TV Drama October 2020

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TVDRAMA WWW.TVDRAMA.WS

OCTOBER 2020 EDITION

True Tales / Blue-Sky Dramas / Walter Presents’ Walter Iuzzolino

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CONTENTS

The Waiting Game

FEATURES 20 TRUTH BE TOLD Producers and distributors weigh in on some of the keys to crafting successful dramas based on real-life stories.

On the evening of September 4, I settled in on my couch and tuned into Amazon Prime Video, all set to spend the next eight hours of my life devouring the latest installment of The Boys.

Ricardo Seguin Guise Publisher Anna Carugati Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani Editor Kristin Brzoznowski Executive Editor Chelsea Regan Associate Editor David Diehl Production & Design Director Simon Weaver Online Director Dana Mattison Senior Sales & Marketing Manager Genovick Acevedo Sales & Marketing Coordinator Andrea Moreno Business Affairs Manager

Ricardo Seguin Guise President Anna Carugati Executive VP Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development TV Drama ©2020 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.tvdrama.ws

I had digested season one in one sitting last summer and could not wait to do the same for the second. And then the shock and horror set in—not inspired by the antics of the show’s evil “superheroes,” but instead because there were only three episodes available. I would have to wait until the following Friday for another one. I was honestly gutted, and apparently not the only one. Scroll through the reviews section on Amazon and you’ll see plenty of fans complaining about not being able to satisfy a binge need. I had suspected that this was a ploy by Amazon to stagger its new content slate amid COVID-19 production delays, but it turns out it was the intent of the producers, who wanted that week-to-week intensity that we perhaps don’t get enough of in this on-demand world. I remember talking to rapper/producer/actor/showrunner RZA about this last year when Hulu released his show Wu-Tang: An American Saga with weekly episodes rather than as a binge. “We’re a little bit old school,” he told me. “We think it served a good purpose for telling the story and setting the stage.” As for what happens for season two, he said, “maybe decisions will change.”

Perhaps all streamers should move to weekly drops.

There is something to be said for marinating over an episode, letting it sit before diving into the next one (maybe—ask me again when the new seasons of Stranger Things or Warrior Nun come out). Thanks to COVID-19, we do all need to develop new patience thresholds. Producers of high-end scripted content are facing delays of 12 months or more due to the pandemic. As production slowly resumes, there is actually a lot of completed content available, and we profile many great new and library shows in this edition of TV Drama. Home-confined audiences are taking solace in blue-sky dramas and digging deep into true stories, as we reveal in the features in this edition. Viewers are also exploring the wealth of gripping foreign-language series on Walter Presents; co-founder and curator Walter Iuzzolino shares the platform’s acquisition strategy with TV Drama.

—Mansha Daswani

GET DAILY NEWS ON TELEVISION DRAMA

20 28 BLUE SKIES AHEAD Amid uncertain times, uplifting, escapist series with compelling characters and virtual trips abroad are giving audiences a much-needed break from reality.

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Walter Presents’ Walter Iuzzolino

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all3media international Roadkill / Des / All Creatures Great and Small Roadkill, starring Hugh Laurie and Helen McCrory and produced by The Forge, is a four-part political thriller for BBC One and Masterpiece on PBS that all3media international is highlighting. All Creatures Great and Small, based on the James Herriot novels and produced by Playground for Channel 5 and Masterpiece on PBS, “is the perfect antidote to our challenging times, with beautiful scenery, heartfelt stories and fantastic performances that bring 1930s Yorkshire to life on-screen,” says David Swetman, senior VP of scripted content at all3media international.

David Tennant plays serial killer Dennis Nilsen in the threepart true-crime drama Des from New Pictures for ITV. “We’re excited to have a full slate for MIPCOM despite the disruption the industry has faced this year,” says Swetman.

Roadkill

“Like any other year, all3media international has an extensive and varied scripted slate, which we are excited to share with buyers.”

—David Swetman

Maria and Mustafa

ATV Maria and Mustafa / The Ottoman / Hercai ATV’s brand-new title Maria and Mustafa tells an international love story, set in Cappadocia’s fairy-tale scenery. In the series, Maria travels from her motherland, Colombia, to Turkey to trace her father’s roots. She falls in love with a handsome local landlord, Mustafa, who is technically married, and his wife is not giving up on him easily. “Maria and Mustafa is a classic Turkish drama with a strong love story, supported by well-made character-building,” says Müge Akar, content sales deputy manager. “One of the leading characters is from Colombia, which makes the title more appealing for international buyers.” She also highlights the cinematography of the series in showcasing the landscape of Cappadocia. A second season of the ratings hit The Ottoman is also on offer, alongside a third season of Hercai.

“ATV’s strong library and variety of TV series have helped us overcome all the obstacles that COVID-19 has brought.”

—Müge Akar

Banijay Rights The Hunt for a Killer / RFDS: Royal Flying Doctor Service / Viewpoint Based on a true story, the Banijay Rights series The Hunt for a Killer follows the journey of two detectives who lead an investigation, solving numerous homicides in Sweden during the 1980s. The Hunt for a Killer comes from Banijay’s Yellow Bird for SVT. Real-life stories are at the heart of RFDS: Royal Flying Doctor Service, while Viewpoint follows a tense policesurveillance investigation into a tight-knit community. “Out of the U.K. is a series of shorts for ITV from Greenacre Films called Unsaid Stories, which explores stories around the Black Lives Matter movement,” says Matt Creasey, executive VP of sales, co-productions and acquisitions at Banijay Rights for the rest of the world outside of EMEA. “It’s important and pertinent to the times and shows the great level of talent that was able to jump in, especially with all the shooting restrictions.”

The Hunt for a Killer

“The catalog of new and returning series on the drama and comedy sides is unprecedented.”

—Matt Creasey 156 WORLD SCREEN 10/20

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CBC & Radio-Canada Distribution Cerebrum / Trop / Conversations with My Parents CBC & Radio-Canada Distribution is shining a light on three new drama series that delve into the challenges of coping with the world today. Cerebrum deals with the topic of mental health care, transporting audiences into a world of psychological suspense and Nordic intensity. Trop takes a lighter and comedic but also serious look at coping with life in the 21st century through the eyes of two sisters.

Conversations with My Parents goes in a slightly different direction, examining family relationships and generational differences. Mia Desroches, director of content distribution partnerships for CBC & Radio-Canada, says, “These are great stories told from the point of view of strong characters who make us think and laugh, and more than anything else, make us see the world in a different light.”

Trop

“In our scripted content, we’re seeing themes of survival and coping in the world of this new decade emerge.”

—Mia Desroches

Mr. Wrong

Global Agency Mr. Wrong / Aleph / Rise of Empires: Ottoman Bitter Sweet stars Can Yaman and Özge Gürel reunite in the Global Agency highlight Mr. Wrong, which tells the story of Ezgi, whose lifetime of betrayal destroys her hopes of ever finding Mr. Right, and the womanizer Ozgur. “It seems a recipe for disaster, but fate and nagging mothers conspire to seek a happy ending,” says Izzet Pinto, founder and CEO of Global Agency. The Turkish crime series Aleph follows a young police detective named Kemal (played by Kenan İmirzalıoğlu) and his veteran partner Settar (Ahmet Mümtaz Taylan) in their pursuit of a serial killer. Rise of Empires: Ottoman chronicles Mehmed II’s journey from a child Sultan to ruler of the Ottoman Empire and the founder of Istanbul. “The docudrama miniseries unfolds like a real-life Game of Thrones,” says Pinto.

“The interest in Turkish drama is continuously increasing in the world.”

—Izzet Pinto

Global Screen Ferdinand von Schirach: Enemies / Turbulent Skies / Dark Woods In the Global Screen highlight Ferdinand von Schirach: Enemies, the story of a 12-year-old girl’s kidnapping is told from the perspectives of an inspector racing against time and the accused’s defense attorney. The eight-part period drama Turbulent Skies is based on true events and centers on the flight pioneers Albert Plesman and Anthony Fokker.

Dark Woods is a true-crime drama about a painful family tragedy. It tells the story of a police officer searching for his missing sister for more than 30 years. “Regardless of whether a viewer prefers crime stories, sci-fi or thrillers, the key is to always offer good, high-quality storytelling,” says Alexandra Heidrich, Global Screen’s head of acquisitions and sales for international TV and SVOD. “And that is what we focus on when choosing our programs.”

Dark Woods

“We want to offer good entertainment; this means something different for everyone.”

—Alexandra Heidrich 158 WORLD SCREEN 10/20

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A Love Yarn

Incendo A Love Yarn / You May Kiss the Bridesmaid / One of a Kind Love Leading Incendo’s slate of new romantic comedies is A Love Yarn, starring Anna Hutchison and co-produced with Screentime New Zealand. It centers on a yarn-shop owner who finds herself at a crossroads of business and romance after learning that her top yarn supplier is halting production. Tori Anderson leads the cast of You May Kiss the Bridesmaid, which was filmed in Montreal. Also shot in Montreal is One of a Kind Love with Jocelyn Hudon. Despite the challenging times, Incendo has managed to “keep producing high-quality movies both locally and internationally,” says Gavin Reardon, the company’s head of international sales and co-productions. “We are producing eight romantic comedies in 2020, and 11 in 2021.”

“These new titles demonstrate that we have been able to meet the challenges of 2020.”

—Gavin Reardon

The Ambassador’s Daughter

Inter Medya The Ambassador’s Daughter / Ramo / The Light of Hope The Ambassador’s Daughter, among the newest titles in Inter Medya’s catalog, is a love story about a wealthy and educated ambassador’s daughter and a poor boy from a small Aegean town. Produced by Turkey’s BKM, Ramo is inspired by real events and follows a man warring with enemies, family, friends and even himself, with his biggest test revolving around love. The Light of Hope, from the producers of Elif, sees a family torn into pieces.

“This universal story is about a mother, father and child overcoming obstacles to find each other and become a family again,” says Can Okan, founder and CEO of Inter Medya. “We are certain that these new titles, in addition to our existing products, will appeal to all our clients across the globe.”

“Our aim is to always extend our library and our reach to new territories.”

—Can Okan

Romance Next Door

Kanal D International Hekimoğlu / New Life / Romance Next Door Produced by Ojo Pictures, Hekimoğlu and New Life lead Kanal D International’s drama slate for the fall.

Hekimoğlu, a remake of the hit medical drama House, topped ratings in Turkey with its first season. Timuçin Esen stars in the series. “According to social media feedback, we see that even the fans of the original Dr. House in Turkey are watching the series, and they have turned into Hekimoğlu fans now,” says Kerim Emrah Turna, executive director of Kanal D International. New Life, starring Serkan Çayoğlu and Melisa Aslı Pamuk, “is a captivating story with action and love,” says Turna. For those interested in rom-coms, there’s Romance Next Door, produced by Mia Yapım. Turna says the show provides “hope and joy for people in these hard times.”

“Kanal D International is and will continue to be the top content supplier with the greatest number of hours and diversified products.”

—Kerim Emrah Turna 160 WORLD SCREEN 10/20

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Manhunt: Deadly Games

Lionsgate Love Life / Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist / Manhunt: Deadly Games Lionsgate is providing a fresh take on the romantic-comedy anthology with Love Life, a series starring Academy Award nominee Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect) about the journey from first love to last love. Lionsgate is also presenting the Emmy Award-winning Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist and Manhunt: Deadly Games. In Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, a female computer coder, played by Jane Levy (Suburgatory), is able to hear the innermost wants and desires of the people around her through songs. “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist is a heartfelt drama that is also a lot of fun,” says Agapy Kapouranis, president of international television and digital distribution.

She calls Manhunt: Deadly Games a “suspenseful and thrilling classic of the true-crime genre,” as it follows the search for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Park bomber.

“All of our newest series have received second seasons, demonstrating the strength of our scripted television business and how we continue to be a partner of choice.”

—Agapy Kapouranis

Russia Television and Radio/Sovtelexport Zuleikha Opens Her Eyes / The Blood Widow / On the Edge Russia Television and Radio is launching three new series based on real-life events: Zuleikha Opens Her Eyes, The Blood Widow and On the Edge. Zuleikha Opens Her Eyes is based on a multi-award-winning novel by Guzel Yakhina inspired by her grandmother’s dramatic life. “The book became a bestseller, translated into 34 languages,” says Julia Matyash, director of Sovtelexport, which distributes programming from Russia Television and Radio. “It is a touching story about a woman who finally finds her own voice and starts building a life for herself.” The Blood Widow is a thriller based on the story of the most notorious female serial killer in Russia. On the Edge is an action series about three strong young women who fight for their lives and freedom, overcoming challenges under very hard circumstances.

On the Edge

“We introduce the best Russian TV products to the world.”

—Julia Matyash

ZDF Enterprises Standing Tall / Grow / Sløborn Directed by Gianluca Maria Tavarelli (The Young Montalbano, Maltese), Standing Tall is a crime series from the ZDFE.drama slate that follows a former policeman’s unofficial investigation into the death of his son, whom he hadn’t seen for years. Written, directed and produced by the Danish Avaz brothers, Grow is a crime series about self-discovery and morale set in a multi-plot story. From the showrunner of Netflix’s Dogs of Berlin, Sløborn mixes a coming-of-age drama with a pandemic thriller into a modern epic to tell the story of a group of islanders confronted with a fatal virus. “We have been busy the last year to add more genres and more quality drama from all over the world,” says Robert Franke, VP of ZDFE.drama.

“We work with renowned producers, co-producers, authors and popular actors.”

—Robert Franke 162 WORLD SCREEN 10/20

Grow

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Global Screen’s Turbulent Skies.

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Truth

Be Told

Producers and distributors weigh in on some of the keys to crafting successful dramas based on real-life stories. By Kristin Brzoznowski

A

scan of the recent news headlines returns stories brimming with plot, just begging to be scripted for TV in the years to come. Think of the possibilities for a pandemic thriller of global scale, a TV movie about cross-border political meddling, a limited series centered on the social upswells from the Black Lives Matter movement.

Real-life events and people have long served as the inspiration for successful dramas, and in today’s environment, which in many ways feels like the strangest of times, audiences are even more hungry for stories from the past that can either help them escape the harsh realities or perhaps make sense of them.

“People naturally have an easier connection with topics with a real-life background since they can relate to them and engage even more if they know that there is a true story behind it,” says Robert Franke, VP of ZDFE.drama at ZDF Enterprises.

“With many real-life and true-event stories, people can remember parts of the story or a specific incident,” says Alexandra Heidrich, head of acquisitions and sales for international TV and SVOD at Global Screen. “They have either learned something at school, read about it or heard about it in the news. But they don’t have the full story. This arouses curiosity within the audience. True-event series seem familiar because the viewer thinks he or she already knows the protagonists, as they still have vague memories of the story.”

Even though there has been a steady flow of real-life stories worthy of screen treatment, it hasn’t always been easy to get these projects off the ground. “In many cases, those stories were harder to get produced because of the higher cost

inherent in telling period stories, particularly for stories emerging from non-English-speaking territories,” says Christian Gabela, creative executive, head of Latin America and Spain at Gaumont. “With the advent of streaming platforms, however, a greater emphasis has been placed on finding local stories, and with it has come a need to produce higher-budget shows. This has allowed for some of these real-life local stories to get produced at the budget levels the stories deserve.”

SIGN OF THE TIMES Jimmy George, VP of sales and acquisitions at GoQuest Media, agrees that streaming services have helped to spur this already-in-demand genre. “Because of the boom of digital platforms, there is a requirement for original content in a lot of territories. Be it key territories like the U.S. and U.K., but even in developing ones, they all need content. With real-life events, these provide available, authentic, ready material [from which] to craft a good, compelling story.”

George says that it’s easy for audiences to get inspired by the true-life tales of real people from the past. “In the times that we’re living in, we need to be inspired to carry on and keep going ahead in life. At the same time, there are some great personalities whose stories need to be told; the world needs to see them. These stories are authentic, relatable and relevant. They work because they talk about human triumph.”

GoQuest is currently highlighting two dramas that are inspired by or based on real people: Queen and Ek Thi Begum, both from India. Queen has a theme of female empowerment, set against the backdrop of a vibrant India in the 1960s to 1990s. It’s a biopic inspired by a famous figure: a movie star

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ZDF Enterprises’ Ottilie von FaberCastell is about a German baroness in the 19th century.

who went on to become a political icon. “It’s a story of a woman who starts from nothing and achieves a lot,” says George. “Don’t we all want to see that? A fact-based story that truly inspires viewers during these very trying times.”

There’s also an inspirational female-empowerment story at the center of Russia Television and Radio’s Zuleikha Opens Her Eyes, based on the novel by Guzel Yakhina recounting her grandmother’s dramatic life. Meanwhile, striking a more sinister tone, The Blood Widow is about the most notorious female serial killer in Russian history.

Ekaterina Efanova, drama producer at Russia Television and Radio, says that these types of stories play off of people’s innate curiosity. “They want to know how it happened, who is to blame and what was really going on,” she says. “True stories also give the audience a chance to live through happy and tragic events along with the character; it’s an opportunity for them to gain experience and skills. They can dive into the story and find it very exciting.”

HISTORY COMES ALIVE Efanova adds that in terms of historical context, these kinds of stories “help viewers not only identify themselves with a historical character, but they provide education as well.” Their appeal comes down to what she calls “the timeless truth: that life itself is an incredible scriptwriter. No one has succeeded in topping the plot twists of real-life stories.”

A more recent historical event, the 2015 FIFA corruption case, commonly known as FIFA Gate, comes to light in El Presidente from Gaumont for Amazon Prime Video. The series, which was showrun by Oscar-winning filmmaker Armando Bó, recounts the unlikely rise of Sergio Jadue, the former president of the National Association of Professional Football of Chile, and his central role in the global scandal.

“While most of the characters are real and serious research was performed to ascertain the facts of the events, Armando and his writing team did take creative liberties in

order to fill the gaps where information was lacking and reach the ironic tone of the series that makes it so much fun to watch,” says Gabela.

The ZDF Enterprises catalog has a number of dramas based on historical events, among them Munich ’72 and Ship of No Return—The Final Voyage of the ‘Gustloff.’ There are also those inspired by real people (Beate Uhse: A Lust for Life and Love, Ottilie von Faber-Castel, Freud).

CRIME TIME While historical events and biographies of famous or extraordinary individuals are certainly fertile ground for dramas, Global Screen’s Heidrich sees another type of tale coming to the forefront. “The subgenre of true crime is probably one of the most popular of all, and not just on TV or [digital] platforms, but also increasingly in podcasts,” she says.

“Often, true crime deals with particularly bizarre cases, stories that evoke horror in us,” Heidrich continues. “I think people love this horror factor and the view through the keyhole. You can observe everything from a distance; you can look into the lives of other people and feel that justice has been served when the guilty party is punished. Secretly, you act as the jury yourself. This lets you reassess your own value system.”

In this vein, the company’s fall slate features Dark Woods, which follows the disappearance of a woman who went missing in Lower Saxony. Inspired by real events that took place in the late 1980s, the miniseries tells the story of a family tragedy and of a brother searching for his missing sister for more than 30 years. “It is a story that leaves you both shocked and speechless,” says Heidrich.

Global Screen is also presenting Turbulent Skies, a historical adventure drama from the Netherlands inspired by true events. The story, set from 1919 to 1930, portrays the feud between KLM’s Albert Plesman and aircraft manufacturer Anthony Fokker.

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From Gaumont, El Presidente for Amazon Prime Video is about the 2015 FIFA corruption scandal.

For Turbulent Skies, producer Topkapi Films stuck to the facts as much as possible, Heidrich says. “Almost everything in the series happened in reality. The writers concluded that the lives of both Plesman and Fokker were so rich with drama, and their personalities so different, that they didn’t need to add too much fiction to it, apart from a few instances.”

ASK AN EXPERT

With Russia Television and Radio’s inspired-by dramas, Efanova says the producers were striving to re-create the periods as accurately as possible. “We examined archive documents, diaries and letters. We had historians, archive and museum professionals, costume and household advisers to consult us during our work. Some of the episodes were shot on the historical sites protected by the government, so we needed to get special permission for shooting there.”

ZDF Enterprises’ Franke is of the opinion that the level of creative liberties that can be taken “depends very much on the individual production and the creativity and intentions of the makers and creators. If you want a high level of authenticity, you will work with consultants and may also require permission to make a story as close to the real story behind it as possible—in terms of the characters described, the locations, props, manners, historical accuracy and so on.”

Topkapi Films used the biography of Fokker for the series, with the permission of author Marc Dierikx. “Luckily, he happened to know a lot about Plesman’s life, too,” says Heidrich.

“In this way, Dierikx became a fact-checker for the story.”

The script of Dark Woods was inspired by one of the most mysterious criminal cases in German post-war history.

The plot follows the same course of action as the original case, “aligned according to dramatic requirements, without claiming to exactly reproduce real events,” Heidrich notes. “Individual characters in the series, namely the family and the perpetrator, are inspired by the life story of the protagonists in the original case. Many characters, especially those from the investigating authorities and the public prosecutor’s office, are typified fictional characters. Others are completely fictional characters.”

Wolfgang Sielaff, the missing woman’s brother and former head of the Hamburg State Criminal Police Office and chief of police in Hamburg, consulted on the series. “For Bavaria Fiction, the producers behind Dark Woods, it was very important to involve Sielaff and his family as well as his private team of investigators in the production because they wanted to treat the victims with the utmost respect,” says Heidrich.

Inspired by a true story, GoQuest’s Queen is about a movie star who became a politician.

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because they have a universal relevance that transcends the interests of the local audience,” he says. “This is typically achieved by showcasing a captivating universe and a set of characters whose personal conflicts and motivations feel grounded in basic human emotions.”

Global notoriety of a historical figure can certainly help give a show international legs, but it’s not a requirement, says ZDF Enterprises’ Franke, so long as the audience can connect to the character and the story. “The character in a drama production may even be easier to sympathize with than the real person portrayed might have been,” he adds.

GoQuest’s George believes that the current political and social climate will propel a wave of interest in inspired-by dramas, perhaps in some unexpected ways. “Uplifting and motivational stories will give audiences positive inspiration during these tough times,” George says. “More and more of the audience needs to escape into these real stories, which can inspire them and give them hope, and most of all, keep them engaged and entertained. Plus, with the expansion of digital platforms commissioning their own originals, this is going to fuel a lot of the stories that appear in the content market.”

UP NEXT

Available from Sovtelexport, Russia Television and Radio’s The Blood Widow is about a notorious serial killer.

In his overall take on historical and factual accuracy versus creative license, Franke likens it to the experience of watching a movie after you’ve already read the book, in that there will always be critics. “Some will be enthusiastic about the film; some will say it should have been closer to the book and dislike it. Personally, I think that the outcome is what matters in drama productions. If you want a 90 percent accurate description of a person or event, you have to watch a documentary about it. A drama made based on the same event might still be excellent and enjoyable, even if there is only 10 percent reality in it. The only thing that matters is that the audience enjoys it, either for authenticity or for pure entertainment.”

FACT FROM FICTION Gaumont’s Gabela says the balance of fact and fiction is best left to the discretion of the writer, “who ultimately is looking to squeeze the greatest narrative value out of the factual foundation of the story.”

The story in Gaumont’s El Presidente has its roots in Chile, but the event had global resonance, and Gabela says that it’s these types of true-life stories that are primed to travel. “Local stories often travel well

Global Screen’s Heidrich is also enthused by the prospects for heartening and inspirational shows to spring from the roots of real life. “True crime and historical events will surely stay with us for a long time to come, but perhaps this preference for true stories will spill over into other areas,” she says. “I would like to see stories of people who have achieved something extraordinary, stories that encourage and inspire. I think we could all use uplifting stories at this unusual time.”

The fact remains that reality can often be more captivating, or twisted, than what even the most imaginative of fiction storytellers could come up with—which means there’s plenty of real-life material ripe for TV treatment.

“Sometimes we are surprised by reality,” says ZDF Enterprises’ Franke. “Just look at this year. There have already been movies about viruses, etc., but we took this as something coming from the imagination of a scriptwriter. Something that might occasionally happen in a faraway country but never on our doorstep. And then COVID-19 hit us, and the world still has not defeated it. Just before this happened, we were in the middle of producing our coming-of-age drama and post-apocalyptic disaster thriller Sløborn, which tells the story of a group of islanders confronted with a fatal virus. In a radical, uncompromising manner, the series raises the question of what happens to us modern people when the thin varnish of our civilization collapses and reminds us that reality can sometimes be tougher than anything that could be imagined.”

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Eccho Rights’ Maria Wern.

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Blue Skies

Ahead

Audiences are seeking out escapist series with compelling characters and virtual trips abroad. By Chelsea Regan

E

ven before a pandemic upended the lives of people across the globe and fundamentally shifted the way they consume media, viewers were showing fatigue for darker drama. A bit of blue sky was what the international mood wanted; now it’s what it needs. And not only do blue-sky dramas serve as a curative on darker days in uncertain times and a figurative escape to lower-stakes intrigue—but they also transport audiences around the world to scenic locales that travel restrictions would make difficult to visit in person.

“Audiences are showing an emotional need for passive viewing that enables them to sit back and relax, giving them a break from the news,” says Katie Benbow, director of sales planning at BBC Studios. “There is also a need for uplifting stories that allow audiences to come out the other side feeling happier, boosted and more confident about the world.”

BRINGING SUNSHINE Nicola Söderlund, managing partner at Eccho Rights, also finds that viewers’ appetite for escapism has grown in the years since gritty dramas, with their gripping storylines and pulsing plots, began to dominate much of the drama landscape. “After a while it can feel a little heavy,” says Söderlund. “Not just with the current year and the pandemic, but in general the past few years, we have had almost a sense of impending doom around the world, with the Trump administration and political and economic uncertainty often around the corner. Coupled with the sense now that people have been trapped inside of their homes for so long, a bit of blue sky is literally what people need.”

Jan Bennemann, senior VP of acquisitions and coproductions at Dynamic Television, explains, “Like most things in life, these trends come in cycles. In recent years, there was a period with dark drama, a period of elaborate serialized shows, a period with many damaged lead characters. This period of blue-sky drama is the counterbalance of people fed up with what they’ve seen in the last few years.”

In keeping with the idea of giving people a window out of both the darker drama and the confines of their homes, Söderlund believes that a couple of blue sky’s key ingredients— location and environment—enable the shows to pull double duty as travel programs. Maria Wern, a crime drama on Eccho Rights’ slate set on the island of Gotland off the Swedish Baltic coast, is one example of such a program. Viewers “can get lost, not just in the stories, but in the beautiful scenery and the fabulous locations,” says Söderlund.

Bennemann, too, recognizes blue-sky drama’s transportive potential—and why it’s incredibly valuable at present. “Visually, there are plenty of stunning sets and sceneries used as backdrops for a series, which becomes a real asset for the show. It’s something that makes it globally appealing because the audience can travel the world with a show. Especially in these times, when traveling has become a complicated thing.”

Bennemann adds, “Sitting down on a Sunday night to watch a blue-sky drama that takes you to beautiful places is something that many people crave.”

Of course, the scenery alone is not enough to win the hearts of audiences. Characters that provide viewers reasons to become invested in them, and the interpersonal drama that swirls around them, are essential. “Compelling characters are hugely important for grounding the drama in stories in these

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All Creatures Great and Small, on offer from all3media international, is adapted from James Herriot’s beloved memoirs.

types of shows and sucking you into the narrative,” says Maartje Horchner, executive VP of content at all3media international.

“Once you’re engrossed in the characters, you just have such an appetite for watching their stories unfold, despite the sometimes lighter sensibility.”

These characters, their relationships and the emotional aspect they bring “sets a blue-sky offering apart,” according to BBC Studios’ Benbow. “It’s about finding authentic characters that feel relatable for an audience and putting them in an environment where they have some sort of soft challenge they can resolve by the end of the episode,” she says. “The situation doesn’t have to be familiar, but if the audience can recognize themselves in characters, and their reactions and feelings, then the language is universal.”

MIND YOUR LANGUAGE Further boosting a series’ ability to travel is audiences’ increased openness to watching foreign-language titles, either with subtitles or dubbing. “An element of blue sky is the importance of being authentic to where the story takes place; the central aspect of that is language,” says Dynamic’s Bennemann. “The fact that foreign-language drama has in the last couple of years picked up in terms of marketability enables us to take grounded drama to interesting places across the world and have them in the original language. The international appeal and acceptance of watching a drama set, filmed and spoken within the location and society faithful to the original storyline are invaluable and open immense creative opportunities to the world.”

Söderlund of Eccho Rights agrees, pointing to how Nordic noir helped to crack through the language barrier to reach English-speaking audiences. “As with many other genres, we see the market becoming more open to non-U.S. and nonEnglish-language content. The Nordic noir movement has opened people’s eyes to the amazing creative talents in our region, for example, but we have no doubt that some lighter fare from a Swedish fishing village, with light comic and romantic touches, can work just as well internationally.”

Unsurprisingly, literary adaptations remain popular with viewers and broadcasters alike, as they come with built-in fans and a story that’s already proven its ability to enrapture. “Book IP and true-life narratives are really fertile material for TV

adaptation,” says Horchner, who points to All Creatures Great and Small as the type of blue-sky drama that provides “lighter, warmer, escapist worlds to truly get immersed in,” set against the wonders of the Yorkshire countryside.

Eccho Rights, meanwhile, is launching Hammarvik, a series created by the Swedish novelist Camilla Läckberg, who has sold over 20 million books worldwide that have been translated into 40 languages.

“With that kind of a track record, it is easier to get a commission and subsequently make an impact on the international market,” says Söderlund. The Viaplay original centers on an unsolved missing persons case, a family feud and a romance that rocks a fictional seaside community.

At BBC Studios, Benbow says, “Our customers are still really hungry for literary adaptations,” adding that the company has gone into production on The Pursuit of Love, an adaptation of the Nancy Mitford novel from Emily Mortimer, which has Amazon on board. “There is still really high demand for literary IP from both a commissioning and acquisition point of view.” Also in demand is fantasy, which, as Benbow points out, “has endless possibilities when compelling new worlds are created.” BBC Studios is soon to roll out The Watch, inspired by Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, which “weaves together fantasy and crime, with a great deal of humanity and humor about it too,” Benbow says.

MIXING IT UP Blue-sky drama procedurals are natural hybrid series, according to Dynamic’s Bennemann. “It takes a recipe that has worked for years, like The Sommerdahl Murders, which we built on the back of Nordic noir’s success,” he says. “We turned it into a ‘Nordic blue.’ Blue-sky procedurals are hybrids and very successful.”

And these blue-sky shows can find success whether they are long-running staples or event pieces. “Shows like Death in Paradise, Gavin & Stacey, The Vicar of Dibley and Call the Midwife are all doing incredibly well due to their long-term value,” says BBC Studios’ Benbow. But, adds Benbow, “you only have to look at the success of I May Destroy You to see how an event piece that connects so personally with viewers can reach phenomenal success with an international platform, in this case, HBO.” Bennemann adds, “It all comes down to finding an arena and finding a place to set the drama that is close to home.”

In agreement is all3media international’s Horchner, who says that universal subject matters like relationships, friendship, family dynamics and love are really important in a blue-sky drama. Referring to Ackley Bridge, one such series on all3media international’s slate, she says, “You’ll laugh, you’ll cry—and you’ll certainly engage as real life collides with dreams and aspirations.”

“Blue-sky drama enables that little moment of respite,” explains BBC Studios’ Benbow. “That is what people are looking for.”

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TV DRAMA: What are your criteria for choosing series?

IUZZOLINO: When I started Walter Presents almost seven years ago, I set myself three criteria, and they’ve never changed. I found them very useful as an initial tool to approach content that comes from abroad.

First, I wanted pieces that were big, successful, commercial hits in their country of origin. When we launched Walter Presents in the U.K., [watching programming with] subtitles was considered a snobbish, non-mainstream activity. I didn’t believe that, and I didn’t like that. Because I was raised in Italy, I was used to dubbed television, although I don’t like dubbing. But what was good about dubbing in Italy when I was growing up was that you had access to content from all over the world. Language was never a barrier to the appreciation of a piece of content because for us, everything was in Italian. We would watch American drama, Italian drama, French drama and have those open windows on the rest of the world. When I came to London, it was quite clear that everything was very Anglophile and Anglo-American. International content that was dubbed and subtitled was not cutting through. So, my ambition was to create a brand that would be mainstream, broad and commercially successful. I liked the idea of shows that are watched by millions of people in their country of origin. I found that very appealing because it went against the snobbery or perceived elitism of the idea. Success in the country of origin was always a very important piece.

Second, I looked at the overall quality of the piece. The writing, acting and directing needed to be of the highest caliber, the kind of standard that was set by HBO in the ’90s, from The Sopranos onward. The crafting that used to be happening in independent cinema in America and has moved to television.

Walter Iuzzolino Walter Presents

By Anna Carugati

O

ver his career, Walter Iuzzolino has developed a keen eye for quality prime-time programming. He was a commissioning editor at Channel 4, where he developed numerous successful factual formats, and later the creative director at the factual-entertainment and formats outfit betty. Iuzzolino then decided to follow his dream of creating a streaming service dedicated to foreign-language drama. He spent hundreds of hours watching series from around the world before founding Walter Presents in 2014 with partners Jason Thorp and Jo McGrath. The OTT service launched first in the U.K., then the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Belgium, Russia and Canada, with more countries to follow. Iuzzolino talks to TV Drama about his criteria for choosing series, the uptick in subscribers since the onset of the pandemic, and setting up a production arm, Eagle Eye Drama.

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And the third point was critical acclaim. I was interested in pieces that were winning awards on the international festival circuit. I remember saying to myself, If two out of three of these criteria are met, then I should seriously consider the piece. The quality of execution was always the top criteria.

However, it is either wonderfully made and successful in its country of origin or wonderfully made and critically acclaimed.

The type of series I look for hasn’t changed. When we started, it was almost 100 percent crime thrillers, with the very odd exception. I would say 60 percent to 65 percent of what we buy is crime thrillers, but we’ve broadened because we’ve launched in so many countries. We have learned from every territory where we have launched, and we’ve enlarged the scope, scale and taste palette of the offering. We have family sagas. We are starting to open up

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Walter Presents acquired The Berlin Dance School (Ku'damm 56) from ZDF Enterprises.

to historical costume dramas. We have some pieces that are strongly younger-skewing. We had a vampire piece for the U.K. and acquired something that is YA. We don’t do comedy. We can do a bit of comedy-drama, but it’s very rare because I’ve found that these pieces struggle.

TV DRAMA: How do you curate the offering for each individual territory?

IUZZOLINO: My ambition from the start was that we would be ever more coordinated in our schedule. In the beginning, we had to do a bit of bespoke because we launched in the U.K. in 2016 and the U.S. in 2017, so a lot of titles had either gone here or gone there. I needed to acquire complementary pieces to add volume. But now that we are in eight countries, it’s become much easier. I tend to buy for all our territories. There are subtle nuances in how our viewers watch programming, but broadly speaking, I found that viewers of glossy, well-crafted, box-set television love the same stories all over the world. A great story is a great story. And our slight focus on crime drama means that a lover of crime is a certain type of viewer, and they are everywhere.

TV DRAMA: Since the pandemic, have you noticed any changes in viewing habits?

IUZZOLINO: Yes and no. The viewing patterns have changed significantly. The pandemic has been almost a cultural earthquake for our industry. I was talking to a couple of friends who work in linear television and they were saying this will probably be remembered as a very interesting moment of transition, where streaming has become incredibly mainstream. All the channels that have well-crafted streaming offerings have done well because, during the lockdown, people had a lot more time at home and they’ve been digging deeper into the archives. The advantage of streaming at this difficult time in our lives has been that we’ve all been able to access great stories.

We have never done better at Walter Presents. Our streaming figures in the U.K., the U.S. and across the world are skyrocketing.

What is interesting about that, again, is because people have more time to view, they have been going beyond the 180 WORLD SCREEN 10/20

poster lineup, so to speak. Often, when you don’t have much time, you dip in and out of what is heavily promoted and marketed. But I have noticed that people dip into the archive, and when they discover the offering, they have gone much more vertical. So there is consumption of a lot of titles, even older ones that we launched a while ago, that people maybe hadn’t had the time or the patience or the circumstances to go through yet.

In terms of genres, not much has changed. If you are a lover of historical costume drama, you will have dug deeper into that vein. I’ve also seen that a lot of disaster movies have done really well. I don’t think the pandemic changed the genres we are watching. The change was more in our viewing habits and when and how we want content.

The streaming world fully benefited from the pandemic.

TV DRAMA: What motivated setting up Eagle Eye Drama?

IUZZOLINO: From the moment we started Walter Presents, it became clear that there were wonderful stories around the world and great IP. Our job was always to enhance and increase the popularity and success of original content with subtitles around the world. But there is also a capacity issue, in the sense that it fundamentally remains a slightly niche proposition because subtitles are still subtitles. This is changing every year. But we always thought it would be exciting for us, as the curator of this content, to also be able to identify content that is ripe for reinvention and reimagine it for an Anglo-American audience. That has worked incredibly well. We started last November; we optioned a number of titles, and we have several projects we are working on. We’re in production on a few things.

We are very close to filming the crime drama Professor T, a show for ITV. It’s been cast with Ben Miller and Frances de la Tour as the main protagonists. It’s a procedural in the sense that it’s self-concluding, but it has a great arc and story about an obsessive-compulsive criminologist. We have two more projects [including Before We Die for Channel 4, adapted from the Swedish crime thriller].

It’s an exciting time because I think great ideas travel.

They travel in their original form and also as original IP that can be reconfigured. But the one difference to our approach is that we source the talent truly internationally.

As curator of Walter Presents, I get to know great writers, directors and costume directors from all over the world. I have this privilege of buying shows from Belgium, Brazil, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Italy and so on.

We’ve created a contact book of great talent behind the screen; talent that normally doesn’t have access to the world of making drama in English. We bring them together and configure these teams with superb talent, which makes me hope that the tone of our productions will be interesting and different. We’re not cloning anything. We are putting together phenomenal teams to reimagine pieces of IP and make them distinctive.

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