FOX orders psychological crime drama 'Murder in a Small Town,' starring Rossif Sutherland & Kristin Kreuk

Original series based on L.R. Wright’s acclaimed novels reflects FOX Entertainment’s ongoing strategy to identify premium programming via original productions from international studios

Press Release

Continuing to deploy its strategy to identify premium content by working with international studios on creating new and innovative business models, FOX has commissioned the psychological crime drama “Murder in a Small Town” from executive producer/head writer Ian Weir (“Arctic Air,” “Edgemont”) and Sepia Films, in association with FOX Entertainment and Jeff Wachtel’s Future Shack Entertainment, for the 2024-25 season.

Based on the Edgar Award-winning, nine-book “Karl Alberg” series by acclaimed novelist L.R. Wright, and starring Rossif Sutherland (“Reign,” “The Handmaid’s Tale”) and Kristin Kreuk (“Smallville,” “Beauty & the Beast”), “Murder in a Small Town” will be produced in British Columbia, with Milan Cheylov (“24,” “The Cleaning Lady”) executive producing and directing multiple episodes of the program. FOX has acquired all U.S. rights of “Murder in a Small Town,” which will be executive produced by Nick Orchard (Soapbox Productions), Morris Ruskin and Sharon Wisnia (Mojo Global Arts) and Jon Cotton.

“Murder in a Small Town” follows Karl Alberg (Sutherland), who moves to a quiet coastal town to soothe a psyche that has been battered by big-city police work. But this gentle paradise has more than its share of secrets, and Karl will need to call upon all the skills that made him a world-class detective in solving the murders that, even in this seemingly idyllic setting, continue to wash up on his shore. Kreuk stars as Cassandra, a local librarian who becomes Alberg’s muse, foil and romantic interest.

“Ian has done a masterful job bringing L.R. Wright’s seminal detective Karl Alberg to life, finding his perfect alter ego, Rossif Sutherland, to star on screen alongside Kristin Kreuk,” said Michael Thorn, president, scripted programming, FOX Entertainment. “ ‘Murder in a Small Town’ illustrates our ongoing strategy to identify and commission impactful global content in a smart and effective manner with proven creative partners, all of which we have found in Ian, Milan, Sepia Films and Future Shack.”

Wachtel added, “It’s a joy to be doing this wonderful show with my old friends at FOX. Ian, Milan, Rossif and Kristin form the core of a world-class creative team that will bring this unique detective show to life.”

“We are thrilled to be collaborating with FOX Entertainment and Future Shack on an innovative production model that will bring the internationally acclaimed Karl Alberg mystery novels by Edgar Award-winning novelist L.R. Wright to the screen,” said Tina Pehme and Kim Roberts, co-CEOs/producers of Sepia Films.

The Vancouver-born bilingual son of Donald Sutherland and half-brother of Kiefer Sutherland, Rossif Sutherland recently finished shooting the feature “Shadowless Horse,” opposite Tatiana Malany, and season two of the gripping Apple+ series “Plan B.” Sutherland was recently seen in Stan Brooks’ romantic action caper (based on the true story) “Bad Romance: The Vicky White Story.”

On the big screen, you can find Sutherland in director William Brent Bell’s “Orphan: First Kill,” opposite Julia Stiles; and in director Darlene Naponse’s “Stellar,” which premiered at TIFF in 2022. He can also be seen in Atom Egoyan’s “Guest of Honour,” which played at both Cannes and TIFF in 2019. That same year he shot the World War I film, “A Call to Spy,” for director Lydia Dean Pilcher; the Sundance premiere film “Possessor Uncut” for writer/director Brandon Cronenberg; “The Middle Man,” for director Bent Hammer; and “The Retreat,” for director Pat Mills.

For television, Sutherland was a lead in the hilarious French remake of the hit Amazon/Channel 4 British comedy series “Catastrophe”; had series regular roles in Amazon’s “Three Pines”, opposite Alfred Molina; the period drama “Reign,” for The CW; and important recurring roles on shows such as “The Handmaid’s Tale” for Hulu and “Covert Affairs” for USA, among others.

Sutherland received a 2020 CSA nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his very dark performance in the TV movie “Believe Me,” about the true story of the horrifying abduction of Lisa McVey. Multiple other nominations for “High Life,” “Hyena Road,” “River” and “Flashpoint” can be added to his list of accolades.

Born and raised in Vancouver, Kreuk began acting in plays in high school, but mostly focused on her schoolwork rather than the stage. Fate came calling at the beginning of her senior year when a casting director looking for new talent for the Canadian series “Edgemont” tapped Kreuk for a starring role. It was her first professional audition.

The next year, she not only scored the title role of the television movie “Snow White” for ABC, opposite Miranda Richardson, she landed the lead role of Lana Lang on the WB series “Smallville,” and managed to continue her role on “Edgemont.”

In addition to being a face of Neutrogena for six years, Kreuk performed a cameo in the film “Eurotrip,” opposite Matt Damon; starred in the Sci-Fi miniseries “Earthsea,” opposite Isabella Rossellini; and starred in the Canadian feature “Partition,” opposite Jimi Mistry; as well as the Fox feature “Streetfighter: The Legend of Chun Li” and the independent “Vampire.”

She’s traveled to Morocco to star in the BBC retelling of “Ben Hur” and appeared in a well-received arc on NBC’s hit “Chuck,” showing off her lighter side. Kreuk starred in the features “Ecstasy” (based on Irvine Welsh’s follow up to his bestseller “Trainspotting”) and “Space Milkshake.” She starred in (four seasons) and executive produced (final season) “Beauty & The Beast” for The CW, as well as four seasons as the star and executive producer of “Burden of Truth” for the CBC and The CW. Most recently, she’s seen in season one of Amazon’s series, “Reacher.”

Kristin currently resides in Vancouver, and when she is not working has a passion for traveling.