Five years after the original pilot was shot – which never aired – Manitoba’s Sky West Productions is gearing up for production on 13 episodes of its Prairie series Number One West – with or without a broadcaster on board.

Executive producer/director Frank Adamson says, ‘The show and the premise were good and needed to be done,’ so he moved forward with his project.

‘I decided we were going to do it come hell or high water,’ says Adamson. ‘We’ve got everyone involved, laid out the plans, and worked on the scripts. Whether we have all the funding or part of it, we are going ahead, and everyone involved understands that.’

The series is being shot in and around Selkirk, Man., starting at the end of June on a budget of $200,000 per episode, around $3 million for the series.

The plan is to get 20% of the money from investors, 15% from sponsors, 10% from grants, 5% from service in kind and 50% from deferrals. So far the production is starting out with $102,000 deferred, $89,000 covered by investors, grants and sponsorships, and $9,000 raised through service in kind.

While Adamson is in the process of speaking with broadcasters and hopes to land a licence agreement, he does not want to ‘sell the farm’ and enter into a deal that won’t benefit him down the road. The ultimate plan for the series is to distribute it worldwide.

Finding a qualified crew is the immediate problem, which is why Adamson is using the set as a training ground for Manitobans interested in learning something about the film biz.

‘They will gain valuable experience,’ says Adamson, ‘and that is good for the community because it increases the qualified crews [which are] needed for all the productions coming to town.’

Jeff Skinner is coproducing and codirecting the series, which takes place at Number One West, a combination restaurant/service station/grocery store on a Prairie highway.