NBCUniversal International Networks Acquires CBC Series Coroner From Cineflix Rights

NBCUniversal International Networks (NBCUIN) today announced the acquisition of Coroner – a new, procedural drama from Cineflix Rights to air around the world.  A CBC original series created by Morwyn Brebner (Rookie Blue, Saving Hope) and produced by Muse Entertainment, Back Alley Films and Cineflix Studios, the eight one-hour episodes will premiere in the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Poland, Africa, Latin America, Brazil and Australia from late 2019.   

Inspired by the bestselling series of books of M.R. Hall, Coroner is a female-driven series following Jenny Cooper – played by Serinda Swan (Inhumans, Ballers) – a newly appointed coroner investigating suspicious deaths in Toronto. Jenny is a brave and determined yet vulnerable coroner driven by an intense desire for the truth.  A former ER doctor and a recently widowed mother of a teenage son, her husband’s death has unlocked a primal connection to death, tied to a secret in her past that is only now coming to the surface. With storylines based on real-life cases, Jenny is a coroner of our time, an advocate for the dead even when it’s inconvenient for the living, and defender of those who are powerless or in peril.  

Coroner also stars Roger Cross (Dark Matter, The X-Files) as Donovan “Mac” McAvoy, a police detective who partners with Jenny;  Eric Bruneau (Blue Moon) as Liam, Jenny’s new neighbour; and  Ehren Kassam (DeGrassi: Next Class) as Ross, Jenny’s 17-year-old son. Also joining the cast are Tamara Podemski (Rabbit Fall) as Alison Trent, Jenny’s eccentric colleague; Alli Chung (Dark Matter, The Expanse) as Taylor Kim, a smart, junior homicide detective; Lovell Adams-Gray (Second Jen) as Dr. Dwayne Allen, an idealistic young pathologist; and Saad Siddiqui (Incorporated, Taken) as Dr. Neil Sharma, Jenny’s insightful psychiatrist. 

“Coroner’s blend of complex character-driven crime content and compelling storytelling makes it an optimal fit for our international channel brands,” commented Steve Patscheck, EVP Global Programming, NBCUniversal International Networks. “We’re thrilled to be bringing this unique series to our channels, across five continents, in 2019.”  

“We could not be more excited to be working again with the NBCU International Networks team to launch Coroner across their channels,” said Peter Emerson, President of Cineflix Studios. “Serinda Swan brings an intensity and humanity to her role as coroner that will deeply resonate with audiences worldwide.” 

Coroner is produced by Muse Entertainment, Back Alley Films and Cineflix Studios. Morwyn Brebner is creator, executive producer and showrunner; Adrienne Mitchell (Durham County, Bellevue) is lead director and executive producer for Back Alley Films; Jonas Prupas is executive producer for Muse Entertainment; with Peter Emerson and Brett Burlock executive producers for Cineflix Studios. 

Coroner is distributed worldwide by Cineflix Rights and is currently in production in Toronto, Canada. The CBC will premiere Coroner in Canada on the CBC in winter 2019. 

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About NBCUniversal International Networks   
NBCUniversal International Networks is one of the world’s premier entertainment portfolios, delivering quality content and compelling brands to over 165 territories across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Asia Pacific. The channel brands in the portfolio include UNIVERSAL TV, SYFY, E! Entertainment Television, 13TH STREET, DIVA, Studio Universal, Telemundo, Bravo, DreamWorks and Golf Channel. These unique brands deliver a full range of entertainment experiences to local audiences across the globe; the portfolio also includes Movies 24 in the UK and The Style Network in Australia. Further, NBCUniversal News Group, one of the most influential and respected portfolios of on-air and digital news properties in the world, operate CNBC and NBC News internationally. 

NBCUniversal International Networks is a division of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, world-renowned theme parks, and a suite of leading Internet-based businesses. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation. 

About Cineflix:  
Cineflix creates, produces, and distributes popular factual and scripted content for the global market with operations in Montreal, Toronto, New York, London and Dublin. Producing approximately 200 hours of network-defining programming per year across a wide range of genres, and with a growing catalogue of 4,600 hours, Cineflix is behind some of TV’s most highly-rated brands. www.cineflix.com 

About Muse Entertainment: 
Muse Entertainment is a leading film and television production company and international distributor known for its well-crafted and high-quality productions. It has development and production offices in Montreal, Los Angeles, Toronto and Vancouver. Muse productions have won critical acclaim, large audiences, over 100 international awards, including Emmy Awards, and more than 300 award nominations. Muse produces a wide range of primetime comedy and dramatic series, miniseries, television movies, feature films, documentaries, factual entertainment, family programs and animation. www.muse.ca 

About Back Alley Films: 
Back Alley Film Productions Ltd, founded by Janis Lundman and Adrienne Mitchell, has been producing entertaining, award-winning television for over 25 years. With strong backgrounds in producing, (Lundman/Mitchell), and showrunning/directing (Mitchell), they have created and produced award-winning dramatic television series for Canadian and American networks which have sold worldwide. Back Alley’s most recent production was the drama thriller Bellevue, starring Oscar®-winning actress Anna Paquin. Other work includes the WWII drama series Bomb Girls, the critically acclaimed crime series Durham County, as well as the series Played, Bliss, Straight Up and Drop the Beat. Back Alley has offices in Toronto and Montreal.  For more information visit: www.backalleyfilms.ca