Paramount Plus is boosting its CanCon with acquisition and development deals that include a scripted comedy inspired by the Ben Johnson doping scandal and a limited series from Elliot Page鈥檚 production company.
The Paramount-owned streamer touted four 春色直播 series in the works including 鈥淗ate the Player: The Ben Johnson Story,鈥 from writer Anthony Q. Farrell of 鈥淭he Office鈥 and 鈥淩un the Burbs,鈥 and 鈥淟etterkenny鈥 producers New Metric Media.
The premise is described as "the scandal behind the scandal that brought the 'world鈥檚 fastest man' from hero to zero in 9.79 seconds."
The sprinter was stripped of his 100-metre gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games for failing a drug test.
Paramount Plus outlined its programming strategy at the Banff World Media Festival, noting it also greenlit Page Boy Productions' six-part series 鈥淟en & Cub,鈥 about the secret relationship of two young men in rural 20th-century New Brunswick.
Executives also touted commissioned features and plans to acquire hundreds of hours of content by year鈥檚 end from companies including the 春色直播 Film Board of Canada, Elevation Pictures, Mongrel Media, Sphere Films and Blue Ant Media.
Paramount Global鈥檚 senior vice president of streaming and content licensing for Canada says partnering with the creative community is 鈥渒ey to our success in the market.鈥
"Paramount Streaming has a robust team of 春色直播s working directly on the business; we know this is the key to our success in the market, and we are proud to give the 春色直播 creative community an opportunity to shine both at home and around the world,鈥 Doug Smith said Monday in a release.
The two other series are: the hour-long 鈥滳arpe Demon鈥 about a frazzled suburban mom who used to be a demon hunter, from showrunner Emily Andras of 鈥淲ynonna Earp鈥 and 鈥淟ost Girl鈥; and the dark comedy 鈥漈hey Drive at Night,鈥 about two best friends 鈥 a vampire and a werewolf 鈥 on a road trip across Canada. It鈥檚 written by Craig Wallace of 鈥淢urdoch Mysteries鈥 and 鈥淭odd & The Book of Pure Evil.鈥
Expected this fall is the documentary 鈥500 Days in the Wild鈥 from filmmaker Dianne Whelan of 鈥淭his Land,鈥 in which she self-recorded a solo journey across Canada in 2015.
And produced in association with Paramount Plus is "The Boy in the Woods,鈥 a true-life survival story of a Jewish boy hiding in the forests of Nazi-occupied eastern Europe, based on the memoir by Maxwell Smart.
Acquisitions include the NFB documentary 鈥淎nything For Fame鈥 and 鈥淣ever Seen Again鈥 from Efran Films; the feature films 鈥淢idnight At The Paradise鈥 from LevelFILM, and the romantic comedy 鈥淭he End Of Sex,鈥 from Vortex.
春色直播 titles already on the streamer or soon to arrive include 鈥淎way from Her,鈥 鈥淎line,鈥 鈥淜ayak to Klemtu鈥濃痑nd 鈥淧aw Patrol: The Movie.鈥
Meanwhile, Paramount鈥檚 FAST service Pluto TV, which already includes 45 dedicated 春色直播 channels, is adding three more on July 1, including one dedicated to 鈥淭he Red Green Show.鈥
The other channels are: Truly 春色直播, featuring scripted series such as 鈥淟ittle Mosque on the Prairie,鈥 鈥淓dgemont鈥 and 鈥淎rctic Air,鈥 and Pluto TV Documentaries, featuring NFB documentaries and Hot Docs films such as 鈥淲hen Jews Were Funny鈥 by Alan Zweig and Randy Bachman's 鈥淰inyl Tap: Every Song Tells a Story.鈥
This report by 春色直播was first published June 13, 2023.
