Julie Benz

Broadcast: Incendo making Friends

Montreal - Circle of Friends, an MOW coproduced by Montreal’s Incendo Productions, wraps on May 10 after four weeks in Montreal. The thriller stars Julie Benz (Satan’s School for Girls, Jawbreaker) as a woman who returns home to investigate the mysterious deaths of her childhood friends.

The company is responding to high demand for MOW thrillers with women protagonists, says Jean Bureau, who produces with Josée Mauffette of Incendo.

"We have had a great deal of success with this kind of film," he notes. Circle of Friends is the 20th MOW Incendo has produced in the last four years, playing to high ratings in the U.S. and Europe. Fatal Trust, which aired this spring on Lifetime, got a 3.3 market share, making it the channel’s highest-rated MOW of the season.

"Women love these movies, but so do men," says Bureau. "These films are both scary and sexy - they are highly entertaining television that has something for everyone."

The $3-million project is exec produced by Bureau and Stephen Greenberg of Incendo, Anne Carlucci of Anne Carlucci Productions and Justin Bodle of London-based Power. It will air this fall on The Movie Network, Movie Central and Super Ecran, and on Lifetime in the U.S. It is directed by Stefan Pleszczynski (Da Vinci’s Inquest, Live Once, Die Twice) and also stars Chris Kramer (The Collector) and Venus Terzo (Da Vinci’s Inquest).