Saloon Media unveiled various recent staff additions intended to strengthen its expansion efforts in North America. Betty Orr was promoted to Senior Vice President of production to oversee the region’s growth. At the same time, Pam McNair will soon contribute as a Production Executive and Elizabeth St. Philip as Senior Producer. “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.
Upon assuming her new, altered role, Orr will continue working alongside Managing Director Michael Kot will lead all aspects of Saloon’s production operations. The former Head of Production began her tenure with the company when it launched nearly two decades ago, enriching the new establishment with 25 years of TV and film production experience. “Betty’s vision and expertise have 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,” Managing Director of Saloon Media, Michael Kot, said.
She is credited with playing a crucial role in developing Saloon’s team and content catalog. She recently served as Executive Producer for “Canada’s Drag Race,” Prime Video’s “Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer,” and T+E’s popular series, Hotel Paranormal. “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,” Orr said.
Orr’s promotion was announced as McNair accepted her new Production Exec role. The award-winning producer will now be tasked with factual series productions for buyers in North America and other regions worldwide. She has garnered ample production experience spanning docu-series, real, competition programming, game shows, dramatic features, and live television events, including the Olympics games. Some of her popular credits include “Hockeyville,” Chopped Canada,” and “Great Adventure,” among many others. An award-winning producer and director, St. Phillip, will be responsible for producing documentaries and docu-series. She previously directed and produced “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. She previously garnered experience at CTV and the National Film Board of Canada, which won her over 20 awards of recognition.
The staff changes were confirmed amid a period of accelerated growth for Saloon, which produced more than 100 hours of content last year. The company’s most recent series include “Canada’s Drag Race” and “9/11 Kids,” among many more. “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,” Kot said.