Vancouver production company’s new series ‘Dr. Savannah: Wild Rose Vet’ gets air date

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Dr. Savannah Howse-Smith is the star of the upcoming TV docuseries that will be aired in both Cree and English on APTN

Veterinarian Dr. Savannah Howse-Smith is the star of the TV docu-series Dr. Savannah: Wild Rose Vet. Produced by Vancouver's Wapanatahk Media, the series follows Howse-Smith as she tends to animals in rural Alberta and along the way learns about her own Metis heritage from her. The show premieres on APTN on May 3 in Cree and May 4 in English. Photo credit: Courtesy of Wapanatahk Media
Veterinarian Dr. Savannah Howse-Smith is the star of the TV docu-series Dr. Savannah: Wild Rose Vet. Produced by Vancouver’s Wapanatahk Media, the series follows Howse-Smith as she tends to animals in rural Alberta and along the way learns about her own Metis heritage from her. The show premieres on APTN on May 3 in Cree and May 4 in English. Photo credit: Courtesy of Wapanatahk Media PNG

Vancouver-based Indigenous, female-led production company, Wapanatahk Media’s first series is set to air beginning May 3 and 4 on APTN.

Produced in partnership with Thunderbird Entertainment‘s Great Pacific Media, the series, Dr. Savannah: Wild Rose Vet, will premiere on APTN in Cree on May 3rd (7:30 pm) and in English on May 4 (8:30 pm).

New episodes will air every Wednesday for the docuseries that follows Dr. Savannah Howse-Smitha Métis veterinarian who runs Rocky Rapids Veterinary Service in the Drayton Valley area in rural Alberta.

From wildlife rescues to cow C-sections, dr savannah is on a mission to keep rural Alberta’s pet and animal population healthy, while also making time to embrace and explore her cultural identity as a Métis woman.

“Authentic Indigenous representation is at the heart of our mission at Wapanatahk Media,” said a statement from company co-founders Tania Koenig-Gauchier and Shirley McLean. “We aim to provide a platform for new Indigenous voices, and we are proud to debut Dr. Savannah: Wild Rose Vet, and highlight the incredible lived experiences, successes — and challenges — of a young Métis woman living in rural Alberta.”

According to Women in View’s 2021 On Screen Report, Indigenous women continue to remain sorely underrepresented in media. For example, of the 43% of women in key creative TV roles in 2019, only 6.44% were Black women & Women of Color and 0.94% were Indigenous women, and though 50% of all TV directors were women, only 12% were Black women & Women of Color and less than 1% were Indigenous women.

The Dr. Savannah production is going a long way to improve those numbers as the series, that has already been renewed for a second season, employs seven Indigenous women currently in editing, writing, and producing roles.


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