Notizie

Exclusive: Seriencamp will zero in on international co-production and innovation this year amid ongoing industry disruption, the German confab’s organizers told Deadline. There will also be a session given over to the international success of the ever-popular comedy series Ghosts.

The drama get-together is held in Cologne in early June and new additions for this year’s eleventh edition also include a focus on games

Under the co-production banner, there are strands including “Next From” and “Work in Progress” with sneak peeks and first looks at shows including: Mozart Mozart, for German pubcaster Ard and its Austrian counterpart Orf, We Come in Peace, for Sweden’s TV4 and Germany’s Zdf, the much-anticipated Ku’damm 77, and Netflix’s Alphamännchen.

Seriencamp has become a major drama event for European players. Commissioners including Alexander Bickel from Germany’s Wdr, Morad Koufane from France Télévisions, and Pernille Bech Christensen from TV2 Denmark...

This year’s Series Mania was introduced to a new kind of police procedural on Wednesday, one that blends scenic backdrops, cross-cultural tension and a surprising amount of heart.

“Weiss & Morales,” a Spanish-German co-production from Rtve and Zdf, showcased its vibrant tone and compelling characters in a sneak peek and panel hosted by Variety, featuring lead actors Miguel Ángel Silvestre and Katia Fellin, Zdf commissioner Laura Mae Harding and Rtve director of film and fiction José Pastor.

Set against the striking volcanic landscapes of the Canary Islands, the series follows Nina Weiss (Fellin), a German Bka investigator, who unexpectedly partners with local Civil Guard Sergeant Raúl Morales (Silvestre) to solve crimes among locals and the German expat community. Each episode features a new case, but the true heart of the show lies in the evolving relationship between its central characters and the vibrant world around them.

A Friendship Over...

Banijay Entertainment’s three shows selected for Series Mania underscore just how far the film-tv’s giant has come in scripted, and most especially its vast range,

Apple TV+’s “Carême,” from Banijay’s Shine Fiction, opened the French TV festival, Europe’s largest, delivering a portrait of the world’s first celebrity chef, the Napoleonic-era Antonin Carême, as Variety reports, a “sex-oozing rock star.”

Playing Series Mania in International Panorama, “A Life’s Worth,” from Banijay Nordics’ Yellowbird, follows the challenges faced by the first Swedish U.N. battalion, made up of volunteers, sent to Bosnia in 1993.

Subject of a Series Mania Forum, “Weiss & Morales” allies two of Europe’s most energetic public broadcasters, Germany’s Zdf and Spain’s Rtve, and a German and Spanish cop cracking a case in the sun-sluiced Canary Islands, against Omg landscapes, a hallmark of its Spanish producer, Banijay-owned Portocabo.

Upped to Banijay’s scripted,...

Banijay France, the French division of the global indie TV giant, is consolidating its scripted operations with the merger of Banijay Studios France and Shine Fiction, the company announced today at Series Mania in Lille. The unified entity will operate under the Shine Fiction banner and be led by chairman Dominique Farrugia, with Guillaume Thouret serving as chief operating officer.

The newly structured label will focus on premium scripted series for both local linear broadcasters and global streaming platforms.

The newly merged label now oversees a slate of high-profile titles, including Marie Antoinette, which has sold into more than 140 markets via Banijay Rights and recently launched its second season on Canal+, Apple TV+’s French-language foodie-themed period drama Carême, and upcoming productions including the comedy-crime series The Family Detective (TF1), thriller Rien ne t’efface (TF1), and coming-of-age drama Désenchantées (France TV).

“By proactively bringing together these two renowned labels under the Shine Fiction banner,...

Banijay France has combined Banijay Studios France and Shine Fiction to create a scripted powerhouse, which will be known as Shine Fiction. The company, which will be led by chairman Dominique Farrugia and chief operating officer Guillaume Thouret, will concentrate on premium series for French broadcasters and global streamers.

Shine Fiction now houses some of France’s standout dramas, including “Marie Antoinette,” which has sold to over 140 markets via Banijay Rights, and has just debuted its second series on Canal+. Other titles include Apple TV+ series “Carême,” which has its world premiere at Series Mania. Upcoming shows include comedy-crime series “The Family Detective” (TF1), thriller “Rien ne t’efface” (TF1), and mysterious coming-of-age drama “Désenchantées” (France TV).

Shine Fiction’s team of producers including Chanelle Bernard, Stéphanie Chartreux, Carole Della Valle and Soizic Gaolbird.

Alexia Laroche-Joubert, CEO of Banijay France, said: “By proactively bringing together these two renowned labels under the Shine Fiction banner,...

Banijay Studios France and Dominique Farrugia’s Shine Fiction have come together under the Shine Fiction banner to produce premium series for local linear and global streaming partners.

Farrugia will run the new structure as chairman and Banijay Studios France managing director Guillaume Thouret will serve as COO.

Shine Fiction is now home to the English-language Marie Antoinette, which Banijay Rights has sold to more than 140 markets, with the second season having just debuted on Canal+. Upcoming titles include comedy crime series The Family Detective (TF1), thriller Rien ne t’Efface (TF1), and mysterious coming-of-age drama Désenchantées (France TV).

Shine...

In one of its major recent scripted pick-ups, Zdf Studios has acquired international distribution rights to “Lume,” an eco thriller set against the building crisis of endemic wildfires on the northern Portugal-Spain border which is devastating its countryside.

The production-distribution powerhouse of one of Europe’s biggest public broadcaster powerhouses, Zdf Studios is bringing “Lume” to market at this week’s Mipcom trade fair.

The Zdf pick-up is just the latest sign of interest from international companies and institutions in “Lume.” Warner Bros. Discovery’s platform Max will stream the series in Spain and Portugal, airing simulcasting with Rtp and Televisión de Galicia (Tvg), the public broadcasters of Portugal and Galicia, Spain’s North-West region.

“Lume” was also one of nine E.U. series which won co-financing this June in the second round of the Council of Europe’s pilot program for Series Co-Production Support. The grants target high-quality productions.

Commissioners from four of Europe’s top public broadcasters assembled in Madrid on Tuesday for a roundtable discussion about what they’re looking for in potential scripted projects.

Hosted by the Iberseries & Platino Industria forum and emceed by María Valenzuela, the panel included speakers Morad Koufane, France Télévisions’ director of international and young adult series; José Pastor, director of cinema and fiction at Rtve in Spain; Michele Zatta, commissioning editor in charge of international co-productions for Italy’s Rai; and Laura Mae Harding, commissioning editor for international co-productions at Zdf in Germany.

In addition to sharing what excites them about pitches, the panel also discussed the importance of international co-productions, the differences in their audiences, appealing to younger viewers and why public broadcasters are number one on the list of favored production partners.

Here are five key takeaways from the enlightening conversation.

Co-Pro Plan A and Plan B

The day...

“Weiss & Morales” is a new light crime drama procedural co-produced between Spain and Germany. It has received considerable industry attention over the past several weeks as broadcasters Zdf and Rtve have increased their PR for the show, which could represent an evolution in how pan-European series are developed and produced at an affordable cost without sacrificing quality.

Zdf and Rtve co-produced the series alongside Zdf Studios and Nadcon in Germany and Portocabo in Spain. Rtve has exclusive rights to the series in Spain, while Zdf handles international sales outside Spanish-speaking territories.

Last week, at Conecta Fiction & Entertainment in Toledo, Spain, José Pastor (Rtve), Wolfgang Feindt (Zdf), Nina Hernández (Portocabo), Peter Nadermann (Nadcon), and Susanne Frank (Zdf Studios) hosted a lively discussion about the show and the implications it could have for European co-production.

‘Weiss & Morales’ Conecta Fiction Panel

“Weiss & Morales,” which started filming in the Canary Islands several weeks ago,...

Now on its 8th edition, the international TV forum Conecta Fiction & Entertainment (Cf&e), held in the ancient Spanish city of Toledo from June 18 to 21, is turning its focus to Brazil and Portugal.

The South American country is haltingly reactivating its audiovisual industry under President Lula de Silva’s new government, which earmarked nearly $1 billion for the sector last year. Meanwhile, Portugal has become a thriving hub for Portuguese-language premium dramas and launched a new 30% cash refund incentive program in April to lure higher-budget film and TV productions to shoot in the country.

Conecta expects a delegation of 50 Portuguese and 30 Brazilian participants, who together represent “a market of more than 217 million potential viewers and a long history of content production,” said Conecta’s founder-director, Géraldine Gonard, at the press conference held on June 4.

The forum will be offering a panoply of activities with 175 speakers, 49.1% of whom will be women, said Gonard.

Germany’s Zdf Studios has teamed up with Iceland’s ACT4 to develop the Nordic crime thriller “Big Brother,” based on the award-winning debut novel ‘Stóri Bródir’ of Icelandic author Skuli Sigurdsson.

A tale of revenge and justice, “Big Brother” centers on a mysterious figure in black who, every full moon, viciously attacks a person before vanishing into the night. The victims, all unpunished sexual offenders, are carefully selected.

A detective and an investigative journalist team up to solve these crimes, while the story also unfolds from the perspective of this enigmatic assailant, who sees himself as an agent of justice for the victims failed by society.

Actor, producer, screenwriter and ACT4 co-founder Ólafur Darri Ólafsson will serve as showrunner and executive producer. He leads the writers room, which includes actress Aníta Briem who wrote and created the series “As Long as We Live” as well as Anna Gunndís Guðmundsdóttir and Teitur Magnússon.

Spanish public broadcaster Rtve held its fifth annual Rtve Showcase late last week in Madrid. Eight of the network’s top shows were profiled for international buyers, and several panels debated the current state of affairs in Spain’s TV production industry.

Professionals from around the world tuned into this year’s Showcase, which had the overriding theme of international co-production. Guest speakers from across Europe attended and shared details about their recent experiences working with Rtve and what future collaborations are in the works.

According to Rodolfo Domínguez, Rtve commercial director, more than 200 attendees tuned in to this year’s Showcase, including 70 international buyers from more than 30 territories. Of them, 50% were from Europe, 30% from the Americas, and the other 20% from Asia and the Middle East.

Below, we reflect on two of this year’s most internationally relevant panels and briefly break down Rtve’s original programming lineup featured during the Showcase.

Starring “3o Coins’” Miguel Angel Silvestre and “The Palace’s” Katia Fellin, “Weiss & Morales” has gone into production in the Canary Islands, boasting the credentials of a textbook procedural appealing to current market appetites.

As co-production ramps up between free-to-air players in Europe, led very often by its state-backed networks, “Weiss & Morales” links two of the continents’ most powerful public broadcasters, Germany’s Zdf and Spain’s Rtve, which produce with Zdf Studios. The latter is also handling worldwide sales outside Spanish-speaking territories.

Also producing are Galicia-based Portocabo, which in the space of 10 years has pioneered co-productions between Spain’s Galicia and Portugal (“Dry Water”) and Spain and France (“Hierro), and Nadcon whose head, Peter Nadermann co-produced iconic Nordic Noir titles “The Killing” and “The Bridge” when at Zdf.

“A series rooted in the most classic elements of the genre and reformulated to meet the current standards of premium television drama,...