TIFF Primetime Proves TV Renaissance is Far from Over

For the second year in a row, the Toronto International Film Festival hosted Primetime, premiering five high-quality TV programs for the red carpet treatment ahead of the 2016 Fall TV season.

Much like an ordinary film festival program, TIFF Primetime puts writers and producers on stage and gives media and festival passholders an advance look at what programmers predict will make waves—the only difference, is this time it is looking to the small screen for the next big thing.

The move is a nod to the quality of TV programming in production from all over the world. With the distinction between TV shows, movies, miniseries and webseries continually dissolving, the inclusion of TV in one of the world's biggest film festivals signals the industry's embrace of the medium as a permanent cultural force equal to movies—this TV 'renaissance' is now a permanent shift in how the medium is perceived.

That's great news for both broadcasters and direct response advertisers as media buyers and advertisers continue to look for new ways to reach broadcast audiences—and new programs worth exploring.

So, according to TIFF, what are some hot properties for 2016? This year Amazon's Transparent, Kenya's Tuko Macho, UK's Black Mirror and Czech Republic's Wasteland all received TIFF premieres. The Primetime program also premiered three episodes of Nirvanna the Band the Show, a Canadian production for new network Viceland—an adaptation of a smash webseries. Critically acclaimed, this rich TV content is both good for audiences and great for marketers.