Orphan Black studio restructures as Boat Rocker

Canada’s Temple Street Productions has created a parent unit that will house an expanded group of content, rights and ventures companies.

Boat Rocker Media’s creation comes after Fairfax Financial acquired Orphan Black coproducer Temple Street last year. It will be based in Toronto, with offices in New York and LA.

Consolidated in the parent firm are Boat Rocker Studios, which will house Temple Street and other original content creation brands and units; Boat Rocker Rights, which will replace the existing Temple Street Distribution brand that Jon Rutherford established last year; innovation and investment arm Boat Rocker Ventures; IP arm Boat Rocker Brands; and Boat Rocker Animation, which will be based at a new 5,000-square foot space at Boat Rocker’s headquarters.

Temple Street co-presidents David Fortier and Ivan Schneeberg have become co-executive chairmen of Boat Rocker Media, with Temple Street managing director John Young becoming CEO of the new entity.

In a statement, Fortier and Schneeberg said Temple Street’s business “has grown beyond just the making of television”.

“Boat Rocker marks our company’s mission to build a platform for the creation and distribution of world class content of all kinds, with the same core business and creative philosophies we’ve had from the start, but on a much greater scale,” they added.

Boat Rocker Studios will continue to produce TV for the Canadian and international markets, with Temple Street having previously worked on the BBC’s Orphan Black and others such as Killjoys, X Company and The Next Step.

A digital unit, Boat Rocker Digital, will also sit within the studios arm, which expects to “announce shortly the addition of new content creation brands and partners”.

Boat Rocker Rights, the new sales arm, will sell shows such as the recently-acquired Ollie! The Boy Who Became What He Ate, while Boat Rocker Animation will act as a full service studio comprising development, production and broadcaster partnerships.

Last year, Temple Street bought into toon producer Industrial Brothers, which is soon to begin work on new project Dot.

Boat Rocker Ventures, meanwhile, will look at consumer-facing entertainment IP and technology investments. It will also serve a separate function supporting the overall strategic direction and corporate development of its parent.

“With the support of Fairfax, we’re poised to integrate all areas of our growing business in a way we could only have dreamed of a few short years ago,” said Boat Rocker CEO Young.