Tag Archives: Bell Fibe TV1

Cows Come Home, Featured

Award-winning series Cows Come Home optioned by Fiasco Global Media for television adaptation

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From a media release:

Jennifer Beasley, President, Fiasco Global Media and Creators Lindsey Middleton and Katie Uhlmann are thrilled to announce that Fiasco has optioned the rights to Cows Come Home for adaptation as a half-hour television comedy.

Fresh from major wins at the 2026 Canadian Screen Awards, the acclaimed Bell Fibe TV1 original comedy series Cows Come Home is taking the next step in its journey to television. Working alongside award-winning Writer & Executive Producer Garry Campbell (North of North, Kids in the Hall) the series will be developed into a half-hour scripted comedy series.

Cows Come Home celebrated a successful weekend at the 2026 Canadian Screen Awards, where the digital series earned wins for Best Web Program or Series, Fiction, and Best Direction, Web Program or Series, for creator and director Katie Uhlmann for the Bell Fibe TV1 On-Demand service.

“Cows Come Home has that rare combination of big laughs, genuine heart and a world that feels both uniquely Canadian and universally relatable,” said Jennifer Beasley, President of Fiasco Global Media. “My first meeting with Katie, Lindsey, Perry Zimel and David Carruthers made it clear there was something special here, and bringing Garry Campbell aboard made it feel like the perfect team to take this project to the next level.”

“Fiasco was immediately a clear fit because of the opportunity to work with executive Jen Beasley who is kind, collaborative, and has a connection to the themes of female friendship, rural community, and the idea that home is something you build together.” said Lindsey Middleton and Katie Uhlmann. “We are overjoyed to develop the show into a longer format with Fiasco and Garry, and hope to continue to honour, and laugh with our audience, celebrating family, female friendship and the wonderful world of competitive cow showing.”

The television adaptation marks the next chapter for Cows Come Home as the creative team explores opportunities to bring the series to a broader audience. The series consistently held “Top Favourite” position on Bell Fibe TV1 since the series launched in June 2025. Along with Beasley, Middleton, Uhlmann, Executive Producers are Garry Campbell, David Carruthers (The Testaments, The Handmaid’s Tale) and oscars abrams zimel + associates inc’s, Perry Zimel.

Cows Come Home the digital series follows Tabby Acres (Lindsey Middleton), a chaotic and endearing woman who returns to her small hometown seeking a fresh start and discovers unexpected joy when she returns to the world of competitive cow showing. Directed by Katie Uhlmann, the original digital series was produced by Belleview Creative Inc. and Katie Chats Inc., and executive produced by David Carruthers (The Handmaid’s Tale, Workin’ Moms), Keri Ferencz (Murdoch Mysteries, Hudson & Rex) and Hari Ramesh (Rolling Pictures).

About Fiasco Global Media

Fiasco Global Media is a female-led scripted development studio based in Winnipeg and Los Angeles, focused on creating premium comedy and drama for Canadian and international audiences. Founded by producer Jennifer Beasley (ACTING GOOD, THE SPENCER SISTERS, RUMOURS), Fiasco develops character-driven stories with strong commercial potential, partnering with leading writers, creators, and rights holders to build projects for the global marketplace. For more information visit, www.fiascoglobal.com

About Lindsey Middleton & Katie Uhlmann 

Lindsey Middleton and Katie Uhlmann are a writing and producing team. The duo co-wrote and co-produced the 2026 Canadian Screen Award winner for Best Digital Series COWS COME HOME for Bell Fibe TV1. Uhlmann directed all 6 episodes and won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Director of a digital series.  Both Uhlmann and Middleton focus on female-driven comedies: Middleton CEO of Belleview Creative INC, and Uhlmann CEO of Katie Chats INC.

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CharlesTM Charles, Featured

Hamilton nabs the spotlight in laugh-filled Fibe TV1 series Charles TM Charles

Bell Fibe TV1 subscribers have access to a ton of locally-shot series. Viewers can catch chef Michael Smith on PEI’s Chef on Fire, Halifax’s very funny comedy Vollies, Manitoba’s docuseries A Chance to Dream and Quebec’s music series A Guitar for Pascale, to name just a handful.

There are dozens of excellent series available, showcasing Fibe TV1’s mandate of hyper-local programs, one of the latest being Hamilton’s CharlesTM Charles.

Co-created, co-written, co-directed and produced by Jess Joy and Stephen James, CharlesTM Charles is an eight-episode mockumentary full of awkward laughs, deadpan stares into the camera and heart.

Available now on Bell Fibe TV1, the series stars Kevin Jollimore as Southern Ontario’s most confident—but least successful—business mogul. When trademarking his own name fails to jumpstart his career, he reluctantly agrees to mentor two young entrepreneurs—Shanay (Shaeane Jimenez) and Josh (Adam Lupis)—in the hopes of finally earning the recognition he deserves.

“The idea for the show started with my love for Parks & Recreation,” Joy says. “I decided to take a stab at my own show. At the time, I was working with some guys who were very full of themselves but actually not very good at what they do, which I think a lot of people encounter, so I wanted to poke fun at a character who has a lot of that bravado but we can still laugh at and feel for as well.”

Charles certainly is full of himself, but Shanay successfully puts him in his place more than once in Season 1. While Josh is starry-eyed at being mentored by Charles, Shanay—who reluctantly took on the mentorship after losing out on her first choice—challenges Charles on numerous occasions over his outrageous claims and business acumen.

The relationship between the trio, as well as Charles’ chats with friend/lawyer/accountant/doctor Manu (Wes Malik), softens the edges around the series’ lead character.

“Jess and I had conversations with Kevin while we were filming,” James recalls. “And we talked about how, if the line he was saying was negative and potentially unsympathetic, then the delivery couldn’t be that way. If [the delivery] is kind and calm, then he can be a bit harsh. But if what he is saying is hurtful, he can’t go too serious.”

Filmed in January in Hamilton, Season 1 focuses on Charles’ aim to win the city’s Business Person of the Year Award. It won’t be easy; his biggest competition is also his biggest rival in Melissa Van Hershey (Cheryl Poirier).

CharlesTM Charles is available now on Bell Fibe TV1.

Image courtesy of Dustin Rabin.

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Featured

Bell Canada’s Fibe TV1 debuts enterprising new comedy, Charles™ Charles

From a media release:

Bell Fibe TV1 this week debuts Charles™ Charles, a Hamilton-set mockumentary comedy created by Jess Joy and Stephen James and starring Kevin Jollimore (pictured above), Shaeane Jimenez, and Adam Lupis.

The 8 x 10-minute series premieres Thursday, September 11, 2025 on Bell Fibe TV1, and will be available on Fibe TV, channel 1 and the Fibe TV app.

Charles™ Charles centres on Southern Ontario’s most confident but least successful business mogul. When trademarking his own name fails to jumpstart his career, he reluctantly agrees to mentor two young entrepreneurs in the hopes of finally earning the recognition he deserves.

“We set ourselves a challenge in the very beginning,” says Joy. “Could we embrace silliness and absurdity while still keeping it heartfelt and emotional? Our favourite comedies thread that needle so well and we wanted to emulate that.”

Joy and James produced the series under their banner, Adventurous Hermit Films. The series is funded by Bell Canada and supported by senior producer Paul Gardner. Filming took place in Hamilton, Ont., in January.

Joy and James both attended York University but they met through the screenwriting workshops that James runs at LIFT (Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto).

James is a graduate of the American Film Institute in Los Angeles, a participant in the BBC’s new talent development program, Script Room 4, and a runner-up for the UK’s Red Planet Prize for new television writing. Joy wrote, directed, and produced the 2021 short film Lunachicks before partnering with James to develop comedy series formats for television and the web.

“Charles™ Charles has been a unique collaboration because Jess and I shared duties on every aspect of production. We co-wrote, co-directed, and produced as a team. The process worked remarkably well and felt very natural. We’re excited to do it again,” said James.

Image courtesy of Dustin Rabin.

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