US producers Laurine Price, Kelly Faltis in Cannes with first drama

Thriller Phoenix stars Laurine Price as the character Jane Doe

MIPCOM: US producers Laurine Price and Kelly Marie Faltis are here in Cannes for the first time, shopping a new seven-part drama thriller called Phoenix.

The 7×30’ show has been fully financed and produced by Sandra Evers-Manly’s SEM Productions, Delta Wing Pictures and Price’s Sawahn Inc, all based out of Los Angeles.

More used to documentary production, exec producer Evers-Manly’s credits include Ferguson Rising and The Search for Planet B. Phoenix marks her first foray into scripted programming.

Price, meanwhile, has credits including American Crime Story and General Hospital, while Faltis previously worked on Vice & Virtue. Adria Baratta (Stripped) is also a producer on the show and Brian Lambert directed.

Phoenix is targeted at the streaming sector and follows a woman who survives a plane crash but loses her memory. She soon enters a world of corporate espionage, sex trafficking and human medical experimentation.

The series has a diverse cast including Grace Byers (Empire, Harlem), Price, Kathleen Kinmont (Halloween 4, Renegade), Ricco Ross (Doctor Who, Mission: Impossible, Aliens) and Garrett Wang (Star Trek).

“SEM Productions has had much success with science documentaries and Sandra wanted to explore drama so we decided to make Phoenix and sort out the distribution afterwards,” Price told C21.

“We’ve had lots of interest from Asia, drawing on my Thai heritage and connections. Platforms in China and India are very interested. We think the show is suitable for the streaming market as it’s very binge-worthy and a little edgy in terms of the content.”

Price added that the show was initially developed as a 10×10’ shortform drama and intended to go to ill-fated mobile streaming platform Quibi but was redeveloped into the half-hour format after the Jeffrey Katzenberg-led platform folded in 2020.