W5 & VICE Canada Join Forces for Opioid Crisis Docs

W5 and VICE Canada have agreed to a partnership to produce and air two documentaries in 2018 on the root causes and impact of Canada’s opioid crisis.

The first production to come out of the partnership is a 30-minute documentary focused on Canada’s opioid crisis. The project will help viewers see beyond the perception that the opioid crisis is an “urban” problem by examining the toll it has taken on small-town Canada. The documentary is set to air in early 2018 on W5, Canada’s most-watched documentary series and North America’s longest-running investigative show. W5 and VICE have also agreed to explore other long- and short-form documentary projects in 2018.

“W5 is a national institution, with incredible reach across the country,” said Tom Henheffer, VICE Canada’s director of news and digital. “This partnership is a natural fit for us as it combines VICE’s expertise in telling the stories of those at the frontlines of Canada’s opioid crisis, with the years of experience and wide national audience that W5 brings to the table. We know this partnership will help to take VICE News, and the VICE brand, to the next level in Canada.”

“W5 has spent 52 years investigating the most significant issues facing our society, and we’re very excited to further expand our journalism efforts by partnering with VICE Canada,” said Anton Koschany, executive producer of W5. “We’re looking forward to blending our investigative strategies to tell compelling stories, exposing both outlets to new audiences. By coupling two strong investigative organizations and the talented journalists on our respective teams, we are producing quality, timely and valuable journalism.”