The L.A. Complex
The L.A. Complex To Air In The U.S. Sooner Than Expected
More and more, with production costs ever rising, Canadian networks are looking to partner up with American broadcasters on content deals both countries can share.
It doesn’t always work. For every Flashpoint you have a couple of Combat Hospitals. That shot-in-Toronto series was the most watched scripted hit in Canada last summer, but when it failed to find an audience on ABC it was shut down, an example of a Canadian hit being cancelled by a U.S. network.
Still, costs being what they are, there are enough Can-Am successes for executives at CTV, City and Global, as well as CBC, to continue to explore deals with ABC, CBS, NBC and vice versa.
“Rookie Blue is the poster child for that,” says Paul Lee, ABC’s entertainment president. The ABC/Global drama is a consistent summer hit in both countries and begins its third season in June. “Audiences love it and it is very on brand for us,” says Lee. “Obviously it doesn’t cost us at the levels of the big launches we have at fall. So yeah, we love co-productions.”
being on brand may be the key to landing a two-country content deal. a good example is The L.A. Complex, a shot-in-toronto drama about aspiring young canadian actors in hollywood just picked up by the cw network.
“we’re leaving no stone unturned, we’ll look at everything,” says thom sherman, head of development at the cw. sherman says the l.a. complex was brought to him by ctv and the agency that represents the project for international sales, william morris endeavor.
“we loved it,” says sherman. “it’s an authentic look at people trying to make it in los angeles. it was edgy and smart, funny and fresh, and it just felt like a show that belonged on our network.”
the original plan was to air the series in summer, but the cw is so high on the l.a. complex, which hails from the people behind the degrassi franchise, the plan now is to put it on after One Tree Hill ends in April or May.
