Netflix’s latest Canadian scripted series is The Granville Girls, a romantic drama created by Adriana Maggs and produced by Shaftesbury. The eight-episode series is adapted from Cat Cahill’s book collection The Gilbert Girls and is being produced by Shaftesbury, the company behind Murdoch Mysteries.
According to the synopsis: “As the grand railway stretches across the Canadian Rockies, Emma Daniels becomes a ‘Granville Girl,’ one of the select women chosen to work at the Granville Hotel.” The position promises excitement, friendship, and the opportunity to help her family so long as she can follow the hotel’s most important rule: no relationships with the men. But when Emma falls for the hotel’s enigmatic builder, she must make a decision that could put everything at risk. Maggs, a writer, producer, and director known for shows like Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent and Frontier, will serve as both the writer and showrunner.
Jennings Is Serving As A Producer
She also directed the 2010 film Grown Up Movie Star, which featured actors such as Tatiana Maslany, Shawn Doyle, and Jonny Harris. Jennings, the Chairman, President, and founder of Shaftesbury, serves as the executive producer. “Shaftesbury is thrilled to collaborate with Netflix and showrunner Adriana Maggs to bring The Granville Girls to life,” she said. “Viewers around the world will experience the beauty of the Rocky Mountains an ideal backdrop for our young women to discover adventure, friendship, and romance.”
Danielle Woodrow and Tara Woodbury, Netflix Canada’s Directors of Content, said in a statement: “The Granville Girls is a sweeping, feel-good series that blends the warmth of female friendship with the charm of a period romance.”
“With Adriana’s unique storytelling and Christina’s exceptional producing skills, we’re confident that viewers will be captivated from the very first episode.”
Netflix Isn’t Yet A Major Content Commissioner In Canada
Netflix is not yet a major content commissioner in Canada, but it has ordered originals like the sci-fi series Travelers, and earlier this year revealed an untitled drama from Jesse McKeown that was filmed and set in Newfoundland. The company also films many of its U.S. series in Canada and operates a large production services studio in Toronto.
Netflix has acquired international rights to several Canadian co-productions. One example is Frontier, written by Adriana Maggs, where Discovery Canada held domestic rights and Netflix handled global distribution starting in 2016. More recently, the Arctic-set sitcom North of North was jointly ordered by Netflix, CBC and APTN. The show received strong reviews and was renewed for a second season earlier this year. Other recent Canadian releases include Wayward, a drama series by Mae Martin that premiered on September 25, and Who Killed The Montreal Expos?, which will be released on October 21.
