Film and TV studio Muse Entertainment has inked a first-look deal with The Walrus magazine to expand into documentary and unscripted TV adaptations.
Muse will mine unpublished stories from The Walrus to possibly develop and produce timely documentaries and unscripted TV series for global audiences. The development partnership will include investigative journalism and coverage of social issues, culture, politics, science and business by The Walrus, with discussions on potential projects already underway.
The expansion in unscripted fare follows Muse having a long track record in scripted event projects like The Kennedys miniseries for Reelz, Starz’s The Pillars of the Earth, ABC’s Ben Hur, WGN America’s Bellevue and, more recently, Coroner for the CBC, Three Pines for Amazon Prime Video and Sullivan’s Crossing for CW, Fremantle and Netflix.
“As we continue to expand Muse Entertainment’s unscripted business, we’re focused on building a pipeline of distinctive, high-quality stories with the potential to resonate globally. The Walrus has earned a reputation for exceptional journalism, and this partnership gives us a unique opportunity to identify compelling stories early and develop them for audiences across film and television,” Jonas Prupas, managing director of unscripted at Muse Entertainment, said in a statement.
The nonfiction space push by Muse, founded in 1998 by Michael Prupas and based in Montreal, follows the production banner hiring former Blue Ant Studios executive Jennifer Harkness as senior vp global development and partnerships, based in Los Angeles.
“Muse has built a world-class reputation for turning great ideas into unforgettable programming. We’re thrilled to partner with them to expand the reach and impact of our journalism,” Carmine Starnino, editor-in-chief of The Walrus, said in another statement. Upcoming documentaries and factual programming from Muse includes The Unsolved Murder of Beverly Lynn Smith (Amazon), For Heaven’s Sake (Paramount +) and Nose Deep (Bell Media, Sky U.K.).
At Blue Ant Studios, Harkness had credits like Peacock’s Epstein’s Shadow: Ghislaine Maxwell, Prince Andrew: Banished and Casey Anthony: Where the Truth Lies.
