Tag Archives: Industry News

Bell Media and Pageboy Productions ink co-development deal for new series

From a media release:

Bell Media and PAGEBOY Productions, founded by acclaimed actor, producer, and advocate Elliot Page, announced today a new partnership to develop bold, original scripted series for Crave and CTV. Under this agreement, their collaboration will explore content opportunities, with a joint dedication to spotlighting untold stories.

“Canada holds a special place in our company’s story, and is an integral part of PAGEBOY’s identity,” said Matt Jordan Smith, Head of Development and Production. “Through our partnership with Bell Media, we look forward to deepening our roots here, while showcasing multifaceted stories that resonate globally. This collaboration marks an important step in our mission to create groundbreaking, authentic, and compelling content worldwide,” continued Smith. He is joined by Director of Development, Tuck Dowrey.

“Partnering with Bell Media feels like a natural evolution for PAGEBOY Productions,” added founder Elliot Page. “We’re excited to create captivating content that amplifies voices that deserve to be heard. This collaboration will allow us to tell powerful, genuine stories that challenge perspectives, and inspire audiences both at home and internationally.”

“PAGEBOY Productions brings a wealth of experience and a unique perspective to content creation,” said Sean Cohan, President of Bell Media. “This pact signifies a shared commitment to fostering Canadian creativity, telling stories from different perspectives, and delivering impactful storytelling to  audiences.”

With the new agreement, Bell Media continues to strengthen its position as a global leader in creating premium original content, fostering a pipeline of innovative projects for Canadian audiences and beyond. Past commitments include a development deal with Point Grey Pictures, and Lionsgate, as well as a licensing and distribution pact with FOX Entertainment Global.

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Blue Ant Media greenlights five new originals and four renewals for 2025

From a media release:

International production studio, rights business and channel operator, Blue Ant Media, announced today from Prime Time a robust originals slate consisting of five new greenlights and four renewals. The slate spans mystery, paranormal, nature, wildlife and lifestyle genres. Overseen by Sam Linton, VP, Production and Development, Global Media, the slate will roll out on the company’s Canadian specialty TV channels, T+E and Cottage Life, in 2025, followed by its global free streaming channels—HauntTV, Homeful, Love Pets, and Declassified—at a later date. Blue Ant Studios will oversee global pre-sales and licensing opportunities for all titles in the slate.

The latest slate includes Ghost Lands (w/t, image above), a chilling, hour-long documentary that presents Indigenous ghost stories rooted in various Indigenous cultures and mythology. Created, written and produced by Winnipeg-based Métis producer Jessica Landry, the project was developed and greenlit as a direct result of Blue Ant Media’s RFP Initiative, in partnership with imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, the Reelworld Film Festival and Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival. The process called for pitches focused on paranormal series from Indigenous and racialized producers for Blue Ant’s linear channel T+E and its FAST channel, HauntTV.

Additional greenlights include You Can’t Deny It, a compelling new documentary series exploring the power of corroboration; Vet Detective, which spotlights Vancouver-based veterinarian Dr. Lauren Adelman’s pioneering work in veterinary medicine; Engineering from Above, a spin-off of the Mysteries from Above franchise exploring awe-inspiring engineering marvels; and Birthplace of Hallowe’en (w/t), a one-hour documentary filmed in Ireland with T+E’s fearless female trio—Kelly Ireland, Corine Carey and Leanne Sallenback— paranormal investigators hailing from British Columbia, known for History’s Most Haunted and Haunted Gold Rush.

Following their ratings performances and global appeal, Blue Ant has ordered a fourth season of the hit franchise Mysteries from Above, as well as second seasons of My Haunted Hometown, Holmes on Homes: Building a Legacy and Wild Rose Vets. My Haunted Hometown ranked in the top 5 with total viewers and A18+ in its first run on T+E, with repeats continuing to perform in the top 10 with A25-54 and women 25-54. Holmes on Homes: Building a Legacy also ranked in the top 5 with all the key demos and total viewers in its first run on Cottage Life and remains in the top 10 for total viewers, A18+, and women 25-54 in its second run. Finally, all three seasons of Mysteries from Above ranked as top programs with key demos and total viewers A18+ and A25-54 on Cottage Life. Wild Rose Vets, Season 1 will premiere this spring on Cottage Life.

New Greenlights:

Ghost Lands (w/t) (1 x60)
Producer: Jessica Landry
World broadcast premiere scheduled for fall 2025 on T+E during the channel’s free preview event, followed by HauntTV
Ghost Lands is a gripping, hour-long documentary that delves deep into true Indigenous ghost stories, passed down through generations and told by those with a profound connection to the spirit world. Rooted in various Indigenous cultures and led by an Indigenous cast and crew, the documentary brings these timeless tales to the forefront. Ghost Lands offers a hauntingly fresh perspective in the paranormal documentary space, leaving audiences both terrified and captivated.

Birthplace of Hallowe’en (w/t) (1 x60)
Producer: Small Army Entertainment
World broadcast premiere scheduled for fall 2025 on T+E during the channel’s free preview event, followed by HauntTV
Audiences will join fearless paranormal investigators from British Columbia—Corine, Leanne and Kelly (History’s Most Haunted, Haunted Gold Rush)—for a Hallowe’en special on T+E, as they journey through Ireland’s most haunted locations to uncover the dark and twisted stories that have haunted the country for centuries. From ancient druidic sites to blood-soaked castles, Ireland’s rich history of murder, torture, and ghostly encounters provides a backdrop for some of the world’s most terrifying hauntings.

You Can’t Deny It (6×60’)
Producer:
Blue Ant Studios
World broadcast premiere scheduled for fall 2025 on T+E during the channel’s free preview event, followed by HauntTV
A compelling, new documentary series explores the power of corroboration. Each episode features multiple survivors who have experienced life altering paranormal encounters at the same location. Each has come face to face with the terrifying entities that dwell within. One by one, they return to these locations to tell their stories – verifying the harrowing details, until they come together in the end to share the undeniable similarities of their experiences. Finally, there is tangible affirmation that they’re not alone.

Vet Detective (6×60)
Producer:
Big Time Decent
World broadcast premiere scheduled for spring 2025 on Cottage Life during the channel’s nationwide free preview event in Canada, followed by Love Pets
A gripping series spotlighting Dr. Lauren Adelman’s pioneering work on veterinary medicine’s most puzzling cases. Set in Vancouver, each episode follows desperate pet owners turning to Dr. Adelman for answers about their sick pets after months of uncertainty. With time ticking and stakes high, Dr. Adelman and her internal medicine team methodically reevaluate every detail, conduct tests, and explore new theories hoping to uncover overlooked clues. Each pet investigation brings unexpected twists and turns until Dr. Adelman and her team crack the case and bring a healthy pet back to their loving owner.

Engineering from Above (8×60’)
Producer:
Blue Ant Studios
World broadcast premiere scheduled for summer 2025 on Cottage Life, followed by Declassified
Engineering from Above, a spin-off of the popular Mysteries from Above franchise, explores awe-inspiring engineering marvels across the globe. The visually striking series spotlights iconic modern landmarks, such as Beijing’s ‘Bird’s Nest’ National Stadium, the Burj Khalifa and the Millau Viaduct. Using state-of-the-art technology, the show offers fresh perspectives and uncovers hidden secrets through the use of dynamic graphics. Each episode focuses on four marvels connected by a compelling theme, guided by authoritative experts in engineering, history, and science.

Returning Unscripted Titles:

Holmes on Homes: Building a Legacy, Season 2 (8×60’)
Producer:
The Holmes Group
World broadcast premiere scheduled for fall 2025 on Cottage Life, followed by Homeful
The series sees construction pioneer Mike Holmes return to his foundational “make it right” roots and mentor his kids, Michael and Sherry, to carry on his legacy of helping deserving homeowners. A reboot of the classic Holmes on Homes series, the show delves deeper into the Holmes family dynamic, with cameras following the trio as they work side-by-side to create life-changing renovations for deserving homeowners, while also capturing heartfelt behind-the-scenes family moments with Mike and his kids.

Mysteries from Above, Season 4 (8×60’)
Producer:
Blue Ant Studios
World broadcast premiere scheduled for spring 2025 on Cottage Life during the channel’s nationwide free preview event in Canada
The hit franchise series takes to the skies to unlock Earth’s greatest mysteries and dramatically change how we see the world. From the vantage points of drones, satellites and aerial photography, the series explores unique buildings and structures — both natural and artificial, curious creatures and lost ancient civilizations, revealing fascinating insights and never-before-seen footage to the viewers.

My Haunted Hometown, Season 2 (8×60’)
Producer:
Blue Ant Studios
World broadcast premiere: Fall 2025 on T+E, followed by HauntTV
My Haunted Hometown takes viewers inside the real-life haunted homes of North American residents. These ordinary people, who have laid down roots in their communities, now feel trapped and tormented by vengeful spirits. Room by room, the residents guide viewers through their homes, recounting the eerie paranormal experiences that have shattered their sense of safety. With harrowing testimonies and unsettling footage, the series reveals the frightening supernatural activity plaguing these small towns and their inhabitants.

Wild Rose Vets, Season 2 (13×30′)
Producer:
Wapanatahk Media in partnership with Great Pacific Media
A Blue Ant Media and APTN Co-production
Scheduled to premiere in fall 2025 on Cottage Life
A heartwarming and culturally-unique docuseries following the behind-the-scenes adventures of three Indigenous veterinarians in the prairies as they rescue and rehabilitate a wide range of household pets and exotic wildlife. The daily experiences of these young vets in very different urban clinics could not be more varied but they are each driven and connected by their love of animals. The series will also broadcast and stream on APTN, APTN Languages and APTN lumi in Canada (date TBC).

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Newfoundland period drama series A Tippling Adventure to debut this December at Bell Canada’s Streaming Channel Fibe TV1

From a media release:

Benjamin Noah directs this ensemble “Eastern Western” starring Andrew Ravindran (Midnight Dreamers), Rhiannon Morgan (New Woman), Paul Ewan Wilson (Frontier), Lawrence Barry (Son of a Critch), Stephen Lush (Cast No Shadow), & Kevin Hanchard (Orphan Black) as “The Drifter”. Mr. Hanchard is also reunited with Hudson & Rex star John Reardon (Bloodhounds) for this mystery yarn that includes Terry Ryan (Shoresy). Featuring a special appearance by Order of Newfoundland recipient Andy Jones (Don’t Give Up On Me Dad).

This four chapter mini-series was shot in March 2024 during an infamous record breaking snowstorm. From Benjamin Noah’s company Ark Film LTD. in association with PictureNL and in collaboration with executive producers Sarah Maher and Phong Tran. Peter Blackie & Rob Blackie (Frontier) along with Ontario based Kalkaden Productions (Kaleb Laidman and Sabrina Laidman) also serve as EP’s. The series was written by Barry Germansky (Riff Raff) & Benjamin Noah (New Woman).

This adventure series follows the exploits of a young man named Baji (Andrew Ravindran) who is shipwrecked on the shores of Newfoundland during the early 19th century.

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Writers Guild of Canada releases latest report on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Canadian television

From a media release:

The Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) has released a new Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Report with the latest 2023 data. For the first time since the Guild began publishing this report, the data show a decline in the number of episodes across every TV format. In addition, the series covered in this year’s report hired fewer writers than ever before. Compared with 2016, the number of WGC members working on Canadian TV decreased by 11 per cent. This decline jeopardizes the hard-fought progress made by the WGC to establish a growing pool of diverse working writers within the industry.

The report is based on data from 76 series (53 live-action and 23 animation) that were in production in 2023, in addition to the 372 series covered in the period from 2019 to 2022. It includes WGC membership and production data.

The report highlights gains made across different EDI measures:

  • The percentage of WGC diverse writers working on Canadian TV has increased steadily from 26 per cent in 2019 to 40 per cent in 2023. The increase is largely due to the higher participation of writers of colour and LGBTQ2S writers, as well as writers with disabilities and Indigenous writers, which is especially true in live-action series.
  • While 7.9 per cent of writers working on TV in 2023 have intersectional identities, 9.8 per cent of writing jobs went to this group in the same year. Racialized writers who also identify as LGBTQ2S make up 6.1 per cent of all working writers and received 7.5 per cent of writing jobs.
  • Writers with disabilities and Indigenous writers saw gains in their participation in writers rooms and writing credits. Indigenous writers increased their participation in writers rooms to 5.5 per cent and earned 5.1 per cent of writing credits. The participation of writers with disabilities increased slightly to 4 per cent in 2023. They also earned 9.3 per cent of writing credits in 2023 compared with 3.3 per cent in 2022.

New this year, the WGC is releasing a Best Practices Guide for Producers Working with Diverse Screenwriters as a companion document to the report. The guide is intended as a tool for producers seeking to hire diverse screenwriters, build strong creative partnerships, and foster working environments that are conducive to authentic storytelling.

Other report findings based on the 2023 data include:

  • Significant discrepancies continue between the volume of work and earnings for diverse writers in animation. While the percentage of writers working in live-action increased from 42.6 per cent in 2022 to 45.3 per cent in 2023, the share of writers working in animation has not seen any movement since 2021 and remains at 29.8 per cent. While 29.8 per cent of earning writers’ work in animation, they represent only 14.3 per cent of writers’ earnings.
  • The percentage of Indigenous writers joining the Guild is growing, at eight per cent in 2023 compared with one per cent in 2018. However, the percentage of Indigenous working writers remains low at 3.7 per cent, and only 3.5 per cent of writers’ earnings. While 5.5 per cent of live-action writing credits were assigned to Indigenous writers, only 0.4 per cent of animation writing credits were assigned to the same group.
  • The participation of writers from different ethnicities continues to show mixed results. For example, East Asian writers working on Canadian TV decreased from 4.1 per cent in 2022 to 2.9 per cent in 2023, while South Asian writers increased to 7.6 per cent in 2023 from 4.8 per cent in 2022. Both numbers are low when compared to the general population and urban population centres.

The report continues to be an important initiative undertaken by the WGC and its Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) Committee to work towards addressing issues of historic underrepresentation in Canadian television. (Diversity groups are defined by the WGC as Indigenous, Black, LGBTQ2S, People of Colour, People with Disabilities.)

The current report and best practices guide are now available on the WGC’s website HERE.

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Spindle Films Foundation publishes inaugural research findings on the state of gender diverse experiences in the Canadian film industry

From a media release:

Spindle Films Foundation today announced the results of their inaugural research report, highlighting the current state of the trans, non-binary, and gender diverse experiences in the Canadian film industry. Rooted in an annual mentorship program supporting emerging filmmakers, the Foundation is working to make the film and television industry more equitable and diverse by giving voice to underrepresented voices. The full report is available at spindlefilms.ca/research.

With recent data showing a decline in the representation of and support for the queer and gender diverse community in Canada, as well as legislation rolling out across the country targeting their rights under the guise of protecting parental rights, Spindle Films Foundation is gravely concerned that the safety, support, and celebration of trans and non-binary folks in the Canadian film industry are more at risk now than they were even a year ago.

The report found that 63% of respondents have taken actions to delay or conceal their gender identity due to the risk of adverse experiences at work in the film industry. Supporting this, 53% of respondents reported having adverse experiences during their last on-set experience. Of those with adverse experiences, 53% indicated that those adverse experiences happened every day they were on set and 78% rated those experiences as a 5 or higher on a 10-point distress scale.

Conducted from mid-2023 through to 2024, the research survey was developed by Javelin Laurence, Director of Research, Education, and Accessibility at Spindle Films Foundation, with input from the founding members of the Foundation, and support from Skipping Stone in Calgary, Alta. Having surveyed members of the transgender, non-binary, and gender diverse community working in the Canadian film industry, the report shows a need and desire for more inclusion, openness, collaboration, and acceptance for not just the gender-diverse community but for all types of diversity in Canada.

“While efforts have been made by some to make sets a safer environment, these results make it clear that it’s not enough. We need systematic and sweeping change so that everyone can feel valued and safe at work,” said J Stevens, Founder, Spindle Films Foundation. “The Foundation is actively working with decision-makers in the industry to shift mandates and protocols and we will continue to support and uplift the filmmakers whose voices are so needed in the Canadian film and TV industry through our annual mentorship programs.”

From the writer’s room through to the editing suite, gender diverse filmmakers are navigating an industry that claims to be diversifying but is in fact demonstrating that it is not a priority, with 42% of respondents indicating that they feel they had lost a job opportunity due to their gender identity, either implicitly or explicitly. 

Safety, inclusivity, and community were all themes determining whether gender diverse filmmakers felt comfortable taking a job, with 28% of respondents indicating that working with other gender diverse filmmakers was a protective factor on their last set. When asked about what they specifically needed to feel supported, respondents highlighted representation in decision-making positions, translating into more opportunities across departments for trans and gender diverse humans, and mandated education for all members of production.

Based on the survey findings, Spindle Films Foundation is recommending the following best practices: quality health insurance covering gender-affirming care in Canadian film unionsgender equity in hiring that acknowledges identities outside the binarya pronoun policy for all cast and crew on call sheetsgender diversity education for all production memberspaperwork care when dealing with chosen vs. legal namesgender neutral bathrooms, and a policy for addressing harm.

While there is still work to be done, Spindle Films Foundation is uniquely positioned and committed to pushing change forward through their programming and research initiatives. Following a successful and inspiring first year that resulted in nine emerging filmmakers receiving mentorship and education from industry leaders such as Bilal Baig, Luis De Filippis, Tácháy Redvers, and Sasha Leigh Henry, the Foundation has also established supportive partnerships with organizations such as the Directors Guild of Canada and Skipping Stone, allowing them to better serve the community of gender-diverse filmmakers that they are committed to uplifting. 

For more information and updates on upcoming programming, visit spindlefilms.ca/about-foundation and follow @spindlefilmsfoundation.

About Spindle Films Foundation 
Founded in 2023, Spindle Films Foundation is a nonprofit organization that supports transgender, non-binary, two-spirit and gender-diverse Canadian filmmakers. The organization works to make the TV and film industry more equitable and diverse by dismantling systemic barriers, and supports emerging filmmakers through an annual mentorship program. 

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