You generally associate Mennonites with horse-drawn buggies, distinct headwear, and excellent baked goods. You do not typically associate them with international cocaine trafficking.
Sydney-based TV executive Sherry Fynbo is about to change that perception, for at least some of them.
Fynbo runs the Australian production outfit Last Word Entertainment. She has just pulled the curtain back on Narco Mennonites.
This premium investigative docu-series serves as a flagship title for her company’s ambitious new international slate.
Narco Mennonites behind bars
Breaking Bad in the countryside
The series launches in Canada on January 16 via Crave (The home of Heated Rivalry people!).
It chronicles the staggering true story of a Mennonite family that turned a sleepy rural town into a hub for a North American drug empire.
The series exposes how deep the rot goes. It reveals members of the secretive religious community entangling themselves with cartel networks.
Fynbo serves as writer, director, and executive producer, and notes the rarity of this perspective. She says that gaining that kind of access allowed them to document a hidden underworld on an unprecedented scale.
A Strategic Alliance
This project marks a significant business milestone for the Australian company. Narco Mennonites is the first title to emerge from a new partnership created between Last Word Entertainment and MEM.
The deal pairs MEM’s heavy-hitting infrastructure with Last Word’s knack for gritty storytelling. MEM handles massive franchises like MasterChef and Got Talent.
The two companies have formally teamed up to develop multiple premium investigative projects. Fynbo’s Australian-led outfit will handle the global distribution.
Global Ambitions
Last Word Entertainment is driving the global rollout. For Fynbo, this production highlights the strength of Australian creative leadership on the international stage.
Executive producer Scott McGillivray praised the collaboration. He called the series an ideal foray into true crime for MEM, with several additional series already in the pipeline.
It seems Fynbo’s gamble on the darker side of religious life is just the beginning for the Sydney prodco.
Main Image: Sherry Fynbo of Last Word Entertainment