Upfront and Personal: #BellMediaUpfront Turns Heads With Star-Studded Event, as Bell Media Execs Delve Deeply Into Strategy

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede The stars arrived and the stars aligned, making for an unforgettable #BellMediaUpfront 2022! Highlighted by a jam-packed gala event on Thursday at Meridian Hall in Toronto, it was the first in-person Upfront since 2019, due to the pandemic. Everyone was keen to salute and recognize great TV, including Amanda Warren, star of one of the most highly anticipated fall dramas, CTV’s EAST NEW YORK. “It feels great to be out and about, it feels great to have the world opening up, and I’m just thrilled to be back in Canada,” Warren said. “I am excited to get out here and share our story, and to celebrate storytelling. It’s a really beautiful time.” Speaking of a really beautiful time, photo galleries from all the fun and frivolity that occurred at #BellMediaUpfront are available for media download on The Lede. And with Bell Media having made its big announcements regarding acquisitions for CTV and CTV Specialty Channels, as well as releasing its massive list of Original Productions, there was time for Justin Stockman (VP, Content Development & Programming), Pat DiVittorio (VP, Programming, CTV & Specialty), and Carlyn Klebuc (General Manager, Original Programming) to reflect and provide some analysis. “Each of the platforms is finding their space, because they’re all going to exist,” Stockman said. “There’s a competition for eyeballs, but everyone’s going to different platforms for different reasons. And understanding those reasons is helping us navigate. For example, when we’re looking for something for CTV, we have a clearer idea of what that should be.” DiVittorio said it’s a matter of accepting that different groups of viewers have different needs. “I feel really strongly that when streaming started to become more popular, network broadcasters were reacting,” DiVittorio said. “They tried replicating what Netflix was, in terms of content creation, similar to what historically happened with cable. But network viewers expect specific content. Now that there are platforms for all viewers, each one should have distinct content to fit its audience’s interests. We feel that the development of network shows this year is much more suited to what we believe conventional network viewers want.” And better understanding audiences allows Bell Media’s Original Programming to take some big swings, whether it’s for CTV, Specialty, or Crave. “Most of the weird stuff is for Crave,” Stockman said with a laugh. “But we’re becoming part of the cultural conversation. Especially in streaming, if it’s a big HBO show, you’ll get the benefit of all the buzz coming out of the U.S. We’ve had success with LETTERKENNY, where people are quoting everything. CANADA’S DRAG RACE has great outrageous characters that people talk about, and it caught on for that reason. And again, with WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE (EVEN JAY BARUCHEL). We have different ways to promote things through our own megaphone and marketing dollars, but to get that word of mouth, you have to do something new and interesting.” And that means pushing the envelope, according to Klebuc. “I think we’re taking some risks, in a great way,” Klebuc said. “I don’t know if it’s pandemic related, or just kind of a change in perspective. But we have so many platforms, so many pipelines, and so many different viewers, that we have to do things differently to try to appeal to our viewers. We are really trying to find diverse, interesting Canadian stories that reflect all of Canada – through different programming that will resonate, entertain, and excite. We know from viewers that they want to see diversity and authenticity in all stages, starting in development and all the way through. That’s not a new focus, but we’re absolutely intent on expanding it.” As for specific shows, it’s an incredibly lengthy list for 2022/23. But here are some brief comments from Stockman, DiVittorio, and Klebuc on a few selected titles: CTV AND SPECIALTY ACQUISITIONS: EAST NEW YORK DIVITTORIO: “This is the one. And I love it more every time I see it. It’s such a well-rounded pilot, you get invested in the people very quickly. It’s a perfect example of what we were saying about different platforms for different viewers, and that’s okay. This is a closed-ended show, you’re invested for the hour, you’re invested in these people, then you get on with your business. But you’ll come back the next week. It’s not trying to reinvent the wheel, but it’s still fantastic television.” NIGHT COURT STOCKMAN: “This definitely has a nostalgia element – I watched the original NIGHT COURT, and Dan Fielding, played by John Larroquette, is back. But it still feels like 2022. Melissa Rauch is the judge, and she’s the daughter of the original Harry. She asks to be put in this court for nostalgia reasons herself, because of her father.” DIVITTORIO: “And she’s like him, in terms of some of those qualities that he had.” THE ROOKIE: FEDS DIVITTORIO: “When there’s a spinoff from THE ROOKIE, which is a top-10 show, who wouldn’t want to do that? And while Niecy Nash brings something new to this formula for conventional viewers, she’s also very well known to our Specialty audiences.” STOCKMAN: “Niecy Nash is amazing – she’s a very charismatic lead, because she has a little bit of humour in her delivery, but she can still be taken seriously. She appeals to a lot of different audiences.” TRUE LIES STOCKMAN: “If you’ve seen the original movie, it’ll add some appreciation. It’s really fun, with lots of stunts and adventure. There’s also a family at the core, and I can see the kids possibly being pulled into it more eventually. You can see this show as family viewing, in the same way that LA BREA turned out last year, because it has people of all ages managing scenarios.” ALASKA STOCKMAN: “It’s always good to get an OSCAR® winner. That, plus the culture clash of a high-profile New York City reporter leaving her life behind to join a daily metro newspaper in Anchorage, Alaska. The folks who developed this show were super excited to do whatever Hilary Swank wanted, because they really wanted to work this out with her. It’s a big deal, for sure.” ALERT STOCKMAN: “Jamie Foxx is one of the executive producers and it’s based on a unit that handles missing persons in L.A. It sounds dark, but it’s going to have procedural story-of-the-week pacing, where the serious subject matter is balanced with some likeable characters and personal relationships.” THE WINCHESTERS STOCKMAN: “It’s about the parents of the brothers in SUPERNATURAL, and it sort of explains how they got involved in the occult. It’s all set in the ’70s, so there’s a hippie vibe to the group, and they travel around in a van chasing ghosts.” PANHANDLE DIVITTORIO: “I want to say, watch PANHANDLE – don’t miss this one, I think it’s going to be fantastic.” STOCKMAN: “You’ve got a bit of a mystery to unwind. There’s a case of the week but there’s more of a serialized element as you learn about the characters. Luke Kirby plays a man whose wife was murdered and he’s trying to solve the case, but he has been unsuccessful at it. There’s also an element that maybe their relationship wasn’t great, and maybe she wasn’t a good person.” ORIGINAL PRODUCTIONS: SHELVED STOCKMAN: “There’s good pedigree as far as knowing how to do a workplace comedy, because Anthony Q. Farrell, who worked on THE OFFICE for several seasons as a writer, is involved. It takes place at the Parkdale Library, and there’s a place like Parkdale in every city, where the troubled neighborhood meets gentrification. There are many elements there, with different types of people dealing with everyday challenges.” CROSS COUNTRY CAKE OFF KLEBUC: “I’m quite excited about CROSS COUNTRY CAKE OFF. One, because we all love Mary Berg, we think she’s a huge talent. And two, it’s going all across the country, talking with cake-makers, who then come back to Toronto for a studio bake-off. It’s going to be delightful.” STOCKMAN: “For the first season, we broke this into two pieces, with a winner in each part. There’s a holiday stunt, which will be for three or four episodes in December, with a holiday theme. Then it will be back in the winter for a fuller season. This is an original format – it’s our own thing that we’ve worked out with the producers.” SULLIVAN’S CROSSING STOCKMAN: “If you’ve ever seen VIRGIN RIVER, it’s from the same author who wrote those books, and also the same executive producer. It’s about a woman from the big city who is a doctor and through a variety of circumstances she moves back to the small town where she grew up. And then, insert challenges and potential romance, plus the great cast with Morgan Kohan, Chad Michael Murray, and Scott Patterson!” ACTING GOOD STOCKMAN: “Paul Rabliauskas plays a standup comedian whose career isn’t going well, so he goes back to his First Nation community to sort of reconnect with his family and still try to figure out what his comedy career will be.” BRIA MACK GETS A LIFE KLEBUC: “This is one that I really want to highlight. It’s from Sasha Leigh Henry, who’s an exciting new voice. It’s about a 25-year-old Black woman who has graduated from university, and is kind of looking at where she wants to go in life, trying to launch, and she has this invisible hype girl who helps her through situations of microaggression and frustration. I’m really looking forward to seeing how they bring Sasha’s words on the page to life.” LATE BLOOMER STOCKMAN: “This is with JusReign, the really successful YouTube personality Jasmeet Raina. It’s not fully autobiographical, but elements of it are. It’s about someone being 30 and trying to figure out what their career is going to be now that they’re internet famous.” ONE DAY WE’LL ALL BE DEAD KLEBUC: “Make sure you take a close look at this one. It’s written by Scaachi Koul, based on her book. It’s hilarious and irreverent. Everyone who has read the script gets very excited. It’s a half-hour comedy, fresh and a little edgy.” I HAVE NOTHING STOCKMAN: “It’s about the hilarious childhood obsession Carolyn Taylor had with the 1988 Calgary Olympics, and becoming a figure skater. It’s an unscripted comedy with a documentary format, where it’s going to be following her, and her journey of learning how to actually do a perfect figure skating routine to I Have Nothing by Whitney Houston. It’s her as an adult pursuing her childhood obsession, made into a TV show, basically.” LITTLE BIRD STOCKMAN: “This is our Crave drama, which we announced last year, but it’s deep into production now. And this is still the one everyone is really focused on, because the scripts are so good and it’s a story that hasn’t been told before. We’re working with all the right creators to ensure it’s done properly. It’ll certainly be a moment in Canadian TV where it’ll make a difference, but also be moving and good television.” billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv