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Good Morning America host Robin Roberts talked up the benefits of embracing diversity in storytelling when receiving the Inclusion Award at the 2024 edition of the Banff World Media Festival on Monday night.

“Immense gratitude to everyone who is involved in this dynamic, vibrant inclusive festival, where everyone is not only welcomed, but embraced,” Roberts told the Rockie Awards gala. “Diversity is being on the team, inclusion is getting in the game. I’m so grateful to A&e to allow me to be in the game, with you,” Roberts, who went from star athlete to becoming a TV anchor, added about A&e, the sponsor of the gala award.

Kevin Beggs, chairman and chief creative officer at the Lionsgate Television Group, was on hand to receive the Award of Excellence at the Rockie Awards gala after serving for seven years as chairman of the board at the Banff TV festival.

“Through it all,...

Netflix has ordered an untitled documentary about the Canadian exit of the Montreal Expos Major League Baseball club nearly 20 years ago.

Jean-François Poisson will direct the film as part of a partnership with Montreal-based indie producer Attraction. The greenlight from Netflix Canada also comes as the streaming giant expands into sports-related content after the success of the Formula 1 docuseries Drive to Survive and golf docuseries Full Swing.

Netflix has followed that up with its first live sports event, a nine-hole golf match called the Netflix Cup and to feature athletes familiar to viewers of Drive to Survive and Full Swing. Netflix is joining a number of other subscription video on-demand services — including Peacock, Apple TV+, Paramount+ and Max — in offering live sports to its subscribers, and without embracing expensive rights packages.

Despite that, with Netflix and other tech giants getting into live sports and angling for future sport rights held by legacy studios,...

Some of you may not know this, but a few of us here on JoBlo have our roots in Montreal. I’m certainly one of them and one of the things I most remember about growing up in the city during the nineties was going to see baseball games at the Olympic stadium with my father on Friday nights. Indeed, I was always excited to see the Montreal Expos play, and for a lot of us, losing our baseball franchise was traumatic, with the team departing in 2004 to become the Washington Nationals.

Now, Netflix is green-lighting a documentary series about that infamous event, with the streamer making the announcement today. The series will be produced in Montreal by a local company called Attraction, which was signed recently to produce French-language docs for the streamer. It’s unknown if this will be done in French, English or – in true Montreal fashion – a mixture of both.

Netflix has picked up an untitled documentary about the Montreal Expos and the events surrounding the Major League Baseball team’s departure in 2004. The doc, which the streamer has confirmed exclusively to Variety, reps Netflix’s next original project out of Canada.

The doc is the first greenlit under Netflix’s new creative partnership with Montreal-based Attraction. Netflix signed a first-look deal with Attraction last November, for French-language film projects to be developed and produced by the company.

Jean-François Poisson will direct the untitled baseball doc. Marie-Christine Pouliot, Attraction’s head producer, documentary, and Richard Speer, president of Attraction, will executive produce.

According to Netflix, the film explores the setbacks that led to the departure of the Expos from Montreal and how the loss of an MLB team in Montreal continues to spark debate 20 years later.

Some of those setbacks included fee disputes between the city and Expos owner Jeffrey Loria over a new stadium,...

Peacock has unveiled the official trailer for its new miniseries “Joe vs. Carole,” starring John Cameron Mitchell and Kate McKinnon.

Based on the Robert Moor-hosted Wondery podcast “Joe Exotic,” “Joe vs. Carole” focuses on the bitter rivalry between big cat zookeeper Joe Exotic (Mitchell) and animal sanctuary CEO Carole Baskin (McKinnon), which was immortalized in the first season of the popular Netflix docuseries “Tiger King.” In addition to Mitchell and McKinnon, the miniseries also stars Kyle MacLachlan, Brian Van Holt, Sam Keeley, Nat Wolf, Marlo Kelly, William Fichtner, Dean Winters and David Wenham.

The trailer depicts McKinnon and Mitchell in character, as Baskin and her husband (MacLachlan) set out to take down Exotic for his abuse of his animals and breeding of big cats for profit.

“He has no idea what I’ve been through in my life,” Baskin says in the trailer. “Individually we are a whimper, but together,...

Investigation Discovery is going behind some of the country’s shocking murders including the 2008 death of toddler Caylee Anthony in a new docuseries.

The network has ordered Crime Scene Confidential, a six-part series hosted by Orange County Crime Scene Investigator Alina Burroughs.

The series, which launches on March 8, will see Burroughs look at the forensic evidence behind controversial and shocking murder cases from across the country.

The first episode of the series explores the evidence in the death of Caylee Anthony and the subsequent trial of her mother, Casey Anthony. Talking to the detectives who investigated the case and interrogated Casey Anthony as a suspect as well as chief medical examiner Dr. Jan Garavaglia who pronounced the cause of death and testified in the trial, Burroughs reveals why those investigating and prosecuting the case felt they had the evidence to go to trial.

Burroughs also reflects on her own time...

The president and CEO of Canadian cargo airline Cargojet has been appointed to the Academy Of Canadian Cinema & Television’s board.

Virmani recently produced Dr. Cabbie and Breakaway via his First Take Entertainment Ltd, while his executive producer credits include Deepa Mehta’s Water as well as Bollywood/Hollywood.

“Ajay Virmani’s wildly successful entrepreneurial expertise, as well as his passion for Canadian cinema and his philanthropic initiatives, make him an ideal fit for the Academy board,” said Academy chair and Prospero Pictures president Martin Katz.

The 17 Academy board members as of August are: Katz; Robin Mirsky; Anita McOuat; Julie Bristow; Paul Bronfman; Don Carmody; Jennifer Dettman; Jonas Diamond; Anne Fitzgerald; Harris Fricker; Scott Henderson; Robert Lantos; Christine Shipton; Gary Slaight; Mark Slone; Virmani; and John Young.

Special advisor is Richard Speer, chair of the Academy in Québec, and ex-officio member is Barry Avrich.

CBC executive director of studio and unscripted content Jennifer Dettman and Shaw Media vp of original content Christine Shipton have joined the board of the Academy Of Canadian Cinema & Television.

“The addition of two of the country’s most well-respected broadcast executives further strengthens the board’s industry relationships and expertise. Their proven record of creativity matched with fiscal strength will be a great addition to the Board,” said Academy chair Martin Katz.

The Academy board comprises Prospero Pictures president Katz as chair; Rogers Group Of Funds executive director Robin Mirsky as vice-chair; PriceWaterhouseCoopers retired partner Gabriel Nachman as treasurer; BT/A Advertising president Barry Avrich; Bristow Global Media president and CEO Julie Bristow; Comweb Corp and William F White International Inc chairman and CEO Paul Bronfman; producer Don Carmody; and Dettman.

Remaining members are executive producer Jonas Diamond; Cineplex Entertainment chief legal officer Anne Fitzgerald; Gmp Capital Inc CEO Harris Fricker; Bell Media vp of communications...

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television pleased to announce that

CBC executive director of studio and unscripted content Jennifer Dettman and Shaw Media vp of original content Christine Shipton have joined the board of the Academy Of Canadian Cinema & Television.

“The addition of two of the country’s most well-respected broadcast executives further strengthens the board’s industry relationships and expertise. Their proven record of creativity matched with fiscal strength will be a great addition to the Board,” said Academy chair Martin Katz.

The Academy board comprises Prospero Pictures president Katz as chair; Rogers Group Of Funds executive director Robin Mirsky as vice-chair; PriceWaterhouseCoopers retired partner Gabriel Nachman as treasurer; BT/A Advertising president Barry Avrich; Bristow Global Media president and CEO Julie Bristow; Comweb Corp and William F White International Inc chairman and CEO Paul Bronfman; producer Don Carmody; and Dettman.

Remaining members are executive producer Jonas Diamond; Cineplex Entertainment chief legal officer Anne Fitzgerald; Gmp Capital...