Indie producer Breakthrough Entertainment is partnering with the heirs of Anne of Green Gables author Lucy Maud Montgomery to develop and produce a new 13-episode TV series based on Anne Shirley, the spunky redhead from Prince Edward Island beloved by young readers worldwide.

“Of course, when you come to look at Anne of Green Gables, at the success of the character in Canada and around the world over the last 100 years, you’re looking at an incredibly popular and classic character,” Breakthrough principal Peter Williamson told Playback ahead of unveiling the project at the Banff World Media Festival on Monday.

“The appeal of Anne is timeless, similar to great characters like Alice in Wonderland. There’s always a new time to introduce new audiences to that character,” he added.

Diane Boehme, who joined Breakthrough earlier this year to lead a new push into one hour global dramas, is currently meeting potential screenwriters for the latest Anne of Green Gables adaptation.

A series bible is expected to be ready in September or October, before the project is rolled out at MIPCOM.

The new TV series will be produced in partnership with the L.M. Montgomery heirs, who had a high-profile falling out with the previous Anne of Green Gable TV right holders, Toronto-based Sullivan Entertainment.

Sulllivan produced an earlier Anne of Green Gables mini-series and a spin-off drama Road to Avonlea, which aired on the CBC and worldwide, including on the Disney Channel.

But the L.M. Montgomery heirs in 1999 disputed the lack of profits that Sullivan Entertainment claimed from the TV series, leading to a legal fight that wasn’t resolved until 2007.

“I really do feel I’m in very capable hands,” Kate Macdonald Butler, granddaughter of author L.M. Montgomery, who oversees the literary franchise on behalf of the family heirs, said of the upcoming TV drama collaboration with Breakthrough.

That comfort level is helped by Butler knowing Breakthrough executive producer Joan Lambur since they were high school friends.

“We’re trying to avoid comparisons,” Lambur said of comparisons with the Sullivan Entertainment TV adaptations.

“It’s a new day, we’re approaching it as a series, and we’re working with the family. These are two things that are most important to us,” she added.

Set for production in summer 2013 in Atlantic Canada, Brekathrough’s Anne of Green Gables will be a contemporary retelling of the classic kids book series, while staying true to L.M. Montgomery’s original vision.

Breakthrough’s Williamson said the indie producer is talking to potential international financing partners in the U.S., Europe and Asia, among other world territories.

The Banff World Media Festival continues to Wednesday.

Photo: Home of Lucy Maud Montgomery, The Canadian Encyclopedia / courtesy Colour Library Books Ltd.