Ilana Frank has reteamed with some of her Eleventh Hour coworkers to make Would Be Kings, a crime mini now shooting in Hamilton, ON for CTV.

The project reunites Frank with Eleventh alums Peter Simpson of Toronto’s Norstar Filmed Entertainment, David Wellington, Tassie Cameron and Esta Spalding, all of whom exec produce.

‘I really wanted a character-driven drama that extended past an MOW,’ says Frank, something like a British-style limited series. ‘My favorite shows are British. Always. I love their limited series,’ she says, citing 2003’s 6 x 60 State of Play as an example. ‘I love it because it’s completely character-driven.’

The Kings story by Cameron and Spalding follows two drug squad cops – cousins and best friends – struggling with corruption in the police force. Stephen McHattie (A History of Violence), Clare Stone (Breach) and Stana Katic (24) star with veteran tough guy Robert Forster (Huff ), who plays a mob boss.

‘One of the cousins is a ne’er-do-well, but the other is up-and-coming,’ says Frank. ‘The twist is they sort of change places. The good cop becomes the bad cop and the bad cop is redeemed.

‘It is about police, but it’s not a police story.’

Wellington directs on a $7-million budget, working with DOP David Perrault (The State Within) and production designer James McAteer (In a Heartbeat). It is backed by CTF, the Cogeco Program Development Fund, federal tax credits and the Ontario Media Development Corporation. Norstar has the worldwide sales and distribution rights.