The Beaverton, The Disappearance greenlit for 4K broadcast

Bell Media announces its pickup of Pier 21's half-hour comedy and a new six-part drama ahead of its upfront next week.

Bell Media has officially revealed two of its greenlights ahead of next week’s Canadian upfronts, and both will air in 4K.

With sports and nature programming already seguing into standardized 4K formats, Bell Media claims that it will be the first broadcaster in North America to commit to a 4K original scripted series with new serialized drama, The Disappearance. The six-part serialized drama is about the disappearance of 10-year-old Anthony Wilson, who goes missing on his birthday during a treasure hunt. The show will begin production in Montreal and the surrounding area this fall, and is being produced by Montreal-based Productions Casablanca.

The media co’s second 4K pickup is a TV adaptation of satirical news site, The Beaverton.com, for Comedy; the pilot for which was shot last year. The new half-hour series is produced by Pier 21 Films, and will go to camera in front of a live studio audience in Toronto this summer. The Beaverton will hosted by co-anchors Emma Hunter and Miguel Rivas, and also feature a rotating cast of comedian correspondents. In 2015, ThBeaverton.com had more than six million views in 2015, according to numbers from Bell Media.

Bell Media announced a few of its L.A. Screenings acquisitions earlier this week, nabbing shows like the Kiefer Sutherland-starring Designated Survivor. It will host its upfront next Tuesday in Toronto.

From Media in Canada