Citytv’s Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent pulled in more than 1.1 million viewers for its debut, making it the No. 1 primetime premiere ever on the channel, according to Rogers Sports & Media.

The Toronto-set spinoff of the popular franchise, produced by Vancouver’s Lark Productions and Toronto’s Cameron Pictures in association with Rogers, launched on Feb. 22. The series also had the No. 1 primetime debut for a drama this season, according to Rogers, which cited data from Numeris.

Tassie Cameron is the showrunner of the crime procedural and also an executive producer alongside Erin Haskett, Amy Cameron, David Valleau, Alex Patrick and Holly Dale. Tex Antonucci and Jillian Locke are co-executive producers. Wanda Chaffey is the producer and Caledonia Brown serves as co-producer.

Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent follows a specialized criminal investigations unit that pursues high-profile cases. The series is distributed by the Universal Studio Group.

The cast includes Aden Young, Kathleen Munroe, Karen Robinson, K.C. Collins, Nicola Correia-Damude and Araya Mengesha.

Yintah to make world bow at True/False Film Festival

Directors Jennifer Wickham, Michael Toledano, and Brenda Michell’s feature documentary Yintah will make its world premiere at the True/False Film Festival in Columbia, Mo.

Yintah looks at the Wet’suwet’en First Nation’s fight for sovereignty. The film premieres on Friday (March 1).

The doc is produced by Wickham, Toledano, Michell and EyeSteelFilm’s Bob Moore. Executive producers include EyeSteelFilm co-founders Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin, and Sam Vinal and Doris Rosso. EyeSteelFilm is the distributor.

Yintah was produced with the participation of Canada Media Fund, Telefilm Canada, the Rogers Documentary Fund, the Indigenous Screen Office, the International Documentary Association, SODEC, Creative BC, and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, in association with CBC and JustFilms.

Rodeo Production hires Travis Richel as EP

Rodex FX’s photo and video production division has hired Travis Richel as executive producer to lead its Toronto operations.

Richel will oversee production and lead motion and stills projects at Rodeo Production, which has a roster of 30 directors and photographers, and has studios and Toronto and Montreal, according to a news release.

Richel comes to the role with a decade of experience leading creative teams in producing video, still, and experiential content. His works include collaborations with the Toronto International Film Festival, Drake, Virgil Abloh, Nestle, Johnson and Johnson, and Canon.

VQFF sets new festival dates

The Vancouver Queer Film Festival (VQFF) has postponed its 2024 event by one month.

The upcoming 36th edition, originally scheduled for August, will now take place from Sept. 11 to 22.

“We are strategically shifting our dates to access more of the best and latest 2SLGBTQIA+ cinema from across Canada and the international festival circuit, and bring them to Vancouver and B.C.,” said Charlie Hidalgo, artistic director of Out On Screen, which organizes VQFF, in a statement. “Creating space between VQFF and Vancouver Pride will also allow our audiences and local partners to give our films and presenting artists the fanfare, attention, and love they deserve.”

VQFF is also expanding its youth programming this year, with select matinee screenings for local school groups.

Photo by Steve Wilkie, courtesy of Citytv