UP Television is dipping a toe in scripted series with a 10-episode order for The Ties That Bind, created by Sheryl J. Anderson (Charmed, The Town that Came A-Courtin) and produced by Reel One Entertainment. The cast is headlined by Kelli Williams (The Practice and Army Wives) and Jonathan Scarfe, who we most recently saw on Hell on Wheels. Production has started in Vancouver on the one-hour drama, which is expected to begin airing in August.
Here’s the logline: Allison McLean (Kelli Williams) is a tough and experienced police detective in suburban Seattle. Like most working women, her hands are already full, balancing a demanding and dangerous job and a family — husband Matt (Jonathan Scarfe), and teenagers Jeff (When Calls the Heart‘s Mitchell Kummen) and Rachel (The Firm‘s Natasha Calis). But when she and her partner, Devin (Defiance‘s Dion Johnstone), must arrest her brother, Tim (Luke Perry), for aggravated assault, her world drastically changes as Tim is convicted and sent to prison leaving his two teenagers Cameron (Good Witch‘s Rhys Matthew Bond) and Mariah (Strange Empire‘s Matreya Scarrwener) teetering on the brink of foster care. Having done the right thing as an officer of the law, Allison now feels compelled to do the right thing as a sister and aunt; she brings Tim’s two very unhappy teens into her home. Squeezing four teenagers under one roof proves to be an additional test of Allison’s strength and patience. It won’t be easy for her husband, her children or Tim’s kids either. In addition to investigating local crimes, the series will also focus on the joys and struggles of the teens as they adjust to their new home, their new high school, make new friends and experience love, romance, anger and jealousy.
Cast and crew are online as follows, if you want to track production:
- Kelli Williams on Twitter @team_kelli
- Jonathan Scarfe online at thewetedgeadventure.blogspot.com
- Dion Johnstone on Twitter @DionJohnstone
- Mitchell Kummen on Twitter @MKummen
- Natasha Calis on Twitter @natashacalis
- Rhys Matthew Bond on Twitter @RhysMatthewBond
- Matreya Scarrwener on Twitter @MatreyaScarrwen
 Y’alll know that I adore Scarfe, so having him on my TV for ten weeks is a win-win!
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