Amazon’s first ever upfront in Canada today in Toronto was headlined by a trio of new unscripted shows and the renewal of two others, as Prime Video seeks titles that reflect local culture, amid a recent surge of national patriotism in the country.

The new originals for the streamer comprise true crime two-parter Romcon: Who the F**k is Jason Porter?, celebrity format Karaoké Club and comedy docu-series Trailer Trash (working title) from Letterkenny and Shoresy producer Jacob Tierney.

The French-Canadian version of LOL: Last One Laughing has been renewed for a fourth run. Also showcased were Simple Plan: The Kids in the Crowd, which is the official title of the music doc announced on stage at the When We Were Young Festival in Las Vegas last October; and a first on-set photo from comedy-drama series Vitrerie Joyal. Each production has a distinctly Canadian flavor.

Prime Video defaulted customers on its basic tier to an ad-supported service in early 2024, leading to Amazon’s inaugural Canadian upfront today. Execs such as Mark Shopiro, Head of Prime Video Canada, and Brent Haynes, Head of International Originals for Canada, spoke to the assembled advertisers, touting their programs as representing “the rich tapestry of Canadian experiences.”

In an interview with Deadline held separately to the upfront, Shopiro outlined the local ambition, saying: “We want to become a first-stop entertainment destination for Canadians, and the way that we will do that is by providing as much great content, selection and convenience for customers as we can that goes across many different types of content categories.”

Haynes noted that given Prime Video’s key shows from elsewhere, such as The Boys or UK unscripted hit Clarkson’s Farm, his originals strategy was to find titles local audiences could identify with immediately. “Our strategy is always customer-facing, so the goal of our originals is to reflect Canadian stories, values and culture back on Canada,” he said.

Canada has experienced a wave of national pride following the fightback against Donald Trump’s “51st state” overtures, and the recent election saw the Liberals retain power on the back of a pro-Canadian culture and business ticket.

Responding to a question on how wider society was impacting the slate, Haynes played down a direct correlation but said: “We want to tell stories in every country that our customers look at and say, ‘Oh, that was made for me.’ We are experiencing a moment of national patriotism, but I don’t think we need to enhance that or feed into it – we’ve been there doing that. It’s just part of you know our DNA at the studio.”

Originals slate

As such, Hayne’s slate is underpinned by local stories. Romcon: Who the F**k is Jason Porter? will follow the dark side of dating in Toronto. It follows the story of real estate broker Heather Rovet, who fell for charismatic handyman “Jace” and believed they were in love until she discovered he was Jason Porter, a convicted criminal with a history of romantic deception. She soon connected with other victims and began to determinedly investigate Porter, risking everything to bring him to justice.

Blink49 Studios is the producer for Amazon MGM Studios, with Allison Brough and Toby Dormer the executive producers. Henry Roosevelt is the director. The docuseries will make its world premiere debut at NXNE in Toronto on June 12 and screen at NXNE in Montreal on June 15.

“You see these stories often coming out of other parts of the world, and here we have this dating scammer story that kind of makes The Tinder Swindler look like a high school prank, and it happened here,” said Haynes. Here’s a trailer.

Elsewhere, Karaoké Club sees celebrities participate in a karaoke competition with entertaining challenges throughout a wild night. Some celebrities are kicked out and others arrive to shake up the dynamic.

The series will launch later this year, with Attraction producing for Amazon MGM Studios. It’s based on Celebrity Karaoke Club, the British show for ITV2 that was presented by Scarlett Moffatt. Hosted by comedian Stéphane Rousseau, the Canadian series will feature celebrity contestants such as Karine Vanasse, Arnaud Soly, Lou-Pascal Tremblay, Debbie Lynch-White, Pierre-Yves Lord and Chloée Deblois.

Trailer Trash is based on the adage that “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” The comedy docuseries follows a pair of unapologetically Canadian brothers from Alberta, Jagger and Dawson, who have transformed their start-up, Young Farts RV Parts, which reclaims and sells old RV parts across North America, into a major success and viral sensation through DIY videos. Set in their RV Super Centre, the series showcases their entrepreneurial spirit and favorite pursuits: beer drinking, darts and turning old RVs into cash, alongside their father, Cam, and mother, Theresa.

Amazon MGM Studios is working in partnership with Lionsgate Canada on the show, which is exec produced by Tierney (Letterkenny). Production will begin in Alberta shortly, with a 2026 release date planned.

Simple Plan: The Kids in the Crowd will chronicle the formation of Canadian punk band Simple Plan in the late 1990s and their rise to stardom through songs such as “Welcome to My Life” and “Perfect”. It’ll feature never-seen-before footage, interviews with band members and contributions from the likes of Mark Hoppus (Blink 182), Avril Lavigne, Dexter Holland & Noodles (The Offspring) and Fat Mike (NoFX). Didier Charrette is the director, with Sphere Media producing and Bruno Dubé, Renaud Chassé and Marie-Hélène Tremblay executive producing. The producer is Samuel Sauvageau.

Season 2 of Faceoff will comprise six episodes and feature players such as the Carolina Hurricanes’ Seth Jarvis, Columbus Blue Jackets’ Sean Monahan and Ottawa Senators’ Brady Tkachuk, offering an unfiltered view of their personal and professional lives. Executive producers include James Gay-Rees, Paul Martin and Hillary Olsen for Box To Box, Steve Mayer for NHL Productions, and showrunner Daniel Amigone. The series will return this fall.

LOL: Qui Rira Le Dernier? Season 4 will feature comedians Guy Jodoin, Phil Roy, Patrice L’Ecuyer, Mehdi Bousaidan, Eve Côte, Liliane Blanco-Binette, Claude Legault, Mégan Brouillard, Guylaine Tremblay, and Anthony Kavanagh as they attempt to make the others laugh and win. The six-parter uses 45 cameras rigged to capture funny moments during the competition. Attraction is producing for Amazon MGM Studios and an early 2026 launch date has been pencilled in.

The first look at Vitrerie Joyal is of series star Martin Matte appearing as André Joyal, the character inspired by the Quebecois comedian’ father. Series follows a first-generation Quebec entrepreneur, who came from nothing to built a prosperous business, and the image points to the atmosphere of the business world in the 1990s.

The previously announced comedy drama is currently filming in Montreal with the previously announced ensemble cast including Pierre-Luc Funk, Pierre-Yves Roy-Desmarais, Marilyse Bourke, Florence Longpré, Guillaume Cyr, François Chénier, Steve Laplante, Rémi-Pierre Paquin, Sam Breton and Marcel Leboeuf. Encore Télévision and Martin Matte are co-producing for Amazon MGM Studios ahead of a 2026 launch.

Prime Video used its Upfront today to tout that it has filmed more than 60 series and films in Canada since 2015. The Boys, Gen V, Reacher, and The Handmaid’s Tale are among the titles that have lensed there, though Canadian producers often privately say original Amazon commissions are relatively infrequent.

Haynes told Deadline that most local originals would continue to shoot on location rather than at Pinewood Toronto, which Amazon announced it is planning last year, as he preferred shows that “feature, the geography of Canada,” adding, “It’s important for us that it doesn’t just look like a studio show.”

Deadline also questioned Prime Video Canada on its position around Trump’s film tariffs plan to add a 100% levy on U.S. shows shot in foreign countries. Given the number of Amazon original shooting in Canada, speculation has been rife, albeit this week’s news that a U.S. trade court had deemed the tariffs illegal will calm the chatter.

“I totally understand the interest in the question and I know there are broader industry discussions going on right now, but we’re really just trying to focus on our Canadian slate and and originals that are coming out and highlighting those for Canadians,” said Shopiro.

Prime Video’s English-language productions to date have included The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal, Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe, a trio of Tom Green programs, The Sticky, Luxe Listings: Toronto, Three Pines, Saving Sakic, All or Nothing: Toronto Maple Leafs, The Kids in the Hall, The Lake and LOL: Last One Laughing Canada, while French-language originals include LOL: Qui Rira Le Dernier?, Nuit Blanche, Pendant ce Temps en Cuisine, Pour un Soir Seulement, L’ultime Gala and Elisabeth Rioux: Sans Filtre.

Despite that list, Prime Video isn’t a volume player, just like fellow international streamers Netflix and Paramount+. Producers broadly still consider pubcaster the CBC and commercial networks such as Bell Media, with its popular streamer Crave, and Corus Entertainment their most regular buyers.

“We don’t ever look at it as a competitive landscape,” said Haynes. “That’s not just not our way of doing things. We see what broadcast is doing, and what others are doing in the market. In some cases the other are shows that you would like for us, but we’re a bit more bespoke, so when I speak to producers, I give them a specific direction – especially if it’s a genre they’re particularly good at. We’re not trying to be too prescriptive there, but we do know where we want to be.”

Hockey and sports

Besides establishing behind-the-scenes docuseries Faceoff, Prime Video is also the home of Prime Monday Night Hockey, which will stream all national regular season Monday night NHL games in English throughout the 2025-26 season. NHL Coast to Coast, a weekly whiparound show, goes out on Thursday nights.

Shopiro said that the NHL plays “a huge, huge part” in dictating what viewers watch. “In Canada, it really doesn’t get much bigger than hockey,” he added. “We look to tier one sports that we think move the needle on our service. Obviously the NHL has been a big, big piece of that and we but we also think about developing a sports portfolio, and we’ve made some really big investments in women’s sports over the last several years with the Professional Women’s Hockey League and we’ve had the WNBA for years.”

Speaking at the Upfront, Shopiro later said: “We’re thrilled to unveil this exciting slate of Canadian series and films that truly captures the country’s diverse creative spirit. These Prime Video productions represent the rich tapestry of Canadian experiences – from the hockey rinks of the NHL to the punk rock scene of Montreal to the trailer parks of rural Alberta – and tell uniquely Canadian stories that resonate globally.

“Combined with our extensive sports programming with exclusive coverage from the NHL, PWHL, WNBA, and upcoming rights to the NBA in 2026, plus access to over 35 Prime Video Subscriptions including Apple TV+, Crave, StackTV, Paramount+, Sportsnet+ and many more, Prime Video is offering Canadian viewers an unparalleled entertainment experience while sharing Canada’s creative voice with the world.”