TORONTO — Shaftesbury, producers of Murdoch Mysteries and Hudson & Rex, is partnering with BAFTA-winning U.K. producer Company Pictures (Wolf Hall, Inspector George Gently, Shameless) to option Canadian author Steve Burrows’ book series Birder Murder Mysteries.
The international partnership, announced Friday, is the first joint venture between the two production companies and will bring together a roster of both Canadian and U.K. screenwriters, the news release says.
Burrows’ novel series follows Domenic Jejeune, a Canadian detective and avid birdwatcher who has been transplanted to the town of Saltmarsh in Norfolk, U.K. Jejeune has become a poster boy for the U.K. police service, using clues from the world of birding to give him a unique perspective on the most complex crimes.
“Steve Burrows’ gripping books have engaged a vast audience of crime readers in Canada and the U.K. It will be exciting to see his homegrown stories reach an even larger audience with this new partnership,” said Christina Jennings, Shaftesbury’s chairman and CEO, in the news release.
“We are extremely lucky to have the wonderful Nick Hicks-Beach bringing Steve’s enigmatic detective to life for the screen. And with such distinctive stories and the haunting beauty of the Norfolk coast as the setting, I think this has the makings of an iconic and memorable new series,” added Michele Buck, CEO of Company Pictures.
Nicholas Hicks-Beach is known for his screenwriting work on U.K. detective series such as Midsomer Murders, DCI Banks, Inspector Lewis and Law & Order: UK., as well as the British soap opera EastEnders.
Author Burrows added: “I’m absolutely delighted. I can’t imagine a better way to bring the Birder Murder Mysteries to the screen than through this terrific partnership between Shaftesbury and Company Pictures.”
