EXCLUSIVE: Cardinal star Karine Vanasse has boarded Death of a Diplomat, the Series Mania-bound thriller series from Eliza Reid, the former First Lady of Iceland.
Canadian streamer Crave and Iceland’s Síminn have both acquired local rights the TV drama, which comes from Canada’s Blink49 Studios and Iceland’s Truenorth. Groupe Entourage has also joined the party in an executive producer capacity.
Death of a Diplomat – initially titled Death on the Island – is among the 15 projects selected for the annual Series Mania Co-Pro Pitching Sessions tomorrow (March 24) in Lille, France.
Vanasse will play Jane Shearer, the lead role in the six-part drama set in the high-stakes world of diplomacy. The mystery follows Shearer, the Canadian ambassador’s wife, as she decides to investigate the poisoning of a prominent figure at a soirée at a remote Icelandic location. She partners with a young detective and uncovers a web of secrets, corruption and betrayal stretching from Reykjavik’s elite to the heart of her own marriage.
“We are thrilled to have Karine Vanasse attached to the project as Jane Shearer,” said Carolyn Newman and Virginia Rankin, Death of a Diplomat executive producers. “Her talent and presence make her the perfect choice to lead this high-stakes, internationally thrilling story. With Lynne Kamm’s adaptation and our partners at Groupe Entourage and Crave, we’re excited to bring this series to life for audiences in Canada and around the world.”
“Karine Vanasse is the ambassador’s wife, polished charm on the surface, and gloriously mischievous underneath,” added Lynne Kamm, the show’s writer and showrunner. “She brings the cheeky wit and killer curiosity this role demands.”
The novel, Death on the Island, was released in Canada by Simon & Schuster and in the U.S. by Sourcebooks in Spring 2025 and it was a bestseller in both countries. It was published as Death of a Diplomat in the UK by Sphere and in Iceland by Forlagid, where it was the top selling book in the country for two months after publication. The novel is forthcoming in Germany with Kampa Verlag and is the first in a planned series.
As we first reported last year, the Fifth Season- and Bell Media-backed Blink49 secured rights to Reid’s novel through its joint venture with North American lit management firm Transatlantic, which sees the pair leverage the latter’s roster of authors and IP to develop and project screen projects. Blink49 will be the lead studio.
Exec producers are Newman and Rankin from the Canadian firm, Samantha Haywood and Laura Cameron from Transatlantic, Kristinn Thordarson and Leifur B. Dagfinnsson from Truenorth, Plan B and Transplant writer Kamm, Reid, and Nathalie Brigitte Bustos and Eric Young for Groupe Entourage.
Vanasse is repped by Agence M and UBBA. Kamm is repped by Luber Roklin Entertainment, Agence Adequat, and Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Feldman, Rogal, Shikora & Clark.