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CTV, Harlequin agree telemovie pact

Canadian broadcaster CTV has struck a deal that will see novels from publishing group Harlequin adapted for television.

Mike Cosentino

Under the brand and content agreement with Harlequin Studios, the newly established production shingle owned by Harlequin and led by exec VP Brent Lewis, CTV will order more than 20 made-for-TV films based on IP from a catalogue of over 30,000 titles.

The shows will be largely based on romance and mystery novels and will be available on CTV’s recently rebranded CTV Drama channel, as well as French-language net Vrak, from the end of this year.

The broadcaster’s commitment will amount to over 40 hours of new content that will debut as part of a Harlequin-branded programming block.

Mike Cosentino, president of content and programming at CTV owner Bell Media, said the movies would prove “an ideal match” for CTV Drama’s female 18-54 focus, joining shows such as Killing Eve and The Handmaid’s Tale.

“Our partnership with Harlequin not only fuels our viewers’ desires for rich storytelling but also illustrates our commitment to invest in programming that sets CTV Drama apart from the competition.”

Bell Media this week relaunched its rebranded CTV networks. CTV Comedy, CTV Sci-Fi, CTV Drama and CTV Life are replacing The Comedy Network, Space, Bravo and Gusto respectively.

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