LONDON and TORONTO — Warner Bros. International Television Production (WBITVP) and Toronto-based LoCo Motion Pictures today announced WBITVP has acquired the global distribution rights (excluding Canada) to How to Buy a Baby, an International Emmy-nominated CBC digital original series.
Created by Wendy Litner, How to Buy a Baby is a dark comedy drama that follows a couple who are struggling to conceive a baby.
“The series provides a voyeuristic view of a marriage under pressure and shows just how much suffering a couple will endure for a bundle of joy. Deeply moving and awkwardly hilarious, How to Buy a Baby proves that even the most difficult experiences can connect us to our humanity and make us laugh,” reads a description of the series in the press release.
WBITVP Sweden is the first of Warner Bros.’ operating companies to adapt the comedy drama’s format, with season one of the locally titled Alla Utom Vi (Everyone Except Us) having premiered on Sweden’s Discovery+ platform in February as a 10-episode series. A second season has already been commissioned there.
Producer of the series, LoCo Motion Pictures was founded in 2015 by award-winning producer Lauren Corber (above). The independent production and distribution company specializes in digital storytelling, having produced other CBC digital series including My 90-Year-Old-Roomate, action/adventure kids series Detention Adventure, and the 1980s-set comedy series The Communist’s Daughter.
“Tackling contemporary and universal themes, How to Buy a Baby is an authentic and entertaining story that engages the audience from beginning to end. Wendy has done such an incredible job of balancing the humour and the heartache in a way that is so relatable,” said Corber, in the press release. “We receive daily messages from our Canadian viewers about how meaningful the series is to them and we’re so excited for the opportunity to bring this story to audiences around the world.”
How to Buy a Baby won the best comedy award at the 9th annual Indie Series Awards and the award for best original digital series (fiction) in 2019 at the Canadian Screen Awards. In 2020, the series was nominated for six CSAs. The series also won for best comedy writing at the International Academy of Web Television as well as being nominated for best fiction series at the Banff Festival’s Rockie Awards and was an honouree comedy (long form or series) at The Webby Awards.
