Roku has acquired the upcoming Canadian-produced comedy “Children Ruin Everything.” The move marks the first international acquisition for Roku and its growing original series roster.
The comedy, from “Schitt’s Creek” and “Kim’s Convenience” writer Kurt Smeaton, stars Meaghan Rath and Aaron Abrams. Ennis Esmer and Nazneen Contractor are also among the cast.
“Children Ruin Everything” will be Roku’s first scripted comedy.
Here is the logline for the series:
“Children Ruin Everything” is about living with the worst roommates of all: young children. Astrid and James struggle to find a balance between being ‘Mom and Dad’ to two kids and being who they were before offspring. “Children Ruin Everything” explores the hilarious and varied ways kids can tear down your life and, if you’re lucky, replace it with something you have to admit is pretty okay, too.
Roku’s head of scripted content Colin Davis told TheWrap in an interview that the acquisition is in line with their strategy of being opportunistic when it comes to original programming. Roku has had success with the Quibi library it bought from the short-lived streaming service, with shows like “Die Hart” and “Most Dangerous Game” getting second seasons. Roku is already reviving “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” as a holiday movie.
The Roku Channel now reaches an estimated 70 million people in the U.S. as of in Q1 2021.
“We got 80,000 movies and TV shows in our library, so clearly there’s a lot to choose from,” Davis said. “We have to think about how we source these just beyond the U.S. There’s such a huge audience and it’s such a rich and diverse audience that we shouldn’t hidebound ourselves to one simple strategy. We should be thinking about many ways to bring great content to our consumers.”
Davis added that “Children Ruin Everything” wasn’t just an off-pitch acquisition (i.e. when you buy a show that’s already been produced and aired). “This was something that we got involved with when the scripts were written,” he said. “We were helpful in shaping it for what our audience you needs.”
“’Children Ruin Everything’ was inspired by my own parenting experience, where every plan my wife and I made was thwarted by our kids in surprising and funny ways. Of course, this experience isn’t unique to us – which is what makes the stories we tell in this series so relatable. I’m thrilled to partner with Roku on this project and bring the show to the US,” Smeaton said in a statement.
“Children Ruin Everything” is produced and developed by New Metric Media in association with Bell Media for CTV, with the participation of the Canada Media Fund. Bell Media Distribution is the international rights holder for “Children Ruin Everything” and New Metric Media is the series’ exclusive Sales Agent.