The new 12-part action series based on Luc Besson’s successful film franchise, starring Chris Vance, began filming in Toronto in August and has already seen a lot of action on set. Vance will take over the TV version of the expert driver Frank Martin from Jason Statham and the big screen originals’ co-writer, Luc Besson, is executive producer.

Shooting through this November, the series will debut on Cinemax in 2012. The series’ executive producers also included Fred Fuchs, Robert Cooper, Joseph Mallozzi & Paul Mullie and Alexander Ruemelin; but weeks into shooting, Mallozzi and Mullie cited “creative differences” and left the production.

According to HollywoodReporter.com, British director Steve Shill (Dexter, Desperate Housewives) and veteran supervising producer Karen Wookey has since joined. The Transporter series is a France-Canada international treaty co-production produced by Atlantique Productions and QVF Inc. in association with broadcast partners HBO/Cinemax as well as The Movie Network and Movie Central (Canada), M6 (France) and RTL (Germany).

The ambitious production is the latest in a wave of high-end drama series with money and set locations coming from outside the US. The aim is to captivate both American and European audiences, something that other successful series such as Breaking Bad and Mad Men has struggled to do. American primetime shows seem to translate poorly to the major European markets.

According to a previous HBO press release, this fast-paced series follows the adventures of professional transporter Frank Martin, who can always be counted on to get the job done — discreetly. Operating in a seedy underworld of dangerous criminals and desperate players, his three rules are: Never change the deal, no names, and never open the package. Occasionally, complications arise and rules get broken.

Andrea Osvart (Duplicity) co-stars as Martin’s trusted handler Carla and Francois Berléand reprises his role of Inspector Tarconi from the films. The cast also includes Delphine Chanéac (Splice) in the recurring role of Juliette, a reporter who seems to know a lot about Frank’s work, and Rachel Skarsten (Made…The Movie, Birds of Prey) as Delia, the daughter of someone from Frank’s past.

Last week, Deadline.com could report that there had been a temporary suspension in the series as the title role holder Chris Vance suffered an injury during an action sequence. The delay is expected to last two weeks. “We want to ensure Chris’ return to peak physical condition before putting him back in front of the camera to continue shooting this fast-paced, action-packed series,” said Shill.

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About the author

Claudia Sondergaard
Specialised in American foreign policy media discourse, I have a real passion for media and writing and feel comfortable in subjects such as human rights, politics, environment, social issues, movies, TV and books. Reporting from Denmark. Follow me @swirlgirlversus