– Six-part miniseries from Sarah Polley is shooting across Ontario –
-Alias Grace stars Sarah Gadon, Edward Holcroft, Anna Paquin, Paul Gross, Zachary Levi, Rebecca Liddiard, Kerr Logan, and David Cronenberg-
Halfire Entertainment, CBC, and Netflix announced that cameras are rolling on the screen adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace. Alias Grace stars award-winning actress Sarah Gadon (Indignation, 11.22.63, Enemy); Academy Award-winning® Canadian-born actress Anna Paquin (True Blood, Roots, Bellevue);Zachary Levi (Chuck, Tangled); Paul Gross (Hyena Road, Due South); Edward Holcroft (Kingsman: The Secret Service, London Spy, Wolf Hall); Kerr Logan (Game of Thrones, London Irish); Rebecca Liddiard (Houdini & Doyle); and acclaimed Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg.
The six-hour miniseries is inspired by the true story of Grace Marks who was convicted of murdering Nancy Montgomery and Thomas Kinnear.Alias Grace is written and produced by Sarah Polley (Take This Waltz, Away from Her) and directed by Mary Harron (American Psycho, I Shot Andy Warhol).
The miniseries continues production in Toronto and across Ontario until mid-November. Alias Grace will be broadcast in Canada on CBC and globally – everywhere outside of Canada – on Netflix.
Alias Grace follows Grace Marks (Sarah Gadon) a poor, young Irish immigrant and domestic servant in Upper Canada who, along with stable hand James McDermott, was convicted of the brutal murders of their employer, Thomas Kinnear (Paul Gross) and Nancy Montgomery (Anna Paquin) in 1843. Nancy is Kinnear’s housekeeper and lover, and while she initially befriends Grace, she begins to resent Grace and becomes increasingly jealous of Kinnear’s affection for her. Nancy eventually fires Grace in a fit of rage and is later found brutally murdered.
“After almost 20 years of dreaming of bringing Alias Grace to the screen, it is beyond thrilling to see it all come together with such an amazing cast and crew,” said Sarah Polley, Executive Producer.
“Alias Grace is both a chilling true-life murder mystery and a story about the immigrant experience,” said Noreen Halpern, Executive Producer. “I am both delighted and honored to be a part of this project of such scale and scope, pairing an impeccable literary pedigree with a creative team comprised of the very best talent. And to be the first co-commission between CBC and Netflix is truly icing on the cake.”
A CBC and Netflix original production, ALIAS GRACE is produced by Halfire Entertainment, written by Sarah Polley, and directed by Mary Harron. The executive producers are Sarah Polley, Mary Harron, and Noreen Halpern. Producing alongside Polley is D.J. Carson.
About Halfire Entertainment
Halfire Entertainment was founded in 2013 by seasoned TV executive Noreen Halpern to develop, produce, and finance television series and miniseries for the Canadian, U.S., and international marketplace. The company produces exceptionally creative and commercial programming and employs non-traditional financing resulting in straight-to-series orders. Halfire is currently in production on Aftermath for Space and Syfy and on the Sarah Polley-penned six-part mini-series Alias Grace for CBC and Netflix. Halfire has a robust development slate with projects set up at Showtime, ABC, NBC, CBC, Bell Media, and Corus. Halfire’s Working The Engels, starring Andrea Martin for NBC and Shaw, marked the first time a prime time comedy had been co-produced by U.S. and Canadian broadcasters.
About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada's national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. We are Canada's trusted source of news, information and Canadian entertainment. Deeply rooted in communities all across the country, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Aboriginal languages. We also provide international news and information from a uniquely Canadian perspective.
About Netflix
Netflix is the world’s leading Internet television network with over 83 million members in over 190 countries enjoying more than 125 million hours of TV shows and movies per day, including original series, documentaries and feature films. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on nearly any Internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.
CONTACTS:
Free Publicity for Halfire Entertainment
Gabrielle Free, 416-220-0201, gabfree.publicity@gmail.com
CBC
Tanya Koivusalo, 416-205-6863, tanya.koivusalo@cbc.ca
Katherine Wolfgang, 416-205-2772, katherine.wolfgang@cbc.ca
Netflix
Karen Barragan, 310-975-8664, kbarragan@netflix.com
