A  Canadian short-form project evolved into a half-hour series thanks to presales from global buyers.

Something Undone is a 10 x 30-minute mystery drama that follows a duo of true crime podcasters who re-investigate a 1980s cold case family murder in Newfoundland.

Co-written by and starring Madison Walsh (Mrs. America) and Michael Musi (All My Puny Sorrows), the series has undergone a complete overhaul with a new iteration premiering on CBC Gem on Thursday (Dec. 14).

Something Undone was one of 82 projects that were selected for development in the CBC Creative Relief Fund, borne from the COVID-19 pandemic. Produced by 4AM Film Studios and Little Mama Media, the original short-form series earned Best Short Series at Series Mania in France in 2021 and won the Jury Prize for Best Episodic Pilot at South by Southwest (SXSW), but its story wasn’t finished there.

Those episodes then pre-sold to international networks ITVX, SBS Australia, TV4 Sweden and MTV Oy Finland, and were jointly distributed by Omega Global Media and Beta Film.

“The idea that we had was to reformat the show and cut the existing footage together so that the two seasons were intertwined. That gave us six half-hour episodes. We took that out to a couple of different markets [and] we were able to pre-sell that content, which then gave us the financing to be able to shoot an additional four episodes,” producer Jordan Hayes tells Playback Daily, noting that financing was also provided through CBC Gem, a minimum guarantee from the distributor, and tax credits.

CBC Gem will release all 10 episodes in tandem with ITVX in the U.K., with release dates in the other territories still to be announced.

“The sophistication of the writing, the calibre of the acting and the elevated production value was really what was making Something Undone stand apart from other web series,” says Hayes, “and that’s really what started to get international acclaim and interest.”

The show also stars Amanda Brugel (The Handmaid’s Tale), Billy Campbell (Cardinal), Shawn Doyle (Star Trek: Discovery), Shaun Majumder (This Hour Has 22 Minutes) and Nicole Power (Strays).

“Something Undone is really a unique example of scaling up production; starting small as a web series that was born out of a relief fund and then growing into an international TV show,” says Hayes.

“The true crime stuff is so fascinating to us, and it seemed to have really blown up overnight,” adds co-creator Musi, who notes that he and Walsh recently attended Content London, where mystery and true crime content were highly regarded.

“We’re really fascinated about why people love true crime so much and [thinking about] the leads of our story — the people behind these true crime podcasts — how does that affect your life? What is it like taking on these gruesome murders and talking to their families?”

But it’s not just the content of the series that brings international appeal, says Walsh.

“All of the creatives that we picked are young, up-and-coming Canadians who have been celebrated for their very singular voices in different ways,” she says, giving a nod to directors Hannah Cheeseman and Nicole Dorsey.

“Choosing people who weren’t afraid to be outside of the box really helped to give our show its own flavour. I never thought this show would go international, but we got a call from France saying ‘Not only are you in, but you’ve won, can you please come and accept the award?'”

She notes that audiences everywhere are ready for “unconventional storytelling,” which Something Undone decidedly is.

“I think that Something Undone is a very good example of a hyper-localized story,” says Hayes. “We have a very, very good exhibition of Canadian talent in front of and behind the camera, but it’s also a specifically Canadian story, and what we’re seeing is that that concept is actually traveling to markets around the world, not only in English speaking territories, but in non-English speaking territories as well.”

Image courtesy of CBC Gem