This series of key personnel moves supports the company’s continued expansion in North America
(TORONTO, ON – February 23, 2022) Saloon Media, a Blue Ant Media company, today announced the appointment of Betty Orr to Senior Vice President of Production, Pam McNair to Production Executive, and Elizabeth St. Philip to Senior Producer, as part of the company’s continued expansion. These personnel moves will see Orr take on an expanded executive role, and bring McNair and St. Philip, who have worked with the company on award-winning projects, including Canada’s Drag Race and 9/11 Kids respectively, to the production team in a full-time capacity.
In her expanded role as SVP of Production, Orr will continue to work closely with Managing Director Michael Kot to lead all aspects of Saloon’s production business. Previously serving as Head of Production, Orr joined Saloon Media when it launched in 2013 and has more than 25 years of television and film production experience, ranging from producing award-winning television series such as Kids In The Hall to her critically acclaimed feature film, Cube. Orr has played an integral role in building Saloon’s team and slate since the company’s inception, and recently served as executive producer on Canada’s Drag Race (produced with Blue Ant Studios for Crave), Prime Video’s Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer, and T+E’s hit series, Hotel Paranormal, narrated by Dan Aykroyd. Prior to Saloon, Orr worked with eOne, Cineflix, White Pine Pictures, Decode Entertainment (DHX Media), Jim Henson Productions and CBC.
“I am so proud of what we are creating at Saloon and am eager to continue working with our talented team to produce new content that is not only entertaining, but also impactful and informative,” said Orr. “I look forward to continuing to expand our footprint in North America and beyond, and to developing more exciting projects as we continue to grow our dynamic slate.”
“Betty’s vision and expertise has played an invaluable role in building Saloon’s business since the day our doors opened. We’re thrilled for her to take on this expanded role as we continue to grow our production presence,” said Michael Kot, Managing Director of Saloon Media. “Pam and Elizabeth are best-in-class creatives with whom we have had the opportunity to work on several projects over the past few years, and we are extremely fortunate to now have them bring their talents to our team full-time.”
Pam McNair joins Saloon as Production Executive, reporting to Orr. An award-winning producer, McNair has previously worked with Saloon as a producer on projects including Canada’s Drag Race and Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer. In her new role, McNair will produce factual series for buyers in North America and around the globe. McNair’s production experience spans docu-series, factual, competition programming, game shows, dramatic features, and live television events including several Olympic Games. Her previous credits include Hockeyville (CBC and Kraft Canada), Chopped Canada (Corus), Shaun’s Great Adventure (CBC), The Magical Gathering (Disney + CBC), and 2000 TODAY, a global television special commemorating the beginning of the Year 2000.
Elizabeth St. Philip joins Saloon as Senior Producer, reporting to Kot. An award-winning producer and director, St. Philip will develop and produce documentaries and docu-series for national and international markets. Her credits include directing and producing the feature documentary 9/11 Kids for Saloon, which was nominated for three Canadian Screen Awards in 2021, won the Donald Brittain Award for Best Social/Political Documentary, and won a Rogers Audience award at Hot Docs in 2020. Previously, she was a senior producer for CTV, where she covered national news for 20 years. St. Philip has also directed documentaries for the National Film Board of Canada, and her work has won or been nominated for over 20 awards across the industry.
These moves come during a period of rapid growth at Saloon Media, which produced over 100 hours of content in 2021. Saloon’s recent series include World’s Most Scenic River Journeys (co-produced with BriteSpark East for Channel 5 UK and Smithsonian Channel Canada), History By The Numbers (CuriosityStream + Smithsonian Channel Canada), Deep Water Salvage (The Weather Channel + Cottage Life), See No Evil (Investigation Discovery), Mysteries From Above (Cottage Life), The Lost Colony of Roanoke (T+E), and Life Below Zero: Canada (Cottage Life).