ShinAwil­­ unveils drama arm

SERIES MANIA: Irish producer ShinAwil­­ has launched a drama division and unveiled a trio of shows for its inaugural scripted development slate.

Larry Bass

ShinAwil­­, best known for producing Irish versions of unscripted formats such as The Apprentice, Dragons’ Den, MasterChef, The Voice and, most recently, Dancing with the Stars, has named Aaron Farrell (Vikings, The Borgias) as head of the new division.

Farrell will work with Mary Callery, former commissioning editor of drama at Irish pubcaster RTÉ and project manager at funding agency Screen Ireland.

The first project on the slate is contemporary crime drama Kill (6×60′), written by Barry Devlin (Ballykissangel) and being developed in partnership with Screen Ireland and RTÉ. The black comedy is set in the unfortunately named Irish tourist hotspot of Kill, where local cop Tom Dolan struggles to solve a series of bizarre murders.

ShinAwil­­’s second drama in development is tween series Tara & the Humanimals (13×30′), which is being made in partnership with The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI), the Canadian Media Fund and Canadian indie CCI Entertainment.

It follows a young girl who, after being sent to Ireland to live with her estranged father, discovers she’s a descendant of an ancient line of Druids with special powers.

The third project on the slate, which is being presented at Series Mania in Lille this week, is period drama Flying Blind (4×60’), written by Irish novelist and screenwriter Ann-Marie Casey.

Developed with funding from Screen Ireland, the series tells the story of the first non-stop transatlantic flight, when British aviators John Alcock and Arthur Brown flew a modified WWI Vickers Vimy bomber from St. John’s, Newfoundland, to Connemara in Ireland in June 1919.

“We’re already in discussions with various distribution and broadcast partners and look forward to showcasing these fantastic projects to new coproduction partners in Lille.” said Larry Bass, CEO of ShinAwil­­.

ShinAwil­­ is also currently overseeing local production on crime drama Miss Scarlet & the Duke for A+E Networks International and Element 8.