‘Mayday: Air Disaster’ Spin-Off In The Works
EXCLUSIVE: Mayday: Air Disaster, the hit investigation series that has been airing for more than 20 years, could be about to spin off.
According to Cineflix Productions boss JC Mills, conversations are taking place between producers and networks over new versions of the format, coming as the 25th season of one of Canada’s hottest TV exports prepares to drop.
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While there have been Mayday compilations and specials in the past, this would be the first official spin off in development, although Mills is keeping details close to his chest.
“It’s going to look and feel premium like our show does but will look at what we do from a different point of view and that is what we are trying to craft,” he said. “This could be a different concept but in the same world. We are thinking about ways to expand the brand and hope to have news in the coming months.”
Mayday: Air Disaster, which is called Air Disasters in the States where it plays on the Smithsonian Channel, launched in 2003 and with more than 250 episodes is one of the longest-running Canadian unscripted shows. The doc series examines air crashes, bombings, hijackings and disasters, with high-profile eps exploring the Lockerbie bombings and the 2020 helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant. The series, which has won numerous awards, uses dramatizations and computer-generated imagery to recreate and reconstruct events.
Conversations had taken place several years ago over whether Mayday could come to a conclusion, Mills said, but then the show’s makers realized “as long as we have stories to tell then buyers who want the show can keep taking it.”
“Everyone cares so much about this brand and there is so much focus on keeping it on the tarmac,” added Mills. “If this was on Netflix or HBO you wouldn’t be surprised. The producers do such a phenomenal job.”
Mills said Mayday’s success comes from its universality. “Most people have been on a plane and you can relate to people’s anxiety about what could happen if something goes wrong,” he added. “So I think this is incredibly relatable to everyone.”
To that end, the show currently airs in 170 territories and 45 languages, with Smithsonian Channel having had rights long term in the States. Parrot Analytics recently branded Mayday the top unscripted Canadian series in-demand globally for 2024.
Mills pointed out that it has also been a success on YouTube and FAST, with more than 700,000 YouTube subscribers and nearly 200 million lifetime views. This speaks to the show’s ability to “evolve,” according to EP Alex Bystram.
“We aren’t making the same show that we started making in Season 1,” said Bystram. “The storytelling has changed, the types of stories we do has been expanded, and the visual style has undergone a complete transformation. We also benefit from not having a strict format, each episode has its own unique structure that’s dependent on the specific story we’re telling.”
In the upcoming season, Bystram tells viewers to watch out for the ep on Loganair Flight 670A, a plane that crashed shortly after taking off from Edinburgh, Scotland. “I like episodes in which the investigators really must struggle and use some ingenuity to figure out the cause of an accident,” he added.
Canadian ambassador
At present, Cineflix appears to have defied market contraction and has nine series in production. Mills is positive about the year ahead in Canada, which could be gifted opportunities by the American slowdown.
“I’ve been almost an ambassador for the Canadian business for the last two years,” he added.
“I have been preaching directly to U.S. network buyers saying, ‘At some point you’re going to need what we can provide’. The Canadian workforce and business model can help fill gaps in cost-effective programming. We are now getting those calls [from the U.S.].”
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