(Toronto/Montréal) | November 20, 2025

The Bell Fund is proud to announce the results of the 2025 Short-Form Digital Series Production Program – with $1.57M for production and $420,000 for audience development to be awarded to 14 projects selected from a competitive pool of 43 applications from across Canada.

The Short-Form Digital Series Production Program supports the creation of high-quality, market-driven Canadian  series, produced for online platforms, across a broad range of genres and formats. Designed to empower Canadian producers and bring compelling stories to audiences, this year’s program continues the Bell Fund commitment to advancing diversity, inclusion and regional representation.

The selected projects include dramas, comedies, and documentaries produced for 10 different broadcasters and platforms serving Canadian viewers.

Highlights:

• 57% of supported projects are from companies that are majority-owned by individuals who are Indigenous and/or are from Diverse Communities;
• 50% of supported projects are from companies that are majority-owned by individuals who are Women and/or Gender-diverse;
• 57% of the supported Key Creative Teams are comprised of 40% or more individuals who are Indigenous and/or are from Diverse Communities;
• 64% of the supported Key Creative Teams are made up of 40% or more Women and/or Gender-diverse individuals;
• 7% of supported projects are from companies that are from Official Language Minority Communities (OLMCs); and
• 64% of supported projects are from companies that are regional and/or owned by emerging producers.

The following projects received funding:

Project	Synopsis
The Split Sideways Dog Productions, ON 6 x 20 min, Comedy English OUTtv	A couple is thrown into a big gay world that has moved on without them after the brutal end of their seven-year relationship.
Gumboot Kids Field Notes Imagine Create Media, BC 10 x 5 min, Children and Youth Live Action English YouTube – Gumboot Kids	Field Notes is a digital spin-off of the television series Gumboot Kids. Scout, Daisy, and a diverse group of young explorers become curious “fact collectors,” discovering the wonders of nature through joyful observation, fun facts, and simple everyday actions that help kids connect with and care for the natural world.
Miss Persona: Sing, Pretend and Play! Balloon House Productions, BC 18 x 5 min, Children and Youth Live Action English Stack TV	Emmy-nominated Canadian preschool icon Miss Persona returns in a new live-action series where she guides six stuffies in an outdoor Montessori-inspired classroom while caring for her energetic two-year-old daughter, Hopey. She’s an imaginative problem solver who lives in a beautiful forest and explores emotional regulation with her best friend, the viewer at home, through music, dress-up and play!
Northern Tails, Season 2 Shot in the Dark Productions, YT 6 x 15 min, Children and Youth Live Action, Factual, Comedy English Northwestel Community TV	A snackable mash-up of smart and silly, Northern Tails is a wildlife “mocumentary” series featuring a film crew of ground squirrels that bring you close encounters with the boreal forest, showing that in this extraordinary (and unknown) place, all creatures make a big impact on each other and the planet.
One Baby Please Kate Green Productions, BC 6 x 15 min, Comedy English OUTtv	A laidback Arab immigrant, Omar, and his uptight Barbadian husband, Dieon, fight the system, their friends and family to achieve their ultimate dream: having a gayby.
Sea Salt Human Moves Media, PEI 8 x 20 min, Drama English JustWatchMe.tv	Ben, an internet technician and father-to-be, finds himself trapped in a remote fishing village on an island of the dead. To return home, he must relive the villagers’ pasts and uncover the Island’s dark secrets.
Sexy Touch Afro Viking Pictures, NS 6 x 15 min, Comedy English OUTtv	When a queer couple transforms a derelict church into a sex-positive shop, their dream business spirals into a small-town circus of ego clashes, dildo disasters, cock-ring catastrophes, BDSM blunders, and Baptist protesters.
The Brink: How to Save a Species Empress Avenue Media, BC 8 x 20 min, Documentary English CHEK+	They're one of the most endangered species in Canada, but Vancouver Island Marmots are fighters. So are the people advocating for their survival. The Brink explores the human impact – the anxiety, isolation, heartbreak and hope – of safeguarding one of the world’s most endangered mammals.
Belle-mère – Saison 2 Trinome II , QC 8 x 15 min, Comédie Français TOU.TV	La saison 2 suit Fred, partagée entre ambitions professionnelles, rôle de belle-mère et vie de couple avec Jules, qui ne veut pas avoir d’autres enfants. Entre l’ex envahissante et familles recomposées en crise, la série explore avec humour et tendresse les défis modernes pour trouver sa place dans cette réalité.
Casse-toi Roméo et Fils, QC 7 x 12 min, Drame Français Noovo.ca	Lorsqu’il s’installe à Montréal avec sa mère, Manon, Oli est déterminé à vivre pleinement sa sexualité fluide, mais il craint que cela nuise à ses retrouvailles tant attendues avec Malik, son meilleur ami d’enfance, après trois ans de séparation.
Faire Bombance URBANIA Média, QC 8 x 20 min, Documentaire Français TOU.TV	Je m’appelle Catherine St-Laurent, je suis comédienne et créatrice de contenu. Dans Faire bombance, je convie des chefs renommés, des producteurs locaux et des créateurs de contenu cumulant des millions d'abonnés à cuisiner de la bouffe délicieuse. Ensemble, on crée sans se prendre au sérieux, avec un maximum de fun!
Méchant Numéro Moi et Dave, ON 10 x 12 min, Comédie jeunesse Français TFO Idello	Méchant numéro est une comédie éducative où trois colocs délirants transforment leurs petits problèmes quotidiens en aventures mathématiques. Entre absurdité et imagination débordante, chaque épisode mêle humour, fantaisie et pédagogie pour prouver que les maths peuvent être aussi drôles qu’utiles, dans une série ludique et surprenante.
Pénélope Partout Écho Média Productions 3, QC 8 x 17 min, Comédie dramatique Français Telequebec.tv	Pour se sentir exister, Camille simule et provoque des accidents. Quand Pénélope, une infirmière au grand cœur, la sauve d’un faux coma éthylique, Camille vit quelque chose de fort, d’unique. Pénélope, elle, ne le sait pas encore mais un piège est en train de se refermer sur elle.
Temps Partiel Afro Dynamic Web, QC 8 x 10 min, Comédie Français Telequebec.tv	Au PARKING, boutique prisée des jeunes filles branchées, Amélie, Marion et Cynthia jonglent entre travail, ambitions et quêtes personnelles. Entre rivalités, alliances et crêpages de chignons, elles découvrent que la vie en commerce de détail peut forger le caractère… ou détruire, parfois autant qu’une paire de jeans mal choisie.