CBC and BBC Northern Ireland last week announced the greenlight of a new original comedy series, Committed, starring Dustin Milligan (Schitt’s Creek, Hot Frosty) and Diona Doherty (Derry Girls, Blue Lights).
Coproduced by Toronto-based Cameron Pictures and Belfast-based Fabel Productions, Committed is a 10-episode, half-hour romantic comedy that “follows Canadian Peter Hooley (Milligan), a recently divorced accountant, who falls head over heels for Northern Ireland woman Julie Johnston (Doherty) after a whirlwind weekend in Toronto, and crosses the Atlantic to declare his love—only to discover he’s landed in an old-fashioned and eccentric rural Northern Ireland village that’s nothing like he imagined,” reads a CBC press release.
Produced under the UK/Canada Co-Production Treaty, Committed was co-created by Keith Martin, Gerry Dee and Tim Loane, who is showrunner, and developed under the Northern Ireland Screen/Canada Media Fund Co-Development Initiative for Audiovisual Projects.
Filming is currently underway in County Down, Northern Ireland, with additional scenes shooting in Hamilton, Ontario, according to CBC’s press release. Committed is slated to premiere on CBC and CBC Gem in winter 2027 and is expected to air on BBC Northern Ireland around the same time.
Additional cast members include Ian McElhinney (Derry Girls, Game of Thrones), Dan Gordon (Blue Lights, Bloodlands), Muki Zubis (This is Going to Hurt), Seamus O’Hara (House of Guinness, Say Nothing), Patrick Buchanan (Blue Lights, Warrior), Chris McCurry (Belfast, Obituary), Athena Karkanis (Manifest, The Handmaid’s Tale) and Georgie Murphy (Stumble, Gen V).
“Committed offers a classic fish-out-of-water comedy intertwined with a unique love story that follows the all too human aftermath of a grand romantic gesture, rather than the build-up to it,” Sally Catto, general manager of programming at CBC, said in the broadcaster’s press release. “We know the show will connect with audiences in Canada and around the world thanks to its heart and authenticity, and are excited to be partnering with BBC Northern Ireland alongside the outstanding teams at Cameron Pictures and Fabel Productions.”
Executive producers of Committed are Amy Cameron, Tassie Cameron and Alex Patrick for Cameron Pictures, Keith Martin for Fabel Productions, Tim Loane, Gerry Dee, Jessie Gabe, and Molly McGlynn, who also directs the pilot and four episodes. Peter Huang directs five episodes. Dustin Milligan is a co-executive producer along with Karen Tsang, Caledonia Brown and Shebli Zarghami. Chris Martin is producer. Writers include Loane, Gabe and Zarghami, with supervising producer Kurt Smeaton and consulting producer Linsey Stewart.
For CBC, Catto is general manager of programming, Trish Williams is executive director of scripted content, Sandra Picheca is director of current comedy production, and Mélanie Lê Phan is executive in charge of current production. For BBC Northern Ireland, Eddie Doyle is head of content commissioning and Jason Butler is commissioning editor.
Additional financing for the series was provided by the Canada Media Fund and Northern Ireland Screen.
Global distribution of Committed is being handled by Fox Entertainment Global.
Photos of (l-r) Dustin Milligan, Diona Doherty, Ian McElhinney, Dan Gordon, Muki Zubis; Seamus O’Hara, Patrick Buchanan, Chris McCurry, Georgie Murphy and Athena Karkanis, courtesy of CBC
