Freeform Begins Production On New Mermaid Series
Freeform is going under the sea in 2017, but you probably won’t find any singing crabs here. Production has officially begun in Vancouver on the network’s latest drama pilot “The Deep.”
The series is a one-hour drama that takes audiences inside Bristol Cove, a coastal town known for its legend of once being home to mermaids. But with the arrival of a mysterious new girl in town, the legend has come to life. Now, it’s a battle between man and sea for their right to the ocean.
“The Deep,” currently a working title for the series, stars Alex Roe (“The 5th Wave”) as Ben, a bright marine biologist who finds himself drawn to the town’s newest resident, Ryn, played by Eline Powell (“Game of Thrones”). Ryn is a strange young woman with a deep dark secret.
Powell gave fans a big glimpse of that secret in a video she posted to Instagram.
Fola Evans-Akingbola (“An American Exorcism”) stars as Maddie, Ben’s coworker who is highly suspicious of Ryn. Ian Verdun (“Life’s a Drag”) will play Xander, a deep sea fisherman on a quest to uncover the truth; and Rena Owen (“Star Wars” Episodes II and III) as Helen, the town eccentric who seems to know more about the mermaids than she lets on.
Based on a story by Eric Wald and Dean White, Wald wrote the pilot teleplay and both he and White serve as executive producers. Scott Stewart (“Dominion”) is directing. Emily Whitesell (“Finding Carter”) is on board as showrunner and executive producer. Brad Luff, Nate Hopper, and RD Robb are also attached as executive producers.
The show’s premiere date has not yet been announced.