EXCLUSIVE: Toronto International Film Festival goes deeper into television and makes Primetime bigger. The festival has a Primetime television section and TIFF Executives told Deadline they plan to increase selection by 40% by 2026.
By the way, the news came out of MIPCOMCannes TV market, which runs this week. The setting was appropriate as TIFF was at the meeting point with the television industry ahead of the launch of TIFF: The Market next year.
TIFF and Deadline hosted a networking reception with buyers and distributors, and we met with TIFF executives in town, Judy Lung, VP., Strategy, Communications and Stakeholder Relations and Jeff McNaughton, Vice President of Industry and Theatrical Programming.
McNaughton told us that the Primetime section he oversees will expand by 40% next year to include approximately 14 series.
There were six world premieres on Primetime this year, including Detailsopening section of the Netflix series about Mae Martin. Wayward, Black Rabbit Starring Jude Law and Jason Bateman. Origin: History of the African League Basketball. it was the only documentary series.
McNaughton told guests at the TIFF-Deadline reception that several Primetime shows this year have secured deals after airing at TIFF. This is an important moment for MIPCOM supporters, especially as TIFF prepares to launch its own market in 2026.
TIFF: The market will span TV shows, films and next-generation content and will be a notable addition to the calendar. “This year, our 50th anniversary was a truly exciting opportunity to celebrate how far we have come, but also to look to the future and realize our vision for the next 50 years and beyond,” Lung said. “This vision for the future builds on a commitment to deepen TIFF’s support of the global entertainment business, including the launch of an official content marketplace at the festival next September.”
McNaughton added: “We're always looking for shows that we've never seen before that will not only surprise people, but also [projects] who are looking for distribution. And we're leaning towards the idea of creating a content market and building not only what we do in the film space, but also developing what we do in the TV series space, that's really important to us.”
TIFF: The market will run from September 10 to 16. The location will be determined at a later date, but as it proceeds, TIFF has assembled a committee of industry consultants, including television executives from BBC Studios and Blue Ant.
