The Hulu original limited epic adventure series Washington Black, adapted from Canadian author Esi Edugyan’s acclaimed novel of the same name, is set to start filming in Nova Scotia later this month.

Film commission Screen Nova Scotia and Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston say the nine-episode limited series produced by 20th Television will begin production on March 28, adding to a growing list of projects that have filmed on Canada’s East Coast in recent months, including CBC’s Diggstown and Son of a Critch, and Disney’s upcoming live-action film Peter Pan & Wendy.

Houston and Screen Nova Scotia made the announcement while in Los Angeles this week to meet with production companies, studios and executives to promote the province as an ideal locale for production with competitive financial incentives and world-class crews and production partners.

Last week the province announced it will invest $23 million into the local film industry, including $8 million for the construction of a state-of-the-art 50,000 square foot soundstage facility.

Edugyan is co-producer on the adaptation of Washington Black, which won the  $100,000 Scotiabank Giller Prize in 2018 and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. The story follows the 19th-century adventures of George Washington Black (Ernest Kingsley Jr., with Eddie Karanja playing his younger version in flashbacks), who is born into slavery in Barbados and eventually makes it to Nova Scotia.

Sterling K. Brown, Tom Ellis, Iola Evans, Sharon Duncan-Brewster and Rupert Graves are among the other stars of the series, being adapted by U.S. screenwriter Selwyn Seyfu Hinds (Twilight Zone).

Hinds also serves as showrunner and will executive produce with Brown’s Indian Meadows Productions; series writer Jennifer Johnson; and The Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell, Lindsay Williams and DJ Goldberg.

Series directors Wanuri Kahiu and Mo Marable also serve as executive producers, along with Anthony Hemingway.

Screen Nova Scotia says the series will have a wide-ranging economic impact in the province, including the creation of high-paying jobs for local crew and cast and the production-related purchases.

“In addition to being the perfect place to tell this story creatively, the province provides a robust crew base, an unparalleled variety of landscapes and settings, and incredible partners in the Film commission Screen Nova Scotia and Premier Tim Houston,” said Nissa Diederich, EVP of production at 20th Television, in a statement.

“It’s significant that 20th Television and Hulu have chosen Nova Scotia as the location to tell the tale of ‘Washington Black,'” added Laura Mackenzie, executive director at Screen Nova Scotia. “It’s based on a poignant piece of Nova Scotia’s Black history that will be best served being filmed in its place of origin and shared with the world.”

Photo credit: The Man Booker Prize shortlist of six books are arranged for a photograph during a press conference at Riverbank House on September 20, 2018 in London, England. Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images.