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Stream unedited international mysteries, dramas, and comedies with English subtitles anytime you want.

I’m a sucker for a great murder mystery, and sometimes Europe just does it better. Sure, there are subtitles, but if “Squid Game” taught us anything, it’s that a great story matters far more than what language the characters are speaking. So, if you’re a fan of international movies and TV and haven’t heard of MHz Choice, consider this a sign to check it out. As one of the premiere streamers for exclusive international mysteries, dramas, and comedies, MHz Choice gives you over 2,500 hours of content – all unedited with easy-to-read English subtitles. From quirky French mysteries like “Alexandra Ehle” to darker tales from Finland like “Arctic Circle,” there’s a gripping story waiting to be discovered. Here’s everything you need to know about MHz Choice.

7-Day Free Trial $7.99+ / month MHz Choice via...

On Wednesday, world sales agency Beta Cinema hosts the market premiere of “John Cranko,” starring Sam Riley, at the American Film Market in Las Vegas. Variety speaks to the director Joachim A. Lang ahead of the screening and debuts the film’s international trailer (below).

The film, based on true events, follows in the footsteps of John Cranko as he arrives in Stuttgart in 1960 to be guest choreographer at the German city’s ballet company. A South African by birth, he had previously worked in London, but his tenure at the Sadler’s Wells Ballet had been jeopardized after he was prosecuted for committing a “homosexual act” in a public place, which at that time was outlawed in the U.K.

The film follows Cranko as he is made director of the Stuttgart ballet company and fights to revolutionize the art, culminating in a triumphant visit to New York, after which Time magazine commented,...

For writers and directors Cyrill Boss and Philipp Stennert, Wolfgang Hohlbein’s 1986 bestselling novel “Hagen von Tronje” was the ideal material to adapt not only into a feature film, but also into an epic six-part series.

The story recounts the Nibelung saga, which follows the dragon slayer Siegfried and the fate of the Burgundian kingdom, albeit from a different perspective – that of Hagen von Tronje, traditionally the antagonist of the tale, seen as a dark figure with dubious motives.

Bathing in the blood of the slain dragon is said to make Siegfried (Jannis Niewöhner) ​​invulnerable.

In “Hagen,” which premieres at the Zurich Film Festival, the titular character (played by Dutch actor Gijs Naber) is lord commander to King Gunter (Dominic Marcus Singer) of Burgundy. With his sense of duty and iron determination, it is Hagen who holds the crisis-ridden kingdom together.

A loyal servant, disciplined and rational, Hagen faces a grave challenge when the bold,...

The TV series that reimagines Angela Merkel as a small-town detective has found a U.S. home.

Kino Lorber’s MHz Choice streamer has picked up Miss Merkel from Fremantle, two 90-minute tongue-in-cheek mysteries, with a third planned.

Starring vet German actress Katharina Thalbach (The Tin Drum), the Rtl series, which has sold to a number of European networks, is based on the books by writer, humorist and actor David Safier. It imagines the former German chancellor moving to a small town with her husband and her pug, Helmut, as she discovers a new calling as an amateur detective. Safier pens the adaptations with Stefan Cantz, with Christoph Schnee directing.

Lance Schwulst, EVP Content Strategy, MHz Choice, said he had “committed to the series before my sales agent had finished her pitch.”

“It’s such an idiosyncratic premise that I knew it had to be right,...

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

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

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

‘Weiss & Morales’ Conecta Fiction Panel

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

Welcome to Maxton Hall Private School! Prime Video has released the official trailer for Maxton Hall – The World Between Us, which takes viewers into the world of Ruby (Harriet Herbig-Matten) and James (Damian Hardung).

The Original series is based on Mona Kasten’s award-winning, bestselling novel Save Me. Produced by UFA Fiction, the German series tells the modern love story of James Beaufort and Ruby Bell, an upper-class boy and a working-class girl in a world of glamor, prestige, secrets, and drama.

In the series, when Ruby unwittingly witnesses an explosive secret at Maxton Hall private school, the arrogant millionaire heir James Beaufort has to deal with the quick-witted scholarship student for better or worse.

From that point on, the handsome student tries to buy Ruby’s silence. Although the two come from different worlds, they will soon risk everything to be together.

All six episodes are available exclusively on...

Fans of international entertainment will want to take another look at MHz Choice today. The service just absorbed another international streamer: Topic. The combined service offers Nordic crime dramas, thrillers and true-crime stories along with the best mysteries, dramas, and comedies from across the globe. You can sample the service with a 7-day Free trial.

7-Day Free Trial $7.99+ / month MHz Choice via amazon.com

Starting today, MHz Choice subscribers can access critically-acclaimed series like Denmark’s “The Killing,” the UK’s “Temple”, Germany’s “Pagan Peak,” Finland’s “Arctic Circle,” and more. Subscribers will also be able to watch more shows with English-language dubbing options.

Popular MHz Choice series include “The Bridge,” “Arctic Circle,” “Spiral,” “Professor T,” “The Sea Beyond,” “The Returned,” “Mongeville,” and “A French Village.”

New Pricing

If you were a MHz Choice subscriber, the price remains $7.99/month, but the annual price actually decreases from $89.99/year to $79.99/year.

If you ware a Topic subscriber,...

Kino Lorber’s MHz Choice and Topic will merge into one streaming service, the company announced.

The combined product will become the exclusive U.S. streaming home of hit German series “Babylon Berlin” starting in April. As of Feb. 29, the series is no longer available in the country on Netflix, which previously held the U.S. streaming rights.

Co-created, written and directed by Tom Twyker, Achim von Borries and Hendrik Handloegten, “Babylon Berlin” is based on the novels by Volker Kutscher and distributed by Beta Film. The fourth season of the drama, which has not been available for streaming in North America before, will land on the new service June 25.

Along with “Babylon Berlin,” MHz Choice and Topic’s combined lineup will include “The Killing,” “The Bridge,” “Detective Montalbano,” “The Sea Beyond,” “Pagan Peak,” “A French Village,” “Spiral,” “Beck” and “Murder In.”

Current MHz Choice and Topic subscribers will be...

Babylon Berlin has landed a new U.S. home on a newly-merged streaming service created as Kino Lorber’s MHz Choice and Topic combine.

The boutique streamer will be named MHz Choice and feature the likes of The Killing, The Bridge, Detective Montalbano, The Sea Beyond and Pagan Peak, alongside the popular Babylon Berlin, which moves over from Netflix after three seasons on that streamer.

Kino Lorber said the new streamer will “combine the best European dramas and mysteries with Nordic noir crime and thrillers under the MHz Choice brand.”

The Four Daughters distributor owns MHz Choice and Topic, the latter of which in a Jv with First Look Media under which Kino has a majority stake and management oversight. The news comes a few weeks after we revealed layoffs at First Look production subsidiary Topic Studios.

Viaplay has also exited the U.S. following a disastrous 12 months that has...

Kino Lorber’s streaming platform MHz Choice is merging with First Look Media’s Topic platform to create a single North American streamer, operating under the MHz Choice brand, specializing in international series and films for the domestic market.

Kino Lorber and First Look Media launched a joint venture in 2022 that bundled their streaming activities. The new agreement will fold both MHz Choice and Topic into a single platform.

Kino Lorber Chief Operating Officer Martha Benyam will oversee the new combined service, with Lisa Schwartz, Kino Lorber Chief Revenue Officer, overseeing distribution and partnerships, Executive Vice President, Content Strategy Lance Schwulst continuing to oversee programming and Monica Bloom, who joined Kino Lorber from Topic, continuing to serve as Chief Marketing Officer.

The new service has secured exclusive North American rights to award-winning German period series Babylon Berlin from sales group Beta Film and will stream all four seasons of the show.

Constantin Film has released the first images from Hagen, its hotly-anticipated new fantasy drama, which is looking to tap into the global Game of Thrones and Vikings fan base with a swords-and-magic tale inspired by the Teutonic Nibelungen saga.

Fremantle has picked up worldwide distribution rights outside German-speaking territories to the series from Constantin. Fremantle parent Rtl Group holds German streaming and free TV rights.

The series is based on Wolfgang Hohlbein’s Hagen von Tronje, a reimagining of the Niebelungen saga, the medieval German folk tale considered the inspiration for such modern-day fantasy epics as J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of The Rings.

Hagen follows the story of the soldier Hagen, the legendary dragon slayer Siegfried, the princess warrior Kriemhild, and the magical Valkyrie queen Brunhild in a tale of love, family, power and war that ends —this is a Germanic tale after all — catastrophically.

Gijs Naber (The Story of My Wife...

Fremantle has acquired worldwide rights, excluding German-speaking territories, to Constantin Film’s fantasy drama Hagen (working title) that is being made as both a feature and a six-part TV series.

The Rtl group, also Fremantle’s parent company, holds German streaming and free TV rights.

Hagen is based on Wolfgang Hohlbein’s novel Hagen von Tronje and is styled as a reimagining of the medieval Nibelungen folk saga. The story is widely considered to be one of the inspirations behind J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord Of The Rings.

The epic adventure centres on the titular soldier and commander...

Fremantle has acquired worldwide rights excluding German-speaking territories to Constantin Film’s fantasy drama Hagen (working title) and released first-look images.

The deal will see Fremantle produce a feature film and a television series of six one-hour episodes. Rtl group holds German streaming and free TV rights.

Fremantle will showcase Hagen as one of its key scripted drama titles at Fremantle Presents on Friday (March 1) as part of London TV Screenings 2024.

Hagen is based on Wolfgang Hohlbein’s novel Hagen von Tronje and is styled as a reimagining of the medieval Nibelungen folk saga. The story is widely considered...

Exclusive: Beta Film has has sold a slew of dramas to Australia’s Sbs including big-budget TIFF entry Estonia as part of the pair’s multi-year license deal.

Several of the German-headquartered major’s dramas will head to the Sbs On Demand platform as the multi-year deal enters its second year.

Included in the partnership is Estonia, one of Scandinavia’s most expensive TV series of all time that launched at TIFF. Speaking to Deadline recently, the creatives behind the show opened up about the ethical issues surrounding a series spotlighting a tragedy that claimed the lives of 850 people.

Sbs has also picked up the third season of Rtl’s Sisi, which stars Dominique Devenport as the Bavarian tomboy turned Empress, along with crime thriller Pagan Peak. Sbs also relicensed the first seasons each of these dramas.

Sbs has also bought Alpine thriller Snow, YA drama Saving the Fucking Planet and I Am Scrooge.

Fremantle revealed Wednesday that it has secured worldwide distribution rights, outside of German-speaking territories, to the premium fantasy drama “Hagen” — a working title — from Constantin Film. The deal includes rights to a six-part series and a feature film for theatrical release. Rtl Group holds German streaming and free TV rights.

Fremantle will be showcasing “Hagen” as one of its key scripted drama titles at Fremantle Presents this Friday as part of London TV Screenings.

“Hagen,” which is based on Wolfgang Hohlbein’s bestselling novel “Hagen von Tronje,” is a reimagining of the medieval “Nibelungen” folk saga. The story is considered to be one of the inspirations behind modern fantasies such as “Game of Thrones” and J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings.”

The show centers on dutiful soldier Hagen and Siegfried, the legendary dragon slayer. Hagen, bound by loyalty to the kingdom, is Lord Commander, ready to serve and stand by his king.

A scene from Episode 1 of German/Austrian crime drama “Pagan Peak: Season 3.” Courtesy of Topic.

The German/Austrian crime drama “Pagan Peak” is back for its third and final season, but it is fairly essential to understanding this final round to have seen the first two seasons, due to the substantial carryover of main characters and key issues shaping their current actions and attitudes. To help out, here is the link to my earlier review of “Pagan Peak”:

“Pagan Peak,” Season 2 – TV series review

Once you read the review (or watch Seasons 1 and 2), you’ll be caught up. Now that you’re up to speed, be prepared for a radical tone shift from a suspenseful dark procedural into something much creepier. More Lovecraft and Lynch than Dalgleish or Sherlock in this final season.

The drastic change caused me to check the creators’ credits. Sure enough there was a...

While Hollywood writers are back at work, media companies have suspended negotiations with striking actors over a new contract. Even if talks resume and a settlement were to happen soon, however, it would likely be early 2024 before the two dozen or so dramas and comedies that normally premiere in the fall make it back onto screens.

As luck would have it, though, the era of peak streaming provides a nearly limitless array of series to watch. Below are a handful of new or recent lesser-known shows, many of them from outside the United States, on smaller streaming platforms (and one over-the-air network) that can help viewers fill in gaps in their viewing schedules while waiting for homegrown favorites to return. One bonus: None of the shows below are produced by companies against whom Hollywood’s unions are or were striking this year. Unless noted, all the streamers below offer seven-day...

Email to staff talks of ’tough choices on where to spend our investment’

Sky Deutschland is stepping back from original scripted programming from next year, in a move which will see the dissolution of its drama commissioning team.

A memo sent to staff by Devesh Raj, chief executive of Sky’s Dach territories, outlined that Sky Deutschland will cease to produce any new scripted Sky original series from 2024.

Sky Deutschland will proceed with scripted titles currently in production and post-production, with those in development or pre-production placed into “turnaround”, Screen understands.

Series unaffected by the announcement include post-apocalyptic Helgoland 513,...

Sky Deutschland, the German arm of Comcast-owned pay-tv operator Sky, is pulling out of scripted originals from 2024, Variety can reveal.

Staff were notified of the surprise move by Sky Deutschland boss Devesh Raj on Thursday morning, local time. Variety understands that the entire scripted originals team will eventually be disbanded, though shows that have already been commissioned and are in production, such as post-apocalypse drama “Helgoland 513″ and “Das Boot” Season 4, will finish filming. Any projects in development will be “put into turnaround,” as per another internal note from Sky Studios CEO Cécile Frot-Coutaz, also seen by Variety.

The most high-profile casualty of the strategy shift will undoubtedly be period police thriller “Babylon Berlin,” which is critically acclaimed and aired its fourth season in the fall. Fans have been expecting a fifth season, but Variety understands that the neo-noir — which isn’t currently in production — has been canceled by Sky...

Programme at International Film School Cologne is headed by ’Borgen’ showrunner Jeppe Gjervig Gram.

Screenwriters including Domina’s Rachel Paterson and The Gryphon’s Senad Halilbasic are among 12 series writers from 10 countries selected for the 2023 edition of the European Showrunner Programme at International Film School Cologne (ifs).

The training and mentoring programme is run by Borgen showrunner Jeppe Gjervig Gram with showrunners Jeff Melvoin (Killing Eve), Petja Peltomaa (Syke/Nurses) as well as Philipp Käßbohrer and Matthias Murmann (How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast)).

The programme is designed to train up a new generation of showrunners in Europe. Show runners,...

With some of Germany’s most successful production companies in its stable, Leonine Studios is reaping the rewards with such feature film and television hits as “School of Magical Animals,” “Nightlife,” “Dark” and “Pagan Peak.”

Leonine’s production division includes such well-established companies as Wiedemann & Berg Film, which focuses on theatrical features, W&b Television and Odeon Fiction, which produce movies and series for all broadcasters and streaming platforms in Germany, documentary outfit Gebrueder Beetz and format maker I&u TV.

“We are in for high creative quality and commercial success,” explains Quirin Berg, who, along with Max Wiedemann, serves as Leonine’s chief production officer and managing director of Wiedemann & Berg Film.

“The parameters in each segment we are operating in may be different, but the agenda is not. And that was already the profile when we started out as producers some 20 years ago.”

Indeed, Wiedemann & Berg’s first feature film,...

Apple TV+ secured €10m for conspiracy-based psychological thriller drama series Constellation, the maximum amount that the fund can give to a single project.

The German Motion Picture Fund (Gmpf) paid out a record €84.4m in funding in 2022 to 43 high-end series projects by streamers and public broadcasters.

Netflix clinched the largest sum - over €10.38m - for five projects including Constantin Television’s six-part thriller series Liebes Kind, based on the eponymous novel by Romy Hausmann, Real Film’s six-part crime series Sleeping Dog, and W&b Television’s fairytale urban thriller series The Grimm Reality.

Sky was not far behind with...

Long-serving Sky Deutschland exec Quirin Schmidt is moving to Gaumont as an executive producer in April.

Schmidt helped build Sky’s in-house production division in Germany, where he was oversaw three seasons of the German-Austrian crime series Der Pass, dramedy Ich Und Die Anderen and mystery series Hausen.

He has an existing relationship with Gaumont’s President in Germany, producer Sabine de Mardt, and producer Andreas Bareiss through Sky Original comedy series Die Wespe (The Wasp).

In his new role at Gaumont, Schmidt be responsible for developing and producing films and series.

“Quirin is a great asset to our company,” said de Mardt. “Not least our collaboration on Die Wespe showed us that he is exactly the right executive producer for our team.

“We are convinced that Quirin, with his creativity, his flair for extraordinary stories and his broad network in the industry, will contribute significantly to realizing our ambitious...

Leading German pay-tv network Sky Deutschland, part of Comcast-owned European TV giant Sky, is doubling down on its local-language originals slate, giving straight-to-series orders for two new high-end TV series.

Tobias Rosen, vp Sky Studios Deutschland, the channel’s production arm, presented the projects at Up Next, a showcase of new Sky original content during the Berlin Film Festival on Friday.

Garten Eden, an eight-part series created, written and directed by Boris Kunz, is a restaurant-set drama following Jakob Eden, a celebrity chef with a penchant for light drugs and with bipolar disorder. With his late father’s restaurant, the Garten Eden, on the brink of ruin, Jakob’s brother Simon lures his famous sibling back to the kitchen to guarantee a vital cash injection from an investor.

Initially, Jakob, at the peak of a manic period, is thrilled. He quits his lucrative job at a prestigious catering company...

Exclusive: Picture Tree Int’l (Pti) has boarded sales on German Sophie Scholls – The Final Days Oscar-nominee and hitmaker Marc Rothemund’s heart-warming family drama Weekend Rebels, inspired by the true story of a father who forged a special bond with his autistic son through the search for a perfect soccer club.

The film, currently in post-production, is produced by Justyna Muesch, Quirin Berg and Max Wiedemann.

Their Oscar-winning banner Wiedemann & Berg Film company has delivered a slew of award-winning pictures over the years including The Lives Of Others, Never Look Away and Who Am I. SevenPictures Film co-produces.

Leonine Studios is also on board and will release the film in Germany on September 28, 2023.

Florian David Fitz leads the German cast as a father who gets closer to his 10-year-old autistic son through a quest to find a soccer club they can support together,...

While virtual reality is still a relatively niche way to play games, systems like the Psvr, Oculus Quest 2, Vive Index, and more are seeing their user bases grow each year. A number of genres have seen new life in virtual reality, but horror has seemed to be one of the most natural fits for the technology.

The increased immersion granted by room-scale VR makes horror games even scarier, and the first-person perspective often used in the genre translates extremely well. Whether players prefer heart-stopping jump scares or terrifying slow-burn horror, there's something for all tastes to enjoy in virtual reality.

Updated on October 20th, 2022 by Quinn Levandoski:

Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse may be facing some marketing stumbles (via New York Times), but it's still a better time than ever to be a fan of virtual reality. The Meta Quest Pro is up for preorder (though it boasts an incredibly...

U.S. streaming service Topic has inked an exclusive U.S. and Canadian rights deal with Germany’s Beta Film for four European crime series ahead of this year’s Mipcom TV programming mart in Cannes.

Dedicated to crime and suspense, Topic, part of First Look Entertainment, picked up the third season of critically acclaimed Austrian-German series “Pagan Peak”; Finnish title “Helsinki Syndrome”; “Silent Road” from Greece; and Croatian-Ukrainian co-production “The Silence.”

The agreement also includes renewals of Italian political thriller “1992” and follow-up seasons “1993” and “1994.” Described as Italy’s “House Of Cards,” the show examines how Italian politics were shaken to the core by a major criminal investigation against widespread corruption in the 1990s.

Arriving on the eve of its third anniversary, the deal fortifies Topic’s drive to elevate crime and suspense thrillers from around the globe for its North American subscribers, the company stated.

“Pagan Peak”

Inspired by...

Click here to read the full article.

Benjamin Benedict, one of Germany’s leading producers of high-end TV drama, has joined German mini-major Leonine Studios.

As of Nov. 1, Benedict will join the management team of Leonine-owned W&b Television and run the production outfit together with Oliver Vogel, Max Wiedemann and Quirin Berg.

Benedict is currently managing director at German TV powerhouse UFA Fiction, where his small-screen success stories include period dramas Charite, Ku’Damm and the International Emmy-winning miniseries Generation War.

W&b Television, set up by The Lives of Others producer Wiedemann and Berg, has produced such cutting-edge series as Netflix’s time-traveling mystery drama Dark, gangster thriller 4 Blocks for TNT/Turner in Germany, as well as Sky’s crime mystery horror series Pagan Peak. The group is currently in production on the Amazon Prime series The Gryphon, an adaptation of Wolfgang Hohlbein’s fantasy bestseller.

Leonine, which is...

Click here to read the full article.

Constantin Film has unveiled the main cast for Hagen, its ambitious new fantasy series, billed as a reinterpretation of the Nibelungenlied, the German folk saga often cited as an inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.

Dutch actor Gijs Naber (Blackbook, The Story of My Wife) will star as the titular Hagen von Tronje in the project, alongside Jannis Niewöhner (Berlin Station, Amazon’s Beat) as his antagonist, the nearly-invincible hero Siegfried. Lilja van der Zwaag will play princess Kriemhild, Rosalinde Mynster the Valkyrie Brunhild, while Dominic Marcus Singer will take on the role of King Gunter.

Dark actress Jördis Triebel and Jörg Hartmann (The Weissensee Saga) have supporting roles.

The Nibelungen saga has been adapted many times before, most famously in a series of two classic films from Fritz Lang in the 1920s. A TV movie version, in 2004, starred Kristanna Loken Brunhild,...

U.S. streaming service Topic is expanding its roster of French content with such recent acquisitions as the Arte fantasy-thriller miniseries “The Rope,” picked up from Wild Bunch TV, and Season 2 of political satire “Parliament,” sold internationally by France TV Distribution.

Launched by First Look Media in 2019, Topic specializes in crime and thrillers, including top Nordic shows like “The Killing,” “The Bridge,” “Arctic Circle” and “The Bridge”-inspired German thriller “Pagan Peak.”

Jennifer Liang, Topic’s vice president of programming strategy, acquisitions and sales, is attending this year’s Unifrance Rendez-Vous TV programming market in Biarritz for the first time and on the lookout for titles that fit the niche streamer’s high standards.

“For over a year, Topic has been hyper-focused on elevated crime, true crime, thriller and suspense programming from all over the world,” Liang said. “We found that our subscribers appreciate how we bypass the standard crime...

Click here to read the full article.

Former Warner Bros. Television Deutschland executive Tobias Rosen has been appointed a new VP at Sky Studios Deutschland, the German production arm of Comcast-owned European pay TV giant Sky, tasked with overseeing the company’s growing slate of German-language originals.

At WB, Rosen developed and produced series such as Love Addicts for Amazon Prime. Before joining Warners, he worked as a producer with Relevant Film, where his credits included 2019’s Rocca Changes the World, which won the German film prize for best children’s film.

In his newly-created role at Sky, Rosen will oversee the pay-tv group’s ambitious slate of scripted Originals across the company’s German-speaking territories. Sky Deutschland has found international success with local-language dramas including Babylon Berlin and Das Boot and is looking to ramp up its originals output to better compete with international streaming services.

Rosen is...

Julia Jentsch as Ellie in the Austrian/German police procedural “Pagan Peak” (“Der Pass”) Season 2. Courtesy of Topic.

“Pagan Peak” (originally titled “Der Pass”) is a German police procedural, and Season 2 continues the sleuthing of detectives from that country and Austria who teamed up to solve a series of murders with implications for both nations. Ellie (Julia Jentsch) is assigned to liaise with her Austrian counterparts, headed by grizzled Gedeon (Nicholas Ofczarek). In the first season, they faced a ritualistic serial killer that left both protagonists with serious damage from the rigors of nailing him.

As this season opens, Gedeon is in a coma from being shot in retaliation for his work in the first season. Ellie is suffering from nightmares and visions that cause her to freeze at a couple of critical moments. She’s ordered to take personal leave to heal. When a new cross-border crime occurs, she designates an enthusiastic young detective,...

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

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

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

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

(Welcome to SlashClips, a series where we bring you exclusive clips from hot new Digital, Blu-ray and theatrical releases you won't see anywhere else!)

In this edition:

Comedy Confessions  Pagan Peak Season 2 The Ravine Bloody Oranges

Omnibus Entertainment has provided us with the exclusive trailer for "Comedy Confessions," a powerful never-before-released documentary from 2018 that takes audiences on a journey into the lives of three struggling comedians who have decided to pursue their dreams of careers in stand-up comedy despite the harsh realities of being homeless. The star? None other than current comedy superstar Tiffany Haddish. The film premieres via digital platforms this...

The post Clips Round-Up: Tiffany Haddish Struggles In Comedy Confessions Trailer & More! [Exclusive] appeared first on /Film.

Sky executive Jane Millichip, a distribution leader and a driving force behind the company’s sustainability drive, is leaving the company after almost 10 years.

News of the executive’s departure was revealed to staff in a memo from Sky Studios CEO Cécile Frot-Coutaz on Tuesday morning. Millichip, who currently serves as chief content officer for Sky Studios, is leaving the company after nine years. She first joined the business in 2013.

Millichip, a well-respected executive in the U.K. industry, made her mark at Sky through her leadership of the company’s in-house distribution banner Sky Vision, which was folded into NBCUniversal International Distribution following Comcast’s acquisition of Sky in 2018.

Under Millichip, Sky Vision grew from £8 million ($10.8 million) in revenues to £250 million ($338 million) in just six years. The executive was also key in growing the company’s investments in independent production companies, such as “Great British Bake Off” outfit Love Productions.

German production house and distributor Leonine Studios has signed an expanded partnership with local broadcaster Sky Deutschland.

The multi-year license deal sees Sky acquire exclusive first pay-tv rights and SVOD rights in Germany for a period of 12 months to upcoming titles from Leonine Studios, as well as a number of films from the company’s library.

The pact commences with Leonine films that have their theatrical releases from January 1, 2022, including the recently rolled out all-star spy pic The 355, as well as the upcoming Roland Emmerich disaster movie Moonfall, Dog starring Channing Tatum, Guy Ritchie’s Operation Fortune, and the Jennifer Lopez starrer Shotgun Wedding. It also includes German pics such as Alireza Golafshan’s Jga and The School Of Magical Animals 2, the sequel to Germany’s most successful theatrical release of 2021 with more than 1.5 million admissions.

Leonine Studios CEO Fred Kogel said of the deal: “We’re delighted that we...

Roland Emmerich’s upcoming “Moonfall” and Simon Kinberg’s current release “The 355” are part of a multi-year licensing agreement between German independent content house Leonine Studios and Sky Deutschland.

Under the terms of the deal, Sky Deutschland secures exclusive first pay TV rights and the exclusive SVOD rights for a period of 12 months to the upcoming theatrical feature films and home entertainment titles from Leonine Studios’ premium content line-up.

The multi-year license agreement also includes Guy Ritchie’s “Operation Fortune,” Reid Carolin’s and Channing Tatum’s “Dog,” and Jennifer Lopez starrer “Shotgun Wedding.” Included in the deal are two upcoming German films – Leonine co-production “The School of Magical Animals 2,” the sequel to Germany’s most successful theatrical release 2021 of with more than 1.5 million admissions, and the upcoming comedy “Jga,” the second film by award-winning director Alireza Golafshan from Leonine’s production banner Wiedemann & Berg Film.

The deal also...

Exclusive: Boutique streamer Topic has greenlit a documentary about a Scandinavian prison project in the U.S. and acquired dramas from the UK, Finland and Russia, as it sets a path to growth for 2022 and narrows focus to “elevated crime and suspense.”

Alongside three Scandinavian broadcasters, First Look Entertainment’s SVoD has commissioned Prison Project: Little Scandinavia, exploring a Pennsylvania institution which is about to experiment with a Scandi-style approach to incarceration.

The unit will open early next year and the show will air a few months later, showcasing an approach for which inmates have to behave as good neighbors and treat everyone with respect and dignity. But how will a traditionally punitive prison system cope with this shift?

“Incarceration is such a massive social issue here and this series is a really great entrée into that for viewers,” Topic Gm Ryan Chanatry told Deadline.

Topic is in a prime...

The Bridge, The Killing among first shows to get “localised” dubbing.

North American streaming platform Topic has partnered with Israeli start-up Deepdub to use artificial intelligence to dub the streamer’s foreign-language film and TV into English.

According to the companies Deepdub uses AI and machine learning to translate and localise content while preserving the original audio in a process that could be less expensive than other duddbing services or subtitling.

The partnership will encompass titles like The Bridge (pictured), The Killing, Arctic Circle, State Of Happiness, Pagan Peak among others.

Topic general manager Ryan Chanatry said, “Deepdub lets us...

Two-year-old streaming service Topic has set a deal with tech firm Deepdub to make its catalog of foreign-language series and TV shows available in English.

The pioneering effort will span dozens of titles, including noted shows like Arctic Circle, Pagan Peak, The Bridge, The Killing. As streaming continues to expand overall, appetites are growing for global content, but dubbing and subtitling can both be a challenge in terms of cost and execution.

Israel-based Deepdub, which launched in 2019, sees its technology as the answer. It uses artificial intelligence to create what it deems fully “localized” entertainment, playable in a viewer’s native language depending on where programming is streaming. Crucially, other sound is preserved in the process, including the actors’ original voices. Kevin Reilly, who helped launch HBO Max and has headed entertainment for Fox and NBC, joined Deepdub’s advisory board last January. He told Deadline he hoped the company...

Munich-based sales agency Global Screen has sold crime drama “Dark Woods” to streaming service Walter Presents for the U.K., where it’ll be shown on Channel 4’s All 4 platform, and across the Nordic Region, via C More.

The drama, which was produced by ConradFilm and Bavaria Fiction on behalf of Ndr and Ard Degeto for Das Erste, was the most-watched show on Ard’s catch-up service in Germany this year, and was the German TV Award winner.

Julia Weber, head of acquisitions and sales at Global Screen, said: “We are thrilled to announce the acquisition of this highly original and sought-after series, across Scandinavia and in the U.K., where crime drama has proved to be a key genre and is hugely popular with viewers of all ages.”

The show, inspired by real-life-events, starts out in the summer of 1989, when the sister of high-ranking Hamburg police officer Thomas...

Commissions

Sky Deutschland has revealed plans for three new original series, which are part of a wider slate of 60 German and international series that will air in 2022.

“Autobahn,” a 10-part series, will follow a pair of police officer brothers as they keep their cool while chasing suspects at high speed. Shot across Bavaria, the series is from producer Action Concept in association with Sky Studios. The lead writers are Sven Frauenhoff and Andreas Brune. The producers are Heiko Schmidt, Andreas Perzl and Frank Jastfelder.

Set in the year 2036, “Tender Hearts” turns on Mila who orders a humanoid love robot from an advanced tech firm. The eight part series is produced by Odeon Film in association with Sky Studios with Eva Lia Reinegger set to write, with Pola Beck as director. Executive producers are Katja Herzog, Andreas Perzl and Frank Jastfelder.

“Chameleon,” an eight part series, is set in the murky...

After joining forces last year to launch a banner together, indie film and TV powerhouses Mediawan and Leonine Studios (“Dark”) have acquired a 51% stake in Drama Republic, the award-winning U.K. production banner behind “Doctor Foster” and “The Honourable Woman.”

The acquisition marks a milestone in developing the recently-launched Mediawan & Leonine Studios across English-speaking territories and in the U.K.

Drama Republic is led by industry veterans Greg Brenman, Roanna Benn and chief content officer Jude Liknaitzky, who will all remain in their respective roles. The company has created some of Britain’s most successful dramas, many of which have became global hits, such as “Doctor Foster,” which sold in over 100 territories, and the BAFTA-winning “The Honourable Woman.” The outfit has built ties with some of the U.K.’s top talent, including screenwriter and director Hugo Blick, best-selling novelist and screenwriter David Nicholls (“Patrick Melrose”) and Olivier award-winning playwright...

Presents “Dark Woods” A Topic Original Directed by: Sven Bohse (“Ku’damm 56”) Written by: Stefan Kolditz Starring: Matthias Brandt (“Babylon Berlin”), Karoline Schuch, August Wittgenstein (“Das Boot”), Silke Bodenbender, Nicholas Ofczarek (“Pagan Peak”), Jenny Schily (“Tatort”), Hildegard Schmahl (“We Children from Bahnhof Zoo”), Hanno Koffler, Anne Werner, Janina Fautz, and Mirco Kreibich Produced by: Maren Knieling In the …

The post Check out The Trailer! True Crime Miniseries “Dark Woods” | Streaming Exclusively on Topic in May appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

Long-time Sky executive Jane Millichip has been promoted to chief content officer for Sky Studios, overseeing all of Europe.

Millichip, the former managing director of distributor Sky Vision, was tapped as the studio’s chief content officer for the U.K. in July 2020. Now, her remit has expanded to all of the Comcast-backed pay-tv operator’s markets in Europe, including Germany and Italy.

In a memo to staff, Gary Davey, CEO of Sky Studios, who is retiring later this year, said the move is intended to allow the org to “respond quicker to customer demands, identify new, creative opportunities across Group and work even more closely to deliver content to Sky UK, Italia and Deutschland, working to the briefs set out by [Sky UK director of content Zai Bennett], [Sky Italia head Nicola Maccanico] and [Sky Deutschland executive VP content Elke Walthelm].”

Upon launch of Sky Studios in June 2019, Millichip was named chief commercial officer.

Sky Studios and Gaumont have teamed on “The Wasp,” the first Sky original comedy to be produced for Sky Deutschland.

The six-part series follows Eddie Frotzke, a fallen professional dart player who, after a prolonged career slump, wants to return to his former glory. With the help of his old buddy Nobbe, also a rusty dart pro but dealing with a drinking habit, Eddie wants to find his way back into life and his career, proving that he was not called “The Wasp” for nothing.

The series is created and written by Jan Berger (“Der Medicus”) and will be directed by Hermine Huntgeburth. Florian Lukas (“Good Bye Lenin!”) will play Eddie. Andreas Bareiss and Sabine de Mardt are executive producing for Gaumont with Quirin Schmidt for Sky Studios.

Shooting is scheduled to begin later this year. The project is supported by the Film- und Medienstiftung Nrw and the Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg.

As production gets underway for the third season of ‘Das Boot’ Sky have released a number of first-look images and the latest additions to the cast.

The 10-part third season follows the tense struggles of a young U-boat crew as they engage in the Battle of the Atlantic whilst being hunted down by an obsessed Royal Navy Commander in a thrilling game of cat-and-mouse. They are sent on a dangerous mission to the Southern Hemisphere under the command of Robert Ehrenberg (Franz Dinda) who finds redemption and the family bonds he thought he’d lost forever.

Scene 135 – Kiel Docks

Ehrenberg enters the U-boat

Scene 669A Refugee Hideout – Lisbon

Forster encounters Levi and Rachel who invite him to eat

Meanwhile, in the climes of neutral Lisbon, where exiles, spies and criminals rub shoulders with allies and enemies alike, Hagen Forster (Tom Wlaschiha) discovers a lethal plot to steal a fortune in plundered wartime gold.

Exclusive: German major Leonine has scored a coup with the hire of long-time Bavaria Fiction exec Oliver Vogel as MD of Dark producer W&b Television.

The Das Boot exec will remain at Bavaria until the end of January, 2021, joining Leonine-owned W&b from 1 February, 2020, with a focus on development, acquisition and production of TV projects for the German and international markets. He will report to the division’s co-founders and Chief Production Officers Quirin Berg and Max Wiedemann.

Vogel has worked as a producer at Bavaria for 12 years, from 2010 as Managing Director at Colonia Media, and from 2014 as Executive Vice President Programming at Bavaria Fiction. Since 2017 he has been Chief Creative Officer at the studio, responsible for productions including Sky and Hulu submarine drama Das Boot, which won prizes at the German TV Awards and Monte Carlo TV Festival.

He also produced shows such as Ard series In Aller Freundschaf,...

Paris-based media group Mediawan has launched a new pan-European entity, Mediawan Alliance, and has entered exclusive negotiations to acquire France’s Lagardere Studios.

The company has also acquired a majority stake in Spain’s Good Mood. Mediawan Alliance has also entered into exclusive negotiations to acquire Troisieme Oeil, a top French production company owned by Pierre-Antoine Capton, chairman of the Mediawan board.

Mediawan Alliance is being financially backed by the French investment firm MacSf and the U.S. private equity firm Kkr, and is headquartered in Paris. The new entity will be co-headed by Capton as CEO, and Leonine CEO’s Fred Kogel as deputy CEO.

Capton launched Mediawan with Xavier Niel and Mathieu Pigasse four years ago. The three entrepreneurs currently own 19.75% of Mediawan and are creating Mediawan Alliance as a vehicle to make a tender offer on the remaining 73% of Mediawan’s shares.

If the tender offer on...

Bavaria Filmproduktion, whose latest film, Oskar Roehler’s “Enfant Terrible,” is part of Cannes’ Official Selection this year, is next producing projects from acclaimed filmmaker Hans Steinbichler (“The Diary of Anne Frank”) and writer-director duo Felix Fuchssteiner and Katharina Schöde, makers of the hugely popular “Ruby Red” fantasy-adventure trilogy.

Steinbichler is directing an adaptation of writer-actor Robert Seethaler’s bestseller “A Whole Life,” which spans a solitary man’s life in a remote Alpine valley. Bavaria Filmproduktion, the feature film unit of German entertainment giant Bavaria Film, is partnering on the project with Vienna-based Epo-Film, co-producer of Sky Deutschland’s murder-mystery series “Pagan Peak.”

“A Whole Life” reunites Steinbichler and Seethaler, who wrote the screenplay for the filmmaker’s 2008 drama “My Mother, My Bride and I.”

Seethaler’s works also include “The Tobacconist,” which served as the basis of Nikolaus Leytner’s 2018 release starring the late Bruno Ganz.

Bavaria Filmproduktion...