TORONTO — The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) and Bell Media announced today Ins Choi, co-creator, writer and executive producer of Kim’s Convenience, will be the executive producer in residence for the first-ever comedy cohort of the CFC’s Bell Media Prime Time TV Program.
Running from October 2022 to the end of March 2023, the comedy cohort “has been designed for writers specifically looking to gain experience in comedy writing and engage in a collaborative comedy series story room,” explains a press release.
“The comedy cohort is an offering for Black, Indigenous and/or racialized creators in Canada, to celebrate and amplify a diversity of underrepresented voices and stories so they can ultimately be seen and heard on screens in Canada and around the world,” the release adds.
During the first half of the program, Choi will work with the writer residents to develop an original new series. The selection process for the six writers who will be invited to participate in the program is currently underway and their names will be announced in early August, according to the release.
“Bell Media is thrilled to be working alongside Ins, and the CFC, to deliver the first-ever comedy cohort,” said Rachel Goldstein-Couto, head of development, original programming, at Bell Media, in the release. “With a focus on amplifying underrepresented voices, the aim of this story room is to encourage and inspire Canada’s emerging comedic series writers — and there is no one better to lead that campaign than Ins.”
Choi is best known for his award-winning play Kim’s Convenience, which he adapted into the CBC TV series of the same name with Thunderbird Entertainment. The comedy ran for five seasons on CBC and was picked up by Netflix. It won multiple awards, including the Canadian Screen Award for best comedy series in 2018.
Also an actor, Choi’s theatre acting credits include Banana Boys, Lady in the Red Dress (both staged by fu-GEN Asian Canadian Theatre Company); Hamlet, The Odyssey (Stratford Festival); and Death of a Salesman, Alligator Pie (Soulpepper Theatre Company).
Choi is currently developing other creative projects, including his play Bad Parent, which is being produced for fall 2022 by Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre, Prairie Theatre Exchange, and Soulpepper, the release says.
For more, please click here.
