Fireworks sounds trumpet for Whistler

Fireworks International, now part of the UK's ContentFilm, has picked up the overseas TV rights to a sporty new US/Canadian drama coproduction set in the world of winter sports.

Whistler (13x60') is set on the slopes of ski mecca Whistler, British Colombia, and follows the family and personal pressures that result following the death of the region's most talented racer.

Described by the distributor as "stripping away the veneer of glitz and glamour of this ski resort city to expose the secrets that lie beneath the snow," it will air on Noggin's night-time block The N in the US from June, and on CTV in Canada later this year.

The series is being made by John Morayniss and Noreen Halpern's Toronto/LA outfit Blueprint Entertainment and Boardwatch Productions, a Vancouver-based alliance of Big Pictures Entertainment, Hoodwink Entertainment and 293474 BC Ltd.

The cast includes David Paetkau (LAX, Final Destination 2) as the dead guy, Jesse Moss (Final Destination 3), Nick Lea (The X Files), Ingrid Kavelaars (Dreamcatcher), Adam Harrington, Chris Shyer, Amanda Crew and Holly Dignard.

Created by executive producer and showrunner Kelly Senecal (Going the Distance, Just Deal), Whistler is written and exec-produced by Tony Blake and Paul Jackson (She Spies, The Pretender) with support from co-writer and coproducer Russ Cochrane (Last Exit, Radio Free Roscoe) and Alison Bingeman (CSI: Miami, FX).