Toronto’s Forté Entertainment has partnered with U.K. producer RubyRock Pictures to develop a historical crime drama about Birmingham, England club owners Eddie and Hazel Fewtrell.

The Canada/U.K. copro is based on the non-fiction book The Accidental Gangster by U.K. writer David J. Keogh, which has been optioned by Forté. Keogh is the husband of Abigail Fewtrell, the daughter of Eddie and Hazel.

Irish screenwriter Declan O’Dwyer (Miss Scarlett and the Duke) is attached to write and direct the drama series, which has been titled Accidental Gangsters.

Executive producers on the project are Forté’s Andrea Gabourie and Mitch Gabourie (pictured), and RubyRock’s Zoë Rocha and Robbie von Werz. RubyRock’s Catherine Freeman will produce alongside Mitch Powell of Second City Productions.

Accidental Gangsters will explore the history of the Fewtrell family, nightclub owners in Birmingham who fell into the organized crime world due to a rise in gang wars, with a focus on matriarch Hazel Fewtrell.

“Contrasting the glamour of the nightclub world with the gritty, cold-blooded realities of what went on behind the velvet curtain, Accidental Gangsters is primed to be the next premium drama hit that global audiences will devour,” said Andrea and Mitch Gabourie in a joint statement.