Syfy Picks Up Werewolf Series Bitten For U.S. Broadcast

Ready to get Bitten? As the new Canadian werewolf series prepares to debut on SPACE early next year, the studio announced today that Syfy Channel has aquired the rights to broadcast it stateside.

Laura Vandervoort (Smallville, V) stars in the series as Elena Michaels, the world’s only female werewolf.  Greg Bryk co-stars as pack alpha Jeremy Danvers, with Greyston Holt as Clayton Danvers and Paul Greene as Philip McAdams.

The first season will run 13 episodes, and will hit screens in early 2014. Syfy has yet to announce whether it will keep up with the SPACE broadcast, or if U.S. viewers will be delayed a bit — which is typically the case with its imports.

Here’s the story summary:

As someone who spent much of her childhood in the foster system, Elena (Vandervoort) had always craved a “normal” life and thought she finally found it with her boyfriend Clayton Danvers (Holt). But the secret life he kept from her ended up changing her own life forever. With one bite, Elena was forced to survive within the Pack as a werewolf. Still craving the normal life she lost, Elena takes refuge in Toronto working as a photographer and dating a new man. Hiding her werewolf existence from her ad-exec boyfriend Phillip McAdams (Greene), Elena is pulled back into her former life when bodies turn up in the backwoods of Stonehaven, the rural mansion that has been home to the Pack for generations. Caught between two worlds and two loves, Elena returns to Stonehaven out of duty, offering her support to Clay’s surrogate father and leader of the Pack Jeremy Danvers (Bryk). But once back in the fold, Elena realizes that when push comes to shove she’ll stop at nothing to defend and protect her Pack.

“BITTEN is a fantastic blend of supernatural action, intense thrills, smouldering drama and a tortured love story that artfully adapts characters beloved for more than a decade by millions of readers around the world,” Chris Regina, Syfy’s Senior VP of Programming, said. “It’s an excellent complement to our roster of programming and we cannot wait to share Elena, her Pack and their stories with the Syfy audience.”

Based on the New York Times best-selling novels Women of the Otherworld novels by Canadian author Kelley Armstrong, Bitten is produced by No Equal Entertainment, Hoodwink Entertainment, and Entertainment One.  (Syfy is a licensee for the show, not a production partner.)

The series shot earlier this year in Toronto over a period of 5 months. This season’s directors include names such as Brad Turner (Homeland), Andy Mikita (Stargate), John Fawcett (Orphan Black), and T.J. Scott (Spartacus).

Bitten will join Syfy’s other popular Canadian imports, including Continuum, Lost Girl, and the recently cancelled Primeval: New World.

Is it about time for a werewolf story with a female lead?  Will you be watching Bitten?