From a media release:
- Attached talent includes Oscar® nominees Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, Scotiabank Giller Prize winner Joseph Boyden, and seasoned writer Stephen Tolkin
- Production companies working with The Movie Network include Serendipity Point Films, Prospero Pictures, Halfire Entertainment, ICF Films, and Darius Films
The Movie Network announced today its current roster of 14 drama and comedy projects in development, featuring acclaimed writers Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski (Madame Tutli-Putli), Joseph Boyden (Through Black Spruce), and Stephen Tolkin (BROTHERS & SISTERS). The diverse group of stories ranges from historical event series (THE TENDERNESS OF WOLVES, UNCOMMON YOUTH), to provocative character drama FERAL, epic fantasy THE SEIGE, and a comedy about hicks, skids, and hockey players living in Letterkenny, Ontario LETTERKENNY.
In total, The Movie Network currently has 14 drama and comedy projects in development, including three previously announced comedies.
The Movie Network’s current slate of development projects include:
BEOWULF: BLOOD OF KINGS
Drama - A violent, romanticized, post-modern take on the classic saga. Attached:
Omni Film Entertainment: Brian Hamilton, Michael Chechik (DEFYING GRAVITY)
Matt Greenberg (1408) – Writer
Co-developed in partnership with Movie Central
DIVORCE PARTY
Comedy -Â A half-hour, single-camera comedy about a group of young, divorced women living the very definition of the term “hot mess”.
Attached:
New Metric Media -Patrick O’Sullivan and Mark Montefiore (Cas & Dylan)
Jessie Gabe (Cas & Dylan) and Linsey Stewart (BEING ERICA) – Writers
FERAL
Drama -Â A slightly unhinged child protection worker avoids her own life by throwing herself into her work.
Attached:
ICF Films: Ilana Frank (ROOKIE BLUE, SAVING HOPE)
Sherry White (ROOKIE BLUE, SAVING HOPE) – Writer
Semi Chellas (MAD MEN) – Story Editor
Co-developed in partnership with Movie Central
PRONS
Comedy -Â A famous porn star returns to his childhood home in Brantford, Ontario to get away from the business.
Attached:
Halfire Entertainment: Noreen Halpern (WORKING THE ENGELS, HUNG)
Kevin Smith (Clerks) and Aaron Martin (SAVING HOPE, BEING ERICA) – Writers
Co-developed in partnership with Movie Central
GUCCI WARS
Drama -Â Chronicling the House of Gucci’s notorious rise and fall.
Attached:
Bauman Entertainment: Ted Bauman (THE CLIENT LIST)Angus Fraser (ROGUE, TERMINAL CITY) – Writer
Co-developed in partnership with Movie Central
INCARNATE
Drama -Â An epic genre drama that follows an unlikely trio as they discover a shocking experiment has awakened an ancient conspiracy.
Attached:
Copperheart Entertainment: Steven Hoban (Ginger Snaps) and Clark Peterson (Monster) – Executive Producers; Clive Barker (Hellraiser) – Executive Producer and Creative Consultant
Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens (PRIMEVAL: NEW WORLD) – Writers and Executive Producers
Co-developed in partnership with Movie Central
IRON BELLY
Drama -Â An epic adventure set on a 19th-century prison ship where the brutal journey becomes an intimate study of humanity, both above and below the decks.
Attached:
Darius Films: Nicholas Tabarrok (The Art of the Steal, Defendor)
Jeremy Boxen (LOST GIRL) and Jonathan Sobol (The Art of the Steal) – Writers
Co-developed in partnership with BBCA
LETTERKENNY
Comedy -Â Based on the YouTube sensation LETTERKENNY PROBLEMS, a series where hicks, skids, and hockey players have the last laugh.
Attached:
New Metric: Patrick O’Sullivan and Mark Montefiore (Cas & Dylan)
Jared Kesso (19-2) and Jacob Tierney (The Trotsky) – Writers
METHOD
Comedy-Â A satirical behind-the-scenes look at the making of a police procedural.
Attached:
ICF Films: Ilana Frank (SAVING HOPE), David Wellington (SAVING HOPE), Sonia Hosko (SAVING HOPE) – Producers
Peter Wellington (Cottage Country) and Peter Mooney (ROOKIE BLUE) – Writers
OPIUM
Drama -Â Set in Hong Kong and Victoria B.C., this epic historical drama charts the turbulent journey of the pious McLellan family as it takes control of the international opium trade.
Attached:
Reunion Pictures: Matthew O’Connor (CONTINUUM)
Nick Willing (NEVERLAND) – Writer
Co-developed in partnership with Movie Central
THE SIEGE
Drama -Â A fantasy/genre series set in New France in the early 1600s, a land of myth, magic, warriors, Jesuit assassins, and monstrous Wendigos.
Attached:
Prospero Media: Martin Katz (Maps to the Stars) and Karen Wookey (ANDROMEDA) – Producers
Chris Lavis (Madame Tutli-Putli), Maciak Szczerbowski (Madame Tutli-Putli), and Andrew Wreggitt (JACK) – Writers
THE TENDERNESS OF WOLVES
Drama -Â A gripping whodunit set against the wild and captivating backdrop of Upper Canada in 1867, based on the award-winning novel of the same name by Stef Penney.
Attached:
Adlib Films and Origin Pictures: Greg Dummett (THE CRIMSON PETAL AND THE WHITE), and David M. Thompson (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom) – Producers
John Brownlow (Sylvia) – Writer
Co-developed in partnership with Movie Central
THUNDERHOUSE FALLS
Drama -Â A wayward daughter returns to her family and is haunted by past and present dangers.
Attached:
Serendipity Point Films: Ari Lantos and Mark Musselman (Barney’s Version)
Joseph Boyden (The Orenda) – Writer
UNCOMMON YOUTH
Drama -Â Based on the gripping true story of the infamous 1973 kidnapping of John Paul Getty III in Rome.
Attached:
Sea to Sky Studios in association with Epix
Stephen Tolkin – Writer (BROTHERS & SISTERS)
As I’m a Canadian crime drama/police procedural fan, I am really looking forward to Method. Opium sounds very promising too.