development Representative, Quebec, Carole Henson, National Liaison, in Edmonton and Development Assistant, Jane Clarke.
