The Mediapro Studio, the Spanish production and distribution heavyweight, is launching a production office in Canada in partnership with Emmy-winning showrunner and producer Charles Wachter, to produce new unscripted TV fare and formats for the U.S. and other international markets.
Stopwatch Media, to open in Toronto, will add to global production footprint for the Barcelona-based company behind such series as the HBO Max thriller series The Head and films including The Good Boss with Javier Bardem and Official Competition starring Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas.
And Stopwatch Media will allow Wachter – whose credits include Amazon Prime Video’s Beast Games, ABC’s Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, Fear Factor and Netflix’s Million Dollar Secret – to leverage Mediapro’s international partnerships to produce new series alongside other foreign producers in Canada.
“Capitalizing on the trend of U.S. shows coming to Canada, this is about putting a flag in the ground and building out the production infrastructure to deliver ambitious, globally relevant shows,” Wachter said in a statement. Stopwatch Media will be headquartered in Toronto, already a key production hub for major studios and streamers producing their own originals for expanding global platforms.
“The Mediapro Studio has always sought to partner with bold creative voices who can push the industry forward, and Charles Wachter is exactly that,” Pam Healey, head of unscripted at The Mediapro Studio U.S., added in her own statement as Mediapro Studio looks to develop and produce new global unscripted formats.
The Spanish company’s slate includes series Her Majesty, Celeste, Yakarta, Quite and The Other Side, while also producing documentaries and unscripted series like Six Dreams, All or Nothing: Manchester City, MotoGP Unlimited and Fernando.
Mediapro Studio has ties to HBO, Netflix, Prime Video, Sky Showtime, Disney, TelevisaUnivision, Movistar Plus+, Atresmedia, RTVE and Mediaset.
