Blue Ant Media announced Monday it has acquired the licensing rights to The Ambassador, a new half-hour workplace comedy starring Toronto-born actress Samantha Bee (Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, The Daily Show).
Produced by Canadian prodco Amaze Film and Television and commissioned by CBC, the 10-episode comedy is set to premiere in 2027 and is available to international buyers for pre-sale from Blue Ant at MIPCOM.
Set at a scrappy Canadian embassy in Bulgaria, The Ambassador stars Bee as Olivia Winters, a former actress turned savvy-yet-unorthodox diplomat, and Allana Harkin (Full Frontal with Samantha Bee) as her childhood best friend Andrea Taylor, a sharp, policy-driven Deputy Head of Mission, “who are sent to the hinterland of global diplomacy to uncover new business opportunities in a rapidly shifting world,” reads a description in a Blue Ant press release.
“Tasked with doing more with less, and operating far from the polished centres of power, Olivia and Andrea rely on bold instincts, chaotic brilliance, and unique workarounds to punch far above their weight. Under constant scrutiny, the duo turns diplomatic afterthoughts into surprising wins, even while skating on very thin ice,” the release says.
The series is led by showrunner and executive producer Emily Andras (Wynonna Earp, Lost Girl), with Bee and Harkin also executive producing. Teza Lawrence and Michael Souther (The Lake, Carter) are executive producers for Amaze Film and Television.
“Samantha Bee’s signature wit is at the heart of The Ambassador and we believe its irreverent, fish-out-of-water storyline will resonate strongly with audiences around the world,” Mark Bishop, chief monetization officer for Blue Ant Rights and Streaming, said in the release. “Coming off the international success of the hit series Crew Girl, produced by Blue Ant Studios for Netflix, we’re seeing real momentum across our entire scripted business. Bringing The Ambassador to MIPCOM for pre-sales is an exciting next step as we continue to build our sales portfolio of distinctive comedies, dramas and animation, giving buyers new standout titles alongside proven audience favourites.”
Also making its MIPCOM debut as part of Blue Ant’s new scripted lineup is Signals (eight episodes x 45 minutes), a premium English-language thriller set in Iceland. Commissioned by Siminn in Iceland, Sky Showtime and Canal+ Poland, and produced by Nordic production company Sagafilm, the series is in post production for release in early 2027.
“Signals centres on police officer Magnea and her partner, journalist Sonia, who find themselves pursuing the same unknown extremist group from opposite sides of an unfolding national crisis,” reads a series description. “Bound by professional secrecy and unable to compare what they know, their investigations, and their relationship, come under increasing strain as a wave of cyberattacks and terrorist acts pushes Iceland towards collapse.”
The series was created by Margrét Örnólfsdóttir (Hildur), Sjón (The Northman), Jóhann Ævar Grímsson (Trapped) and Óskar Jónasson (Reykjavik-Rotterdam). Jónasson also directed the series.
Blue Ant’s growing scripted offering spans comedy, animation, young adult, crime and period drama. The portfolio features titles produced within the company’s expand Studios group, including all five seasons of the beloved comedy Kim’s Convenience (65 episodes x 30 minutes), recently licensed to Peacock in the U.S., and both seasons of Strays (20 x 30 minutes), a warm-hearted spinoff of Kim’s Convenience, set in an animal shelter.
Blue Ant has also selectively grown its scripted catalogue through third-party acquisitions, including: In the Pines (six x 60 minutes, Meta Films), a character-driven crime drama inspired by real events and set inside a criminal enterprise built on deception; Elkhorn (18 x 60 minutes, Morningstar Entertainment), an action-packed western chronicling a young Theodore Roosevelt’s transformation following devastating personal loss; and Suspect (two x 90 minutes, Orchard Studios), a gripping factual drama that reconstructs pivotal police interrogations from high-profile true-crime cases in real time.
Photo of Samantha Bee courtesy of Blue Ant Media
