Toronto-based Carousel Pictures and Sugar Shack Productions are underway on a second helping of Globe and Mail essay feature series First Person.

Based on the newspaper’s long-running section compiled of personal anecdotes, stories and essays submitted by readers – previously known as Facts & Arguments – cameras rolled on the first instalment of the project in January 2019. It saw directors Renuka Jeyapalan (Kim’s Convenience), Jessie Gabe (Workin’ Moms) and Joyce Wong (Baroness von Sketch Show) select essays to adapt and direct into live-action short films from over 10,000 published articles.

Season two of the Toronto-shot project sees all three directors involved again, with each creative taking on two episodes.

Of note, the first two episodes of this season will be directed by Gabe, followed by Wong and Jeyapalan’s adaptations after a brief hiatus. Gabe is adapting My experience as a lab rat has left me feeling sick about how we treat animals and I’ve learned to box outside my thinking (and reap the health benefits).

Jeyapalan – who previously saw one of her past First Person project’s Life Support make its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2019 – serves as showrunner and executive producer on season two.

Producers include Bruno Lyra, Carousel Pictures’ Tyler Levine and Katelyn Cursio as well as Sugar Shack Productions’ Patrice Theroux. Season two is distributed by iThentic. All episodes of the first season are available on the Globe and Mail’s website, meanwhile, both Life Support and My Wife’s Affair were on CBC’s Canadian Reflections and are available to stream on CBC Gem.

“For obvious reasons, this has been a uniquely challenging time for independent production,” said Carousel Pictures producer Levine in a statement, “but thanks to the financing and guidance provided by the CMF and Ontario Creates, this incubator of young, diverse talent has been able to push through.”

Carousel producer Cursio also added that the production is undertaking regular testing and a health and safety department exclusively dedicated to COVID safety.

This new season of First Person follows Carousel Pictures and Sugar Shack Productions other recent collaboration, All My Puny Sorrows, written, directed and produced by Mulmur Feed Co.’s Michael McGowan.

The drama is adapted from Canadian author Miriam Toews’ sixth novel, which picked up the Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize in 2014, and sees Alison Pill (Vice), Sarah Gadon (Black Bear), Amybeth McNulty (Anne with an E), Mare Winningham (Georgia), Donal Logue (Vikings) and Aly Mawji (Silicon Valley) star.

Featured image: Jessie Gabe, Renuka Jeyapalan and Joyce Wong

Second image: Jessie Gabe on set of season two of First Person