After the massive success of Canadian romantic drama series “Sullivan’s Crossing” — which was recently renewed for a fifth season — Fremantle, Bell Media and Reel World Management knew they’d found a rare partnership.
“Within the first year of ‘Sullivan’s Crossing,’ you’re kind of dating,” Michela Di Mondo, Fremantle’s executive vice president of distribution for Canada, tells Variety. “And early on, we realized that we were in marriage territory, so we knew that there was a willingness to look at the next project.”
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Earlier this month, the 10-episode series was officially announced at Bell Media’s upfronts, which drew an unprecedented amount of attention after smash-hit hockey romance series “Heated Rivalry,” an original for its streaming service Crave. On the heels of the Bell announcement, Di Mondo says she’s “never had so much proactive reach-out before, ever.”
“Following the phenomenal success of ’Sullivan’s Crossing,’ we knew we had to reunite this exceptional creative team to bring ‘Thunder Point’ to life,” says Carlyn Klebuc, general manager of original programming for Bell Media. “Collaborating with our outstanding partners at Fremantle and the immensely talented Roma Roth to adapt another of Robyn Carr’s beloved worlds is a winning formula for CTV and Crave.”
Fremantle is handling international sales on the series, and Di Mondo says other partners are eager to get on board sooner rather than later. “The idea is when you come in early — and that’s why these conversations are happening early — you shape it,” she says. “You’re part of the dialogue of casting, of leaning into this story or this character.”
Although the team is coming into “Thunder Point” with the prerequisites for success, Di Mondo says it was also important that they weren’t just doing the same thing over again. This “point of difference,” as she calls it, comes with the mystery aspect to the series.
“What will be a really nice addition is this mystery component to it, because the environment will be a big factor to that mystery,” she teases. “‘Thunder Point,’ for us, combines everything buyers are looking for. It’s beloved IP, it’s premium production value, it’s mystery, it’s romance, it’s world audiences. It’s something you want to return to again and again.”
More than anything, the continued success of “Sullivan’s Crossing” and excitement around “Thunder Point” underlines the huge moment Canadian drama is having right now on a global scale.
“I’ll never forget being in a meeting and someone’s like, ‘Ugh, Canada’s here.’ And now it’s a little like, ‘Canada’s here!’” Di Mondo says. “We’re just as equally relevant as the U.K. and U.S. — it’s not a stigma. We’re gonna be a little bit unabashedly proud now, and just lean in. We’re leaning in on the romance, we’re leaning in on the location, we’re leaning in on the mystery. This is the fun part of having a track record of proven success.”
