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TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television
Featured, Industry News, Wynonna Earp

Toronto Screenwriting Conference announces WGC Writing Room Intensive with Wynonna Earp’s Emily Andras

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From a media release:

The Toronto Screenwriting Conference (TSC) has announced the WGC Writing Room Intensive program with Emily Andras, Showrunner/Executive Producer of Wynonna Earp. Six participants will work with Andras to create a ‘spec-script’ episode of Joss Whedon’s cult-classic, Buffy The Vampire Slayer. They will join Andras on stage during the TSC to present a session that explores the writing room process, and will share with the group their episode live on stage. The seventh annual Toronto Screenwriting Conference takes place on April 30 and May 1, at its new location, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

“We strive to provide writers the opportunity to not only learn from the most-successful working showrunners and executive producers today, but to also how to apply these advanced tools in a practical manner. Andras’ intensive program does just that,” said Kent Robinson, Toronto Screenwriting Conference Producer. Adding, “In addition the Writer’s Room Intensive, we’ve developed other new conference sessions that will fully engage screenwriters including the creating a successful series engine, writing a pitch perfect script, writing a pilot (that sells), and breaking a season.”

The Boston-born, Calgary-bred Andras has a diverse list of television credits to her name. Currently, she is the Showrunner/ Executive Producer for the supernatural, modern-day western Wynonna Earp on SyFy.

Previously, she spent three seasons as the Showrunner and Executive Producer of Lost Girl, and recently worked as the Supervising Producer on Killjoys. Andras’ other credits include writer and Co-producer of the police drama King, and Showrunner and Executive Producer of Instant Star. She has written for numerous other series such as Degrassi: The Next Generation, Sophie, Total Drama Island, and 11 Cameras. She was also hand-picked by Nora Roberts to shepherd her New York Times’ #1 best-selling Blood Magick trilogy to series.

An avid athlete, Andras grew up figure skating and playing rugby. These days, she lives in Toronto with her husband and two small children…but what Emily really wants to be remembered for is being pulled onstage to dance with Bruce Springsteen. Which totally happened.

Joining Andras on the speaker roster are Master Class speaker, Glen Mazzara (Damien); Stephen Falk (You’re the Worst); Kenya Barris (Black-ish); Senior VP of Series Development for FX, Nicole Clemens (responsible for developing FX dramas including Man Seeking Woman, The Strain, You’re The Worst, Baskets); award-winning playwright and screenwriter, Corey Mandell; and former NBC & CBS studio exec. Jen Grisanti (author of Story line: Finding Gold In Your Life Story).

The WGC Writing Room Intensive is for registered TSC delegates who are WGC members in good standing. The selection process will be juried. Deadline to apply is Monday April 11, 5pm ET. For complete details, please visit torontoscreenwritingconference.com.

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Featured, Industry News

Thoughts on Branded Entertainment

Brands are increasingly shifting their ad spend from broadcast to digital platforms because a) more detailed measurement is available from those platforms than from broadcast and b) because audiences are increasingly shifting their viewing to digital platforms, many of which either allow the audience to skip ads (PVR) or strip the ads out (Netflix, Shomi and CraveTV).

So what to do to capture those online eyeballs?  For a few years now brands have been experimenting with branded entertainment or branded content.  Content can be any non-ad content created around a brand, such as a recipe or web series, while entertainment is specifically scripted content like that web series.  TV people, particularly web series producers, have in turn dabbled with financing from brands resulting in a few crossovers such as the web series “Carmilla” funded by Kotex and produced by Shift2, a division of Shaftesbury.  Many more are contemplating this funding model.

Recently I attended the BCon Expo conference put on by Brunico to bring together brands, agencies and creative to discuss best practices in branded content, to get a better idea of what was going on in this branded content world.  It was eye-opening to watch marketers discover concepts of storytelling that have been known to any form of media content creator since well, forever.   Examples:

  • If the characters are relatable, the audience will watch
  • Begin strong
  • Have a fresh concept
  • Get good at content creation and then optimize the platform (or in other words, adapt the content to the platform)

It seems to me that the advertising industry needs to talk more to people in the television and digital media content industries instead of trying to invent the wheel all over again.

The conference did present an example of that kind of collaboration. Shift2 talked about their latest web series employing what I think of as the “Carmilla” model.  Shift2 convinced the Royal Bank of Canada that a web series was the best way to reach millennials and created the 20 episode web series “V Morgan is Dead”.  Similar to “Carmilla”, “V Morgan” is first a drama series aimed at engaging its audience rather than selling to them.  The sales pitch is delivered with branded extensions on other platforms.  RBC conducted research which demonstrated to them that the strategy worked by driving traffic to RBC sites and increasing brand awareness within the audience.  Unlike “Carmilla” though, which has been renewed twice, RBC has not yet decided if it was successful enough of an experiment to warrant a renewal and a second season.

It is not yet clear whether this model is limited to the millennial demographic or can perhaps be replicated in the kids market or even older adults.  Over lunch brand marketers who I talked to were definitely interested in exploring the model but questioned whether branded entertainment could drive purchase decisions as well as increase brand awareness.

This kind of cross-pollination is of concern though to the Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office (“CAVCO”), which has been seeing a trend of more and more branded content on broadcast television.  When does a sponsored television show stop becoming entertainment and instead is advertising, and therefore ineligible for tax credits?  CAVCO has launched a public consultation for assistance with guidelines to ease the process and review for both CAVCO and producers.  In another consultation they are also exploring whether online distribution of linear productions can be a trigger for tax credits (currently a production must be licensed by a broadcaster or theatrical distributor), which would open up web series to the question of entertainment or advertising, in at least certain circumstances.

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Featured, Schitt's Creek

Review: Schitt’s Creek season two finale

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The Roses show some growth in these last two episodes. In episode 12, the penultimate of this second season, David negotiates a huge financial windfall for the owner of the Blouse Barn by daring to stand up to a large conglomerate. And when he is rewarded for his efforts with a $40,000 cheque, he is the responsible one saying they should save it. Sure it takes him a few tries to get the word out, but he eventually does.

Moira shows the nasty side of politics by “creating a stir” around someone stealing her campaign signs (she threw them out). Sneaky and underhanded for sure – but it turns out that Roland was even sneakier, using his position as mayor to force people to put up Jocelyn’s campaign signs. In the end, Jocelyn steps down, leaving Moira the winner. She’s thrilled until Johnny points out she will be working with Roland every day.

There were some great lines in this episode, but I didn’t laugh much, and the opening scenes with Moira and Johnny in the cafe, and later Johnny and Roland in the street fell flat. A bit cheesy slapstickish.

The season finale on the other hand was a winner. It’s Johnny and Moira’s anniversary and they narrowly escape a dinner out with Roland and Jocelyn. They run into snobby friends from their past (Beth and Don) and are laughing and having a good time at the restaurant when Roland and Jocelyn turn up. Not the kind of people Moira and Johnny would normally call friends and you can see they are a bit mortified to have them join them, even more so when Roland mentions the coupons.

But after Don and Beth have thrown one too many insults about Schitt’s Creek and the restaurant, Johnny realizes that Roland and Jocelyn have actually been better friends to them than Beth and Don were after they lost everything. And he tells them that, along with the fact that they live in Schitt’s Creek.

Meanwhile, Mutt is throwing a party and watching Alexis meet his new girlfriend is awkward. But for Alexis it makes her realize the pain she caused Ted. She finally comes out of her self-absorbed focus to truly see someone else. We also see a bit more of Stevie and David together in this last episode. The chemistry between them is fantastic as they both vie for male attention. And David running back inside to find Stevie after Jake (new hot guy on the scene) kisses him is laugh out loud funny.

The show ends with Moira, Johnny, Jocelyn and Roland crashing the party and insisting on a family dance as they express their love for each other. They truly have come a long way. It was a brilliant ending.

The show and the characters have evolved and it comes through in these last two episodes. They also set the stage for some interesting story lines in season 3. Moira will be on town council and David might have a new love interest.

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Industry News

Production underway on original HGTV Canada series with Mike Holmes

From a media release:

When it comes to home renovation decisions, is it always ‘like father, like son’? HGTV Canada may have the answer. The network has proudly commissioned a brand-new, Canadian original series with Canada’s most trusted contractor, Mike Holmes, and his son Mike Holmes Jr. (MJ). Holmes and Holmes follows the unstoppable pair as they transform MJ’s modest bachelor bungalow into the perfect first home for MJ and his girlfriend Lisa.

Production is currently underway on the six, hour-long episodes and the series is scheduled to premiere this fall on HGTV Canada.

While Mike and MJ share a last name, a strong work ethic, and a desire to help others, they don’t always see eye to eye.  Their different approaches provide the foundation for unexpected moments of humour and drama – though they always vow to build it right. In addition to seeing the newest materials and building techniques in Holmes and Holmes, viewers will get a glimpse into the personal lives of the Holmes men.

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