Lionsgate inks Tandem drama deal

US studio Lionsgate Entertainment has agreed a co-venture with German prodco Tandem Entertainment to develop and produce one-hour drama series.

Crime series Sex, Lies & Handwriting is the first project in development and is intended to follow a straight-to-series model similar to Tandem’s procedural crime series Crossing Lines, which airs on NBC.

Sea To Sky Entertainment, Lionsgate’s Canadian joint-venture partner, will also produce the project, which is inspired by Michelle Dresbold’s book of the same name.

Sex, Lies & Handwriting will follow the exploits of an accomplished artist and handwriting expert who is drawn into the world of crime-solving. The drama will be written by co-exec producer Annie Brunner (Against The Wall, Saving Grace) while Nancy Miller (Against The Wall, Saving Grace) is onboard as exec producer and showrunner.

In addition to Tandem and Lionsgate principals, Jeff Sagansky (The Private Lives of Pippa Lee), Sunta Izaccupa (The Ron Clark Story) and Chris Barrett are also exec producers on the show.

Tandem, the prodco behind miniseries including Pillars of the Earth, was taken over by France’s StudioCanal in 2011. The French company, part of the Canal+ Group, bought 51% of the privately owned Tandem for an undisclosed sum.

In June this year, former Lionsgate and CBS Paramount exec Tim Stuart became Tandem’s director of sales for Asia Pacific and also director of TV/digital sales at StudioCanal Australia/New Zealand.