Prime Video Greenlights Seven Canadian Originals

Prime Video has greenlit seven new original projects from Canada, including true-crime docuseries, reality series and three projects from comedian Tom Green.

Among the projects with Green are Tom Green Country, following the comedian as he relocates from Hollywood to a country farm with his 1,500-pound mule, donkey and six chickens, and an untitled documentary charting his career and influence across comedy, film, television and internet culture.

A comedy special capturing Green’s most recent 40-plus-city comedy tour across North America will also be coming to the platform. All three projects from Green are being produced by Tom Green Productions Canada and directed by Green himself. Rory Rosegarten is executive producing all three.

Two Canadian true-crime series have been ordered for the streamer as well. Cold Water: The Shelter Bay Mystery, produced by C3 Media and AJP Productions, will tell the story of small-town Canadian school teacher Laura Letts-Beckett and former city councilor New Zealander Peter Beckett. One sunny day in 2008, Laura drowned on a lake in the British Columbia wilderness. Peter claims it was a tragic accident, but the police and prosecution assert it was a premeditated murder. The series is being directed by Trish Neufeld.

An untitled true-crime series from Blink49 will follow a currently unfolding case affecting women across Toronto, with never-before-seen footage, testimony and evidence. It is being directed by Henry Roosevelt (Take Care of Maya).

Blue Ant Studios’ survival series Hard North will be coming to Prime Video as well. It will follow a diverse group of young Canadians as they embark on a challenging four-season mission to build a life in the vast and unforgiving Canadian wilderness. The aspiring homesteaders will have to face the harsh realities of living off the land, building shelter and foraging for food and water. The series is being produced by Blue Ant Studios in association with Prime Video, National Geographic and APTN, with financing participation from Rogers Cable Network Fund and the Canada Media Fund. Paul Kilback is the creator and showrunner.

Lastly, Prime Video has ordered 50k First Dates from Peacock Alley Entertainment. The docuseries tells the dramatic true story of Nesh Pillay, a 32-year-old woman who mysteriously lost the last 15 years of her memory, including recollection of her fiancé. Carrie Madd (Travelers, Tiny Pretty Things) and Brent Hodge (Parma Bro, The Longest Third Date) serve as executive producers. Hodge is also directing.

These titles add to the growing number of Canadian originals on the streamer. Since 2015, Amazon MGM Studios has commissioned over 40 Amazon original series and films in Canada, including The Boys, Gen V, Reacher, The Expanse, Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Believe, LOL: Qui rira le denier?, The Sticky, The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal, Upload, The Man in the High Castle, Tales from the Loop and many more.

“We are excited to continue to greenlight and commission content from Canada that will join our growing slate of Canadian stories that include drama, comedy, unscripted reality and documentary in both English and French,” said Brent Haynes, head of originals for Canada at Amazon MGM Studios. “Following the success of Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make Believe, The Unsolved Murder of Beverly Lynn Smith and our two hockey documentaries with NHL productions, today’s announcement is our largest number of unscripted titles to be greenlit.”

Shaun Alperin, head of content for Prime Video in Canada, added, “We are thrilled to be working with so many of the best producers in Canada to bring these titles to our Canadian customers. From award-winning Canadian titles to must-watch guilty pleasures, we are offering even more content our audiences want to see from great Canadian talent.”