On the heels of its ACTRA Toronto Series Ensemble Award nomination and shortly ahead of its season two debut, the short-form sitcom Pink Is In! has been greenlit for a third season by Bell Fibe TV1.

Lisa Crawford created, produces and stars in the critically-praised series, with Gina Lynn Brown-Crawford serving as producer and executive producer; Kim Lombard as writer, producer and actor; Darren Stewart-Jones as producer and casting director; and Aharon Jinjihashvili as director.

Stewart-Jones tells Playback Daily the series’ distributors — Porter Pictures in the U.S. and Parallel Universe Pictures in Canada — are in talks with other broadcasters both within Canada and internationally to expand its viewership.

Each season has four episodes and follows the antics of a diverse group of prisoners and employees in a dysfunctional women’s prison in Hamilton, Ont., where the show is also shot. Patrick McKenna (pictured; Murdoch Mysteries, The Rick Mercer Report) joins season two, alongside regular cast members Elley-Ray Hennessy (My Little Pony) and Trish Rainone (My Roommate’s An Escort).

Season two, premiering on Fibe TV1’s VOD channel and the Fibe App on April 11, has episodes running an average length of 18 minutes. Season 3 is set for release in late winter/early spring of 2023 and includes a Christmas special episode, which begins filming May 30.

Fibe TV1 features short-form, original content and operates in markets in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada.

John Buffone, supervising producer at Fibe TV1, says the channel has filled in a middle-ground for producers like Crawford who “have had a hard time selling to Netflix or HBO because they don’t have a track record, but have the skills, and what they need is support.”

“We’re proud of working with her and other producers like her in the hopes they can get these projects off the ground that other, larger commercial channels won’t take a chance on so they can sell it and monetize it,” he says.

The channel, which has its licence held by Bell and not Bell Media, is dedicated solely to local content that falls into the categories of access and non-access. Access programming can be pitched by anyone in the community via the Fibe TV1 website and Bell will then assist with making that show. Non-access programming is still community-based, but is decided upon by Bell.

“Every single person gets contacted,” says Buffone. “The pitch doesn’t have to be perfect, we work with you.”

The channel funds 100% of its programming and lends out cameras, lighting and other equipment for free to production teams to make their shows. Creators are also allowed to get additional funding through sponsorships or funds if they want to add anything extra to their series.

Buffone says Fibe TV1 punches above its weight, with other series including the Canadian Screen Award-nominated Vollies, created and directed by Jonathan Torrens (Trailer Park Boys, Letterkenny), who also stars in the Nova Scotia comedy produced by Sylvia Beirnes. There’s also the Newfoundland and Labrador-set The Missus Downstairs (Torbay Ponies) featuring Mary Walsh (This Hour Has 22 Minutes), who is also a producer on the series, with Ruth Lawrence.

The reality series Auntie Jillian (Nice Dog Films) saw cross-over success when it debuted on Fibe TV1 and then got picked up by CTV in 2020.

New series in the pipeline include the Indigenous mockumentary The Canoe Project (The Hunting Party and Canoe Productions), which is set to begin production St. John’s on Thursday (April 7) and premiere in the fall. Mark Harnett is creator, star and writer of the series, which reflects on his experience encountering stereotypes when he moved from a small community to St. John’s.

Buffone says The Missus Downstairs and the documentary series A Man Called Charlie, created and directed by Colleen Furlotte, were among the most popular Fibe TV1 series last year. Food shows also do really well on the channel but “there’s no rhyme or reason” as to what clicks with their viewers, he notes.

“When people pitch us, they say ‘What do you want?’ and I say ‘I have no idea, what makes sense for you?'” says Buffone. “The budget is small, so we can take chances.”