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Industry News

Pacific Screenwriting Program announces Sarah Dodd as showrunner for its inaugural Scripted Series Lab

From a media release:

The Pacific Screenwriting Program (PSP) is pleased to announce that BC-based TV showrunner/writer/producer Sarah Dodd has been selected as the Showrunner for its first-ever Scripted Series Lab. This intensive training initiative will provide support and career-advancement opportunities for active and aspiring screenwriters from across BC. Combining real-world story-room experience, mentorship, boot camps, workshops and information sessions, the program equips writers with the skills, experience, and connections necessary to establish a sustainable career in the province’s dynamic screen industry. Petie Chalifoux, Shawn Tolleson, Todd Ireland, Michael Orlando, Kat Sieniuc and Corey Liu are the selected participants for the program. The Pacific Screenwriting Program is a collaboration between Netflix, CMPA-BC, the Writers Guild of Canada and Creative BC.

BC-based TV writer, producer, and showrunner Sarah Dodd will mentor the first group of aspiring screenwriters in the program. Currently, Sarah is an Executive Producer on the 6- part mini-series Cardinal (CTV/Hulu). She was an Executive Producer and Showrunner on Zixx: Level Three (Cartoon Network/YTV), and Head Writer and Producer on The Saddle Club (ABC/YTV).

Sarah has written and produced hundreds of hours of television, both hour-long and half-hour, including: Ransom (CBS/TF-1/Corus/RTL), Motive (ABC/CTV), Arctic Air (CBC), Primeval: New World (SyFy/Space), Endgame (Showcase), The Border (CBC), Falcon Beach (ABC Family/Global), Blood Ties (Space), The Shoebox Zoo (BBC One), Beastmaster (Endemol/Tribune), Code Name Eternity (SyFy), and PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal (CBS/Global). Sarah has also worked in film and has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia and a BA in Creative Writing and History in Art from the University of Victoria.

For more information about the Pacific Screenwriting Program individuals are encouraged to visit the program’s official website.

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Industry News

Michel Bissonnette named as Interim Executive Vice-President of CBC

From a media release:

Catherine Tait, President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, announced today that Michel Bissonnette would be taking over as Interim Executive Vice-President of CBC, following the departure of Heather Conway in the coming days.

Mr. Bissonnette is currently Executive Vice-President of Radio-Canada and will perform both functions until Heather Conway’s successor is chosen in the new year.

Mr. Bissonnette will assume his interim role on December 8, until the new Executive Vice-President of CBC is identified.

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Industry News, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Discovery Canada renews Thunderbird Entertainment’s Highway Thru Hell for an eighth season

From a media release:

Thunderbird Entertainment Group Inc. (TSXV:TBRD) (“Thunderbird” or the “Company”), a global multiplatform entertainment company with offices in Los Angeles, London, Vancouver, Ottawa and Toronto, is pleased to announce the hit series Highway Thru Hell has been commissioned for an eighth season on Discovery Canada. The new season will consist of 17 inspiring episodes and begin airing in late 2019.

Highway Thru Hell follows the heroes of the highway as they fight to keep some of the most economically important and inhospitable trucking routes in North America open to traffic. The current season airs Tuesday nights on Discovery Canada. Highway Thru Hell is Discovery’s most-watched factual series, dominating Canadian entertainment specialty channels in its timeslot.

Thunderbird has produced more than 100 episodes of Highway Thru Hell and its spinoff series Heavy Rescue 401. The series can be watched in over a dozen languages in more than 170 countries worldwide.

Series executive producer Mark Miller, who is also the president of Thunderbird Entertainment, attributes the success of Highway Thru Hell to its cinematic storytelling and rich character development. “This series has raised the bar for factual documentaries around the world. In addition to attracting top ratings on Discovery in Canada, it is also a worldwide staple on Netflix,” he explains. “Viewers connect with the day-to-day struggles of these heroes of the highway, which makes their stories highly relatable and visually entertaining.”

Highway Thru Hell has consistently attracted impressive audiences, ranking as a Top 10 series on entertainment specialty television in Canada for total viewers and the A25-54 demographic. The series has made Discovery Canada the most-watched entertainment specialty channel in its timeslot among total viewers as well as the A25-54 and A18-49 demographics.

Highway Thru Hell is produced by Thunderbird Entertainment Group Inc. in association with Discovery Canada. Wendy McKernan is the producer and Neil Thomas the series producer.

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Industry News

Blue Ant International announces first crop of international sales for Look Mom! Productions’ scripted, adult animation series, Gary and His Demons

From a media release:

Blue Ant International, a transatlantic distributor of premium content and division of Blue Ant Media, announced at Content London today a raft of international sales for adult animation series, Gary and His Demons (Look Mom! Productions; 16×11’) from the division’s Scripted and Digital Studios offering. New licences include ABC Comedy (ABC) for Australia; CBC in Canada for its streaming service; and Comedy Central in the UK and Republic of Ireland for their prime time slot.

Gary and His Demons is an animated comedy about a cantankerous, aging demon slayer who has nothing left to lose. Burdened by his “chosen one” status and backed by a team of specialists he can’t relate to, Gary struggles to keep interest in the Earth-saving duty he never asked for and doesn’t want.

The series is created by Mark Little, known for his work on Picnicface, Mr. D. and the upcoming Cavendish, and has appeared on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Little also serves as Head Writer, Co-Director and the voice of Gary. Gary and His Demons is Executive Produced by Josh Bowen (Executive Producer and Creative Director, Look Mom! Productions,); and Wendy Willis and Pia Chikiamco (Mondo Media). Lou Solis serves as Co-Director on the series, with Solis Animation providing animation production services.

Blue Ant International will showcase this content and more at Content London 2018.

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Departure, Industry News

Archie Panjabi and Christopher Plummer lead Global’s new original event series Departure now in production

From a media release:

Global announced today that it has commissioned a new Canadian original six-part event series, Departure. Produced by Shaftesbury and Greenpoint Productions Ltd., the thrilling drama is directed by Canadian Screen Award Winner T.J. Scott (Orphan Black, Star Trek: Discovery), with Malcolm MacRury (Saving Hope) joining as showrunner, and created by Vincent Shiao (Ransom, Aftermath). With principal photography now underway in Toronto, the Canada/UK co-production will also shoot in London, England. The project was developed by Shaftesbury in association with Corus Entertainment and Red Arrow Studios International.

Slated to join Global’s 2019 primetime schedule, the high-octane conspiracy series follows the mystery of a passenger plane that vanishes over the Atlantic Ocean. Featuring an all-star cast, the series stars Emmy® winner Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife) and Oscar® winner Christopher Plummer (All the Money In the World). The adrenaline-fueled serialized thrill ride also includes an impressive supporting cast with Kris Holden-Ried (Vikings), Claire Forlani (Hawaii Five-O), Rebecca Liddiard (Frankie Drake Mysteries), Shazad Latif (Star Trek: Discovery), Tamara Duarte (Longmire), Peter Mensah (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Kristian Bruun (Orphan Black), Allan Hawco (Caught), Dougray Scott (Snatch), Sasha Roiz (Grimm), Mark Rendall (30 Days of Night), Dmitry Chepovetsky(Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol), Paris Jefferson (Sunset Contract), and more.

Departure is a six-part event series that follows the shocking disappearance of Flight 716, a passenger plane that vanishes over the Atlantic Ocean. Kendra Malley (Panjabi), the recently widowed, brilliant aviation investigator, is called in by her former boss and mentor Howard Lawson (Plummer) to investigate the mysterious crash. With the whole world watching, Kendra and her team race to pinpoint the missing aircraft and locate possible survivors. They must battle through a host of suspects and motives – pilot suicide, terrorism, politically motivated murder, systems failure – to determine what really happened to Flight 716… and to stop it from happening again.

This newly greenlit series is the final original series commissioned by Global for the 2019 broadcast year joining Nurses, Ransom, Mary Kills People, Private Eyes, and Big Brother Canada.

Departure is a Canada/UK treaty co-production produced by Shaftesbury (Canada) and Greenpoint Productions Ltd. (UK) in association with Corus Entertainment.

Departure is executive produced by Christina Jennings, Scott Garvie, Malcolm MacRury, and T.J. Scott. Creator Vincent Shiao is co-executive producer; Patrick Cassavetti, Tina Grewal are producers, with Julie Laceyserving as Shaftesbury’s producer.

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