TORONTO – Global has commissioned a new six-part conspiracy thriller called Departure that follows the mystery of a passenger plane that vanishes over the Atlantic Ocean.
A Canada/UK co-production, the series stars Oscar winner Christopher Plummer (All the Money In the World – pictured left) and Emmy winner Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife – right) and was developed by Shaftesbury in association with Corus Entertainment and Red Arrow Studios International. Production is underway in Toronto now before moving to London, and the series will join Global’s 2019 primetime schedule.
According to the announcement, Departure is a six-part event series that follows the shocking disappearance of Flight 716, a passenger plane that vanishes over the Atlantic Ocean. Kendra Malley (Panjabi), the recently widowed, brilliant aviation investigator, is called in by her former boss and mentor Howard Lawson (Plummer) to investigate the mysterious crash. With the whole world watching, Kendra and her team race to pinpoint the missing aircraft and locate possible survivors. They must battle through a host of suspects and motives – pilot suicide, terrorism, politically motivated murder, systems failure – to determine what really happened to Flight 716… and to stop it from happening again.
“It’s an honour to partner with the talented team at Shaftesbury on this bold, new premium drama, adding to Global’s robust original programming slate,” said Corus’ original content VP Lisa Godfrey, in the news release. “We were immediately drawn to the gripping storyline about the conspiracies surrounding the plane crash, and how the plot takes audiences through the investigation as we try to solve this mystery. With such a mass appeal premise, combined with a highly acclaimed award-winning cast, and exceptional creative team, we look forward to captivating audiences in 2019.”
Departure is the final original series commissioned by Global for the 2019 broadcast year joining Nurses, Ransom, Mary Kills People, Private Eyes, and Big Brother Canada.
