Toronto-based HeartHat Entertainment is continuing to build out its unscripted slate with projects that explore “interesting characters and life situations from a unique point of view” following the broadcast premiere of its latest series, Bollywed, on CBC.

HeartHat, which specializes in unscripted projects and formats, was formed by Carolyn Meland in 2015. The boutique prodco’s series Bollywed (pictured) premiered on CBC on Jan. 12 and follows the Singh family, which has been operating a bridal shop in Toronto’s Little India neighbourhood for 37 years.

Bollywed was co-created by director of photography Gurjeet Mann and Meland, who both serve as executive producers. The series has been in the pipeline since 2015, after Mann found the Singh family and pitched the idea to Meland. They tell Playback Daily they produced an initial sizzle reel that same year and pitched it to Canadian and U.S. cable networks but “the timing wasn’t right,” noting “it was prior to shows like Indian Matchmaking being on Netflix. It was before the whole Bollywood streaming trend.”

The duo decided to re-pitch the series in 2021 as they knew broadcasters were actively looking for more inclusive programming. “This time when we re-pitched it, we made it less of a Say Yes to the Dress and more of a docu-follow/scripted comedy hybrid,” says Meland, adding that CBC wanted such a show “about an intergenerational-run family business, which would shine a spotlight on the South Asian community… they wanted a story-driven series.”

“One of the reasons we feel we got greenlit by CBC was that they had already seen our other series We Bought a Funeral Home [on Discovery+] and really liked it. We had proven to them that we can build a show around a real family and make it universally appealing. The mandate for more diversity was definitely a factor as well. But in the end, they were sold by the compelling characters and the colourful world in which the series lives,” says Meland.

CBC wanted to see an updated sizzle reel rather than their 2015 version, so the pubcaster gave the prodco development funding to produce an updated one that showcased the family’s current lives, she adds.

By April 2022, HeartHat got the greenlight and started principal photography that June, with filming taking place in and around Toronto until October. Bollywed, directed by Sebastian Cluer, received funding from CBC, the Rogers Cable Fund, the Canada Media Fund, and federal and provincial tax credits.

It took far less time to get a greenlight for their limited series We Bought a Funeral Home, which was also created and executive produced by Meland and Mann. It premiered on Discovery+ last October and follows a Toronto family who renovated an 1800s Victorian funeral home in Dresden, Ont. Since its launch last October, the series continues to be in the top five on the platform’s shows, according to a news release.

Meland first contacted the family after reading an article about them in December 2020 and, within a couple of weeks, she and Mann were in Dresden filming the family for a sizzle reel. They presented it to various broadcast executives, including Warner Bros. Discovery’s Matt Trierweiler, director of original programming and development for HGTV, and Loren Ruch, group SVP of production and development for HGTV, in January 2021.

Meland says they already had a working relationship with HGTV and Trierweiler, having developed a show that did not get greenlit in May 2018.

Within a couple of days of the We Bought a Funeral Home pitch, Discovery+ gave HeartHat an advance to move forward with development and capture the family’s move from Toronto to Dresden in February 2021. The series got the official greenlight in March 2021 and production started that July for 18 months.

“Those docu-follows are hard to do because you’re dealing with real people. There’s no script, you have to make it happen … but they’re really rewarding when they succeed,” says Meland.

The prodco’s slate also includes HGTV’s Great Canadian Homes, which was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Lifestyle Program or Series; CANAdooDAday for CBC Kids, which won a Prix Jeunesse International Award; Slice’s Brides of Beverly Hills; and the series and format Style by Jury, among others.

The company says it is now in talks with CBC on what a second season of Bollywed would look like. HeartHat is also working with Blue Ant International on the possibility of bringing the series to U.S. and worldwide audiences.

As for We Bought a Funeral Home, she says that since it’s a limited series and the house is nearly completed and followed a very specific story arc, they will not be doing a second season. However, Meland says they’re “looking for other incarnations of the We Bought A … brand.”

“Gurjeet and I are always interested in the fish-out-of-water type of stories — ordinary people doing remarkable things, or just ordinary characters that resonate with audiences and it’s one of the things that is a hallmark of the type of shows we gravitate towards,” says Meland.

The prodco is also in development on series about a TikTok influencer who is also a funeral director in Long Island, N.Y., for which Meland and Mann just finished shooting a sizzle reel. The company also working with Benny Morgentaler, the son of Canadian physician and abortion rights advocate Dr. Henry Morgentaler, on a pitch for a documentary feature about his journey to discover more about his father. Meland says the doc is not in development yet.

Meland says their main focus is putting their own creative stamp on their projects.

“We are strong at putting together great creative teams that we know will deliver amazing results,” she says, noting they look for people who have a genuine passion, love for the craft of storytelling, strong work ethic and a quirky sense of humour to support the outsider point of view they seek in their projects.

“We try and keep a small footprint overhead-wise, and stay financially unencumbered. We want to continue developing original Canadian programming that resonates with audiences and will travel successfully around the world.”

Image courtesy of HeartHat Entertainment