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TVDRAMA
WWW.TVDRAMA.WS
OCTOBER 2017
MIPCOM EDITION
Crime Drama / French Fare / Wolf Films’ Peter Jankowski / Paul Abbott Endemol Shine’s Cathy Payne / Harry & Jack Williams / Adam Price & Lars Mikkelsen
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14 TV DRAMA
CONTENTS FEATURES
Binge On, Binge Off
36 CRIME WAVE Distributors discuss how to make an impact in the crime-drama landscape.
I treat certain shows like unhealthy snacks that need to be locked away so that I don’t overindulge. Like Twin Peaks: The Return. I don’t want to binge-watch it.
Ricardo Seguin Guise Publisher Anna Carugati Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani Editor Kristin Brzoznowski Executive Editor Joanna Padovano Tong 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 Nathalia Lopez Sales & Marketing Assistant Andrea Moreno Business Affairs Manager
Ricardo Seguin Guise President Anna Carugati Executive VP Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development TV Drama © 2017 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.tvdrama.ws
I want to savor it, and digest it, and understand it (the last part is still eluding me). Ditto with Starz’s decadent American Gods. Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale too. Indeed, my sister binge-watched a few episodes of the Emmy-winning drama and had a visceral reaction. She said she felt claustrophobic. And she started thinking about how she’d cope in a totalitarian society like Gilead. “I’d be a Martha!” she said, referring to the older women with domestic skills who are made to be servants. I told her she should have known better than to sit through too many episodes in one sitting, given how dark the material is. I knew better—I had read the Margaret Atwood book on which it is based when I was 15, and almost three decades later I still remember how it made me feel. (It doesn’t help that current events—from a wave of natural disasters to NeoNazis marching in the streets to lawmakers dismantling healthcare—have me feeling like we might, in fact, be on the brink of Armageddon.) I’m all for on-demand, whenever-I-want-it access, but there is much to be said for waiting a week between episodes. I love that anticipation, counting down till 9 p.m. on Sunday night to see the latest battle on Game of Thrones or a walker attack on The Walking Dead. I like being able to think about what I just watched and wonder what a character is going to do next. And I love experiencing shocking TV moments live, in the moment, with millions of other people across the country. I do binge-watch though, a lot, and more often than not it’s with twisty crime thrillers where I’m anxious to solve the mystery of the whodunit. We explore the perennial popularity of crime drama in this edition, and speak with four creatives who demonstrate with their shows how diverse the genre is today: Wolf Films’ Peter Jankowski, who oversees a portfolio that includes NBC’s Law & Order: SVU; Paul Abbott, the acclaimed writer behind Channel 4’s No Offence; and Harry and Jack Williams, the duo who penned The Missing. Also featured in this issue of TV Drama is a look at the scripted renaissance taking place in France, as well as Q&As with Endemol Shine’s Cathy Payne and Ride Upon the Storm’s Adam Price and Lars Mikkelsen. —Mansha Daswani
36 46 FRENCH FLAIR Spotlighting France’s thriving drama scene.
INTERVIEWS 52 Wolf Films’ Peter Jankowski
58 No Offence’s Paul Abbott
60 Endemol Shine’s Cathy Payne
62 Two Brothers Pictures’ Harry & Jack Williams
64 Ride Upon the Storm’s Adam Price & Lars Mikkelsen
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Knightfall
16 TV DRAMA
A+E Networks Knightfall / Blue Book / Cocaine Godmother Among A+E Networks’ scripted highlights is Knightfall, an upcoming period drama from A+E Studios. “The series goes well beyond stories of romance and history with evolving storylines designed to establish a wide breadth of audience appeal,” says Ellen Lovejoy, the company’s VP, head of content sales for the Americas and formats. Blue Book, which comes from Oscar winner Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump), “chronicles the true top-secret United States Air Force-sponsored investigations into UFO-related phenomena in the 1950s and 1960s,” says Lovejoy. “This is the origin story of everything we know about UFOs and aliens in pop culture.” There is also Cocaine Godmother, a forthcoming TV movie that sees Academy Award winner Catherine Zeta-Jones portray Miami drug lord Griselda Blanco.
“We seek out relevant stories to tell with top talent on both sides of the camera.” —Ellen Lovejoy
all3media international
The Miniaturist
Rellik / Liar / The Miniaturist Two key launches for all3media international at this market are Rellik and Liar, both series from the writers of The Missing, Jack and Harry Williams. “Rellik is a thrilling, fast-paced ride giving us the story of a killing told in reverse—hence the title is “Killer” if you read it backward,” says Maartje Horchner, all3media international’s executive VP of content. Liar shows two different sides to the same story that inevitably collide. “Stories like Liar will always resonate with people, questioning which side is the truth and finding out how the truth affects all families involved,” says Horchner. During MIPCOM, all3media international will also be offering a sneak peek of the first episode of The Miniaturist, produced by The Forge for BBC One.
“With a strong slate of prime-time dramas covering all genres, buyers will have the pick of the very best of British drama right here at all3media international.” —Maartje Horchner
Banijay Rights
Patrimonio mundial - Herencia de la humanidad
The Restaurant / Juda / Occupied Taking place at the end of World War II, The Restaurant is “an impassioned family saga about love, conflict and betrayal,” according to Caroline Torrance, the head of scripted at Banijay Rights. “We are very pleased that The Restaurant has already been commissioned for a second season.” Juda, meanwhile, centers on a low-life gambler who is robbed and bitten by a seductive vampire. Also on offer is the second installment of Occupied, which “kicks off with an armed conflict between the Norwegian Coast Guard and a Russian security company guarding the oil installation of Melkøya in northern Norway,” says Torrance. “Occupied 2 is a very strong continuation of this engrossing thriller.” The company is additionally launching sophomore seasons of the hit Australian dramas Wolf Creek and Secret Daughter at MIPCOM.
Juda
“Banijay Group has built a second-to-none fiction lineup with high-end productions being created and co-produced in all parts of the globe.” —Caroline Torrance 378 WORLD SCREEN 10/17
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Caracol Internacional One Way Out / The Goddess / Surviving Escobar, Alias JJ The love story in One Way Out features Andrés and Juliana, who meet in a dangerous neighborhood in the Bronx and will try to escape from the hands of drug dealers and criminals. The Goddess, meanwhile, is based on a love story cursed by destiny. The series follows Patricia, an emerging singer who falls for the perfect man, without knowing he is engaged and about to get married. Surviving Escobar, Alias JJ tells the story of Alias JJ, Pablo Escobar’s right-hand man and lieutenant. As the only survivor of the Cartel, he becomes a person of interest for different investigations, making himself a key witness in Colombia’s history. “The emotional journeys of the main characters give these programs a unique touch of drama that attracts the audience,” says Lisette Osorio, the VP of international sales at Caracol Internacional.
CJ E&M
Surviving Escobar, Alias JJ
“Caracol is bringing great stories to the screen, taking real-life events and telling them from a global point of view.” —Lisette Osorio
Emergency Couple
Stranger / Live Up to Your Name / Emergency Couple An emotionless prosecutor takes center stage in Stranger, a legal thriller on offer from CJ E&M. The company is also showcasing the medical series Live Up to Your Name and Emergency Couple. “Live Up to Your Name and Emergency Couple both have doctors as their main characters, but how they are linked to each other is quite extraordinary,” says Jin Woo Hwang, the head of formats and global content development at CJ E&M. “The former is about two doctors traveling 30 years back and forth, and the latter is about a divorced doctor couple [reuniting] after years as interns at a hospital.” According to Hwang, CJ E&M has been noticing an increasing demand for titles from its scripted catalog in such territories as the U.S., Turkey, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia.
“CJ E&M boasts an impressive slate of scripted [series] from various genres to meet the rising demand from different regions.” —Jin Woo Hwang
DCD Rights
Romper Stomper Patrimonio mundial - Herencia de la humanidad
Romper Stomper / Striking Out / Acceptable Risk The Stan original Romper Stomper picks up on the prescient themes and story of Geoffrey Wright’s 1992 classic film. The six-part crime drama/political thriller, which is told from multiple points of view, follows a new generation of the activist Right, its Anti-Fascist counterparts and three young Muslims caught up in the conflict. DCD Rights also has a second season of the legal drama Striking Out, as well as the transatlantic coproduction Acceptable Risk. “With its highly relatable themes and engaging characters, Striking Out has already proven very popular globally, and these six new episodes enable us to position the drama as a strong ongoing prime-time brand with wide appeal,” says Nicky Davies Williams, the company’s CEO. “The contemporary thriller Acceptable Risk delivers six tension-fueled episodes that will keep audiences gripped.”
“We continue to focus on building a diverse, high-end slate of content by partnering with some of the industry’s best creative talent.” —Nicky Davies Williams 380 WORLD SCREEN 10/17
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Escapade Media Undocumented / The Art of Killing / Tomorrow When the War Began A law-abiding Australian discovers she’s living in New York illegally and must make a life for herself while trying to avoid being deported in the brand-new drama series Undocumented. “The series explores the theme of privilege, the need for family versus the drive of ambition, and how Skype literally does allow you to attend births, deaths and marriages that are thousands of miles away—via a computer anyway,” says Natalie Lawley, the managing director of Escapade Media. The company is also presenting The Art of Killing, which tells the story of a retired cop who sets out to avenge his son’s murder. Escapade holds Asian rights for Tomorrow When the War Began, which Lawley says addresses “some of the very real fears of the world we are facing today.”
“When Escapade formed, we wanted to work with partners and creative teams developing dramas with strong and diverse characters at their core.” —Natalie Lawley
Undocumented
FremantleMedia Hard Sun / Picnic at Hanging Rock / The Sunshine Kings From Neil Cross (Luther) comes Hard Sun, a new scripted series starring Jim Sturgess (One Day) and Agyness Deyn (Sunset Song) as detectives in a world that is inching toward certain destruction. “Hard Sun is a fantastic drama set against the backdrop of contemporary London,” says Sarah Doole, the director of global drama at FremantleMedia. “The story is bold and ambitious, with some very interesting and occasionally complex characters.” Picnic at Hanging Rock sees Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones) portray headmistress Hester Appleyard in a reimagining of Joan Lindsay’s classic novel, while The Sunshine Kings follows the life of an aspiring South Sudanese-Australian basketball player who, while pursuing his athletic dreams, gets caught up in a police investigation involving a teenage girl from an affluent Melbourne suburb.
Global Agency
“We’ve worked on a number of incredible channeldefining dramas and brought some amazing on- and off-camera talent into the family. The Sunshine Kings
—Sarah Doole
Black Pearl
Queens / Heartbeat / Black Pearl The struggles between Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary play out in Queens. The series was produced in English with a “very high budget,” says Senay Filiztekin, the head of drama acquisitions at Global Agency. The company is also presenting Heartbeat, a medical drama set in a fictional private hospital in Istanbul. The protagonist is a strong female character. “We can say it’s 50 percent drama, 50 percent medical concept,” says Filiztekin. “It became a phenomenal drama with its ratings success in summer 2017.” The show looks at how the doctors balance their personal lives with the hectic work in the hospital. The company also has high hopes for Black Pearl in the international market. “We have been waiting for the next big melodrama project and here it comes with Black Pearl,” Filiztekin says.
“With Black Pearl, we see a very strong but also impossible love story with conflicts.” —Senay Filiztekin
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Global Screen The Weissensee Saga / Dementia / Zenith Billed as a Cold War Romeo and Juliet tale, The Weissensee Saga is set behind the Berlin Wall in the former East Germany during the dawn of the falling Iron Curtain. Global Screen is also presenting Dementia, a thriller series from Mexico about a journalist who is determined to unearth the truth about her grandmother’s inexplicable death in a Mexican psychiatric clinic. “We see this series [positioned for] platforms and dedicated channels in late prime time,” says Alexandra Heidrich, the company’s head of TV sales and acquisitions. There is already a second season in the works for Zenith, in which parents replace themselves with lookalike robots. “Real-life series for kids and adults alike are a rare thing to be found in the international market,” says Heidrich. “Zenith is one of these precious gems.”
The Weissensee Saga
“With regard to our current acquisition strategy, we are focusing on [distinctive] international fiction series, both with horizontal and episodic storylines.”
—Alexandra Heidrich
GMA Worldwide I Heart Davao / My Korean Jagiya / Bow of Justice 2 Part contemporary drama and part romantic comedy, I Heart Davao was launched in June in the Philippines and had an average share of 45.8 percent in its 9:15 p.m. to 10 p.m. time slot. GMA Worldwide is making that series available to international buyers at MIPCOM, alongside My Korean Jagiya and Bow of Justice 2. Both series made their broadcast debuts in August and achieved strong ratings. This success follows on from the GMA-produced drama A Woman Scorned. “The story revolves around the themes of love, adultery and faithfulness,” says Manuel Paolo Laurena, the senior sales manager at GMA Worldwide. “Filipino dramas normally air from Monday to Friday. However, due to popular demand, GMA had to extend the drama’s weekday run to include Saturday.”
I Heart Davao
“We have an ongoing goal to make GMA the primary source of quality Filipino dramas.” —Manuel Paolo Laurena
GRB Entertainment
Born Again Virgin
Day 5 / Crunch Time / Born Again Virgin The thriller Day 5 is set in the immediate aftermath of a fatal sleep epidemic, during which most of the world has died in their beds. The 14x1-hour series “capitalizes on the current post-apocalyptic trend,” says Michael Lolato, the senior VP of international distribution at GRB Entertainment. “The twist here: you’ll stay alive as long as you stay awake! This sets the scene for an incredibly unique, high-anxiety, action drama.” The company also has on offer the sci-fi dramedy Crunch Time and romance-infused Born Again Virgin. “We are really excited to announce season five of the hit dramedy Mohawk Girls,” adds Lolato. “This award-winning series continues to increase in popularity as the audience follows four young women who are just trying to find love amid the constant interference of family, friends and cultural traditions.”
“We are continuing to grow our scripted catalog, adding three new series to our lineup that we’re excited to share with our broadcast partners.” —Michael Lolato 384 WORLD SCREEN 10/17
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Inter Medya
In Between
Mrs. Fazilet and Her Daughters / Hayat / In Between The new Turkish drama Mrs. Fazilet and Her Daughters tells the story of an ambitious woman whose biggest dream is to become rich and famous. “Determined to settle her anger and misery, she uses her daughters’ beauty to achieve her goal,” says Can Okan, the founder and CEO of Inter Medya, which is promoting the Avşar Film production starring Nazan Kesal, Deniz Baysal, Afra Saraçoğlu, Mahir Günşiray and Gülsen Tuncer to international buyers at the market in Cannes. “Already very successful in Turkey, the series has started to attract a lot of attention from various territories around the world.” Another highlight from the company’s slate is Hayat, a comedic drama. “Although a new genre in Turkish television, we believe that Hayat will open the door to more in the future,” says Okan. The dramedy, which is produced by Bi Yapim, features a cast that is led by Hande Erçel, Burak Deniz, Özcan Tekdemir, Demet Gül and Merve Çağiran. Then there is In Between, based on the novel Fatih-Harbiye penned by Peyami Safa. The series features Neriman, who lost her mother as a little girl. She is a traditional young woman who lives with her father Faiz and her aunt Gülter in the suburbs. Although she grew up in a modest environment, her dreams are very big. The Koliba Film production stars Neslihan Atagül Doğulu, Kadir Doğulu, Dilara Öztunç and Yunus Emre Yildirimer.
“For this year’s MIPCOM, we have been working on the launch of several new titles.” —Can Okan
Kanal D International
XXXXXX
Mehmed the Conqueror / Price of Passion / One Liter of Tears In the year 1451, Young Sultan Mehmed headed to Edirne with a dream to conquer Constantinopolis. Despite facing great obstacles, he accomplished his dream and changed history. This is the story at the heart of Mehmed the Conqueror. Kanal D International is presenting the drama at MIPCOM alongside Price of Passion, which follows the tribulations that arise in a marriage between Ferhat, a hitman, and Asli, an idealistic doctor. Ferhat’s lifestyle might just be too dark to have an innocent love story. One Liter of Tears is about Ece, an ambitious 18-year-old girl whose future looks bright. She has a scholarship to college and is planning to get married, but fate intercepts when she is diagnosed with an incurable illness. One Liter of Tears tells the courageous story of this young girl as she resists the illness and defends life, knowing that she will inevitably lose anyway. The company is also highlighting Tales of Innocence and a second season of Wounded Love. “They have great stories that everyone in the world can relate to somehow,” says Ezgi Ural, the director of sales and business development for MENA, Europe and Asia at Kanal D International. The company has big plans for MIPCOM, where it will be announcing the names of some of the famous Turkish actors that will star in upcoming productions.
Price of Passion
“During MIPCOM, we will be announcing the biggest title of 2018.”
—Ezgi Ural
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Keshet International Commandments / Generation B / The Brave Inspired by real events, Commandments explores the complex relationship between religion and war. “It is a powerful drama that follows a group of young adults who choose to defy the strict conventions of their closed, orthodox societies and join the army,” says Keren Shahar, the COO and president of distribution at Keshet International. Generation B tells the story of six young people who are trying to make ends meet in the city of Brussels. “It’s a fresh take on what it’s like to be young in a world with an increasingly aging population, where life no longer looks promising,” says Shahar. There is also The Brave, a coproduction between Universal Television and Keshet Studios spotlighting unsung war heroes and featuring “a rollercoaster journey of exciting global missions and covert ops.”
Commandments
“Our commitment to finding even more fresh voices is stronger than ever, and we look forward to showcasing more outstanding dramas.” —Keren Shahar
Newen Distribution
Tomorrow is Ours
Tomorrow is Ours / Remember / Ouro The TF1 thriller saga Tomorrow is Ours follows the interwoven destinies of a group of characters who have to fight to assert their truth and, most importantly, to defend the ones they love. The M6 investigative police series Remember features a police officer and a psychiatrist who are looking after a little girl suffering from amnesia after her parents and new sibling were murdered while she was spared. The Canal+ original Ouro has already been sold into a number of territories and a second season is currently in preproduction. “Ouro is a very unique proposal; it’s an adventure, thriller and modern Western set in the Amazonian jungle,” says Malika Abdellaoui, the managing director of Newen Distribution. The company also has in its catalog the successful French drama Candice Renoir, centered on a female police lieutenant.
“Broadcasters and platforms are always seeking new high-quality content that enables them to drive good ratings, win new subscribers and create a buzz.” —Malika Abdellaoui
NHK Enterprises
Bloom
Moribito Final / Bloom / Kurara: The Dazzling Life of Hokusai ’s Daughter MIPCOM has selected Kurara: The Dazzling Life of Hokusai’s Daughter as its first-ever 4K Asian World Premiere TV Screening. The story focuses on O-Ei, the daughter of Edo master painter Katsushika Hokusai. Meanwhile, the long-awaited third season of the Moribito series, Moribito Final, plays out across four kingdoms. “The exciting storyline, stunning VFX and gorgeous cast all make this high-end fantasy a must-see drama,” says Fumina Koike, the deputy general manager for program sales at NHK Enterprises. The series Bloom takes place in 1964, when Tokyo is experiencing rapid economic growth with the Olympics taking place. Koike describes it as a “coming-of-age story about a young girl finding a place of her own in the big city.”
“With the commencement of regular 4K/8K broadcasts in 2018, NHK is dramatically increasing its 4K program production.” —Fumina Koike
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Woman: My Life for My Children 28 TV DRAMA
Nippon TV My Son /Woman: My Life for My Children /Overprotected Kahoko In the drama My Son, a child who was kidnapped nine years ago suddenly reappears. Nippon TV is offering the title as a scripted format. “This is a series that has great worldwide potential, and we have already been approached by many different companies that want to do a remake,” says Shigeko “Cindy” Chino, the company’s senior director of international business development. Also a scripted format, Woman: My Life for My Children comes from the same writer and producer as Mother. “The remake of Mother was a big hit in Turkey, and now Turkey’s MF Yapim has signed a contract to do a remake of this series as well,” says Chino. Meanwhile, the drama Overprotected Kahoko deals with a young woman who was raised in a sheltered environment and finds emotional strength after meeting a man who had the opposite upbringing.
Rai Com
“Viewers can relate to these characters as the emotional ties intertwined within the family can be not only loving and caring but sometimes very daring.” —Shigeko “Cindy” Chino
The Ladies’ Paradise
Close Murders / The Ladies’ Paradise / Inspector Coliandro The second season of Close Murders (Non Uccidere) “continues to provide police procedurals with a twist, featuring a strong female protagonist,” according to David Bogi, Rai Com’s head of international distribution and business development. The Ladies’ Paradise (Il Paradiso delle Signore), a period drama set in the years of the post-war economic boom, also continues with a second season. Rai Com is bringing a second season of Inspector Coliandro (L’ispettore Coliandro) to Cannes. Bogi highlights the series’ “stylish but always slightly offbeat visual language and general sardonic mood.” He adds, “MIPCOM continues to be one of the most important markets worldwide for our content. It is a big opportunity to extend the international visibility and accessibility of great Italian content that has universal appeal.”
“Over the past decade, Italy has greatly contributed to a revival of the TV crimeseries genre that bears the creative stamp of specific directors.”
—David Bogi
Red Arrow International
Einstein
Stella Blómkvist / 23 Cases / Einstein Heida Reed (Poldark) stars as a quick-witted lawyer in the neo-noir crime drama Stella Blómkvist. The Red Arrow International slate also features the psychological crime thriller 23 Cases, which sees a tough female detective take on a ruthless serial killer. The story kicks off as the city of Berlin is in a state of panic after a serial killer has just claimed their 23rd victim. Meanwhile, the crime series Einstein is back for a second season with Tom Beck (Alarm for Cobra 11). “Red Arrow has built a reputation for offering an exciting range of international drama,” says Henrik Pabst, the company’s managing director. He also notes that Red Arrow International is continuing “to be open about where to find the new generation of co-producers—perhaps in sectors and industries that don’t currently operate in the scripted space.”
“We are continuing to seek partners who are as passionate about scripted television as we are.” —Henrik Pabst
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30 TV DRAMA
Russia Television and Radio/Sovtelexport Demon of the Revolution / The Revolution / Anna Karenina This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, and Sovtelexport, which distributes programming from Russia Television and Radio, believes this should drum up interest for Demon of the Revolution and The Revolution. “Demon of the Revolution is a unique drama series that changes our views of who really was behind the biggest political cataclysm in Russian history,” says Julia Matiash, the director of Sovtelexport. The Revolution, meanwhile, is a documentary that attempts to show an alternative view of the events of October 1917, known as the October Revolution, in Russia. “It dives into the century-old memories to determine what we can learn from those dramatic days,” says Matiash. Sovtelexport is also presenting Anna Karenina, a modern adaptation of the literary classic.
“Our mission has always been to expand the international distribution of the best Russian programming, and we intend to continue on this path.” —Julia Matiash
Anna Karenina
SPI International FilmBox Premium HD SPI International operates a bouquet of movie channels in Europe under the brand FilmBox. “These channels air a variety of films and TV series, including major international productions from the world’s top suppliers,” says Berk Uziyel, SPI/FILMBOX’s executive director. “Recently, we entered a partnership with Saradan Media to co-produce a new TV series starring Steven Seagal.” Two movie channels from the FilmBox brand have changed their names in Poland. The flagship FilmBox channel became Kino TV, while FilmBox Premium switched to FilmBox Premium HD. “The channels’ profiles remain unchanged,” says Uziyel. “The objective of this rebranding is to emphasize the programming offer and the diversity of the FilmBox channel portfolio as well as to make it easier for the viewers to navigate through the FilmBox offer.”
La La Land
“The Oscar-winning musical hit La La Land is the most anticipated movie premiere this fall on SPI’s FilmBox Premium HD channel in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.”
—Berk Uziyel
Star India
The Wait for Love
Strange Love / The Wait for Love / Chandra Nandini Following the success of the first two seasons, anticipation is high for season three of Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon (Strange Love), a saga about passion, pain, betrayal and redemption in love. The third season stars the popular actor from season one, Barun Sobti, who plays Advay Singh Raizada (his character in season one was Arnav Singh Raizada). “Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon (Strange Love) season three and Rishton Ka Chakravyuh (Family Secrets) are the most anticipated series of the year, and the initial interest in these shows from fans and broadcasters across the globe has been phenomenal,” says Gurjeev Kapoor, the president of international business at Star India. Love Ka Hai Intezaar (The Wait for Love), which stars Sanjeeda Sheikh, is on the roster as well, alongside Chandra Nandini, a historical costume drama.
“Star India believes in harnessing the power of imagination, and this reflects in our storytelling too.” —Gurjeev Kapoor
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The Russian Revolution 32 TV DRAMA
Star Media The Russian Revolution / Lenin Star Media is presenting two docudramas that shed light on the events leading up to the Russian Revolution, which marks its 100th anniversary this year. The Russian Revolution spans 8 episodes, while Lenin tells the life story of the ideologist and leader of the October Revolution over 12 episodes. “These projects are unique at their core,” says Vlad Ryashin, the general producer of Star Media. “They were created thanks to the exclusive rights of Star Media to use secret archives and through cooperation with established historians from Russia and other countries. Viewers will be able to delve deeper into the essence of the events of 1917 through the presentation of new facts, as well as see a detailed portrait of Vladimir Lenin that until now was unknown to the world.”
“The combination of documentary and fictional forms, created on a verified and historically authentic basis, advantageously distinguishes our projects.” —Vlad Ryashin
Telefe Straight to the Heart / The Cockfighter Telefe’s newest telenovela is Straight to the Heart, which tells the story of Rafael Farías, a boxer who becomes a nurse after losing his wife in a car accident. Fate brings him to Marcela, a doctor who lost her sight after a violent attack, but later regained her vision thanks to a cornea donation from Rafael’s deceased wife. The novela follows these two people who have suffered as they try to heal their wounds together. Guillermo Borensztein, the VP of content sales and productions at Telefe, also points to The Cockfighter as a key MIPCOM launch. The series, which has ten hour-long episodes, airs in Latin America on Telefe, TNT and Cablevisión. The story features tales of cockfighting and truck-jacking gangs that harass Buenos Aires.
ZDF Enterprises
Straight to the Heart
“We expect that our content will continue to travel in Europe on premium cable channels and digital platforms.” —Guillermo Borensztein
Summertime Madness
Tabula Rasa / Bron/Broen / Summertime Madness The psychological thriller Tabula Rasa follows a woman with amnesia who is locked up in a psychiatric hospital, where she is accused of having been the last person to see a missing man. ZDF Enterprises (ZDFE) is highlighting the series for international buyers in Cannes alongside the final season of Bron/Broen, the acclaimed crime drama made by Filmlance in Sweden and Nimbus Film in Denmark, and Summertime Madness, about a man experiencing a mid-life crisis and a young woman coming of age. “We are extremely proud of our new series and have already received a lot of positive feedback for them,” says Robert Franke, the VP of ZDFE.drama. “Our new titles [offer] an extraordinary experience for viewers, and those aired on ZDF created a huge fan base in Germany after their premieres.”
“We have a much more diversified slate of both high-concept and high-quality drama series that we are extremely proud to represent.” —Robert Franke
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Mansha Daswani hears from leading distributors about how to make an impact in the ultra-crowded crime-drama landscape. hen it comes to drama, crime does indeed pay. Viewers can’t seem to get enough of the genre, whether watching highly bingeworthy, serialized thrillers where they have to wait until the end of the series for the whodunit question to be answered, or enclosed, story-of-the-week procedurals, in which resolution is granted in under 60 minutes. “The crime genre reflects the rest of TV,” says Stuart Baxter, the president of Entertainment One (eOne) Television International. “It’s growing and attracting more talent, and its creative breadth is becoming ever broader. Accessible procedurals and crimes of the week still work; haunting, edgy, dark and intense serialized also work; and now we see the emergence of hybrids like Stranger Things and our own The Making of the Mob and True Horror.”
W GENRE FUSION
Hybrids do seem to be the hot trend in crime drama as producers and writers look for innovative ways to put a new spin on a well-worn genre. “There is definitely a trend appearing of blurring genres, where you take a crime drama and mash it with supernatural or give it a flavor of family or comedy,” reports Rebecca Dundon, the director of scripted acquisitions at FremantleMedia International (FMI). “Something that makes it different and distinct. That is where the shows will break out. Anything we’ve seen before isn’t going to stand apart.” At MIPCOM, FMI will be showcasing Hard Sun, the latest from Luther creator Neil Cross and the first big commission for FremantleMedia’s revived Euston Films label. “Hard Sun is a prime example of genre-plus,” Dundon says of the BBC One and Hulu co-production. “It’s a crime thriller at heart, but it’s set against a backdrop of a pre-apocalyptic state of Armageddon. That makes it new, exciting and distinctive in the market. It’s got everything you want from a
crime thriller, but it’s got so much more [as the characters] face the end of the world.” As another example, Dundon cites Paul Abbott’s No Offence, which delivers a darkly comedic spin on the police procedural. The show has been renewed for a third season on Channel 4 and has sold into Australia, Denmark, France and Sub-Saharan Africa, among other markets. Red Arrow International has also fared well with comedyinflected crime dramas. Amelie von Kienlin, senior VP of scripted acquisitions and co-productions at the company, refers to the international success of The Last Cop and Einstein, which deliver a “lighter tonality” that audiences have been responding to. Meanwhile, Robert Franke, the VP for drama at ZDF Enterprises (ZDFE), is hearing more requests for “series that incorporate some fantasy, supernatural or science-fiction elements, without being pure sci-fi.” Distributors are also seeing high demand for crime dramas that are based on existing, well-known IP. Red Arrow, for example, has been rolling out Bosch, adapted from Michael Connelly’s best-selling book franchise. A fourth season is in the works for Amazon. “Even in this very crowded space, if you have something that is based on a famous book property then it still very much works with the audience, especially in the traditional markets like Germany and Italy,” von Kienlin says.
BOOK-ISH Sonar Entertainment is banking on the global fame of Stephen King to help drive sales on Mr. Mercedes, which is based on the first novel in the author’s Bill Hodges trilogy. Commissioned by AT&T Audience Network in the U.S., the series was penned by David E. Kelley and directed by Jack Bender, with a cast that includes Brendan Gleeson, MaryLouise Parker and Harry Treadaway. “This is a bit of a departure from what people normally think of as Stephen King material,” says Jenna Santoianni, the executive VP of television series at Sonar Entertainment.
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Scandi crime series are strong sellers for ZDF Enterprises, which boasts a slate that includes the Swedish thriller Before We Die.
“A lot of people think that Stephen King material is horror or going to be scary. This is a really interesting character study of a man who was a very proud cop and had one case that he couldn’t solve that stuck with him. And just as he’s settling into retirement, his biggest nemesis [played by Harry Treadaway] starts to reach out to him. It’s an equally matched game of cat and mouse. You see both sides and you’re equally invested in both of their stories.” BBC Worldwide is also showcasing a book-based project at MIPCOM: the highly anticipated McMafia. The BBC One commission, which has AMC on board as a co-production partner, is inspired by Misha Glenny’s nonfiction work McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld. For Liam Keelan, the director of scripted content at BBC Worldwide, the auspices of the show are expected to be major selling points. “It’s one of, if not the biggest piece of drama that we’re dealing with at the moment, in terms of its size and interest in the market,” Keelan says. “It’s got such global reference points and feels very topical, and the talent, both on-screen and off, is phenomenal. It’s a very well respected source book that has been adapted by Hossein Amini and James Watkins. The story itself crosses so many boundaries—London, Tel Aviv, Moscow. It’s a fictionalized version of something that is actually happening. It will have those elements of creating a bit of debate, getting talked about by the audiences and the print media, and you’ve also got James Norton fronting the show. It will definitely gain attention. Broadcasters and platforms are going to want to put it front and center.”
UNFAMILIAR GROUND Beyond the talent on McMafia, Keelan says the show is compelling because it is a “different take on a subject area within crime. That’s something we’re always looking for. It has to feel genuinely different. You want something where you know the audience is going to be watching it and thinking, I can relate to that. It’s those touchpoints that you’re looking for. You’re not ever looking for things that feel a bit like something
else. Audiences tend to sniff that out a mile away. Genuine innovation in the genre is difficult because, as you know, crime is such a popular, well-trodden genre. I think it’s really hard to come up with those new, innovative shows. But the demand is definitely still here.”
RISKY BUSINESS For Greg Phillips, the president of distribution at Kew Media Group, the uniqueness of a crime drama comes down to “the writing, the scenario, the plot, the characters, the casting and the twists. It’s a good story well told. It’s the way the story is told, the boldness, the ability or the willingness to take a few risks. The audience probably needs to be shaken now and again. I don’t mean in terms of violence or a visceral response or melodrama for its own sake, I just mean a fresher angle, leaving the audience with an episode where they say, I didn’t think about that, I wasn’t expecting that, I didn’t realize it was about this.” Kew’s distribution division—formerly Content Media— has fared well with BBC One’s critically acclaimed Line of Duty from Jed Mercurio and World Productions. The show has completed four seasons and been renewed for a fifth and sixth, and ticks all of those boxes for Phillips. “It hits a note for people because, like much of life, it’s a voyage of discovery and it’s unpredictable. The twists and turns are what make life fascinating, especially in a world that not many of us suffer with but we all know about, which is trying to keep the peace and making sure the good guys really are the good guys.” “You have to look for zeitgeist,” says Sonar’s Santoianni on how to stand out in the crowded marketplace. “That could be a big book, from a well-known literary visionary and world builder like Stephen King, like it is in the case of Mr. Mercedes. It could be the magnitude of the crime. There are a lot of true-crime stories in the marketplace and there’s a lot of fascination with why things happened, or how things were handled. In crime, you want the audience to be asking why. They are looking for answers.”
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Sonar’s Mr. Mercedes is based on the Stephen King novel of the same name.
Baxter at eOne has found that an unusual backdrop can serve as a unique selling point for a show. “One of our newer crime series, Mary Kills People’s subject matter is assisted suicide, which is provocative and hasn’t ever been discussed before in a television show to this extent.” Franke says that ZDFE.drama’s new launches Tabula Rasa, Before We Die, Maltese and Tempel “really strike a chord with today’s audiences. These moving, high-end dramas offer plenty of suspense, plots woven from intertwined storylines and, in some cases, supernatural elements. New forms of storytelling, unfamiliar settings and fresh faces are what make these crime dramas shine.”
see all the time, but it has so many different elements. And for series two they’ve taken that even further. Kim Cattrall, Greg Wise and Billy Campbell are attached to star. That means that part of the narrative is going to be in English. It’s no longer just a Scandi noir drama; it’s something else. Having that high-profile international talent on screen is very exciting, especially for a Swedish drama series. It shows how the drama landscape is changing.” Like so much of the drama landscape today, Scandi crime tends to be highly serialized. “A lot of writers want to write serialized crime dramas, and you can understand why,” says BBC Worldwide’s Keelan. “We hear commissioners talking a lot about, Where is the next story of the week?” Keelan continues. “We’re hearing them say, We want serialized crime drama, but we want the episodic as well. At the moment we’re not seeing much evidence of those being commissioned, but I think it will happen. It just has to feel genuinely different and innovative.” FMI’s Dundon expresses a similar opinion, noting, “There’s a huge appetite for procedurals, and the problem we have is that broadcasters aren’t really commissioning them at the moment. I think ITV said last year they are looking for a crime procedural. They feel that producers aren’t
NORDIC NOIR Scandi crime shows, among them the megahit The Killing, have been strong sellers for ZDFE.drama. Indeed, the distributor was a pioneer in the international sales of Nordic noir shows and is now just one of many rights-holders taking on Scandinavia’s finest thrillers. For example, Red Arrow did well with Case and will be launching Stella Blómkvist, another series from the Icelandic producer Sagafilm, at MIPCOM. “It’s a very sexy Scandi noir take on crime with a strong female lawyer who investigates crime in Iceland,” von Kienlin says. FMI represents a slate of shows from FremantleMediaowned Miso Film, including Modus, which will have a second season available at MIPCOM. “Modus is a really atmospheric crime thriller that is based on best-selling novels by Anne Holt,” says Dundon. “It’s got the brooding Scandi noir that we
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Line of Duty, a BBC One police drama, is part of the portfolio at Kew Media Group.
pitching those shows to them because they want to make bigger, serialized drama series. We’re seeing that across Europe particularly, but also in Latin America and Asia. Broadcasters are looking for that crime-of-the-week procedural drama that they can really get audiences to tune in to.” “The market seeks both serialized and procedural series,” reports eOne’s Baxter. “For example, Private Eyes demonstrates an ongoing demand for procedurals, as it travels very well internationally, is easily accessible and tends to be lean-back television in that you can tune in anytime. Whereas shows like Cardinal and ICE, which are much edgier, serialized fare, work really well on pay-TV and OTT platforms and are often binge-watched.” Sonar’s Santoianni backs up this view on the divide between the crime-drama needs of free and pay/OTT broadcasters, especially in the U.S. “It would be great if more American platforms felt like closed-ended procedurals worked for them, because there would obviously be more synergy between the global and U.S. markets if that were the case.”
TURN UP THE VOLUME Santoianni also sees a strong demand for returnable shows, even as broadcasters continue to seek out limited series with high-profile casts that can be plugged as major events. “If your series does really well, you want to know that you can bring it back and keep delivering on it. I think you’re seeing [too many anthology series] where the easy answer is, you can replicate the magic of season one with a new cast and a new setting. That’s become the easy answer on how to keep things going. That’s not to say that doesn’t fit some shows. Obviously, Fargo has done incredibly well with that format. American Horror Story has done incredibly well with that format. But it doesn’t fit every show. For us, if it’s going to be an event and it’s going to be limited, it has to be an event and it has to be limited.”
“With events, you can draw the audience in and with returnable, you keep them,” quips Red Arrow’s von Kienlin. Baxter at eOne observes that returnable series “typically only require big marketing spend for the first season, to attract that built-in, loyal fan base who will follow the show into new seasons.” Limited series, meanwhile, “require bigger budgets in order to promote them as a standalone series or event,” he says. “The linear broadcasters tend to promote shows rather than the service or platform, and as a result they want returnable series because they invest a lot in media spend to build audiences for individual shows, creating appointment-to-view experiences. The OTT platforms prefer binge-viewing and are typically more biased to the closed-ended limited series that will attract new viewers to subscribe to their service.”
REPEAT OFFENDER “Channels still want limited events that they can schedule as highlights, but we have just as many clients looking for returnable series that they can bring back for a loyal audience in certain slots,” says Franke at ZDFE.drama. “As we see it, the attitude of platforms to returnable and limited series is highly flexible.” Broadcasters and platforms are also flexible when it comes to the settings for crime dramas. “We are seeing a growing number of very small, local series with global appeal despite their strong sense of place,” Franke continues. “These provide interesting additions to expand our range.” Ultimately, crime has no borders. “Whether a show is set in a far-flung place abroad or, like Mr. Mercedes, in Ohio, crime is one of those few genres where it doesn’t matter where [the series is] located,” Santoianni says. “It really comes down to the actual crime and the uncovering of what happened and looking for answers.”
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Mansha Daswani spotlights the latest developments in France’s thriving drama scene. his summer, French telco Orange made headlines when it revealed it was planning a five-year, €100 million ($120 million) investment in “ambitious” series via its new Orange Content division. Another European telco giant, Altice, which owns SFR in France, has previously said it is committing €160 million ($191 million) to produce films and television shows. These latest moves in the French pay-TV space, alongside Netflix’s local content push, are shaking up the country’s traditional drama production landscape— one that has long been dominated by France Télévisions, TF1, M6 and Canal+.
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FICTION FRENZY “There is a huge increase in the actual level of French production,” reports Vanessa Shapiro, president of worldwide TV distribution and co-productions at Gaumont, the storied film outfit that has stepped up its television activities in recent years. Gaumont’s Glacé (The Frozen Dead) aired successfully as a limited series on M6 earlier this year, and the procedural L’Art du Crime (The Art of Crime) is slated for France 2. In the works for Canal+ is Nox, a six-parter that will air in 2018. “You see fewer U.S. series and more French series on air on the major broadcasters,” Shapiro continues. “I don’t see that changing for the next two or three years at least. The appetite for the French series is very strong. The French audience wants to watch local content.” And fiction is the preferred content genre for the French. According to the CNC, of the 3 hours and 43 minutes of television French viewers averaged each day
in 2016, 24.4 percent of that time was spent with scripted productions. CNC also reports that last year, for the first time since 2009, the French national channels devoted more time to domestic scripted series than American ones. French shows represented 82 of the 100 top-rated scripted programs last year, versus 59 in 2015 and 61 in 2014. For acclaimed French writer and producer Thomas Bourguignon, whose production outfit Kwaï is now part of the FremantleMedia family, “It is a challenging and exciting time for producers.” Bourguignon is indeed very busy at the moment. On the heels of wrapping Kim Kong for ARTE, he is working on the second season of the well-received political thriller Baron Noir for Canal+ and several development projects, among them a fantasy series, La Dernière Vague (The Last Wave), and a crime pilot for TF1, Babel. “The programs offered by the platforms and the new players in pay TV open up the game and strengthen the competition for original and audacious programs,” Bourguignon observes. “The audience wants original, powerful and bold series. And the [more established] broadcasters are looking for programs that stick in people’s minds.” Françoise Guyonnet, the executive managing director for TV series at STUDIOCANAL, which sells the aforementioned Baron Noir, backs up Bourguignon’s view, noting, “To stand out among the competition, broadcasters and platforms are commissioning high-end, diverse scripted series. French drama today is so exciting because of the depth and breadth of the genres available—from contemporary to costume drama, from action to political thrillers.” New on the company’s slate is Paris etc., following the lives of five women in the French capital.
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Les Témoins (Witnesses) is a crime drama that has sold well for Newen, clinching deals in more than 100 markets.
“Broadcasters and platforms are always seeking new highquality content that enables them to drive good ratings, win new subscribers and create a buzz,” notes Malika Abdellaoui, the managing director of Newen Distribution, whose new lineup includes CAPA Drama’s Netflix commission Osmosis and Telsète’s daily thriller Demain Nous Appartient (Tomorrow is Ours) for TF1. Platforms, she says, “are looking for new concepts, distinctive characters and strong hooks (famous names, high concept, well-known brand) to promote the show and attract viewers.”
CATCHING A BREAK
co-produced with Elephant & Cie, Qu’est-ce qu’on attend pour etre heureux (Don’t Worry Be Happy), which is an adaptation of the longrunning Jarowskij comedy series Solsidan,” Candilis adds. “We are also very excited that France will be the first country to go into production with a local version of the Norwegian hit Skam (Shame).” Versailles, which sold into 130-plus markets, is a FrenchCanadian collaboration and one of a number of international co-pros involving French broadcasters. “Unfortunately, co-productions are still very minor,” says Kwaï’s Bourguignon. “Canal+ and ARTE are more involved than the other broadcasters. However, France Télévisions and TF1 are aware of the [impact] that a show produced with big foreign partners can [make].” Bourguignon believes that the “new frontier” for French drama is international collaboration, “to produce more ambitious programs for an audience that is more demanding and curious. I think the market is [ready] for this new step.” He is already working with another FremantleMedia company, Wildside, in Italy, on the thriller Il Miracolo (The Miracle) for ARTE and Sky Italia. “Because of the financing structure in France, there was no need” for co-productions, says Emmanuelle Guilbart, a joint CEO of About Premium Content. That, however, is changing “because of the competition between the different players. There is a [demand] for bigger, more premium, more expensive shows that people cannot afford by themselves.” Newen’s Abdellaoui expects more international alliances in drama and, with that, “the quality and audacity of shows will increase.” When asked if she is seeing more French platforms opening up to international co-pros, Gaumont’s Shapiro says, “Yes,
The health of the French production landscape has much to do with the country’s well-established financing structure. “We have a fairly comprehensive system of financial media aid in France,” says Takis Candilis, the head of scripted at Banijay Group. “Firstly, there is financial assistance provided by CNC,” which, according to its latest annual report, supported 897 hours of fiction last year. “Regional subsidies are also an option with aid available from provincial authorities designed to encourage the hiring of local crews and strengthen the local economy,” Candilis continues. “Finally, there are tax credits available for the production of French-language programs. A new ‘international’ tax credit has recently been introduced for foreign productions filmed in France, but it is also available for French productions in English. Versailles was the very first production to benefit from it.” CAPA Drama’s 17th-century series, one of a number of French scripted productions on the Banijay slate, is heading into its third season. “We have just finished production on a series that we have STUDIOCANAL arrives at MIPCOM with the new series Paris etc., about the lives of five women. 410 WORLD SCREEN 10/17
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Gaumont’s The Art of Crime for France 2 is set in the Louvre.
and no. When it is in French, it’s usually 100-percent French; there’s no international partner for it. When it’s in the English language, having other international partners helps with the financing. TF1 has done it, Canal+ has done it.” Canal+ has been the most forward-thinking when it comes to co-pros, with recent examples that include the first FrenchSwedish drama partnership, STUDIOCANAL’s Midnight Sun. The thriller “uses multiple languages and has the wonderful French actress Leïla Bekhti (A Prophet) in the lead role,” Guyonnet says. “It won an Audience Award at Series Mania in Paris and has been acquired by more than 90 territories.”
FLYING THE FRENCH FLAG French dramas are indeed traveling far farther than they ever have done. In addition to Midnight Sun, Guyonnet says that STUDIOCANAL has had international success with Baron Noir, sold to Walter Presents in the U.S., among other platforms. “Our goal is always to get behind strong, dynamic dramas that have local and international appeal and transcend borders,” Guyonnet says. “We have expanded our partnerships with leading companies throughout Europe because we know that they will develop projects with authentic and intriguing storylines that will work in their country of origin as well as globally.” At Newen, top sellers have included Candice Renoir, licensed to 40-plus markets; Les Témoins (Witnesses) sold in more than 100; and Ouro. Abdellaoui says that “distributors are now key in the financing. Newen Distribution can be involved at a very early stage, from the development to the deficit funding. We are working on a development slate with producers in order to share with them the risk and to guarantee us good content.” Gaumont’s Shapiro believes that the sheer volume of French drama production has helped to elevate the genre globally. “There is a better understanding and ability to work with these series because there are a lot available on the marketplace. People are more familiar with them, so it’s becoming easier to sell them compared to years ago when it was not the norm.” Shapiro also sees interest in French scripted formats, mentioning Gaumont’s own The Art of Crime, set in the
Louvre. “The concept is great because it can be redone by any other country with their national landmarks.” For producers, French drama gaining traction globally has been a boon to the local industry. “With the growing success of French series abroad, distributors are more confident and are positioning themselves very early, from the concept [stage],” says Kwaï’s Bourguignon. “Competition between French and international distributors is more intense, and I feel that we are stepping into the global fiction market. Thus, the amount of the minimum guarantee has become [critical] to the financing plans of our series.” Newen’s Abdellaoui feels that “producers have no choice but to solicit international sales to help the financing of the series” in this competitive climate. “Broadcasters and platforms are more selective in their choice of acquiring and co-producing series. Quality is getting better, viewers are more demanding and with this trend of high production values comes higher budgets.”
SPINNING THE STORY Abdellaoui is also expecting French producers to introduce “new storytelling narratives and more disruptive formats,” especially as a way of drawing in millennial audiences. There has been a glut of police dramas in France over the last few years, and Shapiro says that Gaumont is looking at developing other kinds of stories as platforms look to refresh their lineups. “In our development slate, we’re trying to offer different genres. We’re developing a comedy, a dramedy, a period piece and more serialized drama. But we still have two or three cop procedurals—that’s what the broadcasters want.” At Kwaï, Bourguignon likewise hears lots of requests for crime dramas, particularly procedurals, but has also seen interest in shows that speak to current events, as well as comedies. “The current climate has been described as the golden age of drama,” says Banijay’s Candilis. “I think we will see more drama production than ever before, and more French drama exports available on the international market, including major international co-productions with big, universal stories to tell.”
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TV DRAMA: Without giving away any secret sauces, to what do you attribute the ongoing appeal and success of Law & Order: SVU? JANKOWSKI: No problem in telling you the secret sauce, it’s a very hard sauce to put together! It starts with great stories, great personnel, an amazing crew and, not to be glib, the greatest actress on television, Mariska Hargitay. Those things don’t come together that often and we’ve been extremely lucky. TV DRAMA: Dick Wolf’s Law & Order franchise was such a fixture of New York. What brought about Chicago as a location and then the growth of the franchise? JANKOWSKI: When Chicago Fire first started, it was our attempt to reach beyond the shores of New York, where we had done most of our shows, and look into America’s heartland and do a show about the real heroes, the first responders, and a more character-based show, perhaps. It’s interesting to see what’s happened. I have a poster on the wall behind my desk of all the actors on the various shows and you look at them and you realize they are families: Chicago Fire represents a family of firefighters, Chicago P.D. represents a family of police officers, Chicago Med represents a family of doctors. It’s those basic values that give all these shows a common strength. TV DRAMA: I’ve moderated panels with several of the Chicago franchise actors. They may have been acting, but they seemed close-knit. JANKOWSKI: They weren’t acting. I don’t know if it’s the shows creating the vibe or it’s the actors creating the vibe, but they genuinely care about each other, and when we have actors leave the show, people are upset, it’s an emotional thing for everybody. They are true families; they even have book clubs together!
By Anna Carugati
A Dick Wolf show has unique characteristics: it’s most often a procedural and remains on the air for a very long time, it employs the best talent in front of and behind the camera, and it sells extremely well around the world. Law & Order was on the air for 20 years, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered in 1999 and is now in its 19th season. A second Dick Wolf franchise started in 2012 with Chicago Fire, which was followed by Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med. As president and COO of Wolf Films, Peter Jankowski serves as executive producer on all these shows. He talks to TV Drama about attracting talent, creating welcoming environments on sets and the newest member of the Dick Wolf family, Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders, which premiered this fall and revisits the notorious 1990s trial.
TV DRAMA: Dick Wolf shows have historically been procedurals, but SVU has taken on some serialized storylines and Chicago Fire is certainly serialized. JANKOWSKI: I don’t think you can compare Chicago Fire to SVU. Chicago Fire was designed as a workplace drama that is serialized. All the Law & Order shows were procedurals and SVU is a procedural and they all are written a different way. Chicago P.D. straddles the two; it’s a procedural at heart but has a great deal of character in it because it’s in the Chicago universe. We’ve gone a little more character-y on SVU these last couple of years. I think it was a function of a writer who came in a couple of years ago, Warren Leight. That was where his heart went in terms of writing. We didn’t turn our backs
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Chicago Fire was the first in a series of shows focused on the lives of first responders in Chicago.
on the procedural part, but we brought a lot more richness to the characters and have gone to places we normally wouldn’t have gone. I think it’s helped the show and given it more longevity. It’s not that we are spending the entire episode at home with somebody or dealing with their dilemma, but to see how difficult it is to be a single mother and have a fulltime job is an interesting discussion on SVU. It expands the audience and it expands what we can accomplish. TV DRAMA: SVU and the Chicago shows produce some 22 episodes each season. How have you created an environment that can produce so many episodes? JANKOWSKI: It’s a really easy answer: you surround yourself with the best people possible, the best writers, directors, actors and crew members, everybody top to bottom. In today’s world, it’s not an easy task; there are so many outlets now producing original programming that good people get snapped up. It’s a testament to—going back to the family and people enjoying working together— trying to create an environment where people can do their best work and don’t feel threatened. If you give them as much stability as possible, it’s amazing how employees can flourish.
place. There are so many you need a scorecard to keep track of what’s being produced in a current month. When we first went to Chicago to produce Chicago Fire, I’d be stretching it to say there were two other shows in production. Now the city of Chicago has Empire and our three shows; it’s a very busy city, so even finding basic crews is a challenge. TV DRAMA: The crossover episodes are so popular with viewers. I imagine they are quite complicated to produce. How willing are the shows to provide actors to do the crossovers? JANKOWSKI: The shows are very willing and the actors are very eager; that’s not the issue. The first issue is what can we do that’s going to be worthy of a crossover. We did one last year loosely based on the 2016 fire in the Ghost Ship warehouse in Oakland. [There was a concert taking place in the warehouse when the fire broke out.] The challenge is how you create a storyline that can be explored in all the shows involved in the crossover. It’s very tricky because there’s not a lot of subject matter that
TV DRAMA: Dick Wolf has told me that his shows have employed more than 40,000 actors. JANKOWSKI: I’ve heard various numbers, some were even higher than that, but it’s certainly in that range and it’s remarkable. We run out of good actors and a lot of the really good ones will come back two, three, four times. TV DRAMA: Is it getting harder to find the talent you want because there are so many scripted projects nowadays? JANKOWSKI: Yes. We used to just compete with the network dramas; now there are dramas all over the
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Peter back to New York. He’s also a very interesting match for Mariska Hargitay and the two of them are going to have some great scenes together. TV DRAMA: Is ADA Rafael Barba, played by Raúl Esparza, still going to be in the show? JANKOWSKI: Barba is in the first half of this season. Raúl is going off to do some Broadway and Philip will be coming in to replace him.
Mariska Hargitay leads the cast and serves as executive producer on Law & Order: SVU, the longest-running prime-time drama on American television.
you can carry over that many episodes. But once you find that then you have to find out how to make it and that’s also tricky. What makes it easier is that everybody is on the same page. Our production operation in Chicago is really well laid out. They all share a common wall, so when Monica Raymund [who plays paramedic and firefighter Gabriela Dawson on Chicago Fire] needs to make an appearance on Chicago P.D., she just walks across the parking lot. That way, it’s a simpler production challenge for actors and a lot of our personnel. What complicates it is scheduling. All the shows are going at the same time so somebody’s got to lose something in order to give something to another show and that’s where it gets very complicated. TV DRAMA: Despite the popularity of crossovers, do you need to limit them to keep them special? JANKOWSKI: Absolutely, and even how NBC promotes them. We have small crossovers and we have big crossovers. If a character from Chicago P.D. or Chicago Med shows up in Molly’s [the bar owned by some of the firefighters in Chicago Fire], we have to be careful not to make a big deal out of it or call it a crossover because it dilutes the term we use for the big crossovers. We’re very mindful of that. TV DRAMA: I was excited to read that Philip Winchester, who starred in Chicago Justice as Peter Stone, will reprise that role on SVU. JANKOWSKI: I was very excited to have made that deal! Philip is a wonderful man and he did an amazing job on Justice. Justice was a terrific show that was canceled for reasons above my head. I make shows, other people schedule them and we were sad to see it go. But Philip left such a strong mark with the character of Peter Stone and because of the character’s lineage—he’s the son of Ben Stone, who was the executive assistant district attorney on Law & Order—it just made sense to transition
TV DRAMA: Tell us about Law & Order True Crime. Will it be more than just a retelling of the Menendez brothers’ trial? Will we learn information we didn’t know at the time of the original trial? JANKOWSKI: I certainly hope people don’t know what we’re telling. It’s eight episodes and we go into fairly interesting [detail] as we peel away the onion of the story. When I first heard the Menendez saga, I was a young kid in the late ’80s. The conclusions I came to—knee-jerk reactions based on everything that was in the media at the time—are not the conclusions I have today. That’s been a very interesting journey for me and all the people working on the show—to what extreme did abuse affect these kids? How would they have been treated differently today? It’s not a whodunit it’s a whydunit and getting into the why is very interesting. TV DRAMA: Is it fair to say there could be more iterations of True Crime down the line? JANKOWSKI: Yes, I think it’s very fair to say that we would like to do that but we have to finish this one first, get it out there and get everybody excited by it. While we are thinking about the future, we are putting our energy in the present.
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TV DRAMA: Tell us about the idea for No Offence. I understand it’s something you came up with a long time ago? ABBOTT: It wasn’t ready for about eight years. Like all the best stuff, it incubated for quite a long time. That incubation period was its refinement. My original inspiration was to attract a crime-addicted audience to a comedy. But many comedies have to go so broad to achieve their comedic value. So did No Offence when I first came up with it. I put it back in the drawer because it just kind of offended me. When we went too funny it was rude. And when we weren’t funny enough it just looked like a cop show. So we had to find a very specific bandwidth. The funny thing about this is, we did so well on the first series we were cocky, as cocky as you could imagine. We thought it was all available to us. And it wasn’t available to us because we had a brand-new story, and with a brand-new story you have to find that bandwidth again. Writing a series for a crime-addicted audience is one thing. Writing a comedy is another. Technically we have to write two separate shows and then weld them together. Basically, you have to write the procedural as a pure piece of drama and learn how to tilt it. It’s not easy! [Laughs] It’s one of the hardest shows I’ve ever written. And dragging new writers into this is not easy. They all think they want to write the comedy. Well, they can, but they have to write the procedural aspect of it so diligently that you’re permitted the privilege of the comedy. It’s a very high call. And we do draft after draft. The grammar for telling the story is hard to find because it can very easily look vulgar, sloppy or lazy. We have to attend to that and tighten the nuts. It has to sound like real life to be funny. If it’s not like real life it’s just comedy, and it can’t just be comedy. It’s a one-hour show. If it were a 26-minute show, the comedy would be far more explicit. Eight years before we clicked on it was when I wrote the first [draft]. It had a big blousy woman with hairs coming through the tights on her legs. But it’s not
By Mansha Daswani
Paul Abbott is not cagey about the fact that he had a difficult childhood. The seventh of eight children growing up in the northern English town of Burnley, he was raised by his eldest sister after they were abandoned first by their mother, then their father. Abbott eventually found solace in writing. He got his start in radio plays before landing a gig on the iconic soap Coronation Street. Abbott then set out on his own, creating and writing a wealth of shows, among them the political thriller State of Play. With his next project, Shameless, Abbott took inspiration from his own life. The Channel 4 series chronicling a dysfunctional Manchester family was both a critical and commercial success, eventually being adapted for Showtime in the U.S. Abbott’s most recent show, No Offence, made by his AbbottVision production company, is heading into its third season on Channel 4 and has sold well courtesy of FremantleMedia International. One of the most in-demand and lauded writers working in the U.K. today, Abbott tells TV Drama about the inspiration for his comedic crime drama and his approach to writing.
that now. The people are far more credible. We can get comedy stories from the stories of the week, we can get comedy stories from the serial story, but they are not to be comedy first. The principal rule is you satisfy the procedural first. We are doing two shows for one payment! [Laughs] TV DRAMA: How much of the overarching serialized story can you unwind in each episode while also telling the story of the week? ABBOTT: We haven’t been prescriptive about our formula. Sometimes the serial story demands more attention and then there isn’t space to get a big story of the week in. We’ve done all right so far, finding odd things that you’d just never see on television. Taking the audience to a place they didn’t know they wanted to go is the principal mantra of the series. And probably most of the things I do, to be honest. If all we do is procedural then we’ve failed our mission.
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[In each season] we’re building to a big finale, so you get fractions of the serial story being exposed along the way, in unexpected ways, and you have to keep that escalation going. We know what the finale is, but we don’t know how it’s going to be executed. That wasn’t true of series two— we had no clue how we were going to end it! [Laughs] When we sat down with it the ending just came out organically from the demands of the questions that were raised in the previous six episodes. More freestyle than I’d like! TV DRAMA: You have a team of writers on No Offence, which is rare for the U.K. ABBOTT: I worked on Shameless in the U.S., and the writers’ room is very well funded. We don’t get the same budgets [in the U.K.]. We can’t spend £6 million an episode, we spend just over £1 million an episode. So we all stay together, live together, for five days and talk every aspect to death. And then the writers go back to their homes elsewhere and write their shit. You interrogate all aspects of the story. People don’t mind contributing to other people’s stories; they don’t mind refining other people’s stories. Your salary pays for you to belong to the series and the title is the chief imperative, not your name, not your lovely words. Can we make it look like a team effort? It’s not an easy ride. It shouldn’t be. We really are trying to take the audience to a place they didn’t know they wanted to go. Some of the gags are very crude and vulgar, but you have to earn those, you can’t just chuck them in. It’s not Roseanne with a gag-a-minute set-up. The gags are three times their value if they sound like they belong to real life. TV DRAMA: Doing six or seven episodes per season, is that constricting in terms of having to limit your story, or freeing because you can spend more time on each episode and have the room to work on other things? ABBOTT: This year we’re only doing six, and that’s because Channel 4 wants it to go out at a certain time and this series just takes time in the edit. I think we did 12 cuts on one episode just to get it right. Every cut was incrementally better. It’s not apologizing for what you’ve shot; it’s tidying your bandwidth. We need a lot of material to be able to do that because the narrative metabolism of the series is so demanding. You need quite a lot of material to attack to get that intelligent compression. TV DRAMA: I read somewhere that you prefer to write longhand and then use an electric typewriter. ABBOTT: To be honest, I bought an electric typewriter recently and I just couldn’t bear to look at it. Longhand is lovely. [A typewriter] gives it away to everybody in the house that you’re typing. And if you’re not typing they don’t think you’re writing. If you’re staring at the wall you don’t sound like you’re typing, you don’t sound like you’re writing. When you’re writing longhand your editorial compression is so much greater. You can’t keep scribbling out [words] because then your page looks ugly! [Laughs] So you think twice or three times before you [commit to the page]. But then you get your feet up, you write better and it’s more fluid. TV DRAMA: What were some of the things you learned from writing on Coronation Street? You were there for a while, weren’t you? ABBOTT: I was there for four and a half years as a story writer. That’s an awfully long time, except I loved it. I couldn’t
believe my luck. I was very young when I went there. I was about 23 when I started. I just found a picture of me age 25 on Coronation Street. I had grown a beard to look older because all the other writers were quite mature and they treated me like a tea boy. The constitutional reward from working on a soap is that you have to work every single day—it can’t stop. Even if you’re sick, you’re writing an episode. You’ve got to know how to just dissolve your entire structure and say, I’ll start again, with vigor. You get excited about the next try because you’ve just learned something. It’s a big problem with new writers when they’ve written something and they read it a week later and it’s shit, and that puts them off writing. Well, you thought it was glorious when you typed it and if it’s not a week later, that doesn’t mean it’s shit, it means you’ve grown and you just keep growing and keep moving on. TV DRAMA: Can you write anywhere? ABBOTT: Well, I’m having to! I became a writer because I wanted to be a hermit. And then you realize you’ve got to talk your head off and travel around the world. Talking about it and telling people your master plan is a total constitutional contradiction to the reason you became a writer. I’ve gotten good at remembering that I came from a very big family and to write you have to find a place inside your head, not your office. That internalization of stuff is so rewarding. You have to find your space inside your head because you won’t find it in a fucking house! [Laughs]
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France 2, ABC TV in Australia and Denmark’s DR are among the channels that have acquired the Channel 4 series No Offence from FremantleMedia International.
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By Anna Carugati
Demand for drama has been at an all-time high for the past few years, and Endemol Shine International (ESI) has positioned itself as a key supplier of the global market’s needs. Among its biggest successes in recent years are Broadchurch, Black Mirror, Peaky Blinders and Grantchester, and it arrives at MIPCOM with a diverse slate that includes Gunpowder and Cathedral of the Sea. As chief executive, Cathy Payne oversees sales teams on five continents. She talks to TV Drama about helping producers in the Endemol Shine Group finance and market their scripted series, and about working with SVOD platforms—not only as clients but also as co-production partners. TV DRAMA: There is a lot of drama in the market right now. What has been ESI’s strategy with drama? What type of drama gets buyers’ attention? PAYNE: I do think that there’s never been as much drama available in the marketplace as there is now, but in some ways, it’s still just as challenging to place drama. Sales overseas of American drama—broadcast-network series—have significantly fallen off. They’re not traveling as widely as they used to, and we’ve seen output deals stopped. The product is just not delivering. And there are so many other new outlets for drama in the U.S. trying to differentiate themselves by having specific subject matter that might appeal to the American audience, but it just doesn’t travel.
Buyers still want good broad-audience drama, and if you look at the shows that are performing best from the U.S., the good procedurals still work, so do the superhero shows, and the big fantasy and the big HBO and Showtime product does travel. Buyers are looking for what they don’t produce in their domestic market. For example, take relationship dramas; look at This Is Us on NBC. It’s a huge success; the numbers are unbelievable, but it just hasn’t worked overseas because people want relationship dramas [set in their own cultures]. People want something that they’re not going to get at home. We’ve also seen streaming services open the world to different storytelling and, in particular, shorter runs. What the Americans refer to as “limited series,” which is what has always been produced in the U.K., allows you to package talent that would not normally do TV because they are not locked in for a long time. They can come in and out of limited series, and that is why TV has become the new film. TV DRAMA: Are you seeing a difference between the type of drama that a linear channel will take, compared to what an SVOD platform will take? PAYNE: Most free-to-air broadcasters will take a softer type of programming than a linear pay channel or an SVOD, so edgier, more niche shows are probably going to be on linear pay TV or SVOD services. In the U.K., you have a channel like BBC Two, and even though it’s free to air, it is more niche in its offering and can push the storytelling to what you wouldn’t normally see on a free-to-air broadcaster. When we look at our slate, our ITV dramas are more likely to sell to free-to-air broadcasters—the likes of Grantchester and The Good Karma Hospital—whereas Peaky Blinders and Tin Star are going to sell more to pay because of their content. TV DRAMA: Do you work with various production companies within the Endemol Shine Group to help them finance their scripted projects? PAYNE: We do that constantly. We are always going through their development slates looking at what’s coming up, what are the likely homes for their project, what the financing options are, and working out the ideal situation. Sometimes if we are doing a first-run deal with a global streaming company, they are going to take a large number of the rights and a holdback. That’s fine, as long we’re getting compensated properly for the rights. Sometimes that’s the right track. Sometimes there will be shows for which we think we’ll be able to bring in a partner or presale very early, while some projects don’t presell until a lot later. There is no clear rule, but what’s best is to talk about everything, and we do. I’ll give the production companies in the group
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feedback on the likely market potential of a project, potential buyers and any intelligence regarding any issues that need to be changed or adapted. We talk about casts that work, directors that work and lots of different things. TV DRAMA: Are you also co-producing or co-financing with linear channels or SVOD services? PAYNE: We announced Troy: Fall of a City, which will go out early in the new year. It’s our big production and the ultimate story of Troy. A lot of what you’ve seen on Troy deals with the city’s last days and the Trojan Horse story. This goes back to the beginning, when Paris is found after he was stolen away as a baby and raised by the wolves and then by another family. It’s for BBC One and is made at a budget level that is beyond what BBC One would usually do, so we needed to bring in a partner and Netflix is working with us. There are other shows for which we may not have a partner on board, but we might look for an enhanced presale, which involves less editorial input, as opposed to a coproduction, which usually means co-financing from the beginning and sharing editorial decisions. TV DRAMA: So the SVOD platforms are both distribution clients and potential co-production partners? PAYNE: Yes. I would say they become more co-production partners as they mature. In the case of Netflix, it is taking fewer and fewer second runs. It might take the second run in a domestic market. For example, on Troy, they had a second run in the U.K. and first run everywhere else. But it’s really a co-production model where they are involved right from the outset. They do look at acquiring shows closer to when they are completed, but most of Netflix’s focus is having the first run in as many markets as possible. I don’t see them picking up much library anywhere. When they expanded their services to other territories, they looked at programming for which they had maybe 30 percent of the world and proceeded to acquire rights for the balance of the world. But they are a firstwindow player because they want to attract subscribers. TV DRAMA: Are you also distributing non-English-language drama series? PAYNE: We have a number of producers based around the world: Filmlance in the Nordic region as well as production businesses in the Netherlands, France, Germany and Spain. And yes, we do distribute their titles. Sometimes we need to finance those, bearing in mind where we feel those shows can sell. No doubt, and probably as a result of the streaming services, the market for non-English drama has increased. Years ago it would have been hard to see non-English in a number of the territories that are now airing it. But overall, the relative financial gain from non-English is much, much less than from English-language drama. But we do sell non-English and at MIPCOM, we’ve got one of our big dramas from Spain, Cathedral of the Sea, which is based on a novel of the same name. That is for Antena 3, and Netflix is involved as well as Televisió de Catalunya. We will launch the first window in Spain in the last part of the year.
TV DRAMA: Are you also making partnerships or first-look distribution deals with producers? PAYNE: We are flexible in how we work. We’re a big group and we have product available internally. When we’re looking externally, we’ll be selective and think about what we need and when we need it to fill our gaps. But our doors are open, and we look at product all the time. When we invest, whether early or later on, would depend on the product, but we like to look at things as early as possible. If it’s something we’re really keen on, we’re more likely to get involved sooner rather than later. TV DRAMA: At every market, there is a lot of attention given to new titles, but returning series are also important. PAYNE: Peaky Blinders is back in this market for season four, and it launches very soon after MIPCOM. We also have season three of The Tunnel, which we make for Sky in the U.K., and that launches before the end of the year as well. TV DRAMA: What other new dramas are you launching? PAYNE: One of our new ones for this market is the threepart, 17th-century thriller Gunpowder. When people think of the Gunpowder Plot [that took place in London in 1605] they often think of a man called Guy Fawkes, who tried to blow up Parliament. What really drove it was that Catholics were being persecuted after the change of the Church of England. The man who was the mastermind behind the attempt, which was foiled—they were all caught before the act happened—went by the name of Robert Catesby. He had seen his land taken, his friends killed, he was a devout Catholic and he wanted to take a stand for what he believed in, but he was doing it through the use of violence. These same things are still going on in our world today. Gunpowder has a cracking cast: Kit Harington as Robert Catesby, Liv Tyler plays his cousin, Peter Mullan plays the most senior priest, and Mark Gatiss the king’s henchman. It airs on BBC One [in October]. And then we have a TV adaptation of a classic Australian movie, one of only two movies to ever screen twice at the Cannes Film Festival, Wake in Fright, which [was released in the 1970s] around the same time as Picnic at Hanging Rock and The Cars That Ate Paris. We have a 2x2-hour miniseries remake of Wake in Fright that is coming back for Channel Ten in Australia.
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Game of Thrones star Kit Harington leads the cast of the BBC One thriller Gunpowder, which ESI is launching at MIPCOM.
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Harry Williams
Jack Williams
It could be said that Jack and Harry Williams, sons of a producer and a TV writer, have television in their blood. Jack started as a sitcom writer. Harry had a brief career as an actor before writing his own comedy. They then began writing together, comedies first and then dramas. The Missing, for BBC One and Starz, won critical acclaim. Jack and Harry set up their own production company, fittingly called Two Brothers Pictures, which is part of all3media. The duo is among the most sought-after writer-producer teams in the U.K. They talk to TV Drama about their shows premiering this season and in development, including Liar for ITV and SundanceTV, Rellik for BBC One and Cinemax and White Dragon for ITV. By Anna Carugati 424 WORLD SCREEN 10/17
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TV DRAMA: Was comedy writing your first foray into the television business? HARRY WILLIAMS (HW): Yes, we were both writing sitcoms separately and then we eventually said let’s try to help each other write each other’s sitcoms; maybe they will end up funnier. That didn’t work out because they didn’t end up that much funnier. We did that for eight years, still under the delusion that people might find the stuff funny, but they didn’t. So we wrote The Missing, which is as funny as most of the sitcoms we had written, but it seemed to work better. Now we don’t write comedy; we just produce it with actually funny people like Phoebe [Waller-Bridge]. But yes, comedy is where we started. It’s a very hard thing to do and get right. TV DRAMA: You mentioned Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the creator and star of Fleabag. Tell us about Fleabag. Was that the impetus to set up your own production company? JACK WILLIAMS (JW): I think the impetus to set up our company was years of failure, which was partly our fault, but we like to own our own failure a bit more. You can write stuff, but how it ends up on-screen—how it’s cast, who directs it, how it’s edited—is important to us. A little before that we had done an animated comedy called Full English, which you wouldn’t have heard of—because no one’s heard of it—[Channel 4] only showed half of it before it was pulled off the air. Fleabag was one of the first things we developed. We met Phoebe when she had just written a monologue, which she did as a onewoman show as stand-up. We said that would be a great TV show, let’s do it. She wrote it as a play first. It went to the Edinburgh Festival and did very well and that gave us the basis of how the TV show would work. HW: For eight years we had seen our shows made and not come out quite right. Hopefully what we did with Phoebe was avoid all the pitfalls that we had encountered and made something that had high production values and all that good stuff that comedy should have. TV DRAMA: How did the transition into drama come about? JW: Desperation, despair. HW: Unemployment. TV DRAMA: Great motivators. JW: Great motivators, they really are! We hadn’t worked for about three months. HW: We were going to stop working together. Writing a sitcom in the U.K. is not great when you’ve got a family. It’s a hard life to sustain, so were going to have to find other things to do. JW: We had written a few comedy-drama things. We were watching a lot of serious dramas and we thought, we want to do that. So we went away and wrote The Missing. We went to France and wrote it on spec. We sent it to our agent and said this is terrible don’t tell anyone about it. But fortunately he liked it and that was that. TV DRAMA: You have a new series, Liar. Tell us what it’s about. JW: Liar is about a schoolteacher and a surgeon who meet on a date, and that night has disastrous consequences that change their lives forever. The central story is about liars and which one of the main characters is lying, but everyone in the show is lying to someone else in a different kind of way; we are exploring that theme. Liar premiered on ITV in September. TF1 did a prebuy. SundanceTV and AMC came in as co-producers.
TV DRAMA: Did SundanceTV have editorial say? HW: Yes, they were involved from the very start, they and Polly [Hill, head of drama at ITV]. It was a very harmonious working relationship. It seemed to work out very well. TV DRAMA: Do you mind having more cooks in the kitchen? HW: We are writers, so we are used to getting lots of notes and lots of opinions. Our job as producers is to know which ones to listen to and which one to ignore. We’re used to it. Everything you do should be subject to criticism and questions and should be able to sustain that. Actually, the more questions you get, the better, and you should have an answer to them all, or at least an opinion as to why something does or doesn’t work. TV DRAMA: How do you share the writing process? How do you decide where to put the twists and the turns and how much to reveal to the audience? HW: The process is the two of us sitting in a room or a train or anywhere, talking about the idea and the characters and just doing that for as long as we can to know that we are on the same page and what the story is that we want to tell. In terms of the reveals, it always seems that the audience is smarter than we are because on the whole they probably are. They definitely are in Jack’s case. [Laughs] You have to do what’s right for the story, not hold things back or try to play games or be too tricky with it. JW: And between the two of us, if we can surprise each other that normally means that we can surprise the people who are watching, hopefully. We share pretty much everything. There are some scenes that I write, but that evolves as we go along. When we have a script outlined and know all the story elements, the hope is we are fighting over which scene to write because they are all really good. HW: Normally we cut a story in half, and one does one half, one does the other and then we swap it around. It’s quite clean. TV DRAMA: What other shows are you working on? JW: White Dragon is an eight-part conspiracy thriller that will air on ITV and starts shooting in Hong Kong in October. It’s about a professor whose wife worked in Hong Kong for half the year. He gets a call saying she has died in a car crash. He goes over to identify the body only to find that she is married to another man. And not only that, the man she is married to is an ex-policeman and the two of them have to have an awkward alliance to try to find out what actually happened to her, because obviously she didn’t just die in a car crash. We didn’t write White Dragon. Mark Denton and Jonny Stockwood wrote it. HW: And then there is The Widow, which we did write and is filming in South Africa at the beginning of next year. TV DRAMA: You also have Rellik. HW: Rellik is killer spelled backward because the story is told in reverse, which is a stupid thing for us to do because it’s really hard! JW: It’s about a serial killer and the search for him. It’s also about this myriad of characters and the choices they make. Telling the story backward means you can tell a story about motive and why people do what they do. It’s trying to make motive the center of six reverse hours.
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Adam Price
By Mansha Daswani
Lars Mikkelsen
Danish pubcaster DR placed itself on the global drama landscape with such critically acclaimed hits as The Killing and Borgen, which have made their way to platforms around the world. Its latest big bet is Ride Upon the Storm, which hails from lauded Scandi producer Adam Price, the creator of Borgen. The drama stars Lars Mikkelsen—House of Cards’ Putin-esque Russian leader Viktor Petrov—as Johannes, a priest whose family has been in the ministry for more than 250 years. Exploring the complex dynamics between Johannes and his wife and two sons, Ride Upon the Storm aims to tackle head-on issues of religion and faith in contemporary society. Price and Mikkelsen tell TV Drama about the STUDIOCANAL-distributed show, which won both the TV Critics and Buyers Coup de Coeur awards for a work-inprogress at the MIPDrama Screenings earlier this year. TV DRAMA: What was the inspiration for Ride Upon the Storm? PRICE: After finishing Borgen, DR asked me if I wanted to do a new story, and I thought religion would be a disturbing and amazing topic for a show. What could be more political than politics [the setting for Borgen]? Religion would be a
topic like that. We are so into religion when we are discussing integration, immigration, the refugee crisis. And also from a technical, dramatic point of view, it’s very interesting that our characters are moved by faith, something that is so difficult to grasp. In a crime story, the detective is moved by wanting to solve a crime. The people [in Ride Upon the Storm] are moved and thrown into conflict because of faith. TV DRAMA: How did you wrestle with the concept of faith based on your own relationship to it? PRICE: Well Denmark is supposed to be a very secular nation. We tend to say that we’re not very religious. And still, if you look at the Danish flag, there’s the cross. If you look at our passports, they bear the cross as well. When we open our Parliament, it starts with a prayer every year. And what does the Queen say in her New Year’s speech? “God Save Denmark.” So we might be secular, but religion is still everywhere. And religion is everywhere right now in the public debate. For my own part, I guess
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of the things. And then I related to the material for many reasons—being very secular, living a very secular life in many ways, but throughout my life having struggled with, am I really just me? When [something bad happens and I ask,] Why is this happening to me? Then I’m in some sort of dialog. What is it then that makes you courageous enough to get to that point where you say, I believe? There’s a stretch there, yeah? It takes courage to not be like all the other sheep, claiming not to be naïve. I’ve been struggling with this in my own life. And I’ve found that, as an actor, if it relates to you then you’ll think that it must relate to the rest of the world. [Laughs]
Lars Mikkelsen stars as a priest in Ride Upon the Storm, which is being sold by STUDIOCANAL.
I’m a mix, just like many people in Western societies. I’m stitched together faith-wise by a little Christianity from my childhood, a little bit of superstition and a little bit of fashionable Buddhism. I was giving a lecture the other day, and I asked the people in the room, how many of you believe in God? And I would say 10 to 15 percent thought it was a very intimate question and they raised their hands reluctantly. And then I said, how many of you believe that there is more than meets the eye between heaven and earth? That there are connections in this world that cannot be measured scientifically? Almost everyone raised their hands. That’s believing in magical stuff as well. Perhaps we are a bit reluctant to say that we belong to a religion, but almost all of us are saying a little prayer every time the airplane jumps a bit, or every time our children are in need. So I guess I’m no better or no worse than the audience for this series. I stitch my religious life together. TV DRAMA: Lars, what attracted you to the role? MIKKELSEN: First of all it was character-driven, and that is nice for an actor, to actually act! [Laughs] So that’s one
TV DRAMA: Without giving away too many details, what can you tell us about the journey that your character is on over the course of the show? MIKKELSEN: He’s a very good priest. He’s good at his work. But he’s not so good at his own life. So in between that, the character is drawn. [His family has been in the priesthood] for 250 years. He’s putting the pressure of that onto his children too, which is not a very rational pressure. That has an effect throughout the season that will then develop the characters. PRICE: This takes place in a family of priests and you can say that is very specific. But in every family, there are pressures that mothers and fathers put on their children. And as parents, we shouldn’t destroy them with expectations, pressure or love—or destroy them with no pressure and no expectations. How do we find that path? It’s difficult. So even though the show asks huge questions of existence and faith and belief and religion, it is very much about a father, a mother and two sons who are struggling not to destroy one another. It takes us on a huge journey. We have also been very ambitious, both visually and in terms of where we’re shooting the show. One of the sons goes to war as a military chaplain, wearing the cross on his uniform, in the Middle East. The other son is the disappointment for the father. He has left religion and theology. He goes to the Himalayas and comes across Buddhism in the high mountains and is a changed human being when he gets back to civilization. So the two brothers meet different cultures and religions, and that has a life-changing impact on their lives.
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