The Canadian Screen Awards kick off this week, and producers of some of the feted short-form and digital-first content see a myriad of biz opportunities through the annual recognition of the domestic industry.

CBC Gem made history in 2023 when Fakes (10 x 30 minutes; Reality Distortion Field) became the streamer’s first original series to earn a Best Comedy Series nomination. Meanwhile, the platform’s first kids scripted original Detention Adventure (10 x 11 minutes; LoCo Motion Pictures) earned 15 nominations this year, tied with fellow CBC series Sort Of for the second-most nominations.

In the case of Fakes‘ history-making nomination, producer Stephen Hegyes, co-founder of Reality Distortion Field, tells Playback Daily the series was developed as a more traditional half-hour comedy before its commission by CBC Gem, with Netflix coming in as a distribution partner, so the team never considered it as digital media. The series, created by David Turko, is also nominated for Best Picture Editing, Children’s or Youth.

The nomination marks an evolution for CBC Gem as a contender at the Canadian Screen Awards, which has largely seen original titles compete in the digital media categories. This year is no different, with two originals up for Best Web Program or Series, Fiction: Revenge of the Black Best Friend (iThentic) and Topline (Shaftesbury).

Additionally, Revenge of the Black Best Friend, created by writer and producer Amanda Parris, earned nine nominations — the most in the digital media category for 2023.

Hegyes says earning a nomination like Best Comedy Series for a show like Fakes is impactful when it comes to marketing. He recalls when Double Happiness, a Mina Shum feature he produced starring Sandra Oh, won two Genie Awards in 1994, they promoted the awards success in the film’s theatrical and home video release strategy.

“When you’re doing a show, whether it be an Indie Canadian feature or a smaller TV series, you’re basically standing in the middle of Times Square with a three by five card with your show’s title on it, waving it around, trying to get people to pay attention… it’s a very noisy world,” he says. “So anything that can help bring recognition is welcome.”

Lauren Corber, president and executive producer of LoCo Motion Pictures, who previously won Best Web Program or Series – Fiction for How to Buy a Baby in 2019, says while she can’t quantify any specific impact of awards on distribution or audience, “accolades always indirectly have an impact on your business relationships going forward.”

Other Canadian Screen Awards contenders have a similar perspective. James Stewart, creator, director and producer of the web series Chateau Laurier, says part of the draw of a nomination is the networking opportunities. “From a producer’s point of view, you’re at the party, you’re there all week,” he says. “You get to go to the luncheons, do the panels… you just meet everybody.”

In the case of Chateau Laurier, which earned two CSA nominations for writing and performance in digital media for its second season, Stewart says he’s currently seeking a distributor for the first two seasons and a longer-form version of the web series is currently in development. In the meantime, he’s self-distributing season two, which landed on platforms such as Prime Video, Google Play and Apple TV in January. He has also showcased the series across the festival circuit to continue to build buzz.

Stewart says that awards success has allowed him to sweetened the pot in his pitch package. The festival circuit has led to dozens of awards, including International Web Series/New Media at the Garden State Film Festival, and is currently competing in the 13th annual Indie Series Awards in Los Angeles. The series has also garnered approximately 20 million views on TikTok. “It’s a good proposition,” he says.

Among the 15 nominations for Detention Adventure, co-created by showrunner Joe Kicak and executive producer Carmen Albano, are Best Children’s or Youth Fiction Program or Series, three writing nods for Best Writing, Children’s or Youth, and a sweep of the Best Performance, Children’s or Youth category, with the series leads picking up five of the eight nomination spots.

Corber speculates that the volume of nominations was a matter of the Canadian industry increasingly getting to know the series and its characters, adding that “it’s just a real testament to everybody’s hard work.” She points to the five nominations in the children’s performance as something production was “over the moon” to see, since season three marked the final year with the lead cast.

A fourth season for the series has not been confirmed as of press time, but Corber says the format lends itself to future seasons with a new cast of tweens.

The Canadian Screen Awards ceremonies begin on Tuesday (April 11), running each day until Friday (April 14), culminating in the one-hour broadcast on CBC on Sunday (April 16).

Photo by David Astorga, courtesy of CBC and Netflix