Dr. Peter Howard and Lawrence Daufenbach have joined the producing team for a Bishop Fulton Sheen TV series currently in development.
A Chicago-based production partner to the motion picture industry, Lawrence Daufenbach is the CEO of Daufenbach Camera. Dr. Peter Howard is one of the world’s foremost Sheen scholars and founder of the Fulton Sheen Institute.
The pair have come on board to support development and production of upcoming 12-part historical drama miniseries about TV celebrity Bishop Fulton Sheen, titled Wolves and Sheep, written by filmmakers Sean Patrick Fahey and Dieterich Gray.
Fahey and Gray have been developing the series since 2014.
ALSO READ FAHEY, GRAY TAKE ARCHIBISHOP SHEEN TV SERIES TO MARKET
Dr. Peter Howard holds a Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Angelicum in Rome. A leading expert on the teachings of Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, He is also the author of The Woman: Mary as Mediatrix in the Teaching of Fulton J. Sheen, the authoritative book on Sheen’s Mariology.
“We are thrilled to have an expert on Bishop Sheen’s virtues as a creative partner,” says Gray. “Peter brings new insights into Sheen’s story, adding deeper nuance to our series.”
Founded by Lawrence Daufenbach in 2009, Daufenbach Camera has had explosive growth over the past few years, becoming the premier camera house for the motion picture and television industry in Chicago.
That success has led to more opportunities for Lawrence to tackle larger projects.
“I’ve been tracking Bishop Fulton Sheen’s story for several years and when I learned that Sean and Dieterich were developing a series I had to reach out and learn more,” he explains, “Sheen was a pivotal player in the pioneering days of television, not to mention his work within the Catholic Church.”
ALSO READ DAUFENBACH HIRED DEJULIUS AND THREE NEW TECHS
As a producer on Wolves and Sheep, Daufenbach is partnering with Fahey and Gray and taking an active role in negotiation to four-wall all the interior scenes for the pilot episode in one of Chicago’s premier sound stages.
“Sheen rose to fame on screen while living in Manhattan,” notes Fahey. “We will shoot exteriors and select scenes there, but having the control to replicate all our interiors in one space is going to give us the look we want and the creative control we want, to recreate stunning locations.
Adds Dr. Howard, “shooting in Illinois, where Sheen became a priest, and in New York, where Sheen rose to fame on a global stage makes so much sense.”
Daufenbach cites the script as a driving force in his motivation to become involved.
“After I read the thoroughly entertaining and captivating pilot, I knew they were on to something,” he recalls. “I told them straight away, ‘whatever I can do to help your efforts, be it camera gear, crew, anything, I’m all in.'”
Fahey and Gray will be writing the rest of their series episodes over the next four months during an artist in residency at the Sheen Center in Manhattan.
Dr. Howard and Daufenbach will join Fahey and Gray, taking meetings in Los Angeles and New York with major networks, venture capital firms, and A-list talent, with intentions to get a green light for their pilot episode this year.
Pictured at top: Dr. Peter Howard and Lawrence Daufenbach
Send your indie updates to Reel Chicago Editor Dan Patton, dan@reelchicago.com.
