CBC, Netflix co-order Atwood miniseries

Canadian pubcaster the CBC and global streamer Netflix have co-commissioned a six-part miniseries based on Margaret Atwood novel Alias Grace.

The adaptation will go into production in Ontario, Canada, this August.

CBC, which is already lining up another Atwood series for its kids TV service, will have exclusive Canadian rights, with SVOD platform Netflix taking global rights elsewhere.

Noreen Halpern’s Halfire Entertainment is attached to produce, with Canadian actor and director Sarah Polley is writing the script, with American Psycho’s Mary Harron directing.

Alias Grace is based on Atwood’s historical fiction title inspired by Irish-Canadian maid Grace Marks, who was wrongly jailed for 30 years for the murders of her employer and his housekeeper.

The novel and upcoming series follow a doctor in the emerging mental health field who becomes obsessed with Marks while investigating her case on behalf of a group seeking her pardon.

“I first read Alias Grace when I was 17 years old and throughout the last 20 years I have read it over and over, trying to get to the bottom of it,” said Polley.

“Grace Marks, as captured by Margaret Atwood, is the most complex, riveting character I have ever read. I can’t wait for us to bring the many versions of Grace’s gripping story, and the questions they raise, to television audiences.”

For Netflix, Alias Grace is its second Canadian original after partnering with SVOD rival Shomi and broadcaster City TV to create Between, which stars kids television actor Jeanette McCurdy.

CBC, meanwhile, has already given the greenlight to Atwood’s kids book The Wide World of Wandering Wenda.

US streaming service Hulu, meanwhile, commissioned MGM Television to create an adaptation of Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.

This means there will soon be three Atwood series in production, marking a spike in interest in the famed novelist.