Canada's Canwest Broadcasting has announced the start of production on Copper, a one-hour, 13-episode police series that will be simulcast on Global and ABC Television later this season.

Copper is described as "a workplace drama about five young rookie cops just out of the police academy". The series has an all-Canadian cast that includes Vancouver's Missy Peregrym (Reaper, Heroes) and Gregory Smith (Everwood). Peregrym's character, Andy McNally, is described as "the soul of the close-knit group of five rookie officers". Smith will play another cop, Dov Epstein. Epstein is the "thrill-seeker" among the cops and aspires to emulate his heroes, Starsky & Hutch

Among the other members of the cast of Copper are Enuka Okuma (24), Travis Milne (My Green House), Charlotte Sullivan (M.V.P.), Ben Bass (Would Be Kings), Eric Johnson (Smallville), Matt Gordon (Rent-A-Goalie), Noam Jenkins (Flashpoint), Melanie Nicholls King (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) and Aidan Devine (M.V.P.).

"From cast to crew, the pedigree of talent involved in this original series is simply incredible," said Christine Shipton, Senior Vice President of Drama and Factual Content, Global Television. "We're so excited to be joining forces with Thump Inc., E1 Entertainment and ABC Television Network on Copper, and bringing these amazing scripts to screen. It's a creative, smart and sexy police drama sure to resonate with audiences on both sides of the border."

Copper was co-created by Tassie Cameron (Flashpoint), Ellen Vanstone (At the Hotel) and Morwyn Brebner (Hotel Metropolitan). The team of executive producers includes Ilana Frank (Would be Kings), Noreen Halpern (Hung) and John Morayniss (Hung). The episodes will be directed by David Wellington (Queer as Folk, The Eleventh Hour), John Fawcett (Da Vinci's Inquest), Charles Biname (Hunt for Justice) and Alex Chapple (Law and Order).

"Tassie, Ilana and the entire Copper team have crafted an exciting, innovative new twist on the traditional cop franchise," said Noreen Halpern, President of Dramatic Programming, E1 Entertainment. "This project is unusual. While it was originally developed with Canwest, ABC has been actively involved, early on, since the pitching stage. The result has been a series with a truly international sensibility and E1 couldn't be more excited about what this augurs for the future of international co-productions."

E1 Entertainment, an independent studio and distributor, is co-producing Copper with Thump Inc. (The Life Before This). The series is shooting in Toronto and Copper is currently the working title.