Production Begins on Miniseries ‘Alias Grace’

Halfire Entertainment, CBC and Netflix announced that production will begin on “Alias Grace,” a six-hour miniseries inspired by the historical true story of convicted murderer Grace Marks and based on the novel by Margaret Atwood. The miniseries is being written and produced by Sarah Polley (“Looking for Alaska”) and will be directed by Mary Harron (“American Psycho”), with production scheduled to begin in Ontario in August 2016. “Alias Grace” will be broadcast in Canada on CBC and will stream everywhere globally on Netflix.

The logline: The story of “Alias Grace” follows Grace Marks, a poor, young Irish immigrant and domestic servant in Upper Canada who, along with stable hand James McDermott, was convicted of the brutal murders of their employer, Thomas Kinnear, and his housekeeper, Nancy Montgomery, in 1843. James was hanged while Grace was sentenced to life imprisonment. Grace became one of the most enigmatic and notorious women of 1840s Canada for her supposed role in the sensational double murder, and was eventually exonerated after 30 years in jail. Her conviction was controversial, and sparked much debate about whether Grace was actually involved in the murder, or merely an unwitting accessory.