VANCOUVER — The worlds of fact and fiction converge in True Pulp Murder, a documentary TV series shooting this month in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

‘It’s got elements of the old crime story but with a fresh, innovative approach and new packaging. We move between video and merge into graphic animation,’ says producer Lynn Booth (Very Bad Men) of Make Believe Media. ‘We’ve created a TV graphic novel out of true crime with a pulp noir tone.’

Each of the 13 episodes focuses on a true crime, with reenactments and interviews with the original police investigators coupled with a Canadian crime writer commenting on parallels between the true crime and his or her own writing. Featured crime and mystery scribes include Michael Slade, David Russell and Mary Jane Maffini.

According to Booth, the $1.5-million series came together fast. ‘It was in development in June ’06 and Global signed on right away. We’ll deliver in May, and it should be rolled out in October [on Mystery],’ says Booth. Also on board are ACCESS, BookTelevision, Court TV Canada and CLT.