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Production has got underway in Germany and Poland on “Oderbruch,” a major thriller series produced by Paramount Global’s CBS Studios, Syrreal Entertainment and Ard Degeto, part of German public broadcast group Ard.

The previously announced drama stars Karoline Schuch (“Dark Woods”), Felix Kramer (“Dogs of Berlin”) and Lucas Gregorowicz and is a tale which begins with the discovery of multiple murder victims in a remote area near the German-Polish border.

The eight-part series is directed by Adolfo J. Kolmerer and Christian Alvart. Series creator and head writer Arend Remmers developed the series concept with Kolmerer.

Siegfried Kamml, Christian Alvart and Timm Oberwelland from Syrreal serve as producers. The executives overseeing the project are: Christoph Pellander, editor-in-chief of Ard Degeto; Sebastian Lückel, head of acquisitions and co-productions at Ard Degeto; Patrick Noel Simon, commissioning editor at Ard Degeto; and Meghan Lyvers, senior VP of international co-productions and development at CBS Studios.

David Hasselhoff is heading to Germany to star in a comedy spy series produced by Christian Alvart’s Berlin-based Syrreal Entertainment in what will be the first project from the company’s new international first-look deal with CBS Studios.

A straight-to-series order for Mediengruppe Rtl’s SVOD platform TVNow, “Ze Network” sees Hasselhoff playing himself as he travels to Germany to headline a stage production in what he believes is a major theater in East Berlin, only to discover it’s actually a small venue located “east of Berlin” — in the town of Görlitz. Once there, the Hoff is plunged into the center of an international conspiracy of former Cold War assassins, while around him the fabric of reality seems to break down.

German actor Henry Hübchen likewise plays himself, co-starring with Hasselhoff in the play. This version of Hübchen, however, has a more shadowy East German past than his...

The Canadian virtual festival will include more than 100 features and 200 shorts.

Canada’s Fantasia Film Festival has announced a third and final wave of feature films, as well as details of its panels, talks, tributes and special events.

This year’s virtual edition of the Montreal-based festival, running from August 20 to September 2, will include more than 100 features and more than 200 shorts.

Among the latest titles added to the line-up are Vincent Paronnaud’s Hunted, getting its world premiere, Jorge Michel Grau’s Perdida, getting its international premiere, and Kiel McNaughton’s Indigenous action-comedy The Legend Of Baron To’A, which will be the closing night film.

Warner is opening ’The Way Back’ starring Ben Affleck in Germany.

As cinemas begin to reopen again in many territories, Screen is tracking which films are being released in key territories each week.

UK and Ireland, opening Friday July 24

Without major studio tentpoles driving audiences to cinemas, takings in the UK and Ireland remain low compared to pre-lockdown and were up just 1.8% last weekend despite a 27% increase in reopened sites.

But a raft of independent features and the re-release of a fantasy blockbuster may translate into a stronger weekend, as exhibitors hope to see audience confidence grow in returning to cinemas.

German film and TV company Telepool, jointly owned by Hollywood actor-producer Will Smith and Swiss investor Elysian Fields, is moving forward in multiple areas of the entertainment business, CEO André Druskeit tells Variety. Druskeit reveals a major new acquisition for its German distribution arm, and Julia Weber, head of theatrical sales and acquisitions at Telepool’s world sales arm Global Screen, speaks about the films making their market premieres at this month’s European Film Market in Berlin.

Last year Telepool launched into theatrical distribution in Germany, and continues this year with titles such as “Ironbark,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch. Now the company has acquired the German distribution rights for the next Will Smith movie, “King Richard,” about the father of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams, Druskeit says. The film is fully financed by Warner Bros., but co-produced by Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment.

Referring to “King Richard,” Druskeit says: “This...