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Heated Rivalry‘s Robbie G.K. will adjacent up beryllium seen successful a Bell Media bid adjustment of cult classical drama pic Meatballs.
The series, which is from Bell-owned Blink49 Studios and Incendo, was among nan highlights of Bell’s 2026/27 slate announced today.
Other notable orders see Mark-Paul Gosselaar-starring drama Bulges, and The Littlest Hobo, nan first task from Bell’s improvement and accumulation woody pinch Lionsgate and Point Grey Pictures, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s accumulation house.
Also connected nan slate are a revival of Big Brother Canada, unscripted bid Balls Deep group successful Miami’s world of elite sports and cleanable bodies, nan latest show from Jared Keeso, and Salty, a female buddy drama astir a brace of millennial mermaids.
Meatballs reimagines nan 1979 movie of nan aforesaid sanction for Bell streamer Crave, and is billed arsenic “a coming-of-age way-too precocious communicative that’s adjacent parts saccharine and sexy” group successful a failing summertime campy that still has nan imaginable to beryllium nan champion spot connected world for 200 kids – aliases nan 30 counsellors who calle it their location distant from home.
The movie is notable arsenic Bill Murray’s first starring domiciled and for launching nan profession of head Ivan Reitman, who would spell connected to nonstop Murray and Harold Raimis successful nan likes of Stripes and Ghostbusters. The container agency smash focused connected counsellors-in-training astatine a cut-rate campy successful Ontario. It was distributed by Paramount Pictures.
Justin Stockman, who was precocious upped to Vice-President, Global Content astatine Bell, told Deadline: “Meatballs is 1 of those classical IPs that has been talked astir but difficult to nail down. I’m happy to opportunity we’ve now nailed down nan rights, and tin bring it backmost and modernise it.”
He noted location would beryllium elements specified arsenic gender domiciled switches to make it much due for modern audience, but would “still beryllium racy and funny, pinch a awesome script.”
G.K., who plays Christopher “Kip” Grady successful Heated Rivalry, will prima successful nan eight-part series, pinch Bell’s Sphere Abacus distributing internationally.
The casting is nary coincidence, pinch Stockman saying: “Part of nan strategy is trying to look astatine globally-known Canadians and activity pinch them to elevate what group deliberation of Canadian contented astir nan world.”
Workplace buddy drama Bulges follows connected from a 2024 Crave special, The Dessert Presents: St. Bulges Day. It follows Gosselaar (Saved By nan Bell) and nan eccentric unit astatine an iconic and once-thriving all-male, not-so-family-friendly edifice successful Niagara Falls. LaRue Entertainment and Platonic Friends Productions are making nan show, pinch Sphere Abacus distributing. Stockman said nan show’s reside was “if Hooters was designed for women.”
Also connected nan drama beforehand is Avalon half-hour workplace drama Golden Mile from Joyce Wong and Brian Keith Etheridge; Redcloud Studios and Frantic Films’ I Can’t Save You, astir a Winnipeg azygous mom who stumbles into stand-up comedy; and Salty, successful which Callie and Serena, a brace of mermaids, travel ashore successful small-town Atlantic Canada looking for love, besides from Frantic. Sphere Abacus is trading I Can’t Save You and Salty, nan second of which Carlyn Klebuc, Bell’s General Manager, Original Programming, said was “very unexpected” arsenic she talked up its chances.
The Littlest Hobo will beryllium a live-action play reimagining of nan classical Canadian TV series, which first aired successful Canada successful 1979 astir an ownerless German Shepherd canine who wanders from municipality to municipality helping people. Rogen and Goldberg will constitute and direct, pinch their Point Grey imprint producing alongside Lionsgate Canada.
Another caller play is Thunder Point, from Reel World Management successful relation pinch Bell and Fremantle and based connected Robyn Carr’s NYT bestseller. Running connected CTV, nan ten-part enigma bid comes from nan aforesaid squad down Sullivan’s Crossing, pinch Roma Roth showrunning and Christopher E. Parry among nan executive producers.
Previously announced shows see nan Hudson Williams-starrer Yaga, USA Network co-pro Anna Pigeon, Blink49 Studios play bid I’m Not Here to Hurt You, 1970s-set play Seoul Palace, Chris Lavis’ live-action/animation imagination scary bid Sigil and I Kill nan Bear, a Jared Keeso comedy.
Talent deals
Keeso, who has a multi-year woody pinch Bell, is moving up Cats successful nan Plateau, a six-part drama astir 2 garbage men successful Montréal, who commencement a gang. The Letterkenny creator’s semipermanent accumulation partner, New Metric Media is producing for Crave. Keeso and New Metric are already in production connected I Kill nan Bear, different drama for Crave.
Bell has contented deals pinch Keeso, Elliot Page’s Page Boy Productions, and Lionsgate Canada/Point Great Media. These person yielded Crave drama Slo Pitch from Page Boy, while much specifications from nan bid coming from Seth Rogen’s Point Great via its woody pinch Lionsgate are understood to beryllium coming soon.
Klebuc told Deadline nan Canadian broadcaster is moving connected signing further multi-year agreements, which will beryllium unveiled later successful nan year. “We person a pipeline of talent who we request to activity with,” she added. “We would want to do much of those deals.”
Unscripted orders
The astir eye-catching unscripted bid is for Big Brother Canada, which will beryllium hosted by Andrea Bain and goes into accumulation adjacent outpouring successful Montréal. It comes from Entourage, nan squad down nan French-language Québécois bid Big Brother Célébrités and produced successful relation pinch CTV and Crave. Casting specifications will travel a later day connected nan 30-part program.
This marks a return for reality title bid Big Brother successful Canada. It has been disconnected aerial since nan last play connected Global successful 2024, erstwhile it had 12 seasons successful full aft transferring from smaller transmission Slice.
Stockman called it an “iconic show that does good online,” noting that reality bid specified arsenic The Traitors and The Amazing Race person performed powerfully connected Crave and that nan existing Big Brother location utilized for nan Québécois bid meant costs were much “efficient” and made nan committee “more financially feasible.”
He added: “When it was against us, Big Brother was a show that would wounded us.”
Another notable bid is Balls Deep, an unscripted bid from Blink49 astir “the hidden broadside of Miami’s cleanable bodies and elite sports rivalries.” Matthew Solomon and Blink49’s Toby Dormer and Allison Brough are exec producers.
Klebuc joked nan bid was “a real-life Heated Rivalry group successful nan world of formation volleyball.” She besides talked up Bell’s expanding existent crime slate, including nan communicative of disgraced Olympic showjumping champion Éric Lamaze successful Dark Horse and Ice Dreams (working title), a reality bid group successful nan world of younker hockey.
In total, Bell will motorboat 62 English-language originals, which beryllium alongside 56 French-language originals announced earlier this week.
