Six writers have been chosen for the first-ever comedy cohort of the Bell Media Prime Time TV Program, which will see Kim’s Convenience co-creator, writer and executive producer Ins Choi lead the story room as executive producer in residence.

The cohort, announced by the Canadian Film Centre (CFC) and Bell Media, comprises mostly Toronto-based talent: Ameera Siddiqui, who has interned with Bell Media’s original programming team and done freelance script editing; Kanika Ambrose, a playwright, librettist, screenwriter and associate artistic director of Necessary Angel Theatre Company; Mona Hersi, a writer-producer-actor-sketch comedian writing credits including Abroad (OMNI TV); and Vincent Liu, whose recent credits include writing for children’s animated series Pet Shop Zombies.

Also in the inaugural group is Vancouver-based Jackson Chow, who started out in visual effects and has written and directed short films, and Los Angeles-based Shirley Yip, who’s showcased work in the Austin Film Festival, ATX Festival and Script Pipeline, among others.

The cohort runs from October to the end of March 2023 and is for talent “specifically looking to gain experience in comedy writing and engage in a collaborative comedy series story room,” according to a news release.

The program is for Black, Indigenous and/or racialized creators in Canada and aims to reduce barriers to access comedy-related resources while offering an immersive, real-world story room experience.

Choi will mentor throughout the first half of the program, working with the participants as a team to develop a new original series.

The CFC and Bell Media are partners on the Prime Time TV Program, which trains TV series writers and develops new projects for the marketplace. Series developed in the program’s story room have included Travelers (Showcase/Netflix) and Orphan Black (CTV Sci-Fi/BBC America).