CBC Gets Cracked Cop Drama To Pilot

TORONTO – It won’t be long before yet another Canadian police procedural is pitched to network execs in Los Angeles.

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The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. has put in a pilot order for Cracked, a character-driven police drama from indie producer White Pines Pictures written by Tracey Forbes (Flashpoint, The Bridge).

The one hour drama portrays police and psychiatric nurses in an Abnormal and Violent Crimes Unit looking for the bad guy in a world of emotionally disturbed people.

Successful Canadian cop dramas like Flashpoint and Rookie Blue have secured prized U.S. network slots as their indie producers eye bigger budgets and world broadcast sales.

Cracked was inspired by Calum de Hartog, who worked for 10 years as a Toronto beat cop before bringing those experiences to the TV screen.

De Hartog earlier produced Urban Trenches, a short film pitch for a possible TV series with writer Brad Smith and director John L’Ecuyer.

The former cop secured a producer credit on the Cracked pilot for collaborating with Forbes on the script.

Susan Morgan is a creative producer on Cracked, with White Pines president Peter Raymont, Forbes and Janice Dawe sharing the executive producer credits.

Raymont is also executive producing another cop drama set in the cross-border Niagara Falls that is in development with CBS and rival Canadian broadcaster CTV.

White Pines also produced The Border, the Sofia Milos and James McGowan-starring action drama about an elite Toronto immigration and customs tactical team, that ran for three seasons on the CBC in Canada and ION Television stateside.