Image Arts Professor gets green light for new television script

In partnership with Rogers, the Black Screen Office (BSO) recently announced the second-round recipients of their annual Script Development Fund focused on Black and People of Colour (BIPOC) creators. Image Arts professor Lia Langworthy was one of 16 recipients chosen for the generous and coveted script writing fund for her new television script, Charity Case.

Langworthy has written for CBS, Showtime, FX, TvOne and ABC, among others, and has won several awards for scripts she has written over the years. Her most recent television script was selected for the second-round of the Rogers-BSO Script Development Fund dedicated to BIPOC writers and producers. In total, 16 recipients were chosen, representing French and English scripted and documentary works to financially support Canadian creators and bring their ideas to fruition. The fund will be vital for each project, supporting the recipients from the early stages of development to finalized second drafts (scripted) and treatments (documentaries) by early 2023. 

Originally from the West Coast, Langworthy moved from her home in Los Angeles four years ago to pursue her educational career teaching scriptwriting at Toronto Metropolitan University. Throughout her career, she's gained considerable accolades as a screenwriter, filmmaker, published poet and essayist, alongside her role as an educator. 

Charity Case: a story about love and belonging in Toronto

Langworthy's television script is a heartfelt account of living and belonging in a foreign place and reflects her own lived experience. The series follows Charity, an African-American woman who swaps her American reality for Toronto, who ultimately finds her quest for love, friendships, community and belonging just as complex.

"Inevitably, the theme of belonging finds its way into my writing. Being half Black and half white, I grew up never feeling I fit in. Now as an American in Canada, I feel the same," Langworthy said.

Langworthy remarked how turbulent her move to Toronto had been, but it was this turbulence that was the impetus for creating the show. The script for the show, she describes, is “very much an immigrant story.” 

"Nearly everyone I've grown close to in Canada is an immigrant. I can't pretend to understand others' experiences but luckily television is a collaborative effort,” she said. “The pilot might be my work, but the show will be written by immigrants of all hues. Charity Kase is a series about the resiliency of humans to bounce back from tragedy and heartache and find freedom from what pains them. Freedom is not offered or found in a place but rather freedom is found when joy outweighs fear."

A catalyst for emerging Canadian talent

The screen development fund will play a foundational role in the production of Langworthy's television script, allowing her to accelerate the entire process and build a fully-fledged, television-ready script in a mere six months. 

"Without the support of the BSO fund, my pilot idea might have remained just that - an idea," commented Langworthy. "As a multi-tasking professor at TMU, finding the time to devote to writing a new project can be challenging. But with the BSO's tight deadlines and industry support, I'll write my tv pilot in six months. I'm honored and grateful to be a recipient."

Langworthy, along with the other fund recipients, will also attend a two-day Writers' Retreat to kick off the program outside of Toronto. The two-day intensive will be led by Glenn Cockburn of Meridian Artists and will focus on the craft and career of being a television writer. The recipients will be mentored throughout their scriptwriting process by industry professionals, including coaching sessions on pitching themselves and their materials.

Interested in learning more about Langworthy and the Script Development Fund? Read more about Langworthy's submission and the Rogers-BSO fund. (external link, opens in new window)