Cineflix makes Zero Hour deal

Cineflix has announced a deal to coproduce Zero Hour, a new 5 x 60 history series dramatizing the hour leading up to significant historic events ‘as they unfold minute by minute.’

Budgeted near $3 million, Zero Hour will be coproduced with U.K.-based 3BM. Production has started and is expected to wrap in the summer.

Using a realtime clock and a split screen to follow key players a la U.S. hit series 24, each episode will explore the lead-up to a major incident, including the Chernobyl nuclear reactor meltdown, the Columbine school shootings and hijacked planes slamming into the World Trade Center. The series will also use journals, letters, government documents, personal accounts, archival footage, photographs and interviews with key players to round out each ep.

‘By following numerous theaters of action as the clock winds down to zero hour, we put viewers right into the moments leading up to major, iconic historical events. Most history programming is done with 20/20 hindsight. Our aim is to experience history just before it became history,’ says executive producer Stephen Hunter, VP development, science and history at Cineflix.

The series will be broadcast on the History Television in Canada and on Discovery Europe.

Zero Hour is executive produced by Hunter, Glen Salzman, Andre Barro and Dan Korn and is produced by Simon Berthon. The Quebec tax credit administered by SODEC and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit helped finance the series.

Cirrus doing Hard Time

Cirrus Communications has wrapped production on Temps Dur (Hard Time), a 10-ep drama about life behind bars at a Quebec medium-security prison, starring Robin Aubert, for Radio-Canada. Andre Beraud and Josee Vallee produced, Louis Choquette is the director and Jean-Marc Dalpe penned the screenplay. The budget for each episode is $980,000.

Temps Dur is the story of Alain Bergeron (Aubert), a career criminal who longs to return home to his wife and children. The series also stars David Boutin, Stephane Demers, Marie Tifo, Patrice Robitaille and Germain Houde.

Zone 3 goes Mental again

Montreal-based production house Zone3 recently wrapped shooting on season two of tween sitcom Mental Block. The 13-ep second round was again produced by Patricia Lavoie (Sesame Street, Lassie, Emily of New Moon) and features the directorial talents of Rodney Gibbons (Silent Night, Lassie), Michael Kennedy (Kids in the Hall, Blackfly), Adam Weissman (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Big Wolf on Campus) and Craig Pryce (Goosebumps, The Zack Files).

Mental Block, which began airing season two on YTV Feb. 24, is created and penned by Leila Basen (Road to Avonlea, Emily of New Moon) and David Preston (Bob and Margaret, Psi Factor).