Halifax - The construction soap opera North/South, from The Halifax Film Company and Toronto's Inner City Films, began shooting for CBC on March 20.

The 6 x 30 series by creator/producer Floyd Kane - HFC's head of business affairs - was greenlit from the winning pilot he submitted to the CBC's Daytime Drama competition. The series is about the drama of the construction business, in both the boardroom and on the job site. It's a world Kane knows a lot about.

"My father was a cement mason and all of his brothers were either cement masons or brick layers, so I feel very close to the subject," says Kane. "I've never done construction, but I'm very used to the sounds and smells of the industry. It seemed like a perfect setting for the kind of show we're trying to do."

Kane doubles as a writer for the series, with Paul Aitken, Pam Pinch and David Finley. He is producing with Brenda Greenberg - also North/South's story editor - and Inner City's Amos Adetuyi. HFC's Michael Donovan and Charles Bishop are exec producing with Alfons Adetuyi, also of Inner City. Michael Kennedy (Rideau Hall) and Andrea Dorfman (Love That Boy) are splitting directing duties. The cast includes Aidan Devine (The Dark Hours), Lyriq Bent (Skinwalkers) and Kristin Bell (Trudeau II).

The budget is about $280,000 per episode, with funding from CBC and tax credits. It will shoot until mid-April for a May delivery. Kane has heard the series could air as early as June, but is unclear about what time of day the show will run, despite the fact it was born out of the Daytime Drama competition.