Inspired by the best-selling books by MR Hall, Coroner is a character-driven episodic drama about Dr Jenny Cooper, a recently widowed coroner who investigates suspicious deaths in Toronto.
Distributed by Cineflix Rights, Coroner lead Serinda Swan is at MIPTV to help promote sales for the eight-part series that has already been picked up internationally by NBC Universal.
With a second series shooting later in 2019, the scripted drama that debuted on CBC is winning plaudits, and more than one million viewers per episode in Canada, where it was the highest-rated CBC drama in more than four years. It was also Universal TV’s highest-ever rated series in the UK.
“You get to see the growth of several characters over its eight-episode arc, which I love,” Swan told MIPTV News about Coroner’s approach, adding that it combines a strong episodic crime procedural element. “But you also have the procedural drama and you get the cases, so it’s a nice little blend of the two,” she said.
“Coroner has struck a chord with viewers in Canada and the UK, which is a testament to the series’ outstanding cast and creative team, and the authenticity of its themes and characters,” Sally Catto, general manager, programming, CBC, said. Swan said that she knew she wanted to join the production “as soon as the script came in.”
“This is amazing content as an actor,” she said of the Jenny Cooper character, who taps into her intuition, intellect and heart to solve cases with the help of homicide detective Donovan McAvoy. “I knew that if we were able to tap into the humanity of this character that people would really resonate with it.”
Having aired in the UK and Australia, US rights for Coroner are now being negotiated for a series with long-term potential.“They’ve written Jenny as a really complex character, so there’s a long way to go for her,” said Swan.
This and more in MIPTV News Issue 1, out April 8. This article was written by Julian Newby, edited for MIPBlog.
