Vancouver-based indie prodco Turbid Lake Pictures is ready to go to camera on a pilot for a planned drama series titled Kinships.

The self-funded pilot is meant to be the first of an eight-part series, starring Brad Harder and Luna Ferguson, who are executive producers on the project alongside pilot writer and director Florian Halbedl Hess, according to a news release.

Harder and Ferguson portray a queer couple who are forced to deal with repressed trauma when an estranged parent comes to town, all in the midst of exploring a non-monogamous relationship.

Production begins Friday (Aug. 25) in Vancouver and is expected to wrap on Sept. 1. The pilot has an “ultra-low budget,” producers tell Playback Daily, and will be shopped to potential buyers to help finance a full series.

“We currently don’t have a streamer or a broadcaster on board, but we realized it was time to think outside the box,” said Ferguson in a statement. “We decided to do a pilot from the ground up with very little capital and a lot of support from the Vancouver film industry.”

The production is under a UBCP/ACTRA agreement, and the production “is in solidarity with” SAG-AFTRA and the WGA in their dual U.S. strikes, according to the producer.

Joining Harder and Ferguson in the cast are Teryl Rothery (Virgin River), Blake Abbie (Bling Empire New York), Karen Holness (Always Be My Maybe), Tammy Gillis (Siren), BJ Harrison (Family Law), Sebastian Greaves (Project Blue Book) and Nelson Wong (Riverdale). Casting director Candice Elzinga helped put together the ensemble.

“The pilot includes LGBTQ+ actors, and crew of various identities and expressions, and we are intentional about the show reflecting our lived realities,” said Harder.

Ferguson is repped in Canada by Kendra Naka of The Characters Talent Agency and in the U.S. by Joe Veltre at The Gersh Agency; Harder is repped by Samantha Jewell of Play Management; and Hess is repped by Brittany Melanson of The Characters.

Photos courtesy of Turbid Lake Pictures; pictured (L-R): Luna Ferguson, Brad Harder, Teryl Rothery and Karen Holness