Global original Mary Kills People has finally named its star director, as production gets underway in Toronto.

Canadian Holly Dale has taken on directorial (and executive producing) duties for the 6 x 60-minute series, which was created by newcomer Tara Armstrong and executive produced by Tassie Cameron. Mary Kills People is produced by eOne and Cameron Pictures in association with Corus Entertainment.

Dale’s credits include include The Americans, Dexter, Castle and Durham County. She’s won multiple awards for her work, including two best directors from the DGC and a Gemini for Durham.

The sure-to-be controversial series stars Caroline Dhavernas (Hannibal, Off the Map) as Mary, an emergency doctor who spends her downtime assisting in the suicides of terminally ill patients. Also starring in the series are Jay Ryan (Top of the Lake), Richard Short (Vinyl), Lyriq Bent (Book of Negroes), Greg Bryk (Bitten), Abigail Winters (Between) and Charlotte Sullivan (Rookie Blue).

This is the first series created by Armstrong, who developed the project through Shaw Media’s 2015 Writer’s Apprentice Program. Cameron told Playback in an interview this spring that she “leapt at the opportunity” to board the project and help mentor the up-and-coming writer.

Mary Kills People will shoot throughout the summer and is set to premiere on Corus Entertainment’s Global in early 2017.

Financing tools tapped for the series include the Canada Media Fund, the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit.

eOne is handling international distribution for the series, which is executive produced by Cameron, Amy Cameron, Tecca Crosby and Dale. Armstrong is co-executive producer. Tashi Bieler serves as the executive in charge of production for eOne and Norman Denver is producer.

Photo: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com