For the first time since Jake and the Kid wrapped, the beleagured Alberta production community could be playing host to a new series.

This month, Calgary-based Grasslands Entertainment Group is filming the $150,000 pilot for Beyond the Barbed Wire.

‘It’s Northern Exposure meets sctv,’ says Bryan Smith, executive producer of Beyond the Barbed Wire. ‘A kind of codco from the Prairies.’

Financing for the project came from local station cfrn-tv (which is taking a piece of equity in the project) and licence fees from Vancouver Television and The Comedy Network. If the new Alberta tax incentive becomes official, the producers expect they’ll be getting back around 10% of the budget. Plans are for the pilot to turn into a 13-episode series.

The series is being created by Calgary’s Jim Warner and produced by Dale Phillips. Francis Damberger (Jake & the Kid) is directing and Jim Jeffrey is the dop.

Making the trip 60 kilometers east of Edmonton to appear on the show are Paul Coeur (Cold Squad), Shaun Johnston (Jake & the Kid) and Graham Greene (Dances With Wolves) as a cafe lounge lizard.

Smith says he could feel the optimism and excitement of the crew on set.

‘Alberta has been so beat up for so long, everyone is happy to be doing a project they like,’ he says. ‘It’s time to bring the industry back home.’

Grasslands is also working on animal series Planet Zoo for Life Network, featuring conservation groups and zoos working together around the world. Brian Keating is the host.