Toronto’s Protocol Entertainment and Toronto channels OMNI 1 and OMNI 2 are aiming to make some noise in the fall with Bang, an ambitious 78 x 30 soapy drama from the makers of Paradise Falls and Train 48, set to begin shooting later this month at Sullivan Studios.

Protocol’s Steve Levitan (Train 48) exec produces with Stephen Greenberg and Jean Bureau of Montreal’s Incendo Media, working with cocreators Paula Smith and Alex Galatis, both on hiatus from Paradise Falls.

The series – plugged by Levitan as ‘Rent meets Melrose Place’ – follows a gaggle of pretty young things who more-or-less live at a nightclub in an ultra-hip Toronto neighborhood, modeled after the city’s distillery district. Set construction is in its final stages and production will run into October. Bang will air weeknights after 9 p.m., on one or both OMNIs.

It is the first original drama backed by the Rogers Media-owned multicultural ‘casters, which are looking to take on more doc and drama projects, according to a spokesperson. The OMNIs reach roughly 90% of Ontario, and are available across the country on satellite.

Levitan says the series will be shot documentary-style, on tape, with fast stories and occasional flashes of nudity, but without the camp and ‘glam characters’ of Paradise Falls. Ron Murphy (Train 48), Gail Harvey (Some Things That Stay) and Michael Storey (Quints) are among the directors, working with a multicultural cast that includes Claudia Besso (The Life of Smiley), Walter Alza (Due South) and Robin Brule (An American in Canada).

‘I don’t recall seeing a show in North America – never mind Canada – that’s so diverse,’ says Levitan. ‘Some of these actors are a real find. They’re playing themselves, not stereotypes.’

The show draws no public funding, always a point of pride for Levitan.

Smith produces and cowrites with Galatis and story editors Jill Golick and Julie Strassman-Cohn. Incendo will handle international distribution.