The Guardian (Charlottetown)

Canada’s tainted blood scandal subject of TV miniseries

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BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — SundanceTV and the Canadian Broadcasti­ng Corp. are making a miniseries about Canada’s 1980s tainted-blood scandal. The eight-part series, titled “Unspeakabl­e,’’ follows the emergence of HIV and hepatitis C in Canada and the thousands of infections caused by contaminat­ed blood.

The TV project announced Saturday is based on two books, “Bad Blood’’ by Vic Parsons and “The Gift of Death’’ by Andre Picard.

Considered one of the largest preventabl­e medical disasters in Canadian history, the contaminat­ion prompted a federal inquiry and billions of dollars in claims.

Executive producer Robert C. Cooper said in a statement that he was both thrilled and daunted to tell a story that affected so many. SundanceTV and CBC’s announceme­nt said the miniseries is a passion project for Cooper because he was among the victims, having contracted hepatitis C from tainted blood.

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