Vancouver: A real crime was averted this summer when the sequel to Jinnah On Crime: Pizza 911, a Gemini nominee in the best TV movie or miniseries category, pulled its financing together and will now go into production in November.

Based on an Indo-Canadian crime reporter, Jinnah was originally conceived as an ongoing series, whether as recurring MOWs or a one-hour drama series, which could be in place on CBC next year. But Telefilm Canada, through the Equity Investment Program, denied Force Four Productions’ application for $1 million to fund Jinnah On Crime: Securities. The chance to build on the success of Jinnah I, which introduced viewers to another aspect of multicultural Canada through a grisly pizza oven murder, was uncertain.

Executive producer Hugh Beard and his team hustled to trim the budget from $3.2 million to $2.85 million. While they cut their shooting schedule from 20 to 15 days and got a crew to work for lower rates, CBC upped its licence fee and Showcase came through with a lucrative second window presale that filled in some of the hole left by Telefilm.

The demise of Vancouver-based Sextant Entertainment earlier this year made the Jinnah property more attractive to CBC and Showcase, says Beard. Sextant had controlled the distribution of Jinnah I, but relinquished rights in the bankruptcy, allowing Force Four to offer up a more valuable asset and leveraging greater production financing for Jinnah II.

Jinnah I, which cost $3 million to make, had a much easier time of it. Written by Don Hauka and Margaret and Bartley Bard, Jinnah I was directed by Brad Turner. Debra Beard and Rob Bromley are the producers.

U.K. emigre Dhirendra (East Enders), who goes by a single name, stars with Janet Wright, Christian Bocher, Emily Holmes, Pamela Sinha and David Lewis in the story about a neurotic journalist on deadline, not only with stories for the fictional Vancouver Tribune, but also with his own entrepreneurial endeavors as a budding burger joint titan. The discovery of charred human remains in a pizza oven puts everything at risk.

‘Production of [Jinnah I] was a great experience,’ says Hugh Beard, a former CBC producer who established his own company on corporate video and documentary work before returning to drama with Jinnah.

In one shot, the filmmakers transformed suburban Langley and the Boundary Bay Airport into Tanzania, Jinnah’s homeland, with the help of creative costuming, set design and camera work. In another shot, the producers had to worry about the authenticity of a Muslim funeral.

‘It’s challenging to get all the multicultural aspects right,’ he says. ‘If we go to series, we are definitely going to be looking for Indo-Canadian and culturally diverse writers.’

A third Jinnah MOW is in the works alongside the development proposal for a full series, says Beard.

Force Four is also developing a theatrical feature about Gillian Guess, Vancouver’s notorious juror who had an affair with the defendant on trial. And true to the company’s reality roots, Force Four is doing another season of The Shopping Bags (also nominated or a Gemini) for W Network.