Discovery Canada announced today that Jason Momoa (“Game of Thrones,” Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) will lead the international cast for its ambitious new original Canadian scripted Frontier series. Commissioned by Discovery Canada earlier this year and shooting in beautifully vivid 4K UHD, production is now underway in Canada and the U.K. on the thrilling and richly layered premium drama, the first original scripted series in Discovery Canada history. Created by Rob Blackie and Peter Blackie, the six-episode, one-hour drama is produced by leading Canadian independent producers Take the Shot Productions, and Factory Backwards, and will be seen around the world via international broadcast partner Netflix.
Alun Armstrong (“New Tricks,” Braveheart), Landon Liboiron (“Hemlock Grove,” “Degrassi”), Zoe Boyle (“Downton Abbey,” “Sons of Anarchy”), and Allan Hawco (“Republic of Doyle”), round out the international cast. The Frontier series also introduces Canadian newcomer, Jessica Matten.
Cinematic in scope, Frontier will be guided by celebrated filmmaker Brad Peyton (San Andreas, Incarnate, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island), who will direct the first two one-hour episodes of the series. Frontier will debut in 2016 exclusively in Canada on Bell Media platforms including Discovery, Discovery GO, and CraveTV, and on Netflix in other markets around the world.
“Never shying away from new, exciting, and often epic projects, Discovery enters the world of scripted series for the first time with an amazing story of worlds colliding,” said Ken MacDonald, Vice-President and General Manager, Discovery. “The story of ‘Frontier’ is rich, authentic, and teeming with strong characters portrayed by an A-list cast. We’re excited for production to begin, and to partner with Netflix to take this story to international audiences.”
“‘Frontier’ presents an outstanding opportunity for our company and we are thrilled to be in business with Discovery and Netflix on this exciting project,” said Alex Patrick, President of Take the Shot.
Production is now underway in St. John’s, N.L., Morrisburg, Ont., Louisbourg, N.S., and Cornwall, U.K., and will see the original world of Frontier begin to take shape. With seeds rooted in Canadian history, and explored for the first time on television, the action-packed and authentic fiction series follows the chaotic and violent struggle to control wealth and power in the North American fur trade of the late 18th century. Told from multiple perspectives, Frontier takes place in a world where business negotiations might be resolved with close-quarter hatchet fights, and where delicate relations between Aboriginal tribes and Europeans can spark bloody conflicts.
The Frontier series was officially greenlit for production by Discovery Canada in April 2015, following a 14-month development process between the network and producers. The series is produced by Take The Shot Productions and Factory Backwards, in association with Discovery, the exclusive Canadian broadcaster. Netflix is the international broadcast partner. Edwina Follows is Executive Producer for Discovery, and Ken MacDonald is Vice-President and General Manager, Discovery. Tracey Pearce is Senior Vice-President, Specialty and Pay, Bell Media. Randy Lennox is President, Entertainment Production and Broadcasting, Bell Media. For Take The Shot Productions, Alex Patrick, John Vatcher, Rob Blackie, and Peter Blackie, Allan Hawco, Perry Chafe and Michael Levine are Executive Producers. For Factory Backwards, Brad Peyton and Jeff Fierson are Executive Producers.
(Photo credit: WENN)
