Crave greenlights crime drama Underbelly

The Shaftesbury-produced Crave original stars Stephen Amell and Hamza Haq.

Crave has greenlit the crime drama Underbelly from Toronto-based Shaftesbury.

The 6 x 60-minute series is produced in association with Crave, the Rogers Series Fund and Los Angeles-based Fifth Season. The series is created by Graeme Stewart (Saving Hope) with all episodes directed by Robert Budreau (Stockholm).

Shooting began on the Thousand Islands and will continue across Southern Ontario, including Grimsby, Brantford, Cobourg, Bowmanville and Toronto.

The writing team is led by Stewart and Aaron Martin (Slasher), along with Jennifer Kassabian (Saving Hope), Andrew Wreggitt (Fortunate Son), Adriana Maggs (Coroner) and Thomas Pepper (SurrealEstate).

Fifth Season will be handling worldwide rights, excluding Canada, with the series set to premiere on Crave in 2025.

Underbelly, which stars Stephen Amell (Arrow) and Hamza Haq (Transplant), will follow the residents of a riverside town in the Thousand Islands region of Ontario as they are caught up in a mystery surrounding an international drug ring, according to a release.

Also starring is Minnie Driver (The Serpent Queen) and Tamara Podemski (Outer Range).

Underbelly is set on a picturesque river, home to 1,000 islands and serving as the border between Canada and the U.S.,” said Christina Jennings, Shaftesbury chairman and president, in a statement. “It is the perfect setting for this returnable crime series from writers Graeme Stewart and Aaron Martin.”

Image courtesy of Bell Media