News

Today, Apple TV+ revealed the premiere date for Berlin ER (formerly known as “Krank Berlin”), the upcoming edgy German-language medical drama co-created by former emergency room physician-turned-screenwriter Samuel Jefferson together with Viktor Jakovleski.

The dynamic eight-episode series will make its global debut with the first two episodes on Wednesday, February 26, 2025 on Apple TV+, followed by one episode weekly on Wednesdays through April 9, 2025.

In the series, managing a chaotic emergency room in the toughest and most overcrowded hospital in Berlin is no small task for the young Dr. Parker (Haley Louise Jones), who is seeking a fresh start in the big city after her private life implodes in Munich.

When she tries to implement necessary reforms, Parker is confronted with resistance from the underpaid, ill-equipped and chronically fatigued hospital staff who only survive with an indispensable dose of black humor.

But in the face of an increasingly merciless health care system,...

Nach einer längeren Odyssee, die durch den Fiction-Stopp bei Sky ausgelöst wurde und dank des Zdf weitergehen konnte, findet die deutsche Krankenhausserie „Krank Berlin“ jetzt ihren weltweiten Starttermin auf Apple TV+.

Haley Louise Jones und Slavko Popadić in der Medical-Serie „Krank Berlin“ (Credit: Apple TV+)

Die deutsche Medical-Dramaserie „Krank Berlin“ mit Haley Louise Jones und Slavko Popadić in den Hauptrollen startet am 26. Februar 2025 auf Apple TV+. Das achtteilige Format, das Samuel Jefferson und der ehemaligen Arzt und heutigen Drehbuchautor Viktor Jakovlesk entwickelten, wäre fast dem Sky-Fiction-Stopp zum Opfer gefallen. Aber weil zuerst das ZDFneo und dann Apple einsprangen, geht es 2025 endlich los.

Zum Start am 26. Februar gibt es die ersten beiden Episoden auf Apple TV+, gefolgt von einer neuen Episode jeden Mittwoch bis zum 9. April. Die Serie wird von Violet Pictures und Real Film Berlin für ZDFneo und Apple TV+ produziert, mit Alexis von Wittgenstein („Oktoberfest 1900“) von Violet Pictures...

A new ER is expected to open its doors on Apple: The streamer has set a February 26 premiere date for Berlin ER, a German-language medical drama co-created by former emergency room physician-turned-screenwriter Samuel Jefferson, together with Viktor Jakovleski.

Here’s the official logline for the eight-episode series: managing a chaotic emergency room in the toughest and most overcrowded hospital in Berlin is no small task for the young Dr. Parker (Haley Louise Jones of Dear Child), who is seeking a fresh start in the big city after her private life implodes in Munich. When she tries to implement necessary reforms, Parker is confronted with resistance from the underpaid, ill-equipped and chronically fatigued hospital staff who only survive with an indispensable dose of black humor. But in the face of an increasingly merciless healthcare system, the battered team must put aside their differences and pull together to save lives.

The...

Amazon hat heute den Prime-Video-Starttermin bekannt gegeben und gleichzeitig den Trailer zum Sebastian-Fitzek-Thriller „Der Heimweg“ veröffentlicht. Luise Heyer, Sabin Tambrea und Friedrich Mücke spielen die Hauptrollen.

Der Thriller „Der Heimweg“ nach dem Bestseller von Sebastian Fitzek mit Luise Heyer, Sabin Tambrea und Friedrich Mücke in den Hauptrollen startet am 16. Januar exklusiv bei Prime Video in über 240 Ländern und Territorien. Die Vorlage stand insgesamt 81 Wochen auf der Bestsellerliste, elf Wochen lang davon allein auf Platz eins. Amazon veröffentlicht heute auch den dazugehörigen Trailer.

Zur Handlung: Als Jules (Sabin Tambrea) seinen Dienst am Begleittelefon antritt, einem telefonischen Support für Frauen, um sicher nach Hause zu kommen, sieht alles nach einem ruhigen Samstagabend aus. Bis der Anruf einer jungen Mutter namens Klara (Luise Heyer) bei ihm landet, die behauptet, sie würde noch in dieser Nacht durch einen berüchtigten Frauenmörder sterben.

Dieser hat ihr zuvor ein Ultimatum gestellt: Entweder sie tötet ihren Ehemann (Friedrich...

Im Februar geht es weiter mit einem Film aus dem MCU mit einem der klassischen Avenger: Der neue Trailer von „Captain America: Brave New World“ wurde gestern auf der brasilianischen Ausgabe der D23 erstmals präsentiert.

Wie immer nützt Disney seine hauseigene Leistungsschau D23 für den Launch heißer Neuigkeiten und der neuesten Trailer kommender Attraktionen. Das war gestern auch auf der brasilianischen Ausgabe der Hausmesse so. Zu den Höhepunkten gehörte die Präsentation des neuesten Trailers von „Captain America: Brave New World“ mit Anthony Mackie in der Rolle des legendären Superhelden, inszeniert von Julius Onah („Luce“). Zum Cast gehören außerdem Shira Haas („Unorthodox“), Danny Ramirez („Top Gun: Maverick“), Giancarlo Esposito („Breaking Bad”), Liv Tyler (“Der Herr der Ringe“ – Trilogie), Tim Blake Nelson („Der unglaubliche Hulk“) und Harrison Ford („Indiana Jones“ – Reihe). Produzenten sind Kevin Feige und Nate Moore, während Louis D’Esposito und Charles Newirth als ausführende Produzenten fungieren. Deutscher Kinostart ist der...

At the Thessaloniki Film Festival as part of the Agora Series workshops, British-American writer, showrunner and executive producer Anna Winger — who created Netflix’s “Unorthodox,” co-created the streamer’s “Transatlantic,” and co-created Prime Video’s “Deutschland 83” — spoke at length about the evolution of the role of the showrunner, the misconceptions around writers’ rooms and the importance of writers having a sharp understanding of the economics of TV making.

“To me, showrunning is everything about how an idea manifests on screen, and there are so many moving pieces,” said Winger. “Making a TV show is like running a circus. Nothing is so unimportant that I wouldn’t care about… Music, costume, make-up, props…”

On working with major broadcasters and streamers such as Netflix, Winger emphasizes how important it is to lay down clear lines of collaboration from the get-go. “It really matters how you articulate the show you’re gonna...

As the Thessaloniki Film Festival’s industry arm, Agora, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, organizers are looking to maintain the right balance for an event that continues to grow in stature while retaining its carefully curated, almost intimate feel.

To that end, industry head Angeliki Vergou — an Agora veteran who assumed her current post in 2022 — is pragmatic in her approach to the Thessaloniki event and where it fits into the broader marketplace. While several thousand exhibitors and industry professionals will descend on Las Vegas next week for a whirlwind, new-look AFM, Vergou stresses that the Agora is determined to maintain its “friendly,” personal approach.

“We really want to keep having this scale of a market — not too big, but the right amount of professionals coming and meeting with each other,” Vergou tells Variety. “Our specialty is to nurture talents and offer them their first experience in a market. An...

Next year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and it’s no surprise networks and distributors are gathering the troops to commemorate. With war spreading in the Middle East and conflicts ongoing elsewhere around the world, the poignancy of programming in this area has been amplified this year.

What sets apart the noisiest of the new productions in this space that are heading for MIPCOM in Cannes, is that many of them aren’t using the global conflict as the actual setting for their stories. Instead, the war is a jumping-off point for wider, exploratory narratives, and themes different to those in traditional programs.

Among the most notable is the six-episode drama series A World Divided, which integrates archive footage with fictional drama. The series follows six people whose personal and political stories crystallized divisions and decisions that impacted the Second World War through to...

Exclusive: Writer and producer Anna Winger, best known for popular projects like Unorthodox and Deutschland 83, will be the headline guest of this year’s Agora Series programme at the Thessaloniki Film Festival in Greece.

Launched in 2022, Agora Series is Thessaloniki’s forum for series production in Greece and the broader Eastern Εuropean and Mediterranean region. This year’s edition will run from November 2-3.

Winger will take part in an onstage Q&a moderated by Rachel Eggebeen, Chief Content Officer at Amplify Pictures. The session will be held in partnership with Oxbelly and will be based on the work of a showrunner. Topics will include what exactly is involved in being a showrunner on a TV series.

The 2024 Agora Series will further feature a case study presentation on the forthcoming drama series Kabul, with producers Fabienne Servan Schreiber (Cinétévé), Matthias Weber (24 25 Films), and executive producer Sandrine Paquot in discussion with Faye Tsitipi,...

Seven years after coming up short on their respective first and second Best TV Movie/Limited Series Directing Emmy bids against Jean-Marc Vallée (“Big Little Lies”), Steven Zaillian and Noah Hawley are involved in a rematch as helmers of the non-continuing programs “Ripley” and “Fargo.” Despite the quality of their new work and their strong Emmys resumes, they are widely expected to once again be bested by a complete first-timer: Weronika Tofilska (“Baby Reindeer”).

Tofilska is joined in this directing lineup’s category newcomer majority by Issa López (“True Detective”), Millicent Shelton (“Lessons in Chemistry”), and Gus Van Sant (“Feud”). Counting Zaillian and Hawley, Shelton is the only one in the bunch who has ever earned TV academy recognition for directing a non-limited series, as her very first bid came for “30 Rock” in 2009.

In order to determine whether this is truly Tofilska’s race to lose, let’s take...

Heading into the 2024 Primetime Emmys, Netflix is poised to achieve its third Best Limited Series victory in four years. Most prognosticators are convinced that “Baby Reindeer” will easily emulate “The Queen’s Gambit” and “Beef,” but, even if it falters, its streaming platform has some insurance here since its “Ripley” also has a shot at the gold.

This year’s five Best Limited Series contenders boast between 10 and 19 nominations apiece, making for a collective total of 68. In addition to Apple TV+’s “Lessons in Chemistry,” the two Netflix programs’ challengers include the respective fourth and fifth iterations of the HBO and FX anthology series “True Detective” and “Fargo.”

In order to determine whether this is truly Netflix’s race to lose, let’s take a closer look at each nominee. Be sure to make your predictions in this and 24 other Primetime Emmy categories by September 15.

“Baby Reindeer” (Netflix)

Three of this...

Meryl Streep is celebrating 10 years of The Writers Lab with the 2024 lineup of female and non-binary screenwriters to watch.

Academy Award winner Streep has funded The Writers Lab since 2014, and the program is still the only offering in the world dedicated exclusively to elevating the work of women and non-binary screenwriters over the age of 40. Nicole Kidman has also supported the Lab, which is the only program in the world for mid-career screenwriters.

This year, the program is working with 14 writers across 12 projects, with Labs now operational in the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Europe. The 14 selected women screenwriters will gather in early November in Saugerties, New York to focus on tools and strategies to navigate the ever-shifting landscape of professional opportunities and build sustainable careers.

Each writer will be paired with an established mentor, including returning mentor Susan Cartsonis (“What Women Want”), Lisa Cortés (“Little Richard: I Am Everything...

Steven Zaillian won an Oscar for writing one of the most beloved films in history, “Schindler’s List,” but he hasn’t made his way up to the podium yet at the Emmys. This year he’s nominated for writing, directing and producing Netflix’s limited series “Ripley,” based on Patricia Highsmith‘s “The Talented Mr. Ripley” novel about the title con artist. That brings Zaillian’s career total to seven, following three noms for “The Night Of” and one for “My Dinner with Herve.” What are his chances of taking home one, two or even three trophies for his latest TV effort?

“Ripley” earned 13 Emmy nominations overall including Best Limited Series, Best Movie/Limited Actor (Andrew Scott) and Best Movie/Limited Supporting Actress (Dakota Fanning), plus Zaillian’s bids for writing and directing and Creative Arts noms for production design, casting, cinematography and more. The top category looks like a...

Elizabeth Bay Productions (Ebp), one of the companies behind Terrence Malick’s “A Hidden Life,” has secured a financing deal with FilmHedge and a first-look agreement with WestEnd Films.

Atlanta-based finance platform FilmHedge will provide funding for Ebp’s slate of film and television projects. This partnership will be steered by FilmHedge’s COO, Chandler Heinz Laun, who will oversee Ebp’s creative packaging and individual project financing plans. Laun was previously a member of the independent film financing and distribution department at ICM Partners.

Simultaneously, Ebp has entered into a first-look deal with U.K.-based sales company WestEnd Films. This arrangement grants WestEnd the initial option to sell projects from Ebp’s developing slate, providing Ebp with enhanced international distribution capabilities and access to additional financing. For WestEnd, the deal offers an opportunity to tap into Ebp’s development and production expertise as the sales company continues its expansion into production.

Today, Apple TV+ announced, in partnership with ZDFneo, the new fast-paced, eight-episode medical drama Krank Berlin from Violet Pictures and Real Film Berlin, co-created by former emergency room physician turned screenwriter Samuel Jefferson and Viktor Jakovleski.

Krank Berlin stars Haley Louise Jones as Dr. Parker and Slavko Popadić (Crooks), alongside an ensemble cast including Şafak Şengül (Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush), Aram Tafreshian (Dogs of Berlin), Samirah Breuer (The Gryphon), Bernhard Schütz (Barbarians), and Peter Lohmeyer (I don’t work here).

Managing a chaotic emergency room in the toughest and most overcrowded hospital in Berlin is no small task for the young Dr. Parker, who is seeking a fresh start in the big city after her private life implodes in Munich.

When she tries to implement necessary reforms, Parker is confronted with resistance from the underpaid, ill-equipped, and chronically fatigued hospital staff, who survive only with an indispensable dose of black humor.

Exclusive: Apple TV+ has boarded the fast-paced German medical drama Krank Berlin.

Apple has joined ZDFneo on the eight-part series, which is from Violet Pictures and Real Film Berlin and co-created by former British emergency room physician turned screenwriter Samuel Jefferson and Brimstone and Glory maker Viktor Jakovleski. Apple will take global rights, with pubcaster Zdf showing it in Germany.

The show stars Haley Louise Jones, who recently appeared in Netflix Germany breakout series Dear Child. She plays Dr. Parker, a young medic managing a a chaotic emergency room in the toughest and most overcrowded hospital in Berlin while seeking a fresh start after her private life implodes in Munich.

Trying to implement necessary reforms, she meets resistance from the underpaid, poorly equipped and chronically fatigued hospital staff who only survive with an indispensable dose of black humor. But in the face of an increasingly merciless healthcare system, the battered...

On Sunday June 9 2024, Investigation Discovery broadcasts an episode of the series Signs of a Psychopath!

Unorthodox and Weird Season 6 Episode 12 Episode Summary

In this episode of “Signs of a Psychopath” titled “Unorthodox and Weird,” viewers will be plunged into a chilling mystery that unfolds with a 19-year-old woman’s sudden disappearance. The spotlight is on a former high school classmate who had been in contact with her just days before she went missing. The suspect’s troubled past, marked by disturbing tendencies towards women and a history of sexual deviancy, casts a dark shadow over the investigation.

As the narrative unravels, the young woman’s family is left in a state of unease and apprehension. The suspect’s reputation for exhibiting homicidal urges and unconventional behavior adds layers of complexity to the case, leaving everyone wondering about the true nature of the relationship between the suspect and the missing woman.

Exclusive: Whitney Peak has been cast in Aisling Walsh’s Ethel, alongside the previously announced cast of Shira Haas and Sarah Paulson. Bankside Films first launched the title, which is currently in pre-production, earlier this year and has completed a number of international pre-sales in Cannes.

The project, which is a true story based on a screenplay by Celeste Parr, has sold to Benelux (Imagine), Canada (Sphere Films), Eastern Europe (HBO), Middle East (Front Row) and Spain (Divisa Red).

The film is based on the untold true story of Ethel Stark and her Montreal Women’s Symphony Orchestra, who together demolished class and racial barriers and shattered the glass ceiling for women in orchestra music under an international spotlight.

Haas, who is currently making her London West End stage debut with Opening Night, will play the title role of Ethel.

Awkwafina rose to fame with her idiosyncratic, trademark comedic stylings. Then she wowed us all with her against-type performance in Lulu Wang‘s “The Farewell,” which very nearly earned her an Oscar nomination back in 2019. She delivers another quiet, subdued role in the Hulu telefilm “Quiz Lady,” which could well reap her a career-first Emmy bid for acting.

Awkwafina plays the reserved Anne, who must compete on the game show she is obsessed with alongside her loud, abrasive, estranged sister Jenny (Sandra Oh) in order to pay off their mom’s gambling debts. The result is a heartwarming comedy that is one of the sweet treats of the year. Critics loved the movie and singled out Awkafina for particular praise.

Tania Hussain (Collider) exclaimed: “While Awkwafina has shown audiences a whacky, often one-dimensional side in some of her roles like the sitcom ‘Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens,’ she is able...

“The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart” features a powerhouse performance from veteran star Sigourney Weaver, who once again reminds us that she is one of the best in the business. The acclaimed Amazon Prime Video limited series follows a young girl who survives a violent upbringing and is then subsequently raised on a flower farm by her grandmother. Weaver plays the grandmother, June, and ties the entire series together with the sheer might of her performance. She propelled the story to greatness and, as a result, propelled the series to excellent reviews.

Robert Lloyd (Los Angeles Times) opined: “The series, which is sensitively written, expertly performed by actors young and old, and beautifully shot, is in no rush to give up its mysteries, and by drawing out the drama, what’s obvious in the story comes off as proportionally more subtle.”

Chris Vognar (The Wrap) explained: “Weaver is the emotional...

Campbell, CA – The Pm Theater of New York City will bring a touring production of their Off-Broadway hit “A Star Without a Name” to the Starbright Theater in Campbell, California on April 13th and 14th, 2024 (click here for tickets/info) The following is a review from last weekend’s show (April 7th) in Chicago, Illinois.

“A Star Without a Name” is pure theater, as the Pm stage company weaves a charmer almost cinematically, with distinct/excellent performances, clever production design and an on-stage musical accompaniment that is witty and energetic. Translated from ‘Steaua Fără Nume” by Mihail Sebastian with all of its appeal intact, the melodramatic comedy was adapted and set into English by Ilya Eckstein, and directed by Gera Sandler, also a cast member and award winning actor, featured on Netflix’s “Unorthodox” and “Transatlantic.”

April 13-14, 2024, at the Campbell, California, Starbright Theater

Photo credit: PMTheater.com

The setting...

Picked by Variety as one of the hottest shows at MipTV, the Zdf Studios-sold comedy drama “The ‘Zweiflers” about a colourful, dysfunctional yet loving Jewish family in contemporary Germany, had a rapturous reception April 7 at its world screening in Canneseries.

“It was a profound experience to see how much [the Cannes] audience loved it, not only because of the way it was done but because of the subject matter,” said Aaron Altaras (“Unorthodox”), cast as Samuel, grandson of the patriarch Symcha Zweifler (Mike Burstyn), torn between his Jewish origins and his love for his British Caribbean girlfriend and mum-to-be (Saffron Coomber).

“We were so surprised – people were laughing-out-loud,” adds Sunnyi Melles (“Triangle of Sadness”), who plays the glue in the family and Samuel’s mum Mimi. “The series is about a family across three generations, with all its problems, whatever they are. It happens to be a Jewish family, but it...

Growing up in Israel meant that “We Were the Lucky Ones” actor Amit Rahav was taught about the Holocaust at any early age. His childhood in Tel Aviv included a school trip to concentration camps in Poland. “It’s mandatory in the curriculum,” Rahav tells Variety.

Then there were the stories at home.

“My grandma, who is the greatest and I love her so much, she is a Holocaust survivor,” says Rahav, best known for his breakout performance as Yanky Shapiro in Netflix’s 2021 series “Unorthodox.” “So the topic of the Holocaust was surrounding me and my family since I can remember.”

Based on Georgia Hunter’s bestselling book about her own family’s experience, “We Were the Lucky Ones” tells the story of her grandfather Addy (Logan Lerman) and his siblings’ fight to survive the Holocaust and reunite. Rahav plays her grandfather’s lawyer-turned-photographer brother, Jakob. Joey King stars as their sister Halina.

Chicago – The heralded Off-Broadway play from 2023 is on tour and headed for Chicago. “A Star Without a Name,” a melodramatic tragicomedy translated from Mikhail Sebastian’s “Steua Fare Nume” will be performed at the Chopin Theatre on April 6th and 7th, 2024. For details and ticket information, click Pm Theater.

The setting of the play is a provincial town in Romania, situated along the popular train route from Bucharest to Sinaia. By sheer chance, an express train makes a quick stop a the town’s only train station, leaving behind a sole passenger: a mysterious young redhead named Mona. Her beauty strikes right through the heart of a simple school teacher, who’s captivated by astronomy. Will their improbable love survive past its cosmic conception or will it combust like so many nameless stars in the sky?

April 6-7, 2024, at Chicago’s Chopin Theatre

Photo credit: PMTheater.com

Presented by New York City’s Pm Theater,...

Netflix is doing its best Angel Studios impression with “Testament: The Story of Moses,” a three-part documentary series premiering on March 27, 2024. Angel, the studio behind surprise box-office hit “Sound of Freedom,” is not actually involved; “Testament” is a Karga Seven Pictures production.

Unlike “Sound of Freedom,” “The Story of Moses” will not have a theatrical release. Even if it were cut as a feature-length film instead of a docuseries, that’s just not how Netflix rolls — it wants longterm subscribers, not a one-time box office boon.

“Testament: The Story of Moses” explores the life of Moses and his rise from outcast and murderer to prophet and liberator of the Hebrews, according to the logline. Netflix released the trailer on Tuesday, March 5.

The docuseries’ presentation is part scripted drama, part documentary-style interviews. There are the locusts and the sea-parting and all the greatest hits from the Bible, the Qur’an, and the Torah.

New Zealand-set detective Series “A Remarkable Place to Die” is being launched by Banijay Rights at the London Screenings.

The 4 x 90’ murder mystery was created by Screentime New Zealand and is co-produced with Real Film Berlin in association with Banijay Rights.

Smart and savvy detective Anais Mallory (portrayed by Chelsie Preston-Crayford) returns to her hometown, Queenstown, in South Island, New Zealand and is met with a series of startlingly different homicides. She has to crack the cases while also picking her way through a backdrop of past ghosts.

(The play on words in the title is a reference to the mountain range surrounding Queenstown, known as The Remarkables, which in summer offer multiple outdoor sports and in winter provide excellent skiing.)

Among the names from her past are Mallory’s ex-fiancé Luke (Charles Jazz Terrier), now married to her former-best friend (Indiana Evans), her brittle, volatile but loving mother (Rebecca Gibney), and a handsome pathologist.

For fans of World War II period dramas and the original "Percy Jackson" films, I have incredible news. The limited series "We Were the Lucky Ones" is coming to Disney's newly-purchased Hulu very soon, and it looks like it's going to be worth the wait.

The show is "inspired by the incredible true story of one Jewish family separated at the start of World War II, determined to survive and reunite," according to the official synopsis. "The series demonstrates how in the face of the 20th century's darkest moment, the human spirit can endure and even thrive. The series is a tribute to the triumph of hope and love against all odds."

It is adapted from a New York Times best-selling novel of the same name by Georgia Hunter, a 46-year-old Jewish-American author. Her book is based on the true story of her family's survival in the Holocaust. Although the...

Berlin — In a bellwether deal on one of the cutting edges of European TV, Zdf Studios has taken distribution worldwide on drama series “The Zweiflers,” produced by Turbokultur for Ard Degeto Film and Hessischer Rundfunk (Hr).

Created and showrun by David Hadda, the six-part series will premiere in Germany on Ard’s Mediathek streaming service in the spring and also be shown on Das Erste, Ard’s main linear channel, in the near future.

In an age of spiraling costs and a large need to cut through a still immensely crowded market, Europe’s public broadcasters –Zdf Studios, not Zdf in this case – are looking to partner. The most obvious partners are other state TV networks, even in their own country if the co-operation works.

“We have already added Ard Degeto Film projects to our portfolio before. And there will be more in the future. There are no limits to our choice of partners,...

Exclusive: Filming is underway on long-gestating European thriller series The Kollective (6 x 60′), which we can reveal will star Natascha McElhone (Californication), Celine Buckens (Showtrial), Felix Mayr (Unorthodox), Gregg Sulkin (Marvel’s Runaways), Grégory Montel (Call My Agent), Karel Roden (A Spy Amongst Friends), Cassiopée Mayance (The Clearstream Affair), Martha Canga Antonio (Lupin) and Ralph Amoussou (Transatlantic).

Produced by Submarine (Apollo 10 ½) and created by Leonardo Fasoli (Gomorrah), Maddalena Ravagli (Gomorrah) and Submarine’s Femke Wolting, the series was commissioned by The European Alliance and will be distributed worldwide by A+E Media Group, with Hulu coming aboard for U.S. distribution.

Inspired by the investigative journalist group Bellingcat, the series will span Europe from Budapest and St. Petersburg in the East to London in the West. It will follow a group of intrepid young citizen journalists who, after a sudden tragedy, find themselves sucked into a web of government lies and corruption.

Beta Film has boarded ZDFneo’s new medical drama series “Krank Berlin,” set in the toughest and most overcrowded hospital in the German capital.

Created by former British emergency room doctor turned screenwriter Samuel Jefferson, “Krank Berlin” will be part of the Berlinale Series Market showcase Up Next: Germany, which presents an exclusive selection of the country’s upcoming high-end series to international buyers at the EFM.

Set against the backdrop of the vibrant, fast-paced and multicultural Southside districts of Neukölln and Kreuzberg, the series stars Haley Louise Jones as Dr. Parker, the new head of the ever chaotic emergency room. Managing the challenging environment is no small task for the young physician, who is seeking a fresh start in the big city after her private life implodes in Munich.

When she tries to implement necessary reforms, Parker is confronted with resistance from the hospital staff. The motley crew of underpaid,...

“Shtisel,” the popular series following the lives of a tight-knit ultra-Orthodox family in Jerusalem, is changing its U.S. home. Previously available on Netflix, all three seasons of “Shtisel” have been acquired by Amazon Prime Video from Yes Studios.

The award-winning drama, which helped launch the international careers of Shira Haas (“Unorthodox”) and Michael Aloni (“Beauty Queen of Jerusalem”), will begin its rollout on Prime Video this month with Season 1 debuting on Jan. 16.

The deal comes on the heels of “Shtisel” launching last month on global Israeli content platform Izzy, as well as the Jewish storytelling platform ChaiFlicks for the U.S., Australia and New Zealand.

Created and written by Ori Elon and Yehonatan Indursky, the series became a global phenomenon when it first aired on Netflix, offering unique insights into Haredi society. “Shtisel” is produced by Abot Hameiri Barkai for Yes TV. The series won 17 Israeli Academy Awards, including best drama series,...

llker Çatak, the director of Germany’s Oscar shortlisted The Teachers’ Lounge with Anne-Katrin Titze on Wim Wenders, the director of Japan’s Oscar shortlisted Perfect Days: “Wim is such a nice guy! He’s not my competitor, he’s one of my teachers.”

Luc Dardenne and Jean-Pierre Dardenne’s Young Ahmed (Le Jeune Ahmed), Laurent Cantet’s The Class (Entre Les Murs), Stéphane Brizé’s The Measure Of A Man, starring the unforgettable Vincent Lindon, and Gus Van Sant’s Elephant are four of the films that inspired llker Çatak’s outstanding The Teachers’ Lounge. Shot by Judith Kaufmann, edited by Gesa Jäger (Jakob Lass’s Love Steaks with Lana Cooper and Franz Rogowski; Anna Winger's Transatlantic and Maria Schrader's Unorthodox series with Shira Haas), stars a terrific Leonie Benesch (Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon).

Ms Nowak (Leonie Benesch) in the classroom with her students...

‘How To Have Sex’, ‘Smoke Sauna Sisterhood’ and ‘The Promised Land’ were also decorated.

It was a strong night for Anatomy Of A Fall at this year’s European Film Awards, taking home five awards at this evening’s (December 9) ceremony in Berlin.

French filmmaker Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winner continued its triumphant streak, having recently scored the Bifa for best international independent film and best international feature and screenplay at the Gothams. The mystery thriller, which Triet co-wrote with her partner Arthur Harari, and stars Sandra Hüller, clinched the prizes in the European film, director, screenwriter and actress categories,...

In 2014 and 2015, Vertigo published Si Spencer’s eight-issue graphic novel Bodies, a mind-bending mystery about four police officers from different historical eras who discover the same corpse in the same London location, decades apart. Featuring detectives from the present day, the 1940s, the 1890s and 2053, it’s a complex conspiracy thriller about a very dark future. Originally illustrated by four artists – Dean Ormston, Phil Winslade, Meghan Hetrick and Tula Lotay – each era had its own distinct feel and look.

Spencer, who had also written on other Vertigo titles including Judge Dredd and Books of Magick: Life During Wartime, sadly passed away in February 2021, meaning he wasn’t able to see Paul Tomalin’s eight-part Netflix series adapted from his work. It’s out now, with a sprawling cast of characters including Boiling Point and This Is England’s Stephen Graham, several established actors and a handful of newcomers. Here’s more about them.

Over eight plot-packed hours, Netflix’s time-spanning police drama Bodies never quite falls on its face — high praise for a genre whose convolutions reliably start off entertaining and end up infuriating.

I can’t say Bodies always makes total sense, but it achieves a healthy balance between amusingly ridiculous and just-plain-ridiculous, with its audaciously high-concept narrative consistently elevated by a top-notch cast and strong production values across several time periods. Like Sky Max’s The Lazarus Project, which TNT dropped into domestic obscurity earlier this year, it’s a decently considered dose of mid-intensity time-travel thrills, a satisfying gift for science-fiction fans.

The series begins in the present day with Shahara Hasan (Amaka Okafor), a London detective sergeant, engaging in a foot pursuit in the middle of a far-right rally and stumbling upon a body on Longharvest Lane.

In 1941, a detective (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd’s Whiteman) in bomb-rattled London gets a...

Turkish producer Onur Güvenatam founded Ogm Pictures in 2019, and has since shepherded a steady stream of hit series and movies such as drama “The Red Room,” the widely-sold “Golden Boy” and “One Way for Tomorrow,” the first Netflix original film out of Turkey.

For Netflix, Ogm has also made Turkish original film “Paper Lives” and the series “The Gift.” Güvenatam is at Mipcom with new shows “Stickman” (Çöp Adam), “Miracle of Love” (Yüz Yıllık Mucize), and “Broken Destiny,” (Toprak ile Fidan) being sold by his recently launched in-house sales company Ogm Universe.

He spoke to Variety about the secret to Ogm’s success, and vented frustrations about the business model imposed by U.S. streamers.

“Golden Boy” was the most-watched television drama last year in Turkey and has been sold to over 100 countries. Why does it connect so well with audiences?

It’s about two young sisters affected by marriage.

The selection include Langston Uibel, star of Christian Petzold’s Berlinale award-winner ‘Afire’.

Estonia’s Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (Poff) has unveiled this year’s Black Nights Stars, spotlighting eight rising actors from the Baltic Sea region.

The initiative brings together international casting directors and filmmakers with emerging talent from the region and is part of Discovery Campus, an education programme organised by Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event (Nov 13-17).

The selection includes Germany’s Langston Uibel, star of Christian Petzold’s Afire, which received the Silver Bear grand jury prize at the Berlinale in February.

The eight actors are:...

This year, for the first time ever, multiple limited series have each received two simultaneous directing Emmy nominations. These history-making programs – “Beef” and “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” – are both Netflix productions that have amassed 13 TV academy notices apiece, with this being one of eight categories in which they are directly facing off. While it is true that only one of this category’s previous multi-nominated series actually won, the fact that these two new shows take up a majority of their lineup’s slots might very well yield an unusual result.

Either Netflix series would bring the streaming platform its third limited program directing win, following the success of “Unorthodox” in 2020 and “The Queen’s Gambit” in 2021. Also in the running are the category’s first Hulu original movie, “Prey,” and the FX series “Fleishman is in Trouble,” which also hails from a network that has already prevailed here twice.

Amplify Pictures, the independent television studio behind HBO’s Emmy-winning “100 Foot Wave,” has made a pair of hires. It has tapped Rachel Eggebeen as its chief content officer and Colin King Miller as its chief operating officer. The veteran executives will take founding partnership roles alongside Amplify Pictures CEO Joe Lewis.

“It’s a time of expansion,” Lewis told Variety in an interview. “We’re growing our team and becoming more global.”

At the same time, Amplify has sold a minority stake to Great Mountain Partners. It is understood that the deal values Amplify at $50 million. The funding will be used to back more production of original series of both the unscripted and scripted variety. Great Mountain Partners previous investments include the Oscar-winning film studio A24, branded content producer Rise Studios and the Vuelta Group, a European film studio.

“Amplify Pictures is one of those opportunities where the combination...

Exclusive: Unorthodox star Shira Haas has boarded yes TV’s latest series, a psychological drama about an Arab-Israeli psychologist struggling to raise his two children after the suicide of his Jewish-Israeli wife.

Haas, who is also starring in Captain America: New World Order, is returning to her native Israel for 10-parter Night Therapy, which has just entered production.

Created and written by Raanan Caspi and directed by Gabriel Bibliowicz, Haas will play a computer genuis who rarely leaves her home. She joins a cast consisting of lead Yousef Sweid (Game of Thrones), with whom she starred in Netflix’s Unorthodox, and three Fauda actors – Lucy Ayoub, Yaakov Zada Daniel and Firas Nassar.

Sweid plays Louie, who decides to shift his practice to receive patients at night following the tragedy. Through the gateway and magic of the late clinic hours, and flashback scenes where Louie acts as an unseen observer to their problems,...

Tablet Magazine announced today that Joshua Malina, whose breakout role in the beloved presidential television drama “The West Wing” made him one of the most respected actors working today, will be joining the Jewish publication’s wildly popular podcast, Unorthodox. He will join current hosts Stephanie Butnick and Liel Leibovitz. Malina’s first episode as co-host will be available to stream and download from Thursday, May 25, 2023, wherever you get your podcasts, and on the Unorthodox website.

Unorthodox, which has been airing weekly since 2015, has a passionate audience of tens of thousands of listeners, who call themselves the J-Crew. Each episode features a segment called News of the Jews, as well as interviews with both a Jewish guest and Gentile of the Week.

Previous guests have included actors Nick Kroll, Kathryn Hahn, David Duchovny, and Clive Owen; food personalities Molly Yeh, Jake Cohen, and Adeena Sussman; spiritual leaders Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks,...

The West Wing actor Joshua Malina is the new co-host of Unorthodox, the Jewish publication Tablet Magazine’s podcast. He joins current hosts Stephanie Butnick and Liel Leibovitz on the podcast, which was launched in 2015. It has a passionate audience of tens of thousands of listeners, who call themselves the J-Crew. Each episode features a segment called News of the Jews, as well as interviews with both a Jewish guest and Gentile of the Week.

Participants come from Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Botswana, and Zimbabwe.

African development organisation the Realness Institute has selected 12 participants for its 2023 Episodic Lab and Development Executive Traineeship (Det), in partnership with Netflix.

The two cohorts each comprise six participants from Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Botswana, and Zimbabwe.

The Episodic Lab participants include Amanda Gicharu and Juma Adero (Kenya), Emil Garuba (Nigeria), Gabe Gabriel, Jason Staggie and Vanishia Kisten (South Africa).

They will work to refine their skills as episodic screenwriters and develop their story ideas, and will have the opportunity to pitch their stories to Netflix content executives at the end of the proramme.

Rotem Shamir’s thriller series on Netflix, “Rough Diamonds,” is about an Orthodox Haredi Hasidic Jewish family who made their fortune in the diamond trade and incurs a massive blow when the youngest son of the Wolfsons commits suicide inside a diamond store. This sets in motion a series of events that bring out some rather nasty family secrets and expose the shady dealings of a few family members. But most of all, it shows just how flimsy relationships have become in the 21st century while throwing light on the workings of a deeply Orthodox Jewish family.

Estranged cousin to Yanki Wolfson, Noah returns to handle the funeral responsibilities because he can’t abandon the family that he’d walked out on in their time of need. He brings his son Tommy along but quickly finds out that the family of diamond dealers is deep in muck, both professionally and within the family.

The Peabody Awards Board of Jurors this morning announced the 69 nominees in Entertainment, Arts, News, Documentary, Children’s/Youth, Podcast/Radio, Interactive & Immersive and Public Service for the 83rd Annual Peabody Awards, honoring “the most compelling and empowering stories released in broadcasting and streaming media during 2022.” Among the most prominent contenders in entertainment are the series “Abbott Elementary,” “Andor,” “Atlanta,” “Bad Sisters,” “Better Call Saul,” “Bob’s Burgers,” “Documentary Now!”, “Mo,” “Reservation Dogs,” “Severance” and “The Patient.”

The nominees were chosen by a vote of 17 jurors from more than 1,200 submitted entries. Peabody winners will be announced on May 9 and then celebrated on June 11 at a ceremony at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, the first Peabody in-person ceremony since 2019 and the first time in its 83-year history that the Peabodys will be handed out in Los Angeles.

Scroll down for the complete nominees list.

See‘Abbott Elementary’ trio look to...

In the first half hour of Netflix series Transatlantic, we get a sense of the range of Lucas Englander.

When we meet the Austrian actor, who plays Albert Hirschman in Netflix’s new international series, he’s a bedraggled refugee, stumbling down the hill toward the beach at Marseilles, the “last free port” in Nazi-occupied France, circa 1940. Spotting the waters of the Mediterranean, he stops. Then breaks into a run. Hitting the beach, he strips off his grimy clothes and plunges into the water, letting out a whoop of pure joy, like a child on the first day of summer. A few scenes later, Englander plays Hirschman as the suave lothario. In a bluff to get past a checkpoint, he pretends to be the lover of American heiress Mary Jayne Gold (Gillian Jacobs), whom he met moments earlier, wrapping his arm around her and giving her a brazen smooch. Later,...

Anna Winger, an American writer, producer and showrunner who has spent more than 20 years, and her entire TV career, in Berlin, specializes in stories that combine a very specific European, usually German, history filtered through very American sensibilities.

Deutschland ’83, and its sequels Deutschland ’86 and Deutschland ’89, which aired on Amazon Prime stateside, told the story of the decline of East Germany and the fall of the Berlin Wall from the perspective of an East German spy, but told in the style of a slick Hollywood thriller.

Similarly, her Emmy-winning Netflix limited series Unorthodox, the story of a woman who flees her life in an ultra-Orthodox community in Brooklyn to find liberation in modern-day Berlin — based on Deborah Feldman’s best-selling memoir — borrows heavily from genre conventions to package a spiritual character study in the guise of more mainstream entertainment.

That combination of European history and U.S. entertainment is also part of Transatlantic,...

National protests in France threatened to disrupt the 2023 Series Mania television festival and international industry summit, but, in the end, the 2023 event went off without a hitch. Members of the global TV industry gathered in the northern French city of Lille to celebrate the best in new small-screen drama and ponder the future of the business.

Here are the four big industry takeaways.

Everyone’s Going Local Netflix original series Transatlantic, is produced out of Germany

A few years back, all the major streamers were touting their global appeal, but with subscription growth slowing, the battle for business has moved to the local level. At Series Mania, execs for Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ and Paramount+ all touted their local credentials.

Netflix’s heads of European TV programming, including Germany’s Katja Hofem, France’s Damien Couvreur, and the Nordic region’s Jenny Stjernströmer Björk teased the streamer’s Euro slate,...

Exclusive: Anna Winger drew inspiration from comedy and entertainment in Casablanca when penning upcoming Netflix war drama Transatlantic.

The show, which is the first to emerge from the Deutschland 83 creator’s Netflix deal, tells the story of the Emergency Rescue Committee, an organization that helped thousands of refugees escape Nazi-occupied Marseille during World War Two.

Speaking exclusively to Deadline just before its Series Mania premiere, Winger said she wanted to set Transatlantic apart from previous similar offerings such as Schindler’s List through its humor and creativity, and that she sought inspiration from 1942 hit Casablanca.

“I’ve been approached with lots of World War Two material during my career and have avoided it because I felt like it had been done, but what I loved about this story is the positivity,” she added.

“We leaned into the style of the movies made at the time [of Casablanca], which were being made...

With an International Panorama spangled by gems – think Spain’s “Apagón,” Sweden’s “Blackwater,” and Canada’s “Disobey” and “Little Bird” – Series Mania also weighs in this year with one, if not the, strongest and most mouthwatering of international competitions in its history.

Including the opening and closing series, Amazon’s “Greek Salad” and Netflix’s “Transatlantic,” nearly all the global streamers have titles in the lineup, from Apple TV+’s “Drops of God” and Paramount+’s “Fleeting Lies.” The lineup also features some A-List international writing talents, such as the U.K.’s Jack Thorne and Israel’s Ron Leshem and Amit Cohen, whose “The Virtues” and “No Man’s Land” rank among the most memorable of recent Series Mania competition titles, and closing the festival, out of competition, “Unorthodox’s” Anna Wenger.”Fleeting Lies” also represents one of the first series from Pedro and Agustín Almodóvar’s El Deseo label in Madrid,...