Shaftesbury Films is a

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

and

digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, an ...

production company founded by Christina Jennings in 1987. It is based in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada.

Background

Shaftesbury is a creator and producer of original content for television and digital platforms. Shaftesbury's slate includes 18 seasons of Murdoch Mysteries for CBC, UKTV, and ITV STUDIOS Global Entertainment; detective drama Frankie Drake for CBC; Houdini & Doyle for Sony Pictures Television, Corus Entertainment, ITV, and Fox; thriller series '' Slasher'' for NBCUniversal's Chiller and now available on Netflix; and CBC Kids series The Moblees. Shaftesbury's digital arm, Smokebomb Entertainment, produces original digital, convergent, and branded entertainment projects including the YouTube series and upcoming movie Carmilla; mystery series V Morgan Is Dead; fashion comedy series MsLabelled, produced in partnership with Shaw Media and Tetley Tea; supernatural drama Inhuman Condition; and the ''Slasher'' VR app for iOS, Android, and Oculus Rift. In June 2014, Shaftesbury partnered with Youth Culture to launch shift2, a branded entertainment agency. In 2013, the company signed a first look deal with ABC.

Productions

Productions include '' Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures'' for HBO Canada, based on the Giller-prize winning book by Dr.

Vincent Lam Vincent Lam (born September 5, 1974) is a Canadian writer and medical doctor. Early life and education Born in London, Ontario, and raised in Ottawa, Lam's parents came to Canada from the Chinese expatriate community in Vietnam. He attended S ...

; five seasons of '' The Listener'' for CTV and Fox International Channels; and now in season ten of ''

Murdoch Mysteries ''Murdoch Mysteries'' is a Canadian television drama series that premiered on Citytv on January 20, 2008, and currently airs on CBC. The series is based on characters from the ''Detective Murdoch'' novels by Maureen Jennings and stars Yannick ...

'' for

Citytv Citytv (sometimes shortened to City, which was the network's official branding from 2012 to 2018) is a Television in Canada, Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The network consis ...

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

and

UKTV UKTV Media Limited, trading as UKTV, is a British multi-channel broadcaster, which, since 2019, has been wholly owned by BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide), a commercial subsidiary of the BBC. It was formed on 1 November 1992 through a join ...

's Alibi. Shaftesbury also produced a variety of award-winning programming, including the global hit series ''

Life with Derek ''Life with Derek'' is a Canadian television teen sitcom that aired on Family Channel (English) and VRAK.TV (French) in Canada and on Disney Channel in the United States. The series premiered on Family on September 18, 2005, and ran for four s ...

'' and the movie follow-up to the series, '' Vacation with Derek''. Shaftesbury's newest series, '' Good Dog'', is a half-hour comedy created, written and directed by Ken Finkleman that premiered on HBO Canada in 2011.

Divisions

Shaftesbury's divisions include Smokebomb Entertainment, the company's digital media division responsible for the development and production of original online series and companion web experiences for Shaftesbury's slate of properties; Shaftesbury Kids, their division responsible for several children's TV shows and movies; and Shaftesbury Sales Company, which manages international sales and distribution for the company's content.

Television

The company's television series projects have included: * '' 11 Cameras'' * '' Aaron Stone'' * '' The Atwood Stories'' * '' Backpackers'' * '' Baxter'' * '' Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures'' * '' Connor Undercover'' * '' Dark Oracle'' (co-produced with Cookie Jar Entertainment) * '' Dead Still'' * '' Fool Canada'' * '' Frankie Drake Mysteries'' * '' From Spain with Love with Annie Sibonney'' * '' Good Dog'' * '' Good God'' * '' Houdini & Doyle'' * '' Hudson & Rex'' * '' The Jane Show'' * ''

'' * '' The Listener'' * '' Mischief City'' * '' The Moblees'' * ''

'' * '' Overruled!'' * '' ReGenesis'' * '' Ruby and the Well'' * '' Screech Owls'' * ''

The Shields Stories ''The Shields Stories'' was a Canadian television drama series, which aired on W Network, W in 2004. A short-run dramatic anthology series produced by Shaftesbury Films, the series dramatized six short stories by Carol Shields. The series was a s ...

'' * ''

SisterS A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

'' (co-produced with Peer Pressure Productions) * '' Slasher'' * '' The Sounds'' * '' Splashlings''

Film

Television films produced by Shaftesbury have included: * '' External Affairs'', an adaptation of

Timothy Findley Timothy Irving Frederick Findley, (October 30, 1930 – June 20, 2002) was a Canadian novelist and playwright.

's play '' The Stillborn Lover'' * '' Diverted'' * '' In the Dark'' *

Michael Ignatieff Michael Grant Ignatieff ( ; born May 12, 1947) is a Canadian author, academic and former politician who served as leader of the Liberal Party and leader of the Opposition from 2008 until 2011. Known for his work as a historian, Ignatieff has ...

's novel ''Scar Tissue'' * ''Hemingway vs. Callaghan'', an adaptation of

Morley Callaghan Edward Morley Callaghan (February 22, 1903 – August 25, 1990) was a Canadian novelist, short story writer, playwright, and Television, TV and radio personality. Biography Of Canadian/English-immigrant parentage,Clara Thomas, ''Canadian No ...

's ''That Summer in Paris'' * '' Except the Dying'', '' Poor Tom Is Cold'' and '' Under the Dragon's Tail'', the first three novels in Maureen Jennings' ''

'' franchise which was later adapted by the company into a weekly series * '' Torso: The Evelyn Dick Story'', a dramatization of the murder trial of Evelyn Dick * ''

Terry Terry is a unisex diminutive nickname for the given names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence (given name), Terence, Terrance (masculine). People Male * Terry A. Canales, American politician * Terry A. Doughty (born 1959), American district ...

'', a biopic of

Terry Fox Terrance Stanley Fox (July 28, 1958June 28, 1981) was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, having had one leg amputated due to cancer, he embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for can ...

* six Joanne Kilbourn mysteries, based on the novels by Gail Bowen * '' Eight Days To Live'' * '' In God's Country'' * ''Mount Pleasant'' * ''The Good Times Are Killing Me'' * '' Skyrunners'' * '' Me and Luke'' * '' The Summit'' * '' Sleep Murder'' * '' She Drives Me Crazy'' * '' The Robber Bride'' * ''Lay Them Straight'' Cinema films have included: * '' Swann'', based on the novel by

Carol Shields Carol Ann Shields (née Warner; June 2, 1935 – July 16, 2003) was an American-born Canadian novelist and short story writer. She is best known for her 1993 novel ''The Stone Diaries'', which won the U.S. Pulitzer Prize for Fiction as well as t ...

, * ''

Conquest Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...

'' * '' Painted Angels'' * '' Camilla'' * '' Long Life, Happiness & Prosperity'' * '' People Hold On'' * '' An American Dream: The Education of William Bowman'' Digital films, produced by digital arm Smokebomb Entertainment, include: * '' Darken''

Digital

The company's digital series projects, produced by digital arm Smokebomb Entertainment, have included: * '' Backpackers'' * ''

Carmilla ''Carmilla'' is an 1872 Gothic fiction, Gothic novella by Irish author Sheridan Le Fanu, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. It is one of the earliest known works of vampire fiction, predating Bram Stoker's ''Dracula'' (1897) by 25 years. First published ...

'' * '' Emerald Code'' * '' Houdini & Doyle: World of Wonders'' * '' Inhuman Condition'' * '' MsLabelled'' * '' Murdoch Mysteries: The Curse of the Lost Pharaohs'' * '' Murdoch Mysteries: The Murdoch Effect'' * '' Murdoch Mysteries: Nightmare on Queen Street'' * '' State of Syn'' * ''Unlikely Heroes'' The company's digital arm also oversees KindaTV, the company's distribution channel through

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

hosted by Natasha Negovanlis.

References

External links

Shaftesbury Films

Shaftesbury Films About Us

Shaftesbury Films at imdb

Shaftesbury Films Inc. archives
at the University of Toronto Media Commons {{Authority control Companies based in Toronto Mass media companies established in 1987 Film production companies of Canada Television production companies of Canada