Netflix‘s newest Canadian scripted series is The Granville Girls, a romantic drama from Adriana Maggs and Shaftesbury.
The eight-part series is based on Cat Cahill’s book series The Gilbert Girls, and is being produced by Murdoch Mysteries producer Shaftesbury.
Per the synopsis: “As the great railway sweeps across the Canadian Rockies, Emma Daniels becomes a ‘Granville Girl,’ one of a select few women hired to work at the Granville Hotel. The job offers adventure, friendship, and a chance to support her family—if she can resist the hotel’s strictest rule: never fraternize with the men. But when Emma’s heart is captured by the hotel’s mysterious builder, she faces a choice that could cost her everything.”
Maggs, who is a writer, producer and director known for series such as Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent and Frontier, is the writer and showrunner. She is also the director of 2010 film Grown Up Movie Star, which starred the likes of Tatiana Maslany, Shawn Doyle and Jonny Harris.
Jennings, Shaftesbury’s Chairman, President and founder, is the exec producer. “Shaftesbury is delighted to partner with Netflix and showrunner Adriana Maggs to bring The Granville Girls to the screen,” she said. “Global audiences will discover the splendour of the Rocky Mountains — a perfect setting for our young women to explore adventure, friendship and romance.”
Danielle Woodrow and Tara Woodbury, Directors of Content – Canada at Netflix, added in a statement: “The Granville Girls is a big, blue sky series that offers the comfort of female friendship and the allure of period romance. Between Adriana’s distinctive voice and Christina’s powerhouse producing, we’re confident that audiences are going to be hooked from the first episode.”
Netflix isn’t yet a prolific commissioner in Canada, but has to date ordered originals such as sci-fi series Travelers, and earlier this year unveiled an untitled drama series from Jesse McKeown shot and set in Newfoundland. It also shoots many U.S. series in the country, and has a major production services studio in Toronto.
The streamer has taken international rights to numerous shows co-produced with Canadian players, such as was the case with Frontier, on which Maggs was a writer. Discovery Canada had local rights, with Netflix boarding way back in 2016 for international. More recently, Arctic-set sitcom North of North was a co-order between Netflix, CBC and APTN. The critical hit was handed a second season earlier this year.
Other new shows out of Canada include Wayward, the Mae Martin drama series that launched on September 25, and Who Killed The Montreal Expos? releases on October 21.