Marlo Miazga developing doc based on memoir about loss of teenage child to suicide
Marlo Miazga, the former president of Sphere Media’s unscripted and kids and family divisions, has struck a deal with Penguin Random House Canada to write a memoir about the loss of her child Mars, who died by suicide in 2020 at the age of 14.
The Canadian executive is simultaneously in development on a documentary, with both the doc and book detailing the tragic story of Mars’ death and the aftermath, as well as shining a light on the growing issue of youth suicide.
Both projects are titled Ground Control and, per a press release, the memoir charts the story of how Mars – who used the pronouns they/them/their – walked “quietly on to the tracks at Toronto’s Ossington subway station and waited for a subway to take them.”
In the weeks and months after Mars’ death, Miazga kept a video journal as a means of processing her grief and distracting from the immeasurable loss. That first-person record serves as the basis for the memoir and documentary, and a broader exploration of the systemic issues surrounding mental illness in today’s youth.
The book deal was brokered by Jody Colero and Steve Osgoode, Toronto-based literary agents at licensing agency The Story Division, and Penguin Random House Canada publisher and VP Sue Kuruvilla. Set for release in January 2027, the book is being co-written by Miazga and journalist and podcaster Katrina Onstad.
Meanwhile, Miazga is in the process of putting together the documentary project, with Onstad also serving as a producer alongside Miazga and Toronto-based producer and writer Greg Beer.
The book and documentary will not cover the exact same ground. Rather, one will inform the other, Miazga told C21. Under one potential plan, the documentary would be released on the heels of the book, with one being used to cross-promote the other.
The news comes three months after Miazga announced her departure from Sphere Media, where she had oversight of unscripted, documentaries and kids and family. She was previously the CEO at Bristow Global Media.
Miazga told C21 that, as the five-year anniversary of Mars’ death approaches, she feels now is the right moment for her to begin telling this story. “Ground Control is not just about grief and tragedy, it’s about resilience, love and hope inside the unimaginable,” she said.
She added that time has given her a little more perspective to tell this story through a wider lens, and not simply as a document of her own grief. “That’s not what we’re doing. As a filmmaker, I know that those are very important stories but the story here is about how the rates of child suicide have skyrocketed, particularly since 2012, which is largely due to social media.”
Miazga and the production team are currently developing and pulling together financing for the documentary, with the goal of going into production in summer 2026. The overall goal of both projects is to support change in the conversation around mental health in young people, said Miazga.
“I feel a duty to tell the story because I have a platform, and I come from an industry that knows how to tell stories and can amplify those messages,” she said. “I now know it’s my responsibility tell my story from a granular approach to help zoom out on youth mental health and the very real epidemic of suicide in our teens.”
