Front Street Pictures Developing Zak Santiago-Inspired Drama Deacon Ahead of TIFF Market

Zak Santiago’s life and work across acting, boxing, music, faith and community service inspire the developing television drama Deacon.

Front Street Pictures Acquires Zak Santiago Life-Story Rights for TV Drama ‘Deacon’

Front Street Pictures has acquired the life-story rights of actor, boxer, DJ and ordained deacon Zak Santiago as the basis for Deacon, an original television drama that the Vancouver-based production company plans to introduce to potential partners at the TIFF Market in September.

The project brings Santiago together with actor and producer John Cassini and writer-producer Jonathan Lloyd Walker, with the trio credited as creators. Walker, whose credits include serving as showrunner and executive producer on Netflix’s Van Helsing and working on the first season of Amazon’s House of David, is set to serve as showrunner.

Front Street Pictures, which is backed by Blink49 Studios, currently has Deacon in active development.

Inspired by Santiago’s experiences across acting, Golden Gloves boxing, music, faith and community service, the fictional drama centers on Santiago “Santi” Luna, a former boxer and street criminal who finds a new direction in his life as a Catholic deacon.

The series will move between several parts of Santi’s life and community, including an East Vancouver church, federal prison, a boxing gym, community center and nightclub DJ booth. While Santiago’s life provides the foundation for the project, Deacon is being developed as a fictional drama rather than a direct biographical account.

The series will use those different environments to explore themes of redemption, forgiveness, grief and community, along with the possibility of moving beyond the decisions that have defined a person’s past.

“At its heart, Deacon is about showing up for people, especially when they feel forgotten, and believing that everyone deserves the opportunity to find their way back,” Santiago said in a statement.

Cassini, whose credits include Watson, Accused and Intelligence, first met Santiago more than two decades ago while working on the Canadian series Robson Arms.

“I met Zak over 20 years ago working on Robson Arms and learned quickly his life has always defied easy definition,” Cassini said. “The contradictions between the worlds he inhabits are what make Santi and the series so compelling.”

Walker added, “Santi’s greatest strength is not that he has all the answers. It is that he refuses to walk away.”

Santiago’s acting credits include Virgin River, Billy the Kid and Untamed. His work outside the screen has included boxing, DJing and service as an ordained deacon. According to the production announcement, Santiago recently missed an awards appearance for one of his television performances while participating in a mission in Spain ahead of an invitation from the Vatican Secretariat of State to Rome.

The project arrives as Front Street Pictures continues to expand its television slate. The company and Blink49 Studios co-produce Wild Cards and are also behind the upcoming contemporary mystery thriller YAGA, which is set to make its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Primetime program.

Front Street Pictures will take Deacon to the TIFF Market in September as development on the series continues.