TV Drama MIPCOM 2016

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TVDRAMA

WWW.TVDRAMA.WS

OCTOBER 2016

MIPCOM EDITION

Fact-Based Dramas / Scandinavian Series / AMC Networks’ Charlie Collier Masters of Sex’s Lizzy Caplan / Narcos’ Wagner Moura

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CONTENTS FEATURES

Surviving the Fall

26 TRUE TALES What’s driving the spate of series and TV movies based on real-life events?

26

The American TV universe may not revolve around the broadcast networks anymore, but fall TV season is still a heady time for television junkies.

Ricardo Seguin Guise Publisher Anna Carugati Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani Editor Kristin Brzoznowski Executive Editor Joanna Padovano Managing Editor Sara Alessi Associate Editor Victor L. Cuevas Production & Design Director Phyllis Q. Busell Art Director Simon Weaver Online Director Dana Mattison Senior Sales & Marketing Manager Elizabeth Walsh Sales & Marketing Manager Andrea Moreno Business Affairs Manager

Ricardo Seguin Guise President Anna Carugati Executive VP Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development TV Drama © 2016 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.tvdrama.ws

In addition to all the returning series you love that you’ve been waiting to return since May, the kickoff of the 2016–17 season means you have to start making some difficult choices. What do I DVR now? What do I need to watch live for fear of spoilers? What should I wait to watch to see if it does well? Really, with so many options in this era of peak TV, who wants to get invested in a show that’s going to be canned after three episodes?

Judging by what’s on the slate for the fall and winter seasons, it’s clear that the networks are trying to mitigate against failure by relying on super-producers, franchises and reboots.

CBS has gone for a redo of MacGyver. FOX is bringing back Prison Break with its original cast members. 24: Legacy takes the revolutionary real-time model of the original 24 and combines it with a new hero. Franchise extensions feature prominently on NBC, with a new Chicago show from Dick Wolf and The Blacklist: Redemption. Several movies have been spun into TV shows, among them Training Day for CBS and Lethal Weapon for FOX. The CW is gearing up to launch Frequency, based on the movie of the same name. It also has Riverdale, based on characters from the Archie Comics universe. That show comes from mega-producer Greg Berlanti, who is behind the network’s superhero hits Supergirl, which moved over from CBS, The Flash, Arrow and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. And speaking of super-producers, Shonda Rhimes continues to reign supreme at ABC, with a new Shondaland series coming in 2017. And Empire’s co-creator Lee Daniels is building an empire of his own on FOX—his Star is a midseason replacement on the network.

Other methods for cutting through the drama clutter? Give people shows about real-life scandals and mysteries. We take a look at fact-based dramas in this edition, and hear from two actors who have made their mark portraying historical figures: Wagner Moura, who plays Pablo Escobar in Netflix’s Narcos, and Lizzy Caplan, who stars as Virginia Johnson in Showtime’s Masters of Sex. You will also hear from Charlie Collier, the president and general manager of AMC and SundanceTV, about how his channels are delivering brand-defining drama.

And we provide a spotlight on new developments in Scandi noir.

—Mansha Daswani

34 NORDIC NOIR Almost a decade since The Killing took the world by storm, a look at new developments in Scandi drama.

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INTERVIEWS

40 AMC Networks’ Charlie Collier

44 Masters of Sex’s Lizzy Caplan

48 Narcos’ Wagner Moura

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A+E Networks SIX / The Witness for the Prosecution / Knightfall At MIPCOM, A+E Networks is showcasing the drama series SIX, which is slated to air on HISTORY early next year. The series tells the story of the real-life SEAL Team Six, known for killing Osama bin Laden. The drama brings to life “their counter-terrorist missions, their experiences with fatherhood and their sometimes very challenging family life,” says Denis Cantin, the VP, head of content sales for EMEA at A+E Networks. The company is also presenting The Witness for the Prosecution, an adaptation of Agatha Christie’s courtroom drama. The program, which stars Kim Cattrall, will air on BBC One this holiday season. Another historical highlight is Knightfall, which tells the story of the Knights Templar and features “epic battles and divided loyalties,” says Cantin.

“Our drama series bring film-quality stories to television.”

—Denis Cantin Knightfall

Caracol Internacional Against Our Destiny / The Girl / The White Slave The book-based production Against Our Destiny tells the story of two sisters with opposite personalities; one is submissive, shy and insecure, while the other is extroverted, confident and rebellious. It is an adaptation of the award-winning novel The Discreet Hero by Nobel Prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa.

Caracol Internacional is showcasing the title to global buyers in Cannes, along with The Girl, about a young female who is trying to readjust to normal life after being forced into guerrilla warfare. There is also The White Slave, a historical period drama set during the years of 1821 and 1843. “Most of [our highlights] are based on true stories, others have great production values with an impressive casting, budget and cinematographic approach,” says Paloma Garcia Cuesta, sales executive for Western Europe and Africa at the company.

“We are taking the next step to be more recognized as an increasingly important [force] and a big player in the global audiovisual market.”

—Paloma Garcia Cuesta Against Our Destiny

CJ E&M Drinking Solo / The Good Wife / Bring It On, Ghost A spin-off of Let’s Eat, Drinking Solo aims to show viewers how to truly enjoy their beverages. “It’s bringing a new paradigm to drinking alone and really savoring the drink,” says Jangho Seo, the head of international sales and acquisitions at CJ E&M. Another title being presented by the company at MIPCOM is The Good Wife, a remake of the popular U.S. show. “The success of The Good Wife is already proven through its original series,” says Seo. Then there is Bring It On, Ghost, which tells the story of a college student who can see phantoms. Seo notes that CJ E&M has been stepping up its drama efforts as of late. “We have acquired some production houses already famous for their dramas and writers,” he says. “We already are confident, but also are looking forward for the future productions.”

“This year, CJ E&M’s production house separated into another entity called Studio Dragon, and we are now able to truly focus more on the quality of our dramas.”

—Jangho Seo The Good Wife 358 WORLD SCREEN 10/16

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DRG The Level / Monster / Nobel The U.K. crime drama The Level centers on a young female detective who returns to her hometown with a dark secret.

“There is a strong tradition of great British crime drama that keeps you on the edge of your seat, and The Level does not disappoint,” says Noel Hedges, the executive VP of content and acquisitions at DRG. Another highlight for DRG is Monster, a thriller about two very different police officers searching for a serial killer in the remote area of northernmost Norway. “This series is Nordic Noir at the very top of its game,” says Hedges.

Nobel, meanwhile, is a contemporary thriller that mixes political drama and social commentary to explore current issues such as the war in Afghanistan. “Another great Nordic drama, it has excellent writing, strong action and succeeds in bringing real scale to contemporary event television,” says Hedges.

“We are a great ‘go-to’ distributor for broadcasters looking at European drama in particular.”

—Noel Hedges The Level

Escapade Media The Art of Killing / Tomorrow When the War Began / When We Go to War The in-development drama series The Art of Killing, which is being presented by Escapade Media, centers on a retired cop who is searching for his son’s killer. “Writers Rob Cawley and Paul Duane give us a world set between Liverpool in the U.K. and the Gold Coast of Australia, both beautiful yet starkly contrasting in their aesthetic,” says Natalie Lawley, the company’s managing director. “These locations serve as a backdrop for a [show] filled with intrigue, mystery and a dark backstory that will thrill audiences around the world.” Escapade is also showcasing Tomorrow When the War Began, a coming-of-age drama based on the novels penned by John Marsden, and When We Go to War, which spotlights the impact of war on a family and their friends.

“When We Go to War executes beautifully the harshness of the effects of war on both those on the frontline and those left behind.”

—Natalie Lawley When We Go to War

FremantleMedia Apple Tree Yard / The Heart Guy / Chewing Gum Based on a book by Louise Doughty, Apple Tree Yard is a provocative drama series that FremantleMedia is offering up to international buyers in Cannes. “Apple Tree Yard is an absorbing grown-up thriller that transports the viewer on an emotional journey full of unexpected twists and turns,” says Sarah Doole, the company’s director of global drama.

“Its gripping exploration of the difficult moral choices we face is portrayed brilliantly on-screen by a superb cast, and we’re sure it will resonate with audiences across the globe.”

The Heart Guy, meanwhile, is a family drama about a disgraced surgeon. “The Heart Guy is a modern, prime-time drama that takes place in a beautiful setting and features a stellar cast,” says Doole. Another MIPCOM highlight from FremantleMedia is the scripted series Chewing Gum.

“We’re well on our way to establishing FremantleMedia as a home for top-notch drama.”

—Sarah Doole Apple Tree Yard 360 WORLD SCREEN 10/16

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Global Agency Mother / High Society / Magnificent Century Kosem A schoolteacher who takes an abused student away from her family is the premise of Mother, one of Global Agency’s highlights for the market. The company is also promoting High Society, which tells the story of lovers from two different worlds. “Mother and High Society will be shown for the first time to the television industry at MIPCOM,” says Senay Filiztekin, Global Agency’s head of drama acquisitions. There is also Magnificent Century Kosem, a follow-up to the successful series Magnificent Century. “Magnificent Century Kosem is almost a continuation and a more innovative version of the process started by Magnificent Century,” says Filiztekin. “The story is universal as it was with Magnificent Century, but this time, it is younger, more colorful and thus much more dynamic.”

“These titles have the ability to cross boundaries with their universal story lines, cutting-edge themes and wellknown casts.”

—Senay Filiztekin High Society

Global Screen Charité / Fangar-Prisoners / Luther and I There are two new miniseries, Charité and Fangar-Prisoners, leading off Global Screen’s highlights. Set in Berlin in 1888, Charité tells the story of Ida, who undergoes a critical operation at the world-famous Charité Hospital and must then work off the treatment costs. She not only discovers her passion for medicine but also becomes acquainted with the most brilliant physicians of this era. Fangar-Prisoners is a contemporary drama series about a young woman who is sent to serve time in Iceland’s only women’s prison for a vicious assault that leaves her father in a coma. “A special focus lies on the strong and sometimes controversial female characters,” says Alexandra Heidrich, the head of TV sales and acquisitions at Global Screen. The company is also presenting the 90-minute TV movie Luther and I.

“2017 marks the 500th anniversary of the Reformation and Luther and I is the perfect event movie to commemorate the event.”

—Alexandra Heidrich Luther and I

ITV Inter Medya Hayat / Endless Love / In Between Love stories are a pillar of ITV Inter Medya’s MIPCOM slate.

Hayat tells the tale of Murat, a handsome perfectionist who took over his family’s company at a young age, and Hayat, a joyful yet clumsy young woman looking for a job. After she is hired to work at Murat’s company, a series of events creates chaos, and at the center of it all is the love between the two. Endless Love looks at what happens when a young man and woman from different social classes in a seaside neighborhood of Istanbul fall in love. Can Okan, the company’s president and CEO, is also highlighting for buyers In Between, about Neriman, a young woman with big dreams who begins to question the man she is expected to marry. It is based on a novel by Peyami Safa, entitled Fatih-Harbiye.

“In Between depicts life and love with all their contradictions and conflicts.”

—Can Okan In Between 362 WORLD SCREEN 10/16

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Kanal D Wounded Love / Crossroads / Flames of Desire Ten years after starring together in 1001 Nights, the Turkish actors Halit Ergenç and Bergüzar Korel are teaming up for Wounded Love, a new drama that Kanal D is presenting.

“This is something that the global audience has been waiting a long time for,” says Kerim Emrah Turna, an international sales executive at Kanal D. The company is also showcasing Crossroads, which launched in Turkey in midAugust on Kanal D, where it’s been generating an average share of 20 percent. Turna describes the show as “a modern fairy tale.” Flames of Desire, meanwhile, has already seen much success in Turkey, where a second season launched last month. As Turna maps out his MIPCOM goals, he says that securing deals with both linear and nonlinear platforms is a top priority.

“Flames of Desire is one of the greatest productions of 2016, with huge success in Turkey.”

—Kerim Emrah Turna Flames of Desire

Keshet International Aces / The Paper / Clues Israel’s number one digital series, Aces, centers on five friends and their Friday night poker game, “delivering some hilarious fly-on-the-wall moments,” says Keren Shahar, the COO and president of distribution at Keshet International (KI). Shahar says that Aces is a “versatile drama that can lend itself to long or short form, making it perfect for all platforms.” KI is also launching a Nordic Noir-type drama from Croatia, The Paper. “It has incredibly high production values and a tone and style that has seen it likened to some incredible, world-renowned dramas like House of Cards and The Wire,” says Shahar. Next up is the detective drama Clues. “It’s a female whodunit show for the Bridesmaids generation, but will appeal to both genders due to its combination of sex appeal, action and comedy,” Shahar says.

“KI is committed to finding fresh, new voices and gifted content creators and bringing their work to broadcasters around the world.”

—Keren Shahar Clues

MISTCO Resurrection (Ertugrul) / Filinta / Love Me As I Am Building on an existing relationship, MISTCO and Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) have strengthened their ties.

MISTCO now has an expanded catalog and at MIPCOM will present drama series from the TRT library. Highlights include Resurrection (Ertugrul), “which has been the most-viewed Turkish drama series for two years,” says Aysegul Tuzun, the VP of sales and marketing at MISTCO. “We believe that with the launching of the third season in October it will [maintain] and increase its success.” Another highlight, Filinta, has a new season with a fresh story. Other series from the TRT library that MISTCO will be presenting include Love Me As I Am, alongside a slate of miniseries and TV movies. “With our extended catalog consisting of dramas appealing to all target groups, our aim is to strengthen our position in the market,” says Tuzun.

“We are proud to extend our partnership with TRT.” —Aysegul Tuzun Resurrection (Ertugrul) 364 WORLD SCREEN 10/16

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Nordic World Maniac / Small Town Love / Next Summer The Norwegian dark comedy Maniac has already piqued the interest of the U.S. market, with an English-language remake launching on Netflix next year with Emma Stone and Jonah Hill in lead roles. Both Small Town Love and Next Summer are also in development in the U.S., and Nordic World has placed all three titles at the top of its MIPCOM slate. “A new wave of Nordic drama has now arrived, which blends drama and comedy with beautifully crafted plots and memorable characters,” says Ann Christin Siljan, the VP of acquisitions at Nordic World. “Maniac, Small Town Love and Next Summer not only deal with universal themes—mental health, family, relationships—in a funny and affectionate way, but they do so realistically, honestly and simply in a way that I think is uniquely Nordic.”

“We are expanding our focus on both Nordic and international drama, and are seeking to invest in European co-productions.”

—Ann Christin Siljan Maniac

Red Arrow International Mata Hari / Farang / The Romeo Section: Assassins The life of an infamous exotic dancer, courtesan and spy takes center stage in Mata Hari, part of Red Arrow International’s catalog. “This landmark new drama about love, loss and defiance features an acclaimed international cast, including Christopher Lambert, John Corbett, Rutger Hauer, Gérard Depardieu and Vahina Giocante,” says Henrik Pabst, the company’s managing director. Another highlight is Farang, an action-packed thriller starring Ola Rapace (Skyfall), Louise Nyvall (Girls Lost) and Yayaying Rhatha Phongam (Only God Forgives) and exploring “the complicated ties that bind a father with his daughter,” explains Pabst. Then there is The Romeo Section: Assassins, which Pabst describes as “a stylish, dangerous and high-stakes thriller from acclaimed showrunner Chris Haddock (Boardwalk Empire).”

“Our slate is packed with compelling, worldclass drama, reflecting the growing demand from international broadcasters and platforms for distinctive, ambitious and bold new scripted series.”

—Henrik Pabst Mata Hari

Russia Television and Radio/Sovtelexport Anna Karenina / Ekaterina / Sophia Leo Tolstoy’s classic story Anna Karenina is retold by renowned Russian director Karen Shakhnazarov in the eightpart series of the same name from Russia Television and Radio. “No detail has been spared to achieve the atmosphere of true luxury and authenticity of the surroundings,” says Julia Matiash, the director of Sovtelexport, the company’s distribution arm. There’s a second season of Ekaterina, about the Russian empress Catherine the Great, that Sovtelexport will present. “Global viewers will find it captivating and mesmerizing,” says Matiash. Sophia tells the dramatic life story of the last Byzantium princess, who marries Ivan III and becomes the first influential woman in Russian history. “This is a fantastic saga about love, faith and destiny, based on uniquely re-created conditions of 15th-century Russia,” Matiash says.

“Our content is unique; it is based on globally recognized Russian literary characters, historical figures and events.”

—Julia Matiash Anna Karenina 366 WORLD SCREEN 10/16

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Series Mania Co-Production Forum April 18-21, 2017 Organized by France’s Forum des images, Series Mania CoProduction Forum will take place from April 18 to 21, 2017.

“Industry professionals will benefit from a rich program tailored specifically for them, including keynotes from top television executives, lineup sessions, work-in-progress sessions, conferences, a video library with 75 series from all around the world, market screenings and new sessions dedicated to funds and scriptwriters,” says Laurence Herszberg, the general director of Forum des images and founder and general director of Series Mania. As part of the Co-Production Forum, 18 projects that are in development will be presented to an audience of potential co-financiers. For 2017, Series Mania is unveiling a new training program for scriptwriters called SeriesLab, being carried out in partnership with Torino Film Lab.

“Series Mania is getting bigger in 2017, both on the public and the industry side.”

—Laurence Herszberg Series Mania Co-Production Forum 2016

Star Media Mata Hari / Oriental Sweets / Sorge The biopic Mata Hari marks Star Media’s first production for the global market with original English dialogue. The project is produced in association with Channel One (Russia) and Inter (Ukraine), and is being distributed worldwide by Red Arrow International. “The idea for the project came when we were looking for a resonant character, a woman who was ahead of her time and hence changed it,” says Vlad Ryashin, the founder and CEO of Star Media. “There are many rumors and secrets around the life of Mata Hari; no one really knew who she was, but the mark she left on history is very significant.” One of Star Media’s new releases is the melodrama Oriental Sweets, a love story involving the clash of two cultures. Star Media also recently launched the historical drama Sorge, set against the backdrop of WWII.

“We are delighted to be working with Red Arrow International to bring Mata Hari’s incredible story to people around the world.”

—Vlad Ryashin Mata Hari

Zodiak Rights Versailles / The Accident / Black Lake Headlining Zodiak Rights’ MIPCOM slate is the second season of Versailles. The drama “returns with another ten episodes, upping the ante with even more lavish sets and costumes, which bring the opulence of 17th-century France to life in a way never seen before on-screen,” says Caroline Torrance, the head of scripted at Zodiak Rights. The company is also showcasing the crime drama The Accident, based on a book by best-selling author Linwood Barclay.

The suspense thriller Black Lake, from Banijay Group company Jarowskij, is another highlight. “Black Lake is a bingeworthy series that will keep the audience on the edge of their seats from start to finish,” Torrance says. “It’s exactly the kind of original content that can break through and become real appointment-to-view programming.”

“We are continuing to build upon our established premium brands and developing our slate of quality drama.”

—Caroline Torrance Black Lake 368 WORLD SCREEN 10/16

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Joanna Stephens looks at what’s driving the spate of series and TV movies based on real-life events.

Global Agency’s Magnificent Century Kosem.

TRUE TALES t’s no longer a mistake to let the truth get in the way of a good story. These days, the truth is a good story, as evidenced by the recent spate of fact-based dramas that are pulling in both punters and plaudits for broadcasters worldwide.

Examples abound: Sonar Entertainment’s The Fifth Beatle, ITV Studios Global Entertainment’s Victoria, A+E Networks’ The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe, Starz’s The White Princess, BBC Worldwide’s Rillington Place and National Geographic’s first-ever scripted series, Genius, the debut season of which will dramatize the life of Albert Einstein.

So what’s driving the interest in dramas based on real people and events? Why now and why are there suddenly so many?

David Swetman, the senior acquisitions executive for scripted at all3media International, believes the interest flows from drama’s current popularity. “At a time when competition in the drama market is so strong and cutting through so difficult, programs grounded in real life offer commissioners and producers the opportunity to tap into a subject already familiar to audiences,” he says.

Liam Keelan, the director of scripted at BBC Worldwide, says real-life events have always had pulling power, particularly when the subject matter has had universal resonance.

“Crime, political intrigue and betrayal travel well,” he adds,

I

on the disheartening basis that murder and machination know no borders.

CRIMINAL MINDS There’s no doubt that fact is often stranger than fiction. It would, for example, be difficult to make up the events at the heart of BBC Worldwide’s latest offering in the real-life drama genre, Rillington Place. The BBC Studios production in association with Bandit Television stars Tim Roth and Samantha Morton in the story of serial killer John Reginald Christie, who betrayed and manipulated those around him—his wife, his neighbors, even the British justice system—in a series of events that ended in an innocent man being sent to the gallows.

Joel Denton, managing director of international content sales and partnerships at A+E Networks, identifies true-crime series as being among television’s most wanted. “There’s an unbelievable amount of scripted, unscripted and ‘faction’— the merging of factual and scripted—coming through in the true-crime space,” he says.

A+E Networks recently ventured into this market with Asylum Entertainment’s two-hour drama Manson’s Lost Girls, which recounts how messianic cult leader Charles Manson lured young women into his twisted world and brainwashed them into committing a series of horrific murders.

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ITVS GE’s Victoria follows the early life of Queen Victoria and is based in part on her diaries.

Sarah Tong, the director of sales at Hat Trick International, agrees that crime is particularly well suited to fact-based scripted. “And not just dramas,” she observes. “True crime is also on trend in the factual world.”

At the top of Tong’s crime-drama roster is Hat Trick Productions’ four-part series The Secret. Starring James Nesbitt and Genevieve O’Reilly, it tells the true story of a respected Northern Irish dentist and Sunday-school teacher whose illicit affair culminates in an elaborate plot to kill both of their partners.

“Love, passion, murder, betrayal—The Secret has it all,” Tong says. And the fact that [the events actually occurred] gives it an added frisson of pleasurable horror. The two main characters are ostensibly very ordinary, which also makes it easier for audiences to invest emotionally in their predicament.

“I think the dramas that work are those that have characters and stories you care about, in that you either love them or hate them,” Tong adds. “The Secret is a love story that goes horribly wrong and, although what [the characters] did was unbelievably awful, it was believable. The audience wants to know what happened next because they care about what happened next.”

THEN AND NOW In Tong’s view, contemporary real-life drama has the commercial edge on historical epics, as it is more likely to appeal to both commercial and public broadcasters. Swetman at all3media echoes this, saying that period drama can be a tougher sell outside of its traditional homes with European and American public broadcasters. “Generally, more contemporary series have a wider reach and more potential international partners,” he adds. “But, as with all drama, the quality of the storytelling and production is the key factor.”

Both Swetman and Tong say there can also be commercial opportunities for companion non-scripted shows to air around dramas. Tong reports that with mega-franchises such as Downton Abbey and Midsomer Murders, there is a market for “very relevant” factual shows that can extend the audience’s interest into another format.

“Documentaries can be a nice addition to the package you can offer broadcasters, but most buyers will be making their decisions based on the drama’s power and relevance to their

audiences,” adds Swetman. He points out that many broadcasters have separate documentary and drama channels, or perhaps operate in only one genre, which means there may not be an obvious synergy across the genres.

Up next on the fact-inspired drama front for all3media are Jack Thorne’s National Treasure for Channel 4, which is rooted in the recent instances of celebrities being accused of past sexual misdemeanors, and Stephen Poliakoff’s Close to the Enemy for BBC Two, about a British intelligence officer tasked with inducing a German scientist to hand over military technology following World War II. In discussing Close to the Enemy, Swetman says that Poliakoff turned “a moment in history that had lived in the shadows” into an epic tale of the Cold War technology race.

Tom Patricia, executive VP of limited series, miniseries and movies at Sonar Entertainment, observes that many key historical events—World War II being a prime example— have been overdone. “So if you’re trying to sell a historical piece, it must resonate beyond those particular events and have something unique that will appeal to a contemporary audience,” he advises.

HISTORY REPEATED Despite the fact that it tells the story of a woman born nearly 200 years ago, Victoria has contemporary appeal by the royal coachload, believes Ruth Berry, the managing director of ITV Studios Global Entertainment (ITVS GE). The eight-part Mammoth Screen production for ITV and PBS’s Masterpiece follows the early life of Queen Victoria—played by Doctor Who alum Jenna Coleman—from her accession to the throne at the age of 18 to her marriage to Prince Albert in 1840.

“It’s not a well-documented period of Victoria’s life, but it was a fascinating time of enormous change,” Berry says, echoing Patricia’s point about needing a fresh angle to hook audiences into well-trodden stories.

Berry praises writer Daisy Goodwin’s scrupulous historical research and her interpretation of Victoria’s early diaries, which form the basis of the drama and the portal into the young queen’s world. The result is a richly layered narrative that offers new insight into not only Victoria’s personal story but also the stories of her court, servants and ladies-in-waiting.

It also explores Victoria’s relationship with her mentor and Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne—played by Rufus Sewell— with whom Victoria “definitely had chemistry,” Berry says.

“But it’s not about delivering a history lesson,” she stresses.

“It’s about taking viewers on an immersive journey into a life and time period, which is much more appealing.”

Another element that makes Victoria an excellent subject for a drama series is that, in the words of Berry, “she went on and on and on,” reigning from 1837 to 1901. Dramas about real people tend to be short runs because lives ultimately end. But with ITVS GE’s series covering only the first three years of Victoria’s 64-year reign, there is plenty of scope to continue the series and build a long-running brand. ITV has already greenlit season two.

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Hat Trick’s The Secret is based on the true story of Colin Howell, who was convicted of a double murder in 2010, almost two decades after committing the crime.

With four seasons and 300-plus hour-long episodes, TIMS Productions’ Magnificent Century undoubtedly qualifies as a durable, long-running brand. Izzet Pinto, founder and CEO of Global Agency, which distributes the show, reports that the historical epic about the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent has now been sold to more than 75 territories and been seen by close to 300 million viewers. Global Agency’s best-selling drama has also spawned a sequel, Magnificent Century Kosem, the second season of which is now in production. It tells the true story of a slave girl who became one of the most powerful women in the Ottoman Empire.

Magnificent Century is historically correct in that it tracks the key events of the 46-year reign of Sultan Suleiman, but the show is “woven with fiction,” according to Pinto. “You have to stick close to the truth with historical figures, but you can play around with the side characters and story lines,” he says. He also believes that a series based on a fascinating event, period or personality presents a huge advantage over pure fiction: a ready-made story with proven pulling power.

“All you need to do is hire someone to shine up the script, because the narrative is already there.”

it will be a writer’s interpretation of events and that some artistic license is inevitable,” he says.

For all3media’s Swetman, one good way to venture (carefully) off-piste is “to create a clear narrative running through the spine of the story.” He adds, “Historical events and people’s lives are full of complexity and nuance, which is almost impossible to accurately portray on screen, especially when capturing events over a long period of time.

Therefore, the easiest and most important liberty to take is to simplify, whether that’s removing superfluous characters or untangling timelines.”

Carmi Zlotnik, the managing director of Starz, says historical pieces also offer more opportunities for creativity, especially if the events took place in the distant past. “Historical dramas in which there is little in the way of detailed records offer the opportunity to explore what type of person a character could have been,” Zlotnik says. “In that sense, the lack of pure historical record gives you extra creative freedom, while still providing authenticity to the viewer.”

HISTORY IN THE MAKING Starz’s latest foray into the past is Company Pictures’ The White Princess, which launches at MIPCOM. It is a followup to the award-winning miniseries The White Queen— which averaged 4.8 million multiplatform viewers per episode in the U.S.—based on Philippa Gregory’s book series The Cousins’ War. The eight-part drama tells the story of England’s Wars of the Roses from the perspectives of the women used as pawns in the medieval power game—in this case, Princess Elizabeth of York (daughter of White Queen Elizabeth Woodville), who is married off to Henry Tudor in the hope that the marriage will bring peace to the war-torn kingdom. In the event, England is

BLURRED LINES Magnificent Century’s fictionalization of certain aspects of Sultan Suleiman’s reign prompts a good question: what liberties can or should producers take with the facts? Clearly, a Bobby Ewing–style shower scene is out of the question, but how much fantasy is acceptable when dealing with reality? Most agree that it depends on how much source material is available and how well the event or period is known.

“A level of authenticity is important, and there has to be a relationship with the truth,” says ITVS GE’s Berry. “But [the story] also needs to be made appealing to audiences. It’s a fine line for writers.”

This chimes with BBC Worldwide’s Keelan, who also thinks story lines must remain broadly true to the facts. “But viewers generally accept

all3media’s Close to the Enemy is inspired by British attempts to secure German military secrets after WWII.

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A+E Networks’ TV movie Manson’s Lost Girls focuses on members of Charles Manson’s cult in the period leading up to the infamous TateLaBianca murders.

united, but the marriage is swiftly divided by treachery and intrigue.

Sonar’s Patricia agrees that historical pieces offer more room for creative interpretation than, say, a drama based on a contemporary crime, for which producers are likely to be constrained by court transcripts and media coverage. But in the end, he says, a successful fact-based project—as with any successful drama—requires “a big, loud” central event; fascinating, watchable characters; a strong narrative arc that is capable of entertaining audiences while moving them emotionally and/or intellectually; and that good old-fashioned thing, a great story.

BEATLE-MANIA All these elements can be found in The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story, which Sonar is adapting into an event series from Vivek J. Tiwary’s best-selling graphic novel of the same name.

“Clearly, anything with The Beatles in the title is presold,” Patricia says. “But The Fifth Beatle is more than just a Beatles origin story. It’s also a drama about a brilliant man who struggled with his inner demons while guiding four young men to become the greatest band in the world.”

Adding to the project’s allure is the fact that Sonar has secured the rights to Beatles music, which Patricia notes are rarely, “if ever,” granted.

Another company to have successfully mined the music icon seam is A+E Networks, whose 2015 biopic Whitney centers on Whitney Houston’s meteoric rise and her tumultuous marriage to R&B star Bobby Brown. Lifetime followed Whitney with a critically acclaimed exploration of another troubled legend, Marilyn Monroe. Denton says The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe, a miniseries starring Kelli Garner and Susan Sarandon, exemplifies the new approach to biography.

“Biopics used to be treated as ‘womb-to-tomb’ shows,” he says. “But that doesn’t work for today’s audiences. Now people want the hidden stories—in the case of Marilyn, her relationship with her mentally disturbed mother.”

Denton reckons that “slightly iconic figures with some degree of global traction” make the best subjects. “But politicians, unless they’re Churchill or Hitler, don’t usually work,” he says, on the basis that most political figures have no profile or do not appeal outside—or even within—their home turf.

Both Denton and ITVS GE’s Berry pick up on the increasingly blurred line between documentary and the dramatization of real events and people. Berry identifies Netflix’s ten-part doc Making a Murderer and ITV’s own The Investigator: A British Crime Story as trailblazers in this new territory, where straight factual intersects with cinematic representation. “Both shows are as compelling and compulsive to watch as any crime drama,” she adds. “And audiences are responding well to them.”

As with all drama, co-production is a vital tool in pulling together these shows. Hat Trick’s Tong outlines the general view when she says that, with budgets and viewer expectation soaring and fewer broadcasters prepared to fully fund production, “most dramas would not get made if not for the involvement of distributors and/or international partners.”

BETTER TOGETHER For all3media’s Swetman, there is also a creative benefit to co-producing, particularly when the subject of the drama “straddles international consciousness” or involves characters from more than one country. “The aim is often for the co-production to feel natural—for example, wanting a French partner to work on a series with lots of French history—although off-screen, expedient funding arrangements can be reason enough,” he says.

Sonar’s Patricia believes the right co-production with the right partners can be “terrific for everyone,” in that it not only delivers money but also adds layers to the storytelling and helps attract a high-end cast. “But a co-production needs to have organic international appeal,” he cautions.

“And international appeal cannot be forced or pasted on. It must be in the project’s DNA from the beginning.”

Reflecting on the reasons for the current uptick in dramas based on real-life events, Patricia suggests it’s about the safety of the familiar. Because viewers are generally acquainted with the basic facts, “a true story is somewhat pre-sold to the audience,” he says. “And with so many choices on television and streaming, a show that has some awareness is almost a necessity for programmers.”

BBC Worldwide’s Keelan has a more philosophical take, “You could argue that this kind of drama helps viewers make sense of the world around them at a time when global and political events feel ever more unpredictable,” he says.

In a global content market that feels increasingly unpredictable, the same could be said for broadcasters, distributors and producers.

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NORDIC

NOIR I Almost a decade since The Killing took the world by storm, Jane Marlow spotlights new developments in Scandinavian drama.

t was The Killing that started it. Kenneth Branagh’s Wallander might have whetted our appetites with a taste of English-language Nordic Noir, but it was Søren Sveistrup’s drama that put Scandinavian storytelling at center stage. After airing in 2007 on DR1 (as Forbrydelsen), The Killing transcended the borders of its native Denmark and became a global phenomenon, sparking a new appetite for Scandi drama. Nine years later, it is an established genre on the drama landscape.

Peter Bose, producer and partner at Miso Film—which is majority owned by FremantleMedia—describes The Killing as a game changer. “We learned a lot from it,” says Bose, who has Dicte and Modus on his current slate and who executive produced the Swedish series Wallander while he was at Yellow Bird Films. “The Killing showed that it was possible to create original content and stories that cover not only good crime stories but also parts of our society.” He adds that the show’s characters were instrumental in defining Scandi drama’s unique selling point: “Look at [the lead character] Sarah Lund. You would never have a U.S. crime detective dress like her and be as introverted as her. The fact that they managed to create such a strong character was impressive.

That opened the door for character-driven crime dramas.”

One of Miso Film’s biggest successes has been the Norwegian hit Acquitted, which is in this tradition of character-driven drama. The series follows the story of a man who returns to his hometown in Norway, 20 years after he was acquitted of a murder many think he was guilty of committing.

NORDIC VISION Miso Film has offices in Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm, making it a true Nordic production company. Collaboration between the Scandinavian nations—including Iceland and Finland—has been at the heart of the success of the Scandi drama genre, according to Christian Wikander, the former head of drama at Swedish pubcaster SVT who this month joins Pinewood Television to lead its co-production efforts.

“A critical decision was made back in the ’50s [to have] a cultural exchange between these five countries,” says Wikander. “We have been working together in all genres for years. That is one of the reasons why [Scandinavian drama has] been successful because, in addition to programs, we have been sharing challenges and development and [have been] inspiring each other through the years.”

Although there are increasingly more opportunities for collaboration outside the home territories, as a broadcaster, SVT’s priority is to develop new things that are relevant to the Swedish audience. If it finds something it likes, it will see if it has international potential as well.

RISING SUN

One such project is Midnight Sun, which is set in the remote Sami community in northern Sweden. As an unexplored area in TV, it is a good fit for SVT. The pubcaster’s collaboration with Atlantique Productions in France, Nice Drama in Sweden, Filmpool Nord and co-originating broadcaster Canal+ is described as the first Swedish-French co-production.

“It started four years ago with a loose idea from Nice Drama and Atlantique in France,” explains Wikander. “We started to develop around that idea. We had a couple of writers pitching in, and sometimes we weren’t satisfied and sometimes they weren’t satisfied, and we continued until we found this take on the idea with the creators, [Måns] Mårlind and [Björn] Stein.”

Katrina Neylon, the executive VP of sales and marketing at STUDIOCANAL, which is distributing the series, says the show has a Nordic feel in terms of scenery, scope and story line. But the introduction of a French police officer who travels to Sweden to investigate the central crime gives it a distinctly European feel, too.

STUDIOCANAL has another foothold in Scandi drama with SAM Productions, which has at its helm Sveistrup, creator of The Killing; Adam Price, creator of Borgen; and seasoned producer Meta Louise Foldager Sørensen. That alliance is indicative of just how important co-production has become to the company in what Neylon describes as an “increasingly riskaverse environment.”

“Co-productions have become vital to the scripted business,” Neylon says. “More drama is being produced than ever

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provide insight into scripts by highlighting elements that might not be understood by international audiences.

Uzan explains, “You want [a show] to feel local and authentic, because I think that is why international audiences like those local dramas.” It’s more about fine-tuning than making major changes, he says.

FINNISH-ED PRODUCT Eccho Rights is distributing the Finnish show Nurses and is offering the format rights to the medical drama.

Eccho Rights represents the Finnish drama Nurses, from Yellow Film & TV, and is launching the Swedish remake, Syrror (Sisters), at MIPCOM. In addition to the territories that are known for having an appetite for Scandi drama—Germany, the U.K., France and Benelux—there are new markets looking to acquire ready-made shows from the region, according to Fredrik af Malmborg, managing director at Eccho Rights. He says that Eccho Rights plans to dub Syrror into Spanish to target Latin America, and he is also hoping for deals in Western and Eastern Europe. Af Malmborg suggests that American drama is not as dominant among European broadcasters as it once was and that Turkish and Scandi series can provide alternatives.

“There are more and more buyers who are interested in buying drama,” says af Malmborg. “Instead of the traditional model, whereby the distributor was deficit financing by paying a minimum guarantee for a production, we now see more and more presales. We have presold Sisters to DR in Denmark and TV2 in Norway, because they intend to launch at the same time.”

Af Malmborg also says that Scandi drama is no longer consigned to public broadcasters when it is licensed outside of the region. The Finnish version of Nurses was the first Nordic project to air on a commercial broadcaster in Germany. He adds that territories are becoming more open-minded as surprise hits emerge in unlikely markets.

before, and having more partners is often the only way to finance large-scale productions. The benefit of co-production is that the overall budgets can be increased, often enabling a stronger end product and [garnering] international talent.

Spreading the financial burden across multiple partners allows ambitious productions to get made. The opportunities that coproduction brings to the financial state of a project are replicated on the creative side, with a widening of ideas, experience and international expertise and collaboration.”

ZDF Enterprises was a pioneer in bringing Scandinavian drama to the global market, beginning with The Killing, which aired on ZDF and was co-produced with the German pubcaster’s commercial arm. Robert Franke, ZDF Enterprises’ VP of drama, says that the genre continues to be a top performer.

“The quality of the storytelling in combination with excellent production values make Scandi drama attractive not only to the viewers on their home turf but also to international buyers who continue to fight for the rights to the top-tier productions,” says Franke.

He adds that Scandinavian broadcasters have a long tradition of collaboration. “To be able to put together budgets that are big enough to ensure high enough production values and narrative quality, co-production is an essential part of their mindset. That makes it easier for broadcasters from other European territories to team up with them.”

Federation Entertainment has also entered the Scandi co-pro sphere, signing on as a partner on Fisher King Production’s crime drama Bordertown for YLE. When describing Federation’s role as the distributor of this singlebroadcaster co-production, Lionel Uzan, co-founder and managing director at the company, says, “We offer our input and expertise to the project but, in terms of the creative, the final say is with the producer and the original broadcaster. We try to provide opportunities, but we are not trying to mix up with the creative.”

Uzan and his team offer feedback about the look of the actors and the production values and FremantleMedia owns a majority stake in acclaimed Scandi producer Miso Film, which is behind shows like Modus.

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Midnight Sun is a new co-pro for SVT in Sweden and Canal+ in France that is sold by STUDIOCANAL.

Wikander has seen this too. “Brazil has had telenovelas for many decades, but two years ago, for the first time, a Turkish format was developed and was among the top three mostviewed series in Brazil. That was something they could never have foreseen. I think all good stories have the potential to travel; and the country of origin does not matter.”

Federation’s Uzan also reports that the company is breaking into new territories with Bordertown. He credits the appetite fueled by digital platforms, which are showing increased interest in European local-language drama. “That is a fascinating trend,” he says. “It is giving new opportunities to distribution companies like ours.” Although presales to these platforms are not common, Uzan sees a time in the near future when they will become part of the co-production jigsaw puzzle.

“On the international market, [Scandi drama] continues to be very much in demand, and the growth in both channels and streaming services increases the competition among broadcasters to obtain these series,” says STUDIOCANAL’s Neylon. “It used to be that BBC Four was the home of foreign-language [shows in the U.K.] Now it is ITV, Sky, Netflix, Amazon.”

Miso Film’s Bose is optimistic about the changing landscape. “The SVOD platforms can target their shows, and their content can be more niche,” he says. “It will open up new opportunities and new kinds of shows.” He thinks it will not be long before we see the first original shows commissioned for streaming platforms in Scandinavia.

“Scandi Noir is still the most popular genre, but producers and broadcasters are starting to add other subgenres,” says ZDFE.drama’s Franke. “Our show Thicker than Water is a good example. It is a family drama with a dash of crime and mystery. This mix is extremely attractive to buyers around the world because it taps into a broader audience than standard crime stories.”

Federation’s Uzan considers “Scandi crime” as a genre in itself. “The Scandi crime label is in itself a tool that allows you to sell and distribute internationally, and to get interest from broadcasters and platforms,” explains Uzan. Scandi crime tends to have a murder investigation at its core, but Uzan says producers are seeking to broaden the genre by incorporating the heist thriller, the political thriller and the mystery while keeping the trademark strong-willed Nordic characters.

STUDIOCANAL’s Neylon is confident about the appeal of the core crime proposition, but she predicts a move away from the dark stories that are the genre’s stock-in-trade.

“Overall, there is a move toward lighter productions and a lightness of touch, which has developed along with the confidence of Scandinavian writers and producers,” she says, adding that STUDIOCANAL is developing series that push the boundaries of the traditional genre markings.

Eccho Rights’ af Malmborg says the Nordic way of telling stories is game-changing in other scripted genres, such as medical drama. It is the mix of procedural stories and social issues in Nurses that appeals to af Malmborg.

When asked what characterizes Nurses as a Scandinavian product, he offers, “If you see the characters in an American medical drama, you would not believe that they exist in real life. The way of storytelling in the Nordics is closer to reality.”

NOIR AND BEYOND As the strength of the genre is consolidated by higher production values that give these shows more clout internationally, there are also signs that the themes are diverging from the Nordic Noir crime that has characterized the genre.

Federation Entertainment signed up as a co-producer of Bordertown, commissioned by YLE from Fisher King.

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Preacher and Into the Badlands, we’ve done a healthy dose of genre development that wasn’t there in the early days but certainly is core to our brand now. Even in terms of process, look at what we’ve done on staffing writers’ rooms early so we get a longer and larger look at the material prior to greenlighting. That’s been a real evolution for us that has gotten us deeper into the story than we ever were before prior to greenlighting a series.

By Anna Carugati

AMC has been the home of some of the most critically acclaimed and award-winning series on television. Starting with Mad Men, then Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead, AMC has transitioned from a channel that offered mainly movies to one that satisfies eclectic tastes with a broad range of original productions. Sister network SundanceTV has also branched out beyond its original mission of presenting the best independent films by offering viewers distinctive television series, often from overseas. Charlie Collier, the president and general manager of AMC, SundanceTV and AMC Studios, has been boosting both channels’ slates of original series and is always looking for unique voices and forms of storytelling.

TV DRAMA: Since you have increased the number of original series on AMC and SundanceTV, has your development process evolved over the last few years?

COLLIER: Absolutely, we are constantly refining the development process across SundanceTV and AMC. If you look at SundanceTV, we’re in the early phase of creative development of scripted originals, but on AMC we’ve refined and revised the development process quite actively over the years and we continue to do so. We are still very committed to adult dramas.

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TV DRAMA: What have you learned from looking for the next great show—after the end of Mad Men and Breaking Bad—that you can apply to both SundanceTV and AMC? You can never replicate those two shows, but how do you look for what you think might be the next great one?

COLLIER: You started in exactly the right place. The first thing you learn is that you cannot replace a show like Mad Men, and you can’t replace a show like Breaking Bad. We spent at least a couple of years on both shows trying to elevate them and put them in the proverbial hall of fame. In fact, both of them are now in the Smithsonian and that was a rewarding and fitting end to two series that truly are not to be duplicated. They are part of our history forever and we will always be proud that they are part of our DNA. You do learn a lot from them in terms of guiding principles, like believing that great drama is more about the character than the plot—that’s a big one for us. And obviously, on both those shows and so many others we are proud to invest in, we believe that nothing trumps great writing. You do learn a lot from those, but I would also say that when you have a network with shows as diverse as Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, The Son, Hell on Wheels and Halt and Catch Fire, you have to remain flexible. If you didn’t know our slate and you were looking at that portfolio of shows, discovering that they are all on the same network and are being elevated as originals by the same people might come as something of a surprise. It’s that flexibility and that nature of being eclectic by design that we are all very proud of.

TV DRAMA: AMC Studios is in production on its first anthology series, The Terror. Anthologies are becoming increasingly popular on a number of networks. What does this mean for you in the U.S. and internationally?

COLLIER: Domestically and internationally, this is an AMC Studios show. The fact that we found our next genre series is really exciting and drumming up a great deal of attention. It’s an anthology series based on Dan Simmons’s international bestseller.

It is executive produced by Ridley Scott and David Zucker. As you can imagine, if you want to be in good hands in the genre space, you can’t do much better than that! Each season of The Terror explores a different true story in history and overlays a supernatural element. So it allows us to do some of what we’ve been very successful at doing across

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multiple stories on our air, which is elevating material about which people are passionate and then adding a fictional element in the genre, and that will make it like nothing they have ever seen before. We are thrilled that the AMC networks internationally have taken it into their footprint, and we have a lot of interest around this all over the world.

TV DRAMA: What are you learning about U.S. viewers’ acceptance of stories, settings and characters that are not American?

COLLIER: For one, the absolute growth of scripted storytelling, in general, has allowed audiences to lean into the projects that maybe they wouldn’t have when there were far fewer choices. I believe, especially with the subtitled fare, in never trying to be television for everybody, it’s television for a specific audience. And when we hit it right with The Returned or with Deutschland 83 on SundanceTV, I think it’s less about learning and more about what we’re reinforcing, which is audiences will come for great storytelling, well told, almost regardless of the format.

Fear the Walking Dead, AMC’s prequel to The Walking Dead, airs on the channel’s global feeds day and date with the U.S. broadcast.

TV DRAMA: Just a few years ago it would have been unheard of to air a series in a foreign language with subtitles, yet SundanceTV has done so successfully with Deutschland 83.

COLLIER: It’s interesting; even now, foreign-language series with subtitles are slightly few and far between for us, but we do it on notable programs. You mentioned Deutschland 83. When something cuts through and is a

unique type of storytelling, we’ve made that choice.

Frankly, I think it serves not only those who speak the native language but those who are fans—again, as the mission says—of unique voices and elevated storytelling.

Another example is The Returned. It came under my colleagues’ leadership of SundanceTV, but how great to have The Returned offered on SundanceTV in the very same networks group that has The Walking Dead on AMC. It shows how we can do different types of storytelling, but the two channels are first cousins in many ways in terms of creative voice, originality and excellence.

TV DRAMA: How do you work with showrunners to help them pursue their vision while still getting a show that fits your brands?

COLLIER: We’ve been fortunate to have some terrific showrunners, and I’ll tell you the best showrunner relationships are the ones based on trust. Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould with Better Call Saul, the prequel to Breaking Bad, and with Breaking Bad, they’ve been here pretty much as long as I’ve been here, and I consider them true partners, not just on their shows but partners to the network and personal friends. There is a real mutual trust, and we do tend to walk arm in arm. I will say that we always start with the premise that the showrunner’s vision is the most important ingredient. At the same time, we also believe in development, and there is an art to that balance.

TV DRAMA: With so many television series these days across so many channels and platforms, what are you learning about the best way to launch a show, make noise and get viewers’ attention?

COLLIER: I will tell you brand matters a lot. We believe we have a very important and valuable asset in the AMC brand and the idea that an AMC show means something to viewers around the world. That is incredibly valuable when we are launching a new show and when we are taking the type of creative risks that turn into Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead and Preacher. We are thrilled that television has become such a dominant form of filmed entertainment in our culture. I believe the stories on our air and other great ones across other networks and platforms just simply wouldn’t have been possible in terms of creative risks and storytelling excellence without this technological change. But with that, to make noise in a relatively cluttered landscape, having the brand that backs what you do really matters.

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Masters of Sex tells the story of William Masters, a brilliant scientist and doctor, and Virginia Johnson, a researcher, who in the 1950s bravely began studying the science of human sexuality. Their work and groundbreaking findings not only sparked the sexual revolution and catapulted them from anonymity to national and then worldwide attention, but also altered their lives and their complex professional-personal relationship. Lizzy Caplan, who plays Virginia Johnson opposite Michael Sheen’s Bill Masters, talks about the pioneering woman she porBy Anna Carugati trays and the satisfaction of delving into such a complex character.

TV DRAMA: What did you find interesting and compelling about Virginia Johnson and the show Masters of Sex? CAPLAN: Virginia Johnson is one of the most fascinating women and truly one of the most fascinating people of the 20th century. She is so complex. The research [she did with] Masters benefited women especially, so tremendously. Science is absolutely on women’s side. In the 1950s, when there was any sexual issue or sexual problem, because there hadn’t been scientific research conducted about the physiology of sex and what it does to your body, most people just believed what Freud was saying. And Freud was saying that it’s always the woman’s fault—any sort of sex problem had to do with the woman, with her frigidity or her inability to let go or with unresolved issues from her childhood and on and on and on.

Masters and Johnson blew the lid off that. It is absolutely not true and there are numerous physiological reasons for why things are not necessarily working properly for both sexes. She was such a pioneer in that way—what she and Masters were able to do for so many people, for so many women. You juxtapose that with her personal life and how she wasn’t a girl’s girl, her behavior at [various] points in her life was quite questionable, and it ends up being an unbelievably layered and incredible character to play. Beyond that, [what appealed to me was] the fact that Masters of Sex was a dramatic show and a period piece. I do believe we are in the golden age of television and the most exciting place to be, especially for actresses, is on television right now. Since I had done mostly comedic work, this opportunity to do a meaty dramatic role terrified me! But it has also continued to thrill me for the four seasons.

TV DRAMA: In every scene, Virginia seems to be juggling so many thoughts and emotions. What’s it like to be able to perform such a complex character?

CAPLAN: It has spoiled me. I think I will always seek out future roles, especially in television, that are as fascinating as this one.

The scenes I am most proud of are Virginia and Bill sitting in a room having a conversation, saying one thing and meaning something completely different, and the only way to convey those differing opinions is how we play the scene. That is one of the great strengths of our show—the audience is well aware that they are not telling the truth. And sometimes the character you are playing opposite is aware that [you are] not telling the truth, and for me, that is such a challenge creatively; it’s fantastic.

TV DRAMA: One of my favorite episodes was the one in which Bill and Virginia are in a hotel room for the entire episode.

CAPLAN: Yes, people really loved that episode. I love it as well.

It was such a joy to shoot that because it felt so much like a play.

Normally in a TV show you show up at the crack of dawn, you sit in hair and makeup, then you go and rehearse your first scene for usually no more than ten minutes, and then you shoot it, and you move on to the next scene. The pace is quite quick.

But shooting that episode, because it was just the two of us, we had the luxury of rehearsing each day. We shot it chronologically, so we would shoot maybe five or six scenes in a day, and we would sit there for 90 minutes in the morning and rehearse the whole thing and then perform it as if it were a play.

Not only did we get out of there usually by lunch every day, but it felt like a completely different type of experience.

TV DRAMA: Tell me about your working relationship with Michael. There’s such depth to the emotions and tension, how

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flawed, broken people. Individually they can’t function at the highest level, but together they make up one complete person.

Whether or not it’s a question of love, I think that they are absolutely soul mates for better and also for worse.

TV DRAMA: What are the creative challenges of playing a person who existed in real life as opposed to playing a fictional character, especially someone like Virginia Johnson who had such a remarkable life?

CAPLAN: There is a great responsibility to do the memory of both of these people justice. The first season of our show felt much more like we were playing two historical figures. While that never completely goes away, I do think now, four seasons in, we are very much playing amalgamations of the real and the fictional. We have created a lot of new characters that didn’t exist in their lives and story lines that didn’t necessarily happen to them. So the Virginia I am playing now, while she will always be rooted in who the real woman was, the character does feel like she’s taken on a bit of a life of her own. It was very scary at first to want to do a great job portraying a person who had lived. That will never fully go away, but I do have the luxury of getting to play a real person without being tasked with doing a direct impersonation because most people don’t know what Virginia looked like or how she sounded when she spoke or how she moved and walked and so on.

Caplan has been nominated for an Emmy for her work on Masters of Sex, which recently returned for a fourth season on Showtime.

have you and he found a comfort zone and how do you play off each other?

CAPLAN: We trust each other at this point. I love acting opposite Michael. We still have the ability to surprise each other with how we are going to play certain scenes and I have the utmost faith that what he is going to do will be impressive and nuanced and layered. Even though we are only shooting season four, we’ve been involved with this show since the pilot was shot, well before we ended up shooting the first season, so it’s been about five years. I have acted more with Michael than anybody else in my entire career. It’s comfortable in many ways, and one of us always knows how to keep the other one off balance, which I think helps us.

TV DRAMA: Does Virginia love Bill or does she feel he used her to complete the research that he wanted to do? Theirs is a pretty layered relationship, isn’t it?

CAPLAN: I think that they both feel a great deal of love for each other. They are not so good at feeling the same level of love at the same time. One of them tends to be pulling away when the other one is leaning in. But I think it’s even more than a question of whether or not they love each other; it’s more layered than that. At this point, they’ve known each other in the story for about 12 years. They have altered the trajectory of each other’s lives in ways that neither could have ever expected.

And now they are a unit, whether they like it or not, they are a brand. Masters and Johnson is one entity, not two separate people, in the public realm. That’s tricky when the two of them aren’t getting along, but they still have to be this unit in order to continue doing the work that fulfills them both, and living the portion of their lives that is and will always be the most fulfilling. The way that I see it is that these are two extremely

TV DRAMA: Does [showrunner] Michelle Ashford encourage suggestions and input from you?

CAPLAN: Yes, 100 percent. It’s a very collaborative experience and has been from the beginning. Both Michael and I are producers on the show, but even before I was officially made a producer it was one of the most collaborative working experiences I have ever had. There are always note sessions about scripts, the conversations are ongoing and we both have a lot of say and ownership over the characters that we play.

TV DRAMA: You had done a lot of comedy before Masters of Sex. Is it easier for a comedic actor to adapt to a dramatic role, or for a dramatic actor to adapt to a comedic role?

CAPLAN: I think it is easier for a comedic actor to move into drama. In both, you are trying to play honest moments, but not everybody can be funny. Which is not to say that every comedic actor can easily and effortlessly pull off dramatic roles, but I think the likelihood of a comedic actor being able to do something dramatic is higher than a straight dramatic actor figuring out how to be comedic.

TV DRAMA: What you can tease about season four?

CAPLAN: I’m very excited about season four. There is a new energy this season, partly because we have some new, really fascinating characters coming in playing very substantial roles.

The world they are living in is the Swinging Sixties. All of a sudden society is catching up to the way Virginia has been living her life—it’s not so shocking anymore. We have swingers and open marriages and all kinds of stuff that people are into now in a way that they weren’t in the ’50s.

TV DRAMA: In real life Virginia and Bill got married. Will we see that in the series as well?

CAPLAN: In the series, yes, we will see it. When we see it—I will keep my mouth shut about that! We will be showing it in the show. It is a monumental event for Bill and Virginia!

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WagnerMoura

NARCOS At the height of his infamous career, Pablo Escobar controlled the cocaine trade in the U.S. and, according to Forbes, was one of the ten richest men in the world. More than two decades since his death he continues to inspire books, movies and TV series, among them Netflix’s critically acclaimed Narcos. From Gaumont Television, the drama, now in its second season, stars Brazilian actor Wagner Moura as the Colombian drug lord, chronicling his epic rise and fall and telling the stories of the DEA agents tasked with bringing him down. Narcos marked the first international TV production for Moura, who has been well known to Brazilian audiences for years thanks to shows like Tropical Paradise and feature films such as Elite Squad. He tells

By Mansha Daswani TV Drama about his approach to embodying Escobar.

TV DRAMA: How did you first hear about the prospect of playing Pablo Escobar in Narcos?

MOURA: It came from my friend José Padilha, who is the director of the show. He asked me what I thought about playing Escobar. He hadn’t spoken with Netflix when he invited me to do it. I said, I’d love to. Right after I spoke with him I flew to Medellín, because I felt I had to be there. The show was supposed to be in English at the time, but even so, I thought I had to go to Colombia and learn Spanish. So that’s how it began. I actually didn’t know much about Pablo Escobar. I remember very clearly the image of him dead on a rooftop when he was killed. And I remember seeing the bombings in Bogotá on TV and the war between the Cali and Medellín [cartels]. So I went to Medellín and studied Spanish and lived in the city where Pablo grew up. It was a very intense experience. I spent two years living in Colombia. I gained 40 pounds [for the role]. It was an important period of my life.

TV DRAMA: How did you approach dealing with the nuances of his personality? He could demonstrate brutality in one moment and then be a devout and caring husband and father.

MOURA: He was a very complex person, and that’s great for any actor. Pablo wasn’t like the other drug dealers from the ’80s or even from today. Pablo wanted more. He wasn’t happy just being the seventh richest man in the world according to Forbes magazine. He wanted to be loved. He wanted to be accepted. He wanted to break this barrier that exists in South American countries between the elite, the few that have a lot of money, and the majority of the population. Pablo wanted to be the president of Colombia. That says a lot about him. He was a great character—and he really existed. And what I tried to do—and this was a big concern not only for me but for everyone on the show—was be as respectful as possible with the history of Colombia and as accurate as we could with what happened there in the ’80s.

TV DRAMA: How did you go about trying to understand who he was and what his motivations were?

MOURA: Everybody in Colombia knows someone who knows someone who knew Pablo or wrote a book about him. There are a lot of books about Escobar. Books by journalists—very accurate biographies—and by people who knew him, which are fun to read because they give a more intimate [perspective]. I honestly think I read everything written about Pablo Escobar and modern Colombian history.

But I did all of that in order to then forget it and create my own version of Pablo. I think at the end of the day that’s what actors do. It’s the way you connect your emotions and feelings with a character. I didn’t try to imitate him or walk like him or talk like him. You can watch a lot of footage of Pablo Escobar on YouTube, but I decided I had to create my own Pablo. And that’s what I did.

TV DRAMA: Tell me about your relationship with José Padilha.

MOURA: We are very good friends. I did his first film, Elite Squad, which is an important film for me as well. And then we did the sequel, Elite Squad 2, which made the biggest box-office [revenues] in Brazilian history. They are both very political films, about how the police act in Brazil. We both like politics and we both like films, and we get along very well together. I wasn’t the obvious choice to play Escobar. I was skinny, I didn’t speak Spanish; he could have easily chosen a Colombian actor to do it. But for him, I think it was important to have someone he could trust, who could understand how he worked, who could support him on set. It is a great relationship. I’m going to direct my first film now, in Brazil, and Padilha is my biggest influence.

It’s also a political film, about a Brazilian guerrilla who fought against the dictatorship in the ’60s and ’70s.

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Brazilian-born Moura had to put on weight and learn Spanish in order to portray Pablo Escobar in Gaumont Television’s Narcos for Netflix, which has renewed the show for seasons three and four.

TV DRAMA: Narcos is frequently held up as the model for what an international drama can be today—it’s made by the U.S. arm of a French studio for a global streaming platform with a diverse set of talent on- and off-screen. It’s in both English and Spanish. Did that make the atmosphere on set different from any of your previous work?

MOURA: This for me was the greatest thing of all. Brazil is very isolated in Latin America because we speak Portuguese, so we don’t have a relationship with the rest of the countries [in the region], which is crazy because we have the same issues, we are neighbors, we are culturally similar. Brazil consumes its own culture. So for me, working with actors from Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Mexico, it was like a dream. For the first time I felt that I was a part of something other than just being Brazilian. I was Latin American and we were talking about something that resonated a lot with all of us, which is the drug trade. Narco-trafficking is a big reality in our countries, the countries that produce and export drugs. That’s where the war on drugs is taking place: Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia.

There is this other thing you mentioned, which is Netflix and the way Netflix is making original content globally. A film like Beasts of No Nation, for example, which is about African kids in an African country going to war, it connects with me because I’m a human being. That’s what connects all of us.

Netflix is [leading] a great revolution. It’s cultural globalization. It’s great that American audiences are watching shows with subtitles like Narcos. It’s something Americans aren’t used to. Netflix is producing original content in other countries. They’re doing something in Brazil in Portuguese. They did something in Mexico in Spanish. It’s so important that someone in Germany can watch something spoken in Portuguese about Brazilian life. [TV shows like this] can become global in a way that cinema never allowed. Unless

you go to a film festival, it’s difficult to watch in a theater a film that is from another country and in another language.

TV DRAMA: Tell me about season two. Pablo is in a very different place now, essentially running for his life.

MOURA: We’re going to see Pablo in a way that we haven’t seen him before. It’s about a man losing his power, money, allies, sicarios, almost losing his family as well. So it’s a different Pablo actually. The difference between season one and two is season one is more epic in the sense that it covered 15 years of Pablo’s life. So it’s a season that tries to explain to people how the drug trade works and how the DEA got involved and how the cartels operate. The second season is more dramatic. It’s about the drama of the characters. It’s about what this guy, the biggest capo in the world, is going to do when he’s being hunted by everybody. Also, the DEA characters Peña and Murphy [played

by Pedro Pascal and Boyd Holbrook, respectively] go through very tough moral conflicts as well. In order to catch Escobar they start to become something like him.

Narcos is not a regular cop show with the American good guys who go to South American countries to kill the bad guys. It’s more complex than that.

TV DRAMA: Now you’re directing your first film. Do you have any other projects on the slate that you can tell us about?

MOURA: After Pablo, I have to spend a year [not acting]. I’m happy I’m going to direct a film. I feel that anything I’d do in the next year or so would be contaminated by Pablo Escobar or the way I played Pablo. First thing was I had to lose weight, so from the 40 pounds I gained to play him I’ve already lost 30 or so. I have to spend some time just doing other things.

[Narcos] was a very intense experience for me.

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