Jason Priestley will go behind the camera next year on the romantic comedy Mud Puppy, for Angel Entertainment (Rabbit Fall) and Lexico Productions (The Guardian).

Set in B.C.’s Okanagan region, the story is centered on a playboy wine-lover who battles an environmentalist for control of a vineyard after a colony of near-extinct frogs are discovered there. The script is penned by B.C. writer Monica Hilborn (The Guardian) and is based on a true story.

Production is set for July and August, 2011. There’s no word on casting.

Priestley, who owns a winery in B.C., also co-hosted the wine and travel TV series Hollywood and Vines, which aired on Super Channel. Best known for his starring role in the teen soap Beverly Hills, 90210, Priestley also currently stars as a used-car salesman in the new E1 Entertainment series Call Me Fitz, which launches soon on TMN/MC.

His directing credits include MOWs The Other Woman and Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye.