CBC and ABC have come together to make 18 to Life, a Cancom pilot from Montreal’s Galafilm. The deal is said to mark the first time US and Canadian broadcasters have worked together on a prime-time sitcom, and continues the recent trend of cross-border buying and co-operation that has also sent CTV’s Flashpoint and The Listener to CBS and NBC, respectively, and the CBC’s Sophie to ABC Family. A former CBC show MVP has also been playing well on ABC’s sudsy cable sister Soapnet.

‘For the CBC to have ABC invest and collaborate in the pilot for an all-Canadian half-hour comedy series is truly remarkable,’ says CBC programming boss Kirstine Layfield.

The would-be series is about a pair of teen sweethearts who get married at 18, despite the objections of meddling friends and family. It stars Stacey Farber, of Degrassi: The Next Generation with Michael Seater of Life with Derek, joined by Al Goulem (The Tournament), Ellen David (Mambo Italiano) and Peter Keleghan (Billable Hours, The Newsroom.

It comes from creators and exec producers Derek Schreyer and Karen Troubetzkoy, both of whom worked on Galafilm’s teen tennis series 15/Love.

From Playback Daily