When Amy Regan was twelve-years-old, she wanted to be the head of marketing for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The fond memories she shared with her father at the team’s games infused a lifelong affinity in her for the sport of hockey, a trait she shares with most of her fellow citizens. During Ms. Regan’s first day at university, a professor asked her class who among them wanted to work for the Leafs and nearly everyone raised their hand. While driven, Amy admits to a somewhat nonconformist ingredient in her DNA and decided at that moment that she would pursue another interest, that of television.
As an accomplished producer of many TV productions including the Canadian Country Music Awards, Big Brother Canada, and others, Amy Regan has proven her path was well calculated. She’s also found a way to manifest the love of her youth as a force behind productions like Canadian Screen Awards Winning Series Hockey Wives. Few people are able to achieve their childhood dreams in their own innovative way; Amy Regan’s inner nonconformist is surely overjoyed at this result.
When Executive Producer, Claire Adams enlisted Amy as a supervising producer for Hockey Wives, it was based on the confidence of their previous work on productions such as NHL Revealed, Pressure Cooker, and Over the Rainbow. Just as importantly, Regan had the connections to put together a great production/technical team and had formed relationships in the hockey world which would give an inside track to those featured on camera. Hockey Wives appeals to the dedicated fans who are interested in the real view of what it’s like to have hockey be a driving force in your personal life. This is a show about community and family.
Having someone involved like Ms. Regan who is trusted by those on camera as well as those behind the camera, this creates a shorthand and ease for all. From family Christmas gatherings to the relaunch of Brijet Whitney’s “Obsessions of a Hockey Wife” website and even celebrity fundraiser golf events, Hockey Wives is much less about manifested drama than the majority of “wives” productions which air in modern times. The only real drama came in transporting the crew of the show across a continent as vast as North America because only two of the hockey wives actually lived in the same city.
Amy professes that she’s immensely proud of what she and the show achieved noting, “It really was great seeing the women be given a voice, a platform to show who THEY were and what they bring to the table. It was so rewarding to showcase the hardworking, dedicated, talented, and loyal women and show the world the many many balls that they are constantly juggling.
I think the amount of shoots we pulled off (over 150!) and the fact that the cast still wanted to talk to us afterwards is a huge testament to how amazing the crew was! Getting the women and their families to open up to us and give us access to the good and the bad was something special that I really hope happens again in my career.”
Exposing a very different sort of familial scenario was the focus of Ms. Regan’s role as supervising producer for the Canadian Screen Award Winning Series Big Brother Canada. As the professional in charge of running the budget, the schedule, and the logistics for the show, Amy was the key factor which kept this show running.
This was never more true than when the pandemic hit during season 8. Known for her work during the pandemic on many large scale productions, it was Amy’s thoughtful approach to safety which calmed the cast and crew, allowing the show to stay in production even if by altered means. While the show was eventually forced to shut down along with the rest of the industry (and world), it was able to deliver a season finale before doing so and completely covid free. When Big Brother Canada resumed for season 9, Ms. Regan was once again at the helm with her returning crew.
She remarks, “It means a great deal to me that year after year the same team comes back to the show. It’s a hard, grinding show that sometimes never seems to have an end but the senior team has created an environment that everyone has bought into. They are all proud of the work we do that makes Big Brother Canada the best in the world.
It’s a testament to how the crew is treated and the relationships that I’ve developed that they return year after year. I’m proud of the diversity and inclusion plans that I have helped put into place for the show and for helping to train new people coming into the industry to become great production people.”
Writer: Coleman Haan