CTV will begin production on the new cop drama The Bridge early next year, announcing on Monday that it has greenlit 11 episodes of the TV series following completion of a two-hour MOW this past August.

"We're beyond thrilled," executive producer Adam J. Shully tells Playback Daily, adding that CTV executives Susanne Boyce and Ivan Fecan started seeing cuts of the MOW very early and "liked what they saw." The MOW has not yet aired.

Shully (Blood Ties, Odyssey 5) exec produces with former Toronto police union head Craig Bromell through their 990 Multi Media Entertainment Company, and with Laszlo Barna of Barna-Alper Productions.

The series is centered on the inner workings and politics of a big-city police department, based on Bromell's own experiences after 26 years in law enforcement. It is written by Alan Di Fiore (Da Vinci's Inquest, The Handler) and stars Aaron Douglas (Battlestar Galactica) as an outspoken union head.

Shully says the show will give unique insight into police power and politics, not usually seen on other cop shows, which are generally driven by the pursuit and arrest of suspects.

The Bridge is the third drama ordered by CTV following Flashpoint and The Listener. There's no word on an airdate for the MOW.

Bromell is not the only former Toronto cop who has turned to TV. Police officer-turned-director Calum deHartog plans to turn his six-minute short Urban Trenches, about a cop and a criminal with close ties, into a TV series with writer Brad Smith (All Hat). DeHartog is currently in discussions with Canuck broadcasters.