Christian Kelley Joins ‘Shelved’ Producer Counterfeit Pictures

Jesse Whittock
·2 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: Shelved producer Counterfeit Pictures has hired Canadian networks veteran Christian Kelley.

Effective May 21, the long-time Bell Media exec will join as Director of Scripted Television, overseeing both development and production.

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Over the past two decades, Kelley has worked on numerous Canadian shows. In his role as Production Executive at broadcaster Bell, he worked on shows such as Children Ruin Everything, Letterkenny, Shoresy and Late Bloomer, along with Counterfeit shows The Office Movers, Roast Battle Canada and Shelved.

He also overseen comedy specials from the likes of Aisha Brown, Kyle Brownrigg, Sophie Buddle, DJ Demers, Mark Forward, Tom Henry, Robby Hoffman, Graham Kay, Chris Locke, Dave Merheje, Paul Rabliauskas, Chris Robinson, and DeAnne Smith.

“Chris is hugely respected in the Canadian production community for his deep experience in scripted television, his unwavering support for creators, and his passion for funny-forward storytelling,” said Counterfeit partner Dan Bennett. “Taking on the role of Director of Scripted Television, Chris is a vital addition to our company as we continue to build upon our mission to develop screen-based projects with innovative Canadian talent.”

“I’m so excited to start this new chapter of my career with Counterfeit,” added Kelley. “I have so much to learn from them and I hope I can contribute to their continuing success of hiring the only likable people in Canadian comedy.”

Counterfeit is currently in production on The Office Movers, a six-part comedy series for Crave from content creators Jae and Trey Richards.

In further news, Counterfeit has promoted Zoe Rabnett to Director of Talent, Television and Audio. The change reflects Counterfeit’s push into podcast and album productions. Under the banner Counterfeit Sounds, the Toronto-based company recently released its first podcast for Audible Canada, Benefits With Friends starring Mae Martin & Sabrina Jalees and the album “Honourable Intentions from Debra DiGiovanni. A slate of comedy albums is planned to drop throughout 2024.

The hire comes at a nervy time for the Canadian TV industry following news last week that the Writers Guild of Canada had for the first time in its history authorized a strike. Should its current impasse with the Canadian Media Producers Association over a new Independent Production Agreement continues, writers could down their pens in a repeat of the industrial action in Hollywood last year, just north of the border this time.

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