Tom Hastings is the Head of Original programming for Paramount+ in Canada. Hastings joined the company in the Fall of 2022. In this role, Tom leads the Paramount+ commissioning strategy in Canada. He oversees all development and production for Canadian original productions. Tom is the former VP of Scripted at Muse Entertainment. Previously, Hastings was the Director of Drama in Bell Media’s Original Programming Unit, where he supervised the development and production of original Canadian dramatic series and feature films across Bell Media’s family of channels, including CTV, SPACE, BRAVO, and CRAVE.
Hastings is responsible for some of Canada’s most critically acclaimed drama series that have received wide-spread international attention, including: Cardinal, Transplant, Wynonna Earp, 19-2, The Disappearance.
With experience creating content for the worlds of conventional, specialty and SVOD programming, Tom’s successes include the International Emmy award nominated series, 19-2 and the ground-breaking limited series, Cardinal which was lauded by The Globe & Mail as “so good it is landmark Canadian TV.” Winner of back-to-back Canadian Screen Awards, Cardinal sold into 110 territories around the world and recently aired on the BBC. Another program he was instrumental in bringing through development and to broadcast was CTV’s medical procedural, Transplant was winner of the Best Drama Series at the 2021 CSAs. In advance of its successful broadcast on NBC, Transplant was hailed by the Wall Street Journal as “the series [that] will make its debut as the best medical show on American television.”
Hastings is the former Creative Head of CBC Drama where he supervised the development and production of drama programming for the network’s prime time schedule and under his direction was responsible for developing. Previously, Tom worked as a highly regarded Production Executive at Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. and also was the Manager of Research at National Geographic Channel Canada.
Tom also holds a doctorate degree, having obtained his Ph.D. in English Literature.
