StudioCanal starts work on female-led period crime drama Red Butterfly set in Singapore

ATF: French production and distribution company StudioCanal is to develop crime drama series Red Butterfly, about an all-female gang run by two sisters in 1950s Singapore.

Constance Cheng

Produced by StudioCanal in partnership with Singapore-based prodcos Beach House Pictures and Momo Film Co, the 8×52’ series will be filmed in English and Chinese languages on location in Singapore and Malaysia. The news was announced on the eve of Asian TV Forum and Market in Singapore.

Co-creators Constance Cheng (The Great) and Kris Ong (Ajoomma) are attached as writers, with Cheng also serving as showrunner. StudioCanal is handling worldwide distribution.

Ron Halpern, exec VP of global production at StudioCanal, Isobel Carter, the company’s VP global production, and Damiano Malchiodi, head of content development for Asia at Canal+ International, said: “It’s an ambitious, thrilling series that disrupts traditional ideas of power, exploring female leadership in a male-dominated criminal world.”