Marlo Miazga Debuts M Media With “Deeply Personal” Doc For CBC
EXCLUSIVE: Canadian producer and showrunner Marlo Miazga is launching a production company with a “deeply personal” documentary for CBC about her death of her teenage child.
M Media will operate out of Toronto, as a IP-focused media business making scripted and unscripted content, with former Sphere Media boss Miazga at the helm.
Miazga’s debut commission, Ground Control, is a feature documentary that has been in development alongside a memoir she is writing for Random House Canada titled Ground Control: Losing My Child to Suicide. The book, co-written with journalist Katrina Onstad, details her tragic story of losing Miazga’s 14-year-old child, Mars, to suicide in 2020 and the aftermath.
Canadian pubcaster CBC has now greenlit production. This will begin in October with delivery aligned for spring next year following the official launch of the book on January 26, 2027. Production finance is in place with Telefilm Canada’s Theatrical Documentary Program, the Canada Media Fund’s POV program and the Roger Documentary Fund all contributing.
Directing the film is Chase Joynt (No Ordinary Man), with Greg Beer and Onstad the writers. Miazga will be joined as an executive producer by Catalyst founder Julie Bristow, who is a long-time colleague and an advocate for mental health, with Ryan Dias also an exec.
Ground Control will have a theatrical run in Canada, which is being handled by Eyesteel Films. Worldwide rights are being shopped.
Miazga is one of Canada’s premiere producers, and was most recently President and exec producer at Sphere Media’s Unscripted and Kids & Family arms. At Sphere, she oversaw docs such as Monkey on a Stick: Murder, Madness and the Hare Krishnas, an adaptation of Anne Allan’s book Dancing with Diana: A Memoir and a doc series based on Sophie Grégoire Trudeau’s memoir-cum-manifesto Closer Together: Knowing Ourselves, Loving Each Other.
Return to entrepreneurial roots
The launch of M returns Miazga to her entrepreneurial roots, having co-founder her first company, NewroadMedia, in 2011 with CBC exec Ann Marie Redmond.
She went on to work with Bristow, another former CBC exec, at Bristow Global Media (BGM), where she developed, created and produced several shows. BGM was ultimately sold to Kew Media, and later became part of Sphere (then Datsit Sphere) when Kew went into administration over six years ago.
She left Sphere in July last year, at which point she began work on her new venture.
“As M Media officially launches, the greenlight for Ground Control marks a deeply personal and professional turning point,” said Miazga. “After this period of reflection and planning, I’ve built the foundations of a company rooted in resilience, creativity, and ethical storytelling.
“We know how to make great shows, that has been proven countless times. The secret now is how to make them whilst experimenting, learning, adapting and remaining open, curious and kind. I’m now ready to tell the most important story of my life and to bring other stories that matter to audiences worldwide.’”
