In a time when things in the world may feel a little uncertain, Canadian Executive Producer/Showrunner (EP) Roma Roth, offers us a ray of hope.
Roma created, wrote and Executive Produced the #1 Canadian hit TV show Sullivan’s Crossing for CTV which is also airing on the CW and been distributed around the world by Fremantle.
HNMAG: Did you grow up in London, Ontario?
Roma Roth: Yes. I was born and raised in London Ontario.
HNMAG: Did your parents Honeymoon in Rome?
Roma Roth: You mean because my name is Roma? No. It was just a tradition in my family, to have triple R’s in our names.
HNMAG: When did you become interested in film and television?
Roma Roth: Well, I was doing a master’s degree in anthropology specializing in primatology at the University of Calgary when the first hand-held video camera came out. I was interested in using it to collect my data and was able to convince the department to purchase one.
HNMAG: Right.
Roma Roth: I ended up editing all the footage I’d shot during my thesis study into a documentary on the Bonobo called The Uncommon Chimpanzee.
HNMAG: Oh, nice.
Roma Roth: At that time I was also a member of the Calgary Society for Independent Filmmakers and I saw a posting on the bulletin board looking for an assistant to the producer for the TV series, Lonesome Dove. I ended up applying for the job and I got it.
HNMAG: So you started working on Lonesome Dove and from there you moved into other areas of production?
Roma Roth: After that office job I ended up taking various on set jobs in different departments from locations to second Assistant Director (AD) allowing me to get a good understanding of production.
HNMAG: Why did you gravitate towards producing?
Roma Roth: I wanted to be able to develop the shows I was interested in and I also didn’t want to have to rely on someone else for a job. I wanted to be the one creating the jobs.
HNMAG: That makes sense.
Roma Roth: So I set up a management company after moving to LA, and eventually after a few years, and some hard work, sold my first television movie.
HNMAG: Did you have trouble getting a green card or did you have some type of connection with that?
Roma Roth: Actually I went to LA on a short term internship with Alliance after receiving a scholarship from Alberta Heritage and after that I eventually applied for an O1 Visa.
HNMAG: It’s fascinating that once you were established in LA, your work brought you back to Canada for the most part. As a producer, did you decide to move back and forth?
Roma Roth: I moved to LA with the intention of coming back to help grow the Canadian TV and Film industry.
HNMAG: That’s a good way to do it. Work from within the Hollywood industry itself to build Canadian content.
Roma Roth: Well, Hollywood is the center of the film industry so I wanted to go there to learn as much as I could so I could eventually come back to Canada to help the Film and TV Industry become more self sufficient. I’ve always been a big supporter of the industry in Canada, and have produced all of my in house developed movies and series in Canada.
HNMAG: You grew up in London, and you went to Calgary for school. You have a pretty vast Canadian experience. You film Virgin River in BC was that due to Vancouver being a place where a lot of things are shot, or was it something that worked better for the series?
Roma Roth: I have worked all over Canada including Northern Ontario, BC, and my current show films in Halifax, Nova Scotia so I don’t limit where we go. You go where it’s creatively makes sense for the show.
HNMAG: Right. You set Sullivan’s Crossing in Nova Scotia but that was based on a book that was set in the US?
Roma Roth: Yes, the Virgin River books were based in the US as well but I didn’t think to pitch that show as a Canadian content show. But after the success we had with Virgin River I made a conscious decision to set Sullivan’s Crossing in Canada. I wanted to prove you could create a global hit that took place in Canada. In retrospect I believe Virgin River would’ve been equally as successful if we’d chosen to keep the show Canadian.
HNMAG: When do you think broadcasters and studios realized content didn’t need to be so US-centric?
Roma Roth: I think successful foreign language shows like Squid Games helped pave the way. If a Korean show in the Korean language can do well in North America then, setting a series in Canada shouldn’t be a big stretch.
HNMAG: When you’re watching something that has subtitles, and don’t think about the fact you’re reading, then it’s an engaging show.
Roma Roth: Exactly, that’s right.
HNMAG: But why Nova Scotia? Had you ever been there before?
Roma Roth: Actually, no, I hadn’t but I wanted a different setting from BC and I’d heard it was unique. And as Sullivan’s Crossing is written by the same author as Virgin River, I didn’t want it to be too similar. The show is about a woman who returns to her small home town in Nova Scotia, after living in Boston. I wanted the location to be distinctive and have real charm and character. Nova Scotia has that small town vibe and the people have a real warmth. It was the perfect fit.
HNMAG: Did you shoot mostly in Dartmouth?
Roma Roth: No, we shoot at a lot of places in and around the province because I wanted to use the show as a way of introducing the global audience to the beautiful landscape of Nova Scotia.
HNMAG: So what’s next?
Roma Roth: Well, we’re developing a lot more shows we hope to film in Canada and are looking forward to continuing to promote Canada as a filming location and tourist destination to the global marketplace.
HNMAG: Is there anything in development that you want to talk about?
Roma Roth: We have a number of different IP-driven properties that we we’ve optioned including Robyn Carr’s Thunder Point series, and we have a Debbie Macomber book series called Heart Of Texas but we’ve renamed it as we intend to shoot that in Alberta.
HNMAG: Right, that’s as close as Canada gets to Texas.
It was wonderful speaking with Roma Roth a successful Executive Producer and Showrunner with a large international fan base who is setting her shows in Canada and helping the world see how beautiful this country is while she continues to develop and make entertaining and engaging hit shows.