With three-million views, Red Marrow Media and Northwood Entertainment’s North of North debuted at No. 9 on Netflix’s global top 10 for English-language television series the week of its Netflix release on April 10.

The series also broke into Netflix’s top 10 in 27 countries including Jamaica, Uruguay, Kenya and New Zealand.

The comedy was co-commissioned from CBC and Netflix in association with APTN and created by Stacey Aglok MacDonald and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril.

The primarily Iqaluit-filmed series required the building of Nunavut’s first production studio, although the team had secured a temporary production hub for the first season.

North of North follows a young Inuk mother as she tries to rebuild her life in her small, tight-knit hometown.

Bell Fibe TV1 greenlights Normal Scotia second season

Bell Fibe TV1 has greenlit a second season of Halifax-based Amarpal Dhillon and Charles Wahl’s comedy series Normal Scotia.

The 6 x 10-minute series is produced by CMW Productions with Wahl and Dhillon as co-creators and executive producers. Wahl, who directed the first season, is also attached to direct the second season as of now, he told Playback Daily. Season two is anticipated to enter production in the fall and co-written by Wahl, Dhillon and star Akshay Shirke.

Normal Scotia (pictured) follows two Indian immigrants as they adjust to Atlantic Canada culture. Along with Shirke, the first season starred Ishan Sandhu, David Rossetti (Moving Day), Sandi Rankaduwa, Misha Bakshi, Ella MacDonald and Dave Malhi.

Blue Mountain Film Festival unveils lineup

The Blue Mountain Film + Media Festival (BMFM) has unveiled its lineup for the 2025 edition of its Blue Mountain Village, Ont.-held festival.

BMFM opens with the Canadian premiere of Kevin Claydon and Phil Moniz’ Racewalkers (Collective Pictures, Zerotrillion Pictures).

Racewalkers made its world premiere at L.A.’s Slamdance Film Festival in February where it won the Unstoppable Feature Grand Jury Prize, showcasing films made by those with visible and invisible disabilities.

The sports comedy follows a struggling racewalking coach and a washed-up pro baseball player who team-up to take on the best racewalker in the sport.

Racewalker’s cast includes Claydon (21 Thunder), Moniz (Nine Films About Technology), Robbie Amell (Code 8), Greg Bryk (Bitten), Jess Salgueiro (Letterkenny) and Italia Ricci (Designated Survivor).

Producers on Racewalkers are Jeff Chan, Amell, Alex Paquin, Chris Paré, Evan Landry and Amanda Pileggi.

Other Canadian films featured at the festival include Matthew Rankin’s Universal Language (Metafilms), Chloé Robichaud’s Two Women (Amérique Film) and Avi Federgreen’s Home Free (Federgreen Entertainment, Lucky Dime Films, JPO & Co. Entertainment, Filmcoop, Bella Vita Pictures).

The Blue Mountain Film + Media Festival runs from May 29 to June 1.

Any Other Way among Peabody nominations

Michael Mabbott and Lucah Rosenberg-Lee’s Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story (National Film Board of Canada, Banger Films) is among the nominees for this year’s Peabody Awards.

The winners for the 85th annual Peabodys, which recognize excellence across a variety of mediums including television and podcasting, will be announced on May 1 with the awards presented in L.A. on June 1.

Other nominees this year include Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie’s documentary Sugarcane (Kassie Films, Hedgehog Films) and NPR and CBC’s coproduced podcast Tested, which follows elite female runners who have been told they can no longer run as women. The six episode series was created by U.S. podcast prodco Bucket of Eels.

Photo by Jasper Savage, courtesy of CBC