Following renewals for its first two original scripted productions, Toronto-based Blink49 Studios shows no signs of resting on its laurels, expanding its unscripted division in 2024.

The company released its first two scripted series in 2024: Sight Unseen, coproduced with Sisters Troubetzkoy Productions for CTV, about a clinically blind homicide detective solving cases with an agoraphobic professional seeing-eye guide; and CBC’s Wild Cards, coproduced with Front Street Pictures and Piller/Segan, which follows a demoted cop and a con woman who team up to solve crimes.

Both series were picked up for second seasons following their runs in Canada and in the U.S. via the CW Network. Wild Cards was the U.S. network’s No. 1 new series for the broadcast year, peaking at 635,000 viewers.

The company was also an executive producer and U.S. distributor for The Trades (Trailer Park Boys Inc., Kontent House) on Crave, which was renewed for season two and was the platform’s top Canadian original.

Blink49’s scripted division remains focused on its continuing series and new productions on its slate with a number of greenlights and financing announcements coming, says Carolyn Newman, EVP of global scripted television. Justin Stockman, Bell Media’s VP, content development and programming, told Playback another series will be announced next year.

“It’s never easy to get renewals,” says Newman. “And in particular, with Wild Cards, it was fantastic. We went from an order of 10 to 13, which in this market is unheard of.”

CEO John Morayniss (pictured right) attributes the strong audience out of the gate, as well as the growth for “both broadcasters,” as playing a significant role in the expanded episode order and season two renewal for Wild Cards. Season two will premiere in the U.S. on Feb. 5, 2025.

Part of the scripted strategy going forward, Newman (pictured left) explains, is a larger focus on bringing together the right partners early in the development process. This is both, as Morayniss elaborates, a result of the longer gestation period for scripted series as well as the increasing need for multiple partners in order to secure financing.

“We feel we’re in a really good position to build on that history and legacy of Canadian-based companies that have to … figure out ways to put these copros together and make sure that creative is preserved and is enhanced by it,” says Morayniss.

The studio is still looking at expanding across Canada after its November 2023 acquisition of Vancouver-based Front Street Pictures. For now, its western Canadian operations are confined to Vancouver and Alberta, but Blink49 is also considering acquiring companies in other provinces.

Morayniss says there are ongoing conversations on potential acquisitions of companies in the U.S. or outside North America. “We’re excited and hope to announce something soon.”

Front Street develops roughly 25 to 30 MOWs per year, with Blink49 holding distribution rights to over half, says Morayniss. Among them are Hallmark’s The Groomsmen: First Look, the first in a trilogy that has completed production, and Lifetime’s Buying Back My Daughter, both acquired by Corus Entertainment. The slate also includes Lowlifes, which streams on Tubi in the U.S. and Latin America and Crave in Canada.

Morayniss says he believes there will continue to be growth in this area as many traditional and VOD platforms look to expand their MOW offerings.

Blink49’s unscripted division has taken off since launching in 2022, with Emmy-winning producer Nadine Rajabi joining this past August. Among its first greenlights is an untitled true crime docuseries for Prime Video about a Toronto case that’s currently unfolding. Tara Long, Blink49’s president of global unscripted television, says the project is a “dream show,” which came to the studio as part of a bid between a couple of producers. Also in the works is Queen of the Castle, ordered by CTV Life this year and developed in association with Bell Media. The series focuses on a Canadian socialite couple renovating a 1,000-year-old English castle.

“We’re trying to be very broad and very diverse with the type of genres we’re working in,” says Long. “I think the market is so tough right now, all of our shows have to be great, not just the volume play.”

The commitment to quality extends to the studio’s approach to service production, Long explains. Blink49’s goal is to be the first company called when other productions come up to Canada. Long says the key to their success is close collaboration between the Canadian and U.S. teams.

Morayniss says his definition of service production is an amorphous one. It’s his hope that Blink49 can assist via not only its production infrastructure, but also using its creative point of view to “elevate the material.”

Long  (pictured right) cites Beast Games, the MrBeast game show shot in Toronto, as a standout example of Blink49’s service production strategy at a reported budget of $100 million. The production was hit with Do Not Work notices from the Alliance of Canadian Cinema Television and Radio Artists and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, but Long says those she knew on the production had a good experience, including from other unions. The series premieres Dec. 19 on Prime Video.

As for its original works, Blink49 is still investing in talent long-term. The company announced a first-look deal with veteran producer Pancho Mansfield in July, and in November officially brought Mansfield into the company as president of global scripted television.

Newman confirmed the company has renewed its 2022 development deal with Scarborough, Ont.’s Lilly Singh. Blink49 and Singh’s Unicorn Island Productions are currently in development on a drama series based on the novel Arzu, written by Mumbai-based author Riva Razdan.

Still in progress is its larger distribution strategy. Since launching three years ago, its main strategic partner has been L.A.-based Fifth Season, which sells several of its series and inked a strategic partnership with Front Street in November for international rights to its MOWs.

“We’ve backed Blink49 Studios since its inception … the team continues to attract great talent into their leadership team and make smart strategic investments; it’s been fantastic to see them continue to grow,” said Fifth Season co-CEOs Graham Taylor and Chris Rice.

In the case of The Trades, Morayniss says Blink49 hasn’t settled on the right distribution strategy, as they want to determine how the U.S. distribution may drive the strategy in the rest of the world. Global rights for the series are held by Hamilton, Ont.-based Rollercoaster Entertainment.

For now, its overarching strategy for all of its series, Morayniss says, is to focus on the content first, then “aligning ourselves with a distributor that has more scale and weight in the market” to create a partnership for both sales and financing support.

Pictured (L-R): Daniel Gillies and Dolly Lewis in Sight Unseen; Photo: Michael Courtney/The CW

This story originally appeared in Playback’s 2024 Winter issue