Boat Rocker Takes CBC True-Crime Series 'Doula' to Global Market Ahead of October Premiere

Boat Rocker Studios will sell CBC true-crime documentary Doula – A True Crime outside Canada.

The company has taken international distribution rights, meaning it will offer the series to buyers abroad, and will launch it at MIPCOM Cannes, the international television market, according to Deadline. The announcement lands just ahead of the Canadian premiere on October 7.

The series is three parts of 60 minutes each. It was made for CBC and CBC Gem and produced by Muse Entertainment.

Writer, director and producer Nathalie Bibeau investigates the case of Kaitlyn Braun, from Brantford, Ontario. At age 24, Braun contacted more than 40 doulas, birth support workers who provide non-medical care during pregnancy and birth. She claimed she had been sexually assaulted and was in her third trimester carrying a stillborn child.

That pattern of contact ran for nine months, between June 2022 and February 2023. When doulas began to question her story, they mounted a grassroots response that included a viral TikTok counter-offensive to warn others and alert authorities.

Braun later faced 53 criminal charges. She pleaded guilty to 21 charges and, at age 26, received a three-year prison sentence for defrauding a doula and support worker, according to CBC News.

What makes this version different is access. The series includes the first interview with Braun. CBC and the BBC previously released a podcast about the case titled Kaitlyn's Baby.

Jonas Prupas and Courtney Dobbins are executive producers for Muse, with Michelle McCree overseeing production for CBC.

For viewers in Canada, Doula: A True Crime premieres Wednesday, October 7 at 8 p.m. on CBC TV, according to the CBC Media Centre. All episodes will be available to stream on CBC Gem from October 7. International broadcast dates have not been announced. Those will depend on sales closed after the MIPCOM launch.