This Halloween, Canadians will be in for the scare of the season when “American Horror Story” premieres as part of the launch of FX Canada.
The intense new drama, which stars Jessica Lange, Connie Britton and Dylan McDermott, rattled reporters when it was screened at the recent Television Critics Association summer press tour in Los Angeles.
That it is part of an aggressive new programming strategy from Rogers should also throw a North American Horror Story scare into rival broadcasters in Canada this fall.
Rogers’ announcement last Saturday in Los Angeles that they have partnered with Fox on importing FX finally brings one of the most prized U.S. cable programming brands north of the border.
“We’re real excited about it,” says Scott Moore, Rogers broadcasting president, who says advertisers are keen to buy into FX fare like ‘Sons of Anarchy.'”
The move comes as Rogers, which also owns City, Sportsnet, the OMNI stations and several digital TV channels, continues to crash the cosy CTV/Global big boys broadcast club. In May, Rogers reportedly outmanoeuvred traditional Fox buyer Global (owned by Shaw), scooping several “buzz” shows for fall, including Steven Spielberg’s dino drama “Terra Nova,” “The Playboy Club” and the comedy “New Girl” starring critics’ darling Zooey Deschanel.
When it was suggested at those acquisition meetings that Rogers might want to take a look at the FX comedy “Wilfred” (starring Elijah Wood), talks began to swing more toward buying a share of the entire FX brand.
Those negotiations, spearheaded by Rogers’ executive vice president Malcolm Dunlop, continued until just before an agreement was announced last Saturday at the TCA press tour. The deal brings most of the current FX show line-up to Canada under one roof for the first time. Some FX shows, such as the Emmy-nominated modern western “Justified” – executive produced by Canadian-born showrunner Graham Yost – aren’t part of the deal – yet.
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“Justified,” which is distributed in Canada by Sony, currently airs on the premium Pay-TV service Super Channel. FX executives are negotiating with Sony to eventually swing that series to FX Canada. Other shows, such as popular biker drama “Sons of Anarchy,” will also have a delayed migration. FX Canada subscribers will catch up with the first and second season of that series before rights to Seasons three and four are transferred.
The most valuable FX asset Rogers now shares may not be the programs but the president and general manager, John Landgraf.
In seven years at the helm, Landgraf has helped craft one of the most admired brands in U.S. television. It’s not just the shows that have emerged – “Rescue Me,” “Damages,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” – it is the way Landgraf does business.
Nine out of the last 10 pilots FX has ordered have gone to air, an extraordinarily efficient ratio. (Broadcasters, such as NBC or ABC, typically shoot as many as 20 pilots before settling on five or six fall entries.) Even when an FX series fails, as “Terriers” did last season, critics mourn. Landgraf’s reputation for nurturing talent, plus a spike in ratings and Emmy nominations, has FX at the top of the creative community’s pitch list.
His efficient, indie-film-style operating system may also be a model for Canadian TV production. FX comedies like “Louis,” produced for a little over $300,000 per episode, cost a fraction of what a U.S. network comedy costs. FX’s first big Emmy-winner, “The Shield,” was produced for $1.3 million per episode its first season. Both figures are far closer to Canadian show budgets than American.
Landgraf says he does it by standing back and letting creative people do their own thing. Network changes and interference, he says, always cost money.
Reached by phone at his office in Los Angeles, Landgraf also says he wanted a dedicated outlet for FX programs in Canada, “for as long as I can remember. We would have loved to launch a channel on our own, but the nature of Canadian law is you can’t do that.”
Canadian TV stations must be owned by Canadian companies. In the past, other popular U.S. cable brands have been imported under partnership arrangements. These have met with mixed results. Global tried and failed to bring the E! brand into Canada several years ago before abruptly dropping it. Bell (parent company of CTV) is trying again and also imports MTV shows under the MTV Canada banner. Astral, which owns The Movie Network in Eastern Canada, has had success with its partnership with HBO on HBO Canada.
Landgraf admits he’s no expert on Canadian culture but guesses viewers here have “a level of sophistication or nuance more synonymous with brands like HBO and FX.” He has a sense that FX comedies like “Louis” and “Wilfred” are very compatible “with Canadian writers, actors and comedians who have thrived in the American marketplace.”
FX Canada could soon provide opportunities for those writers and actors. The new venture is required to devote at least 15 per cent of its schedule at start up to Canadian fare. Landgraf is hoping shows written by and starring Canadians will eventually land on both FX and FX Canada schedules.
“It’s going to be a conduit to the creative community in Canada,” he says. “I have no doubt something great is going to come out of that.”
Moore says Rogers plans to “invest smartly” in new Canadian content and has brought in former Corus executive Claire Freeland as director, development and production. Moore, a former CBC Sports executive, is also leaning on former public network colleague Fred Fuchs – long a fan of Landgraf – to help identify projects.
FX’s marketing department is also known for “cutting through the noise” with aggressive, original campaigns. Rogers’ deal gives them full access to Landgraf’s marketing machine.
Rogers plans to introduce FX Canada Nov. 1 as part of the “Rogers VIP” subscription package. Carriage agreements with other carriers are currently being negotiated.
FX Canada may even sneak on the air Oct. 31. When Moore heard FX was planning an “American Horror Story” Halloween marathon, he wanted to jump on the opportunity in Canada. He also plans to preview “Horror Story” as well as “Wilfred” on Citytv and might even test a sports-themed FX comedy, “The League,” over on Sportsnet.
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Bill Brioux is a freelance TV columnist based in Brampton, Ont.
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