Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is launching his own production company, alongside his former Chief of Staff Katie Telford.
Unveiled at the Toronto International Film Festival, the pair described their new venture – “Hope & Hard Work” – in an announcement as a “multidisciplinary media and entertainment enterprise dedicated to developing and producing engaging stories across film, television, audio and live experiences.”
The prodco’s initial slate includes an adaptation of Closer by Sea, from Canadian television writer, author and producer Perry Chafe, known for co-creating Republic of Doyle and Saint-Pierre.
Trudeau and Telford will also serve as executive producers on television series, Detective Aunty, from Canadian novelist Uzma Jalaluddin. Produced by Neshama Entertainment and Todd Berger, the mystery series’ central protagonist is a widowed South Asian mother who returns to Toronto after her daughter is accused of murder.
Writer, actress and producer Jessie Gabe (North of North, Workin’ Moms, Mr. D) and Shebli Zarghami (North of North, Late Bloomer, Kim’s Convenience) are behind original series, Le Collège, about best friends navigating a private high school in Montreal.
The slate also includes political series, Backchannels (working title), based on the book The Right Hand: Conversations with the Chiefs of Staff to the World’s Most Powerful People by Phoebe Saintilan-Stocks. It’s described as a fast-paced, scripted series following a new Chief of Staff learning to navigate politics and power. Rom-com series, Power Moves, from fellow Australian author Leesa Ronald also follows a political advisor, whose efforts to re-elect her boss are complicated by a persistent journalist.
“At a time when the world can feel increasingly divided, we believe in the power of great storytelling to bring people closer,” Trudeau and Telford stated. “In building Hope & Hard Work, we are finding stories that evoke empathy and understanding that can reach audiences in transformative ways; stories that transcend our own beliefs, and help us see the world through someone else’s eyes, and remind us of what we share. The projects we are working on reflect this ambition, and we are excited to bring these stories to the screen.”
Neither Telford, nor Trudeau, have a direct background in film and television. Telford has been a career bureaucrat and has worked with Trudeau since the mid-2000s, including serving as his national campaign director and Chief of Staff to the PMO’s office from 2013-25.
Prior to serving as Prime Minister, Trudeau held roles as a high school drama teacher and snowboard instructor. His prior brushes with film and television include several minor acting roles, including starring as his relative, Major Talbot Mercer Papineau, in CBC WWI miniseries, The Great War, in 2007, and a voice acting cameo in 2019 on Corner Gas Animated.
