EXCLUSIVE: Studiocanal is forging a crime drama series about an all-female gang in the Asian “Wild West.”
The French major is teaming with Fremantle-backed Beach House Pictures and Singapore’s Momo Film Co. on Red Butterfly, which comes from The Great scribe Constance Cheng and Kris Ong.
Based on a true story, Red Butterfly follows the rise of an all-female gang run by two sisters set in 1950s Singapore, at that time a city of crime, the glamorous but lawless “Wild West” of Asia.
The buzzy project has been unveiled on the eve of the Asian TV Forum & Market in Singapore. Studiocanal is selling and Canal+ is developing in Vietnam and Myanmar.
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Red Butterfly will be filmed in English and Chinese languages on location in Singapore and Malaysia. Co-creator Cheng will write and serve as showrunner. Fellow co-creator Kris Ong (Ajoomma) will also write on the project. The fight choreography will be supported by Martial Club (Everything Everywhere All At Once), founded by the Le Brothers and Daniel Mah.
Ron Halpern, EVP Global Production, Isobel Carter, VP Global Production Studiocanal, and Damiano Malchiodi, Content Development Asia Canal+ International, said: “We are delighted to be joining forces with Beach House Pictures and Momo Film to develop this remarkable true story into a premium show for global audiences. Singapore at this time was such a cosmopolitan city. In addition to the diverse local population, American agents and British officials were part of the intrigue. Constance Cheng and Kris Ong have created an ambitious, thrilling series that disrupts traditional ideas of power, exploring female leadership in a male-dominated criminal world.”
Beach House was acquired at the start of this year by Fremantle. Momo recently struck a partnership with the Philippines’ Nathan Studio.