Özgür Yildirim und Alison Kuhn nehmen bei der neuen Thriller-Serie „Schattenseite“ auf dem Regiestuhl Platz. Bei dem bei Spot schon im Mai exklusiv angeteasten Format von Dreamtool Entertainment für die Ard-Mediathek nach Jonas Ems‘ Bestseller ist auch einer der „Discounter“ dabei.

V.l.: Samirah Breuer, Tanya Nguyen, Florian Geißelmann , Jonas Ems, Ludger Bökelmann und Marven Gabriel Suarez-Brinkert in „Schattenseite“ (Credit: Ard Degeto/ Elliott Kreyenberg)

Im Mai kündigte Dreamtool-Entertainment-Geschäftsführer Stefan Raiser bereits das neue eigene Serienprojekt „Schattenseite“ (At) gegenüber Spot media & film exklusiv an. Jetzt ist der Drehstart für die Ard-Mediatheken-Serie erfolgt, bei der Özgür Yildirim und Alison Kuhn Regie führen. Der Coming-of-Age-Thriller, der noch bis Ende November in Berlin und Umgebung entsteht, basiert auf dem Bestseller der Social-Media-Berühmtheit Jonas Ems.

Die sechsteilige Serie „Schattenseite“ soll authentisch in hochaktuelle Themen der Gen Z wie Cybermobbing und Hackerangriffe eintauchen. Die Drehbücher schrieb Hanna Hribar in Zusammenarbeit mit Jonas Ems,...

Das Serienfestival Seriesly Berlin gibt weitere prominente Gäste, Projekte und die Pitch-Session im Detail bekannt. Dach-Prime-Video-Chef Christoph Schneider macht einen Fireside Chat, US-Produzentin Mel Eslyn kommt. Projekte wie „German Cocaine Cowboy“ und „Schwarze Schafe“ rücken in den Fokus.

Christoph Schneider (l.) und Mel Eslyn kommen zu Seriesly Berlin

Das Serienfestival Seriesly Berlin hat weitere Programm-Highlights für den 16. bis 18. September bekannt gegeben. Beim Branchenteil des Festivals, der Seriesly Conference in der Fotografiska Berlin, wird Prime-Video-Chef Christoph Schneider für Deutschland und Österreich in einem Fireside Chat Einblicke in die Content-Strategie des Streamers geben. Zudem stellt Christian Beetz von der beetz brothers film production einen ersten Teaser der vierteiligen Doku-Serie „German Cocaine Cowboy“ für Prime Video vor.

In „German Cocaine Cowboy“ geht es um einen Deutschen, der in den 1990er-Jahren in das berüchtigte Cali-Kartell verwickelt wurde. Beetz wird die Hintergründe des Formats für den Streamer beleuchten. Auch ist jetzt die Emmy-nominierte Produzentin,...

Prime Video has debuted the trailer for the historical drama series ‘Those About To Die.’

Panem et Circenses – Bread and Entertainment; Rome in 79 A.D.: The centre of the Roman Empire is the wealthiest city in the world, and there is a heavy influx of slave labourers from the growing empire to take over the work. The Roman population—bored, restless, and increasingly violent—is kept in line mainly by two things: free food and spectacular entertainment, in the form of chariot racing and gladiator fights.

The series delves into the world of the games—a world characterized by bloodlust, greed for money, the pursuit of power, and corruption. The races at Circus Maximus are controlled by four Patrician-owned corporations, the Blue, Red, White, and Green factions, and shares in the four factions are the most valuable things in Rome. As the taste in entertainment of the populace becomes more jaded and bloodthirsty,...

Die prominent besetzte deutsche Liebeskomödie „Spieleabend“ von W&b Television hat jetzt einen Starttermin auf Netflix und gewährt auch einen ersten Einblick mit First-Look-Bildern.

Axel Stein hat Spaß (Credit: Sasha Ostrov/Netflix)

Die deutsche Netflix-Liebeskomödie „Spieleabend“ startet am 12. Juli weltweit auf dem Streamingdienst und präsentiert First-Look-Bilder. Die W&b Television Produktion mit Dennis Mojen, Janina Uhse, Edin Hasanovic, Anna Maria Mühe, Taneshia Abt, Axel Stein, Stephan Luca und Max Bretschneider in den tragenden Rollen wurde von Marco Petry nach einem Claudius-Pläging-Drehbuch inszeniert.

Zur Handlung: Was kann es Schöneres geben als eine neue Liebe? Pia (Janina Uhse) und Jan (Dennis Mojen) sind frisch verliebt – Herzrasen, Bauchkribbeln, Glücksgefühle! Bald verbringen sie kaum noch eine Minute ohneeinander. Bei einem Spieleabend soll Jan schließlich Pias Freunden offiziell vorgestellt werden. Was kann da schon schiefgehen?

In der Liebeskomödie wird das junge Glück auf eine harte Probe gestellt. Schnell wird klar, dass die eingeschworene Spielgemeinschaft sehr speziell ist.

Lille, France –Bowing in 2010 as a boutique event at Paris’ Forum des Images – though launched with an absolute conviction in the cultural import of premium TV series, Series Mania will kick off its 15th edition on March 15 in Lille, Eastern France, reconfirming it status as the biggest dedicated TV festival in Europe.

It does so with a bang, with the European premiere of one of the biggest series of the year, Netflix’s “3 Body Problem,” which “cements ‘Game of Thrones’ creators as masters of adapting the

unadaptable,” Variety announced.

Delegate accreditation at Series Mania’s Forum, its three-day industry event running March 19-21, is on track to pass 4,000 participants, an all time record, and a huge step-up, say, from 2016, when attendance was limited to around 300 executives. That same edition sneak-peeked Netflix’s first French original, “Marseilles.” Since 2010, Series Mania has grown in synch with the world’s fast-ramping premium cable TV,...

Confirming Germany’s importance as a growth market, Netfix on Wednesday announced 17 new and returning shows and movies produced by some of the country’s leading producers, including docuseries “Kaulitz & Kaulitz,” about the Tokio Hotel popstar siblings, and sci-fi drama “Cassandra,” about an overzealous electronic household helper.

Netflix presented 17 feature films, series, documentaries and reality shows at a special event in Berlin.

“We have seen again and again how local stories can captivate viewers here and around the world,” said Katja Hofem, Netflix’s VP of content for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. “We aim to continue this successful journey together with our partners, sharing a common goal of creating exceptional entertainment that moves and inspires people.”

Produced by Constantin Entertainment and premiering in June, “Kaulitz & Kaulitz” accompanies Tokio Hotel frontmen Bill and Tom Kaulitz, twin brothers from Magdeburg, Germany, on tour with their band and in their new home in Hollywood.

Germany, Switzerland and Austria content chief Katja Hofem was talking at Series Mania.

Netflix is facing a scarcity of creatives as it battles the talent supply issues affecting the whole industry, according to Germany, Switzerland and Austria content chief Katja Hofem.

While the streamer is noted for being able to hand lucrative opportunities to creatives and poach them from rival players, Netflix is witnessing “a lot of challenges in our market” Hofem told delegates during her Series Mania keynote yesterday.

“We face a scarcity of writers, producers, directors and in Germany, especially, we also see a scarcity when it comes to diverse writers,...

Gangland warfare and a Romeo and Juliet romance with a twist are the main elements of Sky Studios’ first Italian in-house production ‘Blocco 181,’ which is set against the backdrop of a gritty multi-ethnic Milan that has never appeared on screen before.

The eight-episode show – which launches this week on Sky in the U.K. after making a splash in Italy – is lead-directed by London-based Italian director Giuseppe Capotondi, best known for art-heist thriller “The Burnt Orange Heresy” starring Mick Jagger as a shady art collector.

“It’s a dark fable combining crime, romance, sex, and coming-of-age elements,” said Capotondi who besides directing the series, also co-penned the “Blocco 181” screenplay. Capotondi added that, while rooted in reality, the show’s tone “is closer to a graphic novel than to the type of hyperrealistic series [like Gomorrah] that you can expect from Italy.”

Set on a rundown Milan housing estate known as Blocco 181,...

Monday’s Up Next: Germany session at this year’s European Film Market (EFM) in Berlin put the spotlight on a slew of upcoming series, spanning Hamburg’s Red Light district, Germany’s first female undercover cop and the Munich Olympic massacre.

Invited to the Berlinale studio, with some participants taking part online, several of Germany’s top creatives made the play date to talk with Julia Fidel, head of the Berlinale Series. Hanno Hackfort (“4 Blocks”), Jella Haase (“Lollipop Minster”), Lisa Kreimeyer (Netflix), Viviane Andereggen (“Tatort”), Christian Beetz (“Make Love”), Georg Tschurtschenthaler (“Viral Dreams”), and actor Detlev Buck were amongst those that took part.

The idea of the panel was to present new material straight from the editing room with many of the series still six months away from being seen. The session provided a first look at a number of projects nearing completion, including the comedy “Greenlight – German Genius,...

Netflix has doubled its budget to €500 million ($571 million) for German-language productions between 2021 and 2023 and has revealed a raft of new projects.

On Tuesday, the Netflix German-language team presented a selection of 19 productions, including previously announced projects, at the Content Remote Show. The shows are from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

New series include eight-parter “Achtsam Morden” (working title), based on the book of the same name by Karsten Dusse, which topped the Spiegel bestseller list for over nine months and is now being filmed for Netflix by Constantin Film, Jan Ehlert and Nina Viktoria Philipp. Writers Miriam Rechel and Chris Geletneky tell the story of top lawyer Björn Diemel, who to save his marriage, finds a new work-life balance with the help of a mindfulness seminar and accidentally becomes a murderer in the process.

Another book adaptation, also produced by Constantin Television, is thriller series “Liebes Kind” (working title). Based on the novel by Romy Hausmann,...

Luxembourgish-Egyptian director’s last film Sawah was acquired by Netflix.

Luxembourgish-Egyptian director Adolf El Assal has signed Lebanese-German actor Kida Khodr Ramadan and pioneering Egypt-born, Germany-raised actress Tua El Fawwal for his new feature Hooped.

It is El Assal’s third feature after 2019 comedy drama Sawah, starring Egyptian actor Karim Kassem as a Cairo-based DJ who loses his papers while on tour in Europe, which was acquired by Netflix for 46 territories in 2020.

Like that film, Hooped will combine a European and Middle East storyline, revolving around an aspiring entrepreneur and basketball whiz whose dreams take him from Luxembourg to Egypt via Canada.

Ricky Gervais has boarded “Greenlight – German Genius” a new series from WarnerMedia Germany inspired by one of his tweets from 2019.

The 8-episode series, which has started shooting in Berlin, satirises the German television industry.

Two years ago the “After Life” writer and actor sent a public message via Twitter to German actor Kida Ramadan praising his portrayal of character Toni Hamady in series “4 Blocks.”

“Congratulations,” wrote Gervais. “Another masterpiece.”

In a case of art imitating life, Ramadan and Gervais will now appear as fictional versions of themselves in “Greenlight – German Genius,” in which Ramadan convincing Gervais to let him make a German adaptation of his hit series “Extras” after the comedian sends Ramadan a tweet praising his performance in “4 Blocks.”

However, Ramadan hits a stumbling block when he realizes there aren’t any international celebrities in Germany to cameo in the adaptation all while trying to navigate the...

Icelandic film production company Sagafilm and Sweden’s LittleBig Productions are developing a historical series about 17th-century Icelanders abducted by Barbary corsairs and sold into slavery in North Africa.

Tentatively titled “Salé” — a city on the North African coast that was also a haven for pirates — the series is inspired by true events. It begins in the summer of 1627, when several hundred people in settlements along Iceland’s coast are captured by Barbary privateers under the command of the Dutch pirate Jan Janszoon, more commonly known as Admiral Murat Reis. Among his prisoners are Gunnur, the wife of a young fisherman, and her 12-year-old daughter Gríma. When they are brought to the North African slave markets, mother and daughter are separated, sold to different masters and forced to develop different strategies in order to survive.

Described as a thrilling tale of love, survival, revenge, and the power of hope, “Salé...

Berlin-based Flare Film is ramping up series production with two new high-concept projects in development while currently producing the eight-part “Paradiso” for Sky Deutschland, the first project from the company’s recently launched Flare Entertainment division.

Flare Entertainment is partnering with Beta Film and Deutsche Telekom streaming platform MagentaTV on “The Daughter,” created by Pola Beck and the writing trio known locally as the HaRiBos, Hanno Hackfort, Richard Kropf and Bob Konrad, with Beck and Kropf serving as showrunners.

The series tells the fact-based story of Tinka, a directionless teenager forced to grow up overnight when her wealthy parents are arrested for running the biggest cocaine ring in Berlin. As she works to free them from jail, she uncovers their secret lives and delves ever deeper into the family business.

Described as “Breaking Bad” meets French cinema, the eight-part family drama examines the shifting power dynamics between a daughter and...

Deutsche Telekom’s first major original, “Wild Republic,” is set to bow April 15 on the telco giant’s Ott service MagentaTV after production was postponed last year due to the ongoing pandemic.

The eight-part adventure series follows a group of young offenders who end up fending for themselves high in the Alps after a mysterious death disrupts the experiential educational program in which they are taking part.

Created by Jan Martin Scharf, Arne Nolting and Klaus Wolfertstetter, the series is produced by Lailaps Pictures, X Filme Creative Pool and Handwritten Pictures in co-production with Deutsche Telekom, Arte and Ard broadcasters Wdr, Swr and One.

“Wild Republic” was initially inspired by Erwin S. Strauss’ 1979 book “How to Start Your Own Country,” which explored the micronation movement of the 1960s, according to Lailaps CEO Nils Dünker. Eric Bouley, now managing partner at Handwritten Pictures, helped develop the original premise while working at Lailaps.

German Films, the agency that promotes German cinema around the world, has unveiled the participants of the fifth edition of its Face to Face With German Films campaign, which this year is dedicated to screenwriters.

The writers chosen for Face to Face, which “turns the spotlight on the most influential names in the German audiovisual and film industry and represents some of its most dynamic figures,” are Jana Burbach (“Bad Banks”), Katharina Essyen (“Holiday Secrets”), Hanno Hackfort, Bernd Lange, Rafael Parente (“8 Days”) and Laila Stieler.

The campaign will kick off on March 26 with a panel discussion at Séries Mania in Lille, France, about modern storytelling, in partnership with Variety and Séries Mania. Entitled “Serious About Series: Elements of Innovation in Modern Storytelling,” the panel will be led by John Hopewell of Variety, in conversation with the six screenwriters.

Simone Baumann, managing director of German Films, said: “Now in its fifth year,...

“Freud,” Netflix’s upcoming mystery thriller from director by Marvin Kren, places a young Sigmund, before his establishment as a worldwide medical icon, in the middle of a brutal 19th century murder case in Vienna.

A Vienna native himself, Kren won numerous awards for his work in TV (“Four Blocks”) and film. In addition to directing and producing the series, he also co-wrote with Stefan Brunner (“Tatort”) and previous collaborator Benjamin Hessler (“4 Blocks”).

Robert Finster plays the cocaine-addicted outsider responsible for founding psychoanalysis, 2020 Berlin Shooting Star Ella Rumpf mysterious medium Fleur Salomé, and 2017 Berlin Best Actor winner Georg Friedrich (“Bright Nights”) has the role of inspector Alfred Kiss.

“Freud” is produced by Netflix, Austrian public broadcaster Orf, Bavaria Fiction and Satel Film with the support of Vienna’s Filmfonds Wien and Media. Screening at Berlinale Series from Feb. 24, “Freud” releases on Netflix worldwide and Orf in Austria on March...

W&b Television, the German indie behind Netflix show Dark and the hit German drama 4 Blocks, has been commissioned to make a series tracing the beginnings of German hip-hop for TNT Serie.

Turner Germany’s series channel has ordered six-part series Almost Fly, which will be written and directed by Florian Gaag, who made the 2006 graffiti movement feature documentary Wholetrain.

Almost Fly is set in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin wall and centers on three schoolmates with big dreams whose lives are changed when they are introduced to hip-hop through a nearby U.S. Army base.

Hannes Heyelmann, managing director of the WarnerMedia channels in Germany, said: “With Almost Fly we are exploring a coming-of-age story in a contemporary historical context, capturing the lifestyle of the early 90s for the first time.”

The show will go into production in summer next year. Executive producers are Quirin Berg, Max Wiedemann and Elena Gruschka,...

Global Screen has sold the distribution rights for North America for “Crescendo#makemusicnotwar” to Menemsha Films. The film, loosely inspired by the story of the formation of Daniel Barenboim’s West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, toplines “Toni Erdmann” star Peter Simonischek.

Global Screen also closed deals on the film for Spain (Adso Films International Management), Italy (Satine), Korea (Tcast) and Taiwan (Swallow Wings Films). Strong interest has also been signalled by distributors in other territories, Global Screen said.

The film, helmed by Dror Zahavi (“Everything for My Father”), was recently presented with the Rheingold Audience Award at the 15th Festival of German Cinema in Ludwigshafen am Rhein. Zahavi received a 1988 Student Oscar nomination for “Alexander Penn – Ich will allein sein.”

Simonischek plays world famous conductor Eduard Sporck, who accepts the job to create an Israeli-Palestinian youth orchestra, but is quickly drawn into a tempest of seemingly unsolvable problems. Having grown up in a state of war,...

Is it wise to stay the night in a potentially haunted former hospital that was once occupied by a wounded Hitler? In Haunted Hospital: Heilstätten, Nilam Farooq, Farina Flebbe, Sonja Gerhardt, Maxine Kazis, Emilio Sakraya, and Tim Oliver Schultz will find out. Haunted Hospital: Heilstätten will debut on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital on February 12th from Well Go USA, and we have a look at the trailer and Blu-ray cover art.

Press Release: Horror director Michael David Pate goes social in the terrifying flick Haunted Hospital: HEILSTÄTTEN arriving on digital, Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD February 12 from Well Go USA Entertainment. The film tells the story of a group of vloggers who travel to Berlin to film a viral social media challenge by illegally accessing the abandoned, derelict military hospital Beelitz Heilstätten that once housed a recuperating Adolph Hitler, and documenting their experience spending the night in the ominous surgery...

TBS has snagged German comedy-drama “Arthur’s Law” from its Turner stablemate TNT in Germany. The U.S. channel has taken the finished show subtitled in English, as well as the option to remake it locally.

TNT has been moving into originals in Germany with the acclaimed drug-trafficking drama “4 Blocks” on TNT Serie and “Arthur’s Law” on the TNT Comedy channel. “Arthur’s Law” follows unemployed Arthur Ahnepol (Jan Josef Liefers), who wants his obnoxious wife to die to claim the life insurance and start a new life with his mistress, which sets off a series of disastrous events.

The series, which is directed by Christian Zübert (“Lommbock”), has been nominated for several TV awards in Germany. Martina Gedeck (“The Lives of Others”) and Nora Tschirner (“Rabbit Without Ears”) star alongside Liefers in the German series.

“The tale of our anti-hero Arthur can be applied universally, and we are...

Turner International has ordered the third and final season of the hit German gangster series “4 Blocks,” which world-premiered at the Berlin Film Festival last year and went on to win multiple awards.

The third season will comprise six episodes and will be directed by Özgür Yıldırım, who had co-helmed Season 2 with Oliver Hirschbiegel. It will start shooting in the spring and is scheduled to premiere next winter.

Amazon Prime Video will stream the series’ second season across more than 150 countries, including the U.S and the U.K., starting Saturday, followed by another 50 countries, including Germany and France, in late 2019. The series will be available on Amazon Prime in German and dubbed into Spanish, Portuguese and Italian, with subtitles in many more languages, including English, Chinese and Japanese. An English-language dubbed version of both seasons will be delivered in January.

“The second season reached over 60% more viewers than Season...

Amazon Prime Video has confirmed that several of its original shows will be debuting new episodes on the streaming service in December, including the second season of the Emmy-winning comedy “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and the lavish costume drama “Vanity Fair.”

Likewise, there will be plenty of movies making their first appearances on Amazon Prime Video including those featuring Oscar-winning turns by Kevin Kline (“A Fish Called Wanda”) and Timothy Hutton (“Ordinary People”).

Unlike Netflix, Amazon does not disclose the shows and movies leaving the service in any given month. We’ve done some digging and unearthed a few titles that will be exiting Amazon Prime Video in the first week of December. News of these is detailed at the bottom of this post.

See Netflix schedule: Here’s what is coming and leaving in December

Available December 1

“A Clockwork Orange”

“A Fish Called Wanda”

“A Fistful of Dollars (Per...

Robert Finster has landed the title role in “Freud,” the upcoming Netflix and Orf series set during the father of psychoanalysis’ younger years, and which imagines him on the trail of a murderer.

Austrian actor Finster has starred in several German-language movies and series. With Netflix taking “Freud” global, and German-language series such as “Dark” performing well on the streaming service, this is sure to boost his international profile.

Ella Rumpf has been cast as Fleur Salomé, the infamous medium who teams up with Freud alongside war veteran Alfred Kiss, played by Georg Friedrich. Swiss actress Rumpf starred in Julia Ducournau’s “Raw” and was named in the 2018 edition of Variety’s 10 Europeans to Watch. Austrian actor Friedrich’s film credits include “Wild,” and “Aloys.”

“4 Blocks” director Marvin Kren was already on board the eight-parter. The series will shoot in Vienna and Prague, starting in January. Kren wrote the...

Turner channels including TNT and Cartoon Network have secured their place on the Sky pay-tv service in Germany. Turner and Sky Deutschland have inked a new agreement that covers TNT Film, TNT Series, TNT Comedy as well as Boomerang and Cartoon Network in Germany and Austria.

TNT Series carries U.S. shows including “Seal Team,” “The Flash,” and “American Dad.” It will also have coverage of the upcoming Emmy Awards. U.S. TNT series including “Animal Kingdom” are also on the channel, which has been moving into original German drama with “Arthur’s Law,” and the critically acclaimed “4 Blocks” (pictured).

The renewed carriage deal also sees the HD version of the TNT Film channel carried in the Sky Cinema package. On demand rights to Turner shows are also covered in the new deal and will be included on Sky’s streaming services and its kids app.

“Our focus is...

The Bridge producer Lars Blomgren is looking to crack remakes of the hit Scandi crime drama in China and India as he moves into a new role at Endemol Shine Group designed to bolster its foreign-language drama slate.

In a wide-ranging interview with Deadline, Blomgren, who previously headed Esg-owned Swedish producer Filmlance, lifted the lid of the superindie’s plans to expand on its current 40 non-English scripted series, explained how the success of Netflix’s Dark has lead to new challenges and discussed his willingness to bring UK and U.S. producers such as Kudos and Fifty Fathoms together with producers around the world to create new hits.

Blomgren becomes Head of Scripted, Europe, Middle East and Africa from September 1. While he admitted that the door was starting to close on Bron (The Bridge), which has had five international remakes, he said that the group was still chasing local...

Netflix is set to produce a new thriller called Freud, which will center around a young Sigmund Freud as he is hunting down a serial killer in the 19th century alongside a medium named Fleur Salomé and a surly war veteran and police inspector named Kiss.

This certainly sounds like it could make for an interesting series! I love the concept and it's sure to deliver and dark and disturbing story. 

This is a German-language murder thriller that will be developed in Austria. Netflix has found success with their other German series Dark, so they are looking to dive into another German project. 

Freud actually studied in Vienna and is considered the founder of psychoanalysis, but this whole thing of hunting down a serial killer is a fictionalized account. 

The eight-part series will be directed by Marvin Kren who previously worked on the TNT Series hit original drama 4 Blocks.

Netflix has boarded “Freud,” the upcoming German-language thriller following a young Sigmund Freud as he teams with a medium and a police inspector to track a serial killer in 19th century Vienna.

Netflix will launch “Freud” internationally. It will be its first original drama out of Austria. The streamer is enjoying success with its German scripted series “Dark,” setting an overall deal with its creators and greenlighting a second season. Austria-Germany co-production “Freud” will bow on Austrian pubcaster Orf locally, and Netflix will take it into the U.S., U.K., Germany and other international markets.

Freud studied in Vienna and is considered the founder of psychoanalysis. In the “Freud” series he is on the trail of a killer, alongside medium Fleur Salomé, and a surly war veteran and police inspector, Kiss.

Marvin Kren is attached to direct, off the back of working on TNT Serie’s hit original drama “4 Blocks.

Endemol Shine Group is set to further expand its role in the competitive drama field with the appointment of well-seasoned Scandinavian executive Lars Blomgren to the newly-created position of head of scripted for the Emea region.

The hiring of Blomgren in this new role underscores the company’s ambition to ramp up its portfolio of non-English language scripted content.

Blomgren will work closely with Endemol Shine Group’s vast network scripted producers and companies across non-English language markets, including in the Nordics, Germany (Wiedemann and Berg), Netherlands (Nl Flms), France (Es Fiction), Iberia (Diagonal), Israel (Endemol Shine Studios Israel), as well as scripted teams in Italy, Poland, Russia, India and China. Each entity will now be reporting to Blomgren.

Blombren has worked for two decades at Filmlance International, the award-winning Swedish production company owned by Endemol Shine Group, where he’s currently managing director.

Blomgren’s credits include the global...

TNT has set political comedy “Vote For Juan” as its first original Spanish production, the pay-tv channel announced Tuesday. Javier Cámara is set to star in the 8-part, half-hour format, which is co-produced by TNT and Mediapro’s 100 Balas.

“Original content is one of our main areas of focus at TNT,” said Daniel González, director general of Turner for Spain and Portugal. “‘Vote For Juan’ forms part of a production plan and a larger international strategy that will be on-going over the next few years.”

As well as investing in big international productions González says TNT is also backing more localized content “which viewers can easily relate to,” citing the broadcaster’s original series out of Germany including most recently gangster drama “4 Blocks.” In January, Mediapro and Turner Latin America also announced a co-production deal to develop and produce cross-platform content.

“Vote For Juan” marks Turner’s fifth original...

Germany is experiencing a golden era of television, with an increasing number of internationally acclaimed shows ranging from historical dramas and crime skeins to supernatural thrillers. And there’s plenty more on the horizon.

The arrival of Amazon and Netflix, both eager for original content, and the recent embrace by Sky Deutschland of similarly ambitious scripted fare, has provided a major boost to the local industry, mobilized top cinematic talent and recast television as a vehicle for a new kind of serialized storytelling that has captured the imaginations of local viewers and international audiences alike.

Producer Quirin Berg of Munich-based Wiedemann & Berg Television, producer of Sky Deutschland’s upcoming crime drama “Der Pass” (“Pagan Peak”), attributes Germany’s TV renaissance in large part to the proliferation of streaming outlets and changing viewing habits.

“We are living in a really wonderful era. Digitization, the streaming possibilities and their accessibility have generated...

When the U.K.’s Channel 4 aired French series “Les Revenants” in primetime in 2013 it was a watershed moment; a non-English language series playing in the primetime schedule of one of the U.K.’s big free-tv broadcasters. A horde of Scandi invaders also made their way onto international TV screens, as Sarah Lund’s knitwear in Dr’s “The Killing” became watercooler chat for the drama cognoscenti.

English-language markets that had shunned “foreign” production had opened to “international” drama. Starz has now bought a Norwegian drama and HBO will run an Italian-language series. The success of the latter’s “My Brilliant Friend” will establish if global fare can edge further into the mainstream, or will remain the preserve of the streamers and specialists.

“Over the last decade the international drama market has evolved from one dominated by sales of English, particularly U.S., finished, 13×1-hour series, to one where any show,...