Bell Media Announces 29 Drama Projects in Development

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- Attached talent includesIlana Frank (SAVING HOPE), Paul Haggis (Crash), Bill Mustos and Anne Marie La Traverse (FLASHPOINT), Salvatore Stabile (REVENGE), Katie Ford (Miss Congeniality), Steve Blackman (PRIVATE PRACTICE), Robert C. Cooper (STARGATE SG-1), and Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern (FLASHPOINT) -

- Production companies working with Bell Media include eOne, Shaftesbury, Omnifilm Entertainment, Thunderbird Films, LARK Productions, Darius Films, Don Carmody Productions, Prospero Pictures, Sienna Films, and Whizbang Films -

- Overall, Bell Media currently has 71 new original projects in development -

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TORONTO, Jan. 15, 2014 /CNW/ - After receiving 83 Canadian Screen Awards nominations for original dramas Monday, BellMedia announced today its current roster of drama projects in development for its conventional networks and specialty channels. Associated with the projects are a long list of established writers and producers including Ilana Frank (SAVING HOPE, ROOKIE BLUE), Paul Haggis (Crash), Bill Mustos and Anne Marie La Traverse (FLASHPOINT), Salvatore Stabile (REVENGE), Katie Ford (Miss Congeniality, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES), Steve Blackman (PRIVATE PRACTICE, BONES), Robert. C Cooper (STARGATE SG-1, STARGATE ATLANTIS), and Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern (FLASHPOINT). Once again, Bell Media has engaged some of the most respected production companies in the country, including eOne, Shaftesbury, Omnifilm Entertainment, Thunderbird Films, LARK Productions, Darius Films, Don Carmody Productions, Prospero Pictures, Sienna Films, and Whizbang Films.

"We're proud to be in a position to work with some of the best and most seasoned creative talent in the business, respected not only in Canada but all over the world," said Corrie Coe, Senior Vice-President, Independent Production, Bell Media. "We look forward to continuing to work with them to develop these extraordinary projects, and we are excited to add even more to our development slate in the spring."

The diverse list of projects includes those from Canadian authors Giles Blunt and Robert Rotenberg; several short-order series including one about a cop who uncovers the truth behind the murders of nine Native women in a small northern Canadian town; an episodic thriller set in a post-privacy world where deep-cover agents deal with the consequences of today's corporate decisions; a supernatural drama about clever young recruits who find themselves face-to-face with the unexpected at The Institute of Unpopular Science; a light police procedural about two unlikely partners stationed in the evidence room of a metropolitan police station; a crime proceduralabout a family of thieves who reunite to help a government agency solve crimes; and an epic historical drama series about the struggle in China for power and control of the lucrative opium trade during the late 19th Century.

In total, Bell Media's Independent Production team currently has 29 drama projects in development for conventional networks and specialty channels, joining the 20 comedy projects already announced for potential new pilots and/or series. Factual development projects will be announced at a later date.

Bell Media's current drama development slate features 29 projects (working titles):

AKAA serialized drama about a woman with the perfect life - and a dark secret that could change everything.Attached:

APEX An elite police squad fights the growing criminal world of military-grade human bio-mods.Attached:

CARDINAL MYSTERIESA short-order, ongoing series based on the novels by Giles Blunt. In the quiet Canadian town of Algonquin Bay a body is found in an abandoned mine shaft. As two untrusting partners work to gather evidence, they realize it may be the work of a serial murderer.Attached:

COPOUTA light police procedural about two unlikely partners stationed in the evidence room of a metropolitan police station.Attached:

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SOCIETYA brilliant criminology professor works with her students to solve deadly crimes.Attached:

DEADLINEAn investigative journalist employs some unorthodox methods as she reports on the evolving criminal world around her.Attached:

ECHOESSerialized series in which Earth becomes the battlefield for two warring extraterrestrial species, and humanity struggles to survive.Attached:

HAUNTEDA young woman reluctantly takes on the role of ghost hunter after a failed experiment accidentally opens a portal to the spirit realm. Attached:

ICEAfter losing all her money in a divorce, a suburban woman turns to diamond theft.Attached:

LORDS OF OPIUMAn epic, one-hour historical drama series about the struggle in China for power and control of the lucrative opium trade during the late 19th Century.Attached:

MIGHTY QUINNSA family of con artists reunite to help a government agency solve crimes, but old habits die hard.Attached:

MODIFIEDA detective and his beleaguered partner spearhead the gene squad.Attached:

MORTAL COILSet in Alberta, a coroner not only performs autopsies, but also investigates the murders.Attached:

OLD CITY HALLBased on the books by Robert Rotenberg and set within the halls of the criminal courts.Attached:

SALAMANDERA detective uncovers a mysterious shadow society whose members are being targeted in this serialized series. Based on a Belgian series.Attached:

SIEGE OF KEBECSet in New France in the early 1600s, this is history told with a mythic edge.Attached:

SEX, LIES & HANDWRITINGAn artist and handwriting expert is hired by police to solve cases using her unique abilities.Attached:

SMOKE & MIRRORSAn illusionist returns home to Niagara Falls and uses his extraordinary skills as a private detective.Attached:

SOUL HUNTERAfter literally making a deal with the Devil, a young woman must capture 100 escaped souls and return them to Hell in order to get her life back.Attached:

SPARROWAn episodic thriller set in a post-privacy world where deep cover agents deal with the consequences of today's corporate decisions.Attached:

STRAINWhen an estranged brother and sister inherit their mother's sci-fi-writing empire, they learn the truth behind some surprising lies.Attached:

THE INSTITUTEFour young recruits find themselves face-to-face with the unexpected at The Institute of Unpopular Science.Attached:

THE INVESTIGATIONA short-order ongoing series about a cop who uncovers the truth behind the murders of nine Native women in a small northern town.Attached:

THIRD EYEA short-order ongoing series about a wrongfully discharged cop.Attached:

TRANQUILITYA troubled ex-cop is brought to the moon colony Tranquility as the new sheriff.Attached:

UNCOMMON YOUTHA four-part mini-series set in Italy and the United States and based on the kidnapping of J. Paul Getty III, the grandson of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty.Attached:

UNRAVELA police drama.Attached:

UNTITLED ANNE MARIE LA TRAVERSE PROJECTAttached:

UNTITLED BILL MUSTOS PROJECTAttached:

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:Twitter:@BellMediaPR

About Bell Media Independent ProductionBell Media has commissioned some of Canada's most-watched and most-acclaimed original programming, working with the best Canadian independent producers in the country. Hit CTV series include ratings success stories SAVING HOPE, THE LISTENER, MOTIVE, the #1 new Canadian scripted series of the 2012/13 season, and THE AMAZING RACE CANADA, the record-breaking, Canadian-produced complementary version of the hit international series. Coming in 2014 on CTV are hit international format MASTERCHEF CANADA and multi-cam office comedy SPUN OUT. Among the scripted series on Bell Media pay and specialty channels are the two-time Emmy®-nominated hit DEGRASSI, the recently renewed ORPHAN BLACK, and upcoming dramas BITTEN, 19-2, SENSITIVE SKIN, and KILLJOYS. Bell Media specialty channels are also home to reality series such as BRAVE NEW GIRLS, game shows MATCH GAME and POP QUIZ, and factual series HIGHWAY THRU HELL and CANADA'S WORST DRIVER, among others. In 2013, Bell Media ordered 24 original Canadian series and currently has 74 projects in various stages of development.

About Bell MediaWith passion and an unrelenting commitment to excellence, Bell Media creates content and builds brands that entertain, inform, engage, and inspire audiences through the platforms of their choice. Bell Media is Canada's premier multimedia company with leading assets in television, radio, out-of-home advertising, and digital media. Bell Media owns 30 local television stations led by CTV, Canada's #1 television network; 34 specialty channels, including TSN and RDS, Canada's most-watched specialty channels in English and French; four pay TV services, including The Movie Network and Super Écran; and is managing shareholder of premium pay-per-view service Viewers Choice Canada. Bell Media is also Canada's largest radio broadcaster, with 107 licensed radio stations in 55 markets across Canada. Bell Media owns Astral Out-of-Home, one of Canada's most dynamic and innovative out-of-home advertising companies with a network of more than 9,500 advertising faces in Québec, Ontario and British Columbia. Bell Media also operates more than 200 websites, delivers TV Everywhere with its innovative GO video streaming services, including CTV GO, TMN GO, and Bravo GO, and owns Dome Productions Inc., a multi-platform production company. Bell Media is part of BCE Inc. (TSX: BCE) (NYSE: BCE), Canada's largest communications company. For more on Bell Media, please visit www.bellmedia.ca.

SOURCE Bell Media

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