CraveTV Taps Comic Megastar Russell Peters for Next Original Series, RUSSELL PETERS IS THE INDIAN DETECTIVE

− Original 4 x 1 hour series comes to CraveTV in partnership with CTV –
− Russell Peters stars in his first scripted TV series, created by renowned executive producer and writer Frank Spotnitz –
− International co-production set to go to camera in this fall in Durban, Mumbai, and Toronto –

To tweet this release: http://bmpr.ca/1UnMPSE

TORONTO, June 7, 2016 /CNW/ - CraveTV, in partnership with CTV, announced today its second original series, RUSSELL PETERS IS THE INDIAN DETECTIVE. The new series follows on the success earlier this year of CraveTV's breakout hit series, LETTERKENNY.  Worldwide comic sensation Russell Peters stars in the four-part, one-hour, fish-out-of-water dramedy. Commissioned in partnership with CTV from Big Light Productions (THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE, HUNTED, MEDICI: MASTERS OF FLORENCE), Blue Ice Pictures (MADIBA, THE BOOK OF NEGROES, October Gale), and Wonder Films (Water, The Young Messiah), RUSSELL PETERS IS THE INDIAN DETECTIVE is set to begin production this fall in 4K. The production will shoot in Durban, Mumbai, and Toronto, before premiering on CraveTV in 2017.

"I couldn't be happier that my first leading role in a series will be on a show with not only my name in the title, but a show that lets me do drama and comedy at the same time," said Russell Peters. "The fact that it's actually set in Canada and India is an added bonus!"

"Bell Media is committed to partnering with the biggest stars in Canada and they don't shine much brighter than Russell Peters," said Randy Lennox, President, Entertainment Production and Broadcasting, Bell Media. "We are thrilled to be working with Russell and the fantastic teams at Blue Ice Pictures, Big Light Productions, and Wonder Films on CraveTV's next Canadian hit."

"We are committed to the development and growth of CraveTV Originals and partnering with the best in the business," said Mike Cosentino, Senior Vice-President, Programming, CTV Networks and CraveTV.  "We think this project and the opportunity to work with Russell, a true international comedic force, delivers on both fronts."

Developed for Peters by acclaimed writer and executive producer Frank Spotnitz (THE X-FILES, THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE) and Smita Bhide (HUNTED, TRANSPORTER: THE SERIES), RUSSELL PETERS IS THE INDIAN DETECTIVE follows Peters' Doug D'Mello, a charming, smart, ambitious Toronto cop of Indian heritage whose dreams of becoming a homicide detective are put on hold when he is unjustly suspended. While on leave, D'Mello visits his dad in Mumbai, where he gets embroiled in a local case and pursues an impressive and beautiful attorney. As a dangerous investigation unfolds, D'Mello must also grapple with culture shock in a country where, despite his heritage, he is an outsider. Equal doses comedy and high-stakes drama, RUSSELL PETERS IS THE INDIAN DETECTIVE marks Russell Peters' first starring role in a scripted television series.

The series builds on the long-standing relationship with Peters, which has included A RUSSELL PETERS CHRISTMAS, now a Bell Media holiday scheduling tradition, Peters' two stints as host of THE JUNO AWARDS, as well as the 2003 CTV COMEDY NOW! special that propelled him into an international phenomenon when it was posted anonymously on the internet and made its way around the globe.

RUSSELL PETERS started doing stand-up in 1989 at the age of 19 at open mics in his native Toronto. Peters is the first comedian to sell-out Toronto's Air Canada Centre six times since 2007, and just completed his Almost Famous World Tour, which took him to over 120 cities across 25 countries with more than 500,000 fans. Having released four stand-up specials since 2004, Peters recorded his new special, RUSSELL PETERS ALMOST FAMOUS at Toronto's Massey Hall, which will be released in October. Recently, Peters was a judge on NBC's LAST COMIC STANDING, and appeared in Spike TV's hit show, LIP SYNC BATTLE. Peters can also be seen in Jon Favreau's critically acclaimed movie, Chef, and can be heard as one of the voices on Disney's The Jungle Book.

INDIAN DETECTIVE is created and executive produced and written by Frank Spotnitz and co-written by Smita Bhide, both of whom also wrote the first episode. It is executive produced by Blue Ice Pictures' Daniel Iron and Lance Samuels (MADIBA, THE BOOK OF NEGROES, October Gale), Wonder Films' Mark Burton (Water, The Young Messiah), CPI Pictures Clayton Peters (RUSSELL PETERS: NOTORIOUS, RUSSELL PETERS VERSUS THE WORLD), and Paul Canterma. Co-executive producer is Sharon Remmer (THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE, MEDICI: MASTERS OF FLORENCE). Sarah Fowlie is Director, Independent Production, Comedy, Bell Media. Executive for Bell Media is Chris Kelley. Corrie Coe is Senior Vice-President, Independent Production, Bell Media. Mike Cosentino is Senior Vice-President, Programming, CTV Networks and CraveTV, Bell Media. Randy Lennox is President, Entertainment Production and Broadcasting, Bell Media.

About Big Light Productions
Award-winning American writer and producer Frank Spotnitz founded Big Light Productions Ltd. in 2013 to create and oversee a diverse slate of international television series including drama, comedy, and documentaries, and has since become one of the fastest-growing independent production companies in Europe. The London and Paris-based production company's projects include the newly announced suspense drama series that begins production this summer, RANSOM, with eOne, CBS in the U.S., Corus's Global in Canada and TF1 in France; the upcoming MEDICI: MASTERS OF FLORENCE with Richard Madden and Dustin Hoffman; the acclaimed Amazon drama series THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE; CROSSING LINES Season 3, and TRANSPORTER: THE SERIES Season 2 for U.S. and international markets. Spotnitz's 20+-year career in television includes creating, writing, and producing series with networks, cable, streaming, and other production companies all over the world. His credits also include 8 seasons of the hit series THE X-FILES and its two feature films, HUNTED, STRIKE BACK, NIGHT STALKER, ROBBERY HOMICIDE DIVISION, THE LONE GUNMEN, HARSH REALM and MILLENNIUM. www.biglight.com

About Blue Ice Pictures:
Blue Ice Pictures is an international film production, development and finance company based in Toronto with offices in London and South Africa.  The company acquired Foundry Films to bolster its Canadian division and bought Out of Africa Entertainment to establish a production base in South Africa. Blue Ice Pictures is responsible for over 60 hours of international television including MADIBA, which is currently in production starring Laurence Fishburne, Orlando Jones and David Harewood; the internationally acclaimed miniseries, THE BOOK OF NEGROES, starring Aunjanue Ellis, Cuba Gooding Jr., Louis Gossett Jr.; SINGLE LADIES; and feature films including The Bang Bang Club, Cairo Time, Inescapable, Lucky, October Gale, and the multi-award winning documentary, Watermark, by Jennifer Baichwal and Edward Burtynsky, as well as South Africa's highest grossing film of all time, Schuks Shabalala's Survival. 

About Wonder Films
Independent film Producer Mark Burton founded Wonder Films in 1995 to create and produce international independent film, and has made award-nominated, critically-praised features films all over the world. The Company got its start helping to produce a number of Bollywood productions, working with international stars Shah Rukh Khan, Anil Kapoor and Sri Devi. The company's acclaimed feature Water was nominated for the Academy Award ® for Best Foreign Film; The Terrorist was nominated for an Independent Spirit award for Best Foreign Film; and Asoka which was the first Hindi language film to be released through major U.S. theater circuits. Most recently, Burton executive produced The Young Messiah with Ocean Blue/1492 and the Sundance 2016 hit Talullah, starring Ellen Page and Allison Janney, which was acquired by Netflix.

About Bell Media Independent Production
Bell Media has commissioned some of Canada's most-watched and most-acclaimed original programming, working with the best Canadian independent producers in the country. Hit series commissioned by CTV include ratings success stories SAVING HOPE, MOTIVE, the record-breaking THE AMAZING RACE CANADA, and MASTERCHEF CANADA. Upcoming original series on CTV include CARDINAL and THE DISAPPEARANCE. Among the original scripted series on Bell Media pay, specialty, and streaming platforms are the internationally acclaimed ORPHAN BLACK, Space's most-watched original series KILLJOYS, Bravo's award-winning and most-watched original drama 19-2, award-winning dramedy SENSITIVE SKIN, CraveTV's first original series LETTERKENNY, Discovery's upcoming drama FRONTIER, and Comedy's new satirical news series THE BEAVERTON.  Discovery is also home to Bell Media's hit factual series HIGHWAY THRU HELL, COLD WATER COWBOYS, and CANADA'S WORST DRIVER, among others. Bell Media is one of the first media companies in North America to commit to producing all new scripted series in 4K.

About CraveTV
Created for TV lovers and devoted to television, CraveTV is Canada's premium TV streaming service, providing the most robust lineup of superior television content in the country. From TV's most-acclaimed dramas and beloved comedies to documentaries, music, and factual programming, CraveTV features thousands of hours of premium non-kids TV programming, representing hundreds of unique titles including the entire off-air library of HBO's iconic programming catalogue and hundreds of hours of acclaimed SHOWTIME series and specials. CraveTV is available directly to all Canadians with access to the Internet, as well as to customers of Eastlink, TELUS Optik TV, Bell Fibe TV, Bell Satellite TV, Bell Aliant FibreOP TV, Shaw Cable, Shaw Direct, Access Communications, Northwestel, SaskTel, Cable Cable, Hay Communications, Mitchell Seaforth Cable TV, Tuckersmith Communications, Wightman Telecom subscribers, NRTC Communications, WTC Communications, Tbaytel, Execulink Telecom, and VMedia. Available through, mobile apps on iOS, Android, and Microsoft Windows 8.1, the web, Apple TV, Chromecast, and select Samsung Smart TVs, and CraveTV will soon be available via select game consoles. CraveTV is from Bell Media, Canada's premier multi-media company with more than a decade of leadership delivering Canada's most-watched and most-acclaimed television programming across the Pay, Specialty, Digital, and Network TV landscapes. For more on CraveTV, visit www.CraveTV.ca.

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SOURCE CraveTV

Nicola Krishna, CraveTV, 416.384.5276, [email protected]; Scott Campbell, CraveTV, 416.384.4235 or [email protected]