Boat Rocker expands self-commissioned factual slate with three new titles

Jon Rutherford

Canada’s Boat Rocker Studios has commissioned a trio of factual series, including Cities of Mass Construction (8×60’), as it continues to expand its slate of fully financed projects.

Cities of Mass Construction, which is currently in production in Toronto, uses CGI and 3D visual effects to explore the origin stories of 16 cities including London, New York, Rome, Hong Kong, Paris and Istanbul.

It is written by Phillip Daniels, Craig Colby, Denis Seguin and Christopher Nelson. Executive producers are Boat Rocker Studios’ co-founders Ivan Schneeberg and David Fortier, Jon Rutherford and Joey Case, with Daniels producing.

The greenlight announcement comes ahead of Mipcom, where it will introduce the projects to international buyers. The shows are part of Boat Rocker’s new unscripted slate, which is developed in-house and led by Natalie Vinet (senior VP of unscripted global sales and content) and Case (senior director of creative affairs, unscripted).

The company is also in pre-production on Empires: Lost & Found (8×60′), a series that uncovers the secrets of ancient empires, and Treasures: Lost & Found (8 x 60′, working title), which examines how ancient artifacts were stolen and, in response, how wide-net sting operations have been set up to ensnare thieves and black market brokers and ultimately recover these treasures.

“There is consistently strong global demand for unscripted series about historical enigmas, undiscovered societies and engineering triumphs,” said Boat Rocker’s president of global content and sales, Jon Rutherford.

“Boat Rocker is committed to financing the development and production of content that we believe in, and that we know will be watched by global audiences. We’re excited to launch these new series at Mipcom.”