News

Banijay Entertainment’s co-head of scripted has given his assessment of the current scripted market, suggesting that the budgeting challenges of the post-peak TV could give rise to better television.

In an on-stage interview with Deadline at Seriencamp, Johannes Jensen added that the upside to streamers lowering their spend is that their budgets are now more “stable” and simpler to plan around.

“You can talk about the streamers decreasing investment, but there is now a plateau, and it is a little more stable way for them to work, which is great as we then know how they work and what their budget limits are,” he added. “As long as we know the rules, it’s easier to work in this environment.

“It wasn’t purely a great time during peak TV, because everything could be done, and one or two things weren’t that great. In the long-term we need to produce great things,...

There are few better places than Series Mania’s industry Forum to gauge the mood of the scripted TV industry. For three concentrated days this week, execs from the international TV business gathered in Lille to talk business, scout for shows and to swapideas.

Screendistillsthe key conversation points from the 2025 edition.

Stability returns – but the market has shrunk

Peak TV is very much over: globally, scripted TV orders are running about 25% below the peak TV era, Ampere Analysis said in a Series Mania presentation. But there is a newfound stability in the series market, which has levelled out after the...

Banijay Entertainment’s three shows selected for Series Mania underscore just how far the film-tv’s giant has come in scripted, and most especially its vast range,

Apple TV+’s “Carême,” from Banijay’s Shine Fiction, opened the French TV festival, Europe’s largest, delivering a portrait of the world’s first celebrity chef, the Napoleonic-era Antonin Carême, as Variety reports, a “sex-oozing rock star.”

Playing Series Mania in International Panorama, “A Life’s Worth,” from Banijay Nordics’ Yellowbird, follows the challenges faced by the first Swedish U.N. battalion, made up of volunteers, sent to Bosnia in 1993.

Subject of a Series Mania Forum, “Weiss & Morales” allies two of Europe’s most energetic public broadcasters, Germany’s Zdf and Spain’s Rtve, and a German and Spanish cop cracking a case in the sun-sluiced Canary Islands, against Omg landscapes, a hallmark of its Spanish producer, Banijay-owned Portocabo.

Upped to Banijay’s scripted,...

Bowing March 21 with Apple TV+’s “Carême,” an ambitious sex-sluiced French riposte to “Bridgerton,” 2025’s Series Mania lifted off with a spring in its step, standing tall for one more year as Europe’s premier TV festival.

An extraordinarily long line on Saturday, encircling Lille’s major Nouveau Siècle theater for Joe Wright’s “M: Son of the Century” shows how much Series Mania’s home city in north-east France has taken the festival to its heart.

Europe’s industry has embraced Series Mania for many years as a co-production forum. “I spend my life on this circuit going from town to town and to forums and there’s me and some other guys,” says Steve Matthews, Banijay Entertainment’s head of scripted, creative. “Series Mania last year I couldn’t get a seat in the damn room. And that’s at a forum of young writers pitching projects: standing room only.

Banijay Entertainment is starting 2025 off with a new approach to its scripted division.

The French production and distribution company announced on Monday that it has promoted Steve Matthews to be head of scripted, creative, and Johannes Jensen to be head of scripted, business. Both execs will report to chief business officer Frédéric Balmary.

“Our scripted offering continues to go from strength-to-strength with a combined slate of new hits and successful returners scooping high-profile awards and widespread critical acclaim,” Balmary said in a statement. “We are incredibly proud of our producers’ achievements in this space and as we continue to grow, the refreshed roles for Steve and Johannes will strengthen our creative and business acumen, ensuring we continue to innovate and lead on the global stage.”

Matthews joined Banijay in 2023 and is credited with “fueling the storytelling pipeline” at the company by introducing the Banijay Bootcamp, where emerging writers get to work with existing executives.

France-headquartered content powerhouse Banijay Entertainment unveiled a new combined leadership structure for its central scripted division on Monday appointing Steve Matthews as head of scripted, creative and Johannes Jensen as head of scripted, business. Reporting to chief business officer Frédéric Balmary, the duo will work in unison “to effectively support and partner with the group’s thriving portfolio of over 60 dedicated labels,” the firm said.

Matthews has served as content partnerships executive so far and Jensen as Banijay Nordic head of scripted. The latter has also led two production labels Jarowskij and Yellow Bird, now merged as Jarowskij/Yellow Bird, with Banijay noting that “he has played an integral role in significantly uplifting scripted slates, with expertise in co-production, navigating complex industry changes, and driving long-term strategic expansion.” Matthews, since joining in 2023, “has played a pivotal role in supporting the scripted community, fueling the storytelling pipeline, and spearheading initiatives to encourage collaboration across labels worldwide,...

European TV giant Banijay Entertainment — whose more-than 60 labels have produced recent shows such as “Rogue Heroes,” “Ripley” and “The Rig” — has expanded the roles of two execs as it rejigs its global scripted division.

As part of a new combined leadership structure, Steve Matthews has been named head of scripted, creative and Johannes Jensen head of scripted, business. The two will work in unison and report to chief business officer, Frédéric Balmary, who will continue to lead overall strategic direction.

HBO alumni Matthews joined Banijay as contents partnership executive in early 2023, reporting to Christian Wikander who served as global head of scripted until his departure in Feb. 2024. Since joining he has introduced various initiatives to encourage collaboration across the company’s labels worldwide, alongside setting up the he Banijay Bootcamp to connecting in-house development executives with emerging writers.

Jensen new role extends his current remit as head of scripted for Banijay Nordic,...

Steve Matthews and Johannes Jensen have been handed new roles in Banijay Entertainment’s central scripted division.

Matthews has been named Head of Scripted, Creative, and Jensen Head of Scripted, Business. Together, they will work to support and partner with Banijay’s group of more than 60 scripted labels.

Frédéric Balmary will continue to oversee the overall direction of Banijay’s scripted effort as Chief Business Officer. “As we continue to grow, the refreshed roles for Steve and Johannes will strengthen our creative and business acumen, ensuring we continue to innovate and lead on the global stage,” he said.

Former HBO Europe exec Matthews has been with Banijay since 2023, working as a pivot for the France-based giant’s scripted producers and overseeing global initiatives. He has taken on an even more prominent role since the exit of Christian Wikander this time last year.

Jensen has to this point been Head of Scripted for Banijay Nordic.

Superindie Banijay Entertainment, the France-headquartered international content production and distribution giant with more than 130 production companies across 23 territories, has a catalog of over 185,000 hours of original programming, including such hits as Survivor, Black Mirror, Marie Antoinette, Peaky Blinders, MasterChef, and Big Brother. And it has an executive role that is unlike most others.

In early 2023, the company hired HBO Europe veteran Steve Matthews as an addition to its central scripted department. The former executive of Octagon Films in Dublin (Love/Hate) and consulting producer on all three seasons of Showtime’s The Borgias, starring Jeremy Irons, has since then worked as content partnerships executive at Banijay. He is tasked with contributing to the production development process, “supporting in driving co-production opportunities across the Nordics, Spain and beyond, and generally building out the business’ pipeline and creative partnerships primarily across drama.”

Matthews will be speaking at MIPCOM 2024 on Tuesday during a “Drama...

The boss of Mediawan has praised the “very smart” buying community who in recent years have moved on from a domineering TV rights position.

The industry has changed in the past three or four years due to various “constraints,” Elisabeth d’Arvieu explained at MIPTV, as she also delved into detail about how her Count of Monte Cristo seller has become more “agile.”

“Commissioners have been very helpful,” she said. “Three to four years ago they were taking all rights worldwide and we had no other solution [than to accept], but now because of the constraints they have been very smart and are willing to work on windowing or a geographic split.”

D’Arvieu, whose French major owns the likes of Brad Pitt’s Plan B, cited examples such as Netflix co-producing with Finland’s Yle, which “we wouldn’t have seen maybe three years ago.”

On the drive for co-productions, she said...

There are few better places than Series Mania’s industry Forum to gauge the mood of the scripted TV industry. For three concentrated days this week, execs from the international TV business gathered in Lille to talk business, scout for shows and to swap ideas.

Screen distills the key conversation points from the 2024 edition.

Survive till 2025

The weather was bright this year in Lille, but the conversations were often darker. For many, 2023 was tough because of US strikes, economic uncertainty and a commissioning slowdown. If anything, 2024 is tougher still. The mood among the UK contingent was particularly bleak. “I don...

Exclusive: Banijay has set a new scripted writers lab in collaboration with the Midpoint Institute.

Led by Steve Matthews, Content Executive at Banijay, Banijay Bootcamp is facilitated through the Midpoint Institute’s Series Launch programme, which Matthews has been part of since its inception in 2015. Working with Matthews is Portocabo’s Head of Content, Nina Hernández, along with guest tutor Tatjana Samopjan.

Starting this week in Prague, with two residencies across three months, a cohort of five Banijay development executives from Mexico, Spain, France, Israel, and the Netherlands will each be mentored by a writer to develop an idea, storyline, plot, and script.

Participants in the inaugural Banijay Bootcamp include Clara Machado (Endemol Shine Boomdog) with Carl Zitelmann, Anita Pico (Zeppelin) with Carlotta Dans and Lucía Estévez (Portocabo), Héloïse Ridoux (Banijay Studios France) with Quentin Elles, Adi Bar Yossef (Endemol Shine Israel) with Elad Laor, and Claire Zhou (Nl Film) with Leon Golterman.

Season two of the HBO Original drama series “30 Coins” is set to premiere in October. The highly anticipated second season, consisting of eight episodes, will be broadcast on HBO and available for streaming on Max.

In this new season, the story unfolds in Pedraza, a secluded town in Spain plagued by unexplainable and demonic occurrences. Many residents have lost their sanity and are confined to a psychiatric hospital. Elena, played by Megan Montaner, remains in a comatose state in a hospital bed in Madrid, while Paco, portrayed by Miguel Ángel Silvestre, grapples with remorse as he takes care of her. As the horror escalates, our group of heroes must confront a mysterious and sinister new adversary, portrayed by Paul Giamatti, who is so wicked that even the devil fears him.

Joining the cast for season two are Paul Giamatti and Najwa Nimri. The returning cast includes Eduard Fernández, Megan Montaner,...

Television production giant Banijay has named Steve Mathews to its scripted division, appointing the ex-HBO Europe alumni to the newly-created role of content partnerships executive. Starting from Feb. 1, Matthews will help coordinate co-productions at Banijay’s European scripted operations, focusing on opportunities across the Nordic territories and Spain.

“Scripted very much remains an area in which we want to grow our business,” noted Banijay CEO Marco Bassetti. “Through organic growth and M&a, we will continue to strengthen our capabilities in this arena and in Steve, we have vast amounts of knowledge, and hands-on experience, which will be invaluable as we continue to expand our portfolio.”

Banijay is the world’s largest international content producer and distributor with over 120 production companies across 22 territories, including Endemol Shine (MasterChef, The Office), Castaway Television Productions (Survivor) and Brit group Kudos (Broadchurch, Spooks).

Matthews joins Banijay from HBO Europe, where he was a VP,...

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Warner Bros. Discovery has taken the axe to its European staff, chopping 29 jobs in Europe, among them top programming positions, Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed Thursday.

Among the executives on the way out are Johnathan Young, vp, original programming and production at HBO Max Emea (Europe, Middle East and Africa); Christian Wikander, vp and commissioning editor of original programming for the Nordic region; and Annelies Sitvast, who heads up the studios’ unscripted original programming slate. Mia Edde, who joined Wbd last year to run content acquisitions for Turkey, has already left.

The rest of the 29 employees, all of whom will be leaving Wbd over the next 15 months, come from these executives’ teams.

The cuts were expected following the merger of Discovery and Warner Bros. and the announcement by studio boss David Zaslav that the company was looking to find 3 billion in savings across its global business.

Warner Bros. Discovery is laying off 29 people in Europe over the next 15 months as it shifts its originals model for HBO Max, Variety has confirmed.

Variety was first to report in July of HBO Max’s decision to retreat from original programming in a number of European markets, and warn of layoffs within the programming team.

Under the new model, Warner Bros. Discovery will continue to invest in local European commissions and acquisitions but original programming will be handled by the local linear and streaming teams. No shows will be commissioned solely for streaming.

The executives departing the company include Jonathan Young, VP original programming and production for Emea; Christian Wikander, VP and commissioning editor of original programming, Nordics; and Annelies Sitvast, head of unscripted original production.

Mia Edde, executive director of content acquisitions in Turkey, has already left.

Those who are set to remain at the company are Antony Root,...

Exclusive: Warner Bros. Discovery is letting go of 29 staff in Europe, including key programming execs, as it moves to phase out HBO Max European originals and shift towards a new local commissioning model, Deadline can reveal.

Among the top level execs leaving the business are HBO Max Emea VP Original Programming and Production Cee Johnathan Young; VP and Commissioning Editor of Original Programming, Nordics Christian Wikander; and Head of Unscripted Original Production Annelies Sitvast. Mia Edde, who joined last year as Executive Director, Content Acquisitions in Turkey has already left.

In total, 29 will depart over the next 15 months, with the other departures coming from the teams of the exiting executives.

Deadline understands Wbd will continue to invest in local commissions and acquisitions in Europe, but that original programming responsibilities will now be handled by the company’s local linear and streaming teams, and no commissions will be made purely for streaming.

Streaming

HBO Max has revealed the first teaser for Max original “García!” (6 x 60′), which will have its world premiere at Austin’s Fantastic Fest in September and European premiere at Sitges.

Based on the graphic novel of the same name by Santiago García and Luis Bustos, the series is set in a present-day Spain, which is divided and on the brink of political chaos. It follows an inquisitive millennial investigative reporter Antonia (Veki Velilla) who stumbles on a decades-old conspiracy: the existence of a cryogenically frozen super-agent, García (Francisco Ortiz), created in a laboratory in the 1950s by General Franco’s fascist secret services. After sixty years in deep sleep, this perfect soldier with incredible physical strength, programmed to obey orders without question, is woken by Antonia. García finds himself disoriented and confused in a Spain that has changed beyond recognition. The old-world collides with the new as García and...

Job cuts are expected at HBO Max Europe following a major strategic review that will see development of local originals halted in the Nordics and Central Europe.

The move comes as the Warner Bros. Discovery merger gathers pace and the outfit seeks £3B worth of savings within two years, with HBO Max set to be combined with Discovery+.

Deadline understands jobs at HBO Max Europe are at risk following the review, which will also see nascent development activities in the Netherlands and Turkey halted after less than a year. The details regarding potential redundancies are still being ironed out.

Shows in production or post-production in the Nordics, Central Europe and the Netherlands are being reviewed. Hits to have already emerged from the region include the likes of Denmark’s Kamikaze (pictured) and Sweden’s Lust.

Of the territories in which HBO Max has a footprint, only Spain and France are not impacted by the review.

Paul Giamatti has joined the cast of 30 Coins, the Spanish mystery horror series that premiered on HBO Max in 2020 and was renewed for a second season in February. The eight-part Season 2 is now in production in Spain, Italy, the U.S., France and the UK, with a 2023 premiere date planned on HBO Max worldwide and on HBO in the U.S.

The series, which hails from Álex de la Iglesia who directs and co-writes with Jorge Guerricaechevarría, centers on Father Vergara, an exorcist, boxer and ex-convict, who is exiled by the church to a remote town in Spain. He becomes linked to a series of mysterious paranormal events in the village, and with Paco, the town’s naive mayor, and Elena, a restless veterinarian, they become caught up in a global conspiracy: a battle for control of the 30 silver coins paid to the apostle Judas Iscariot for the betrayal...

HBO Max has commissioned a second season of Álex de Iglesia and Jorge Guerricaechevarría’s mystery horror 30 Coins.

Principal photography will begin later this month on the eight-parter, which will air next year.

The series will pick up from the end of season one, which dropped on the platform in late 2020. Most of the people of Pedraza have lost their minds, confined to a psychiatric hospital. Elena lies in a Madrid hospital bed in a coma; Paco, shattered by remorse, tries to take care of her. As horror grows around them, the group of heroes must face a new enemy.

“If the first season was the gathering of the storm clouds, the second will be the maelstrom preceding an epic storm,” said de la Iglesia.

30 Coins stars Eduard Fernández, Megan Montaner and Miguel Ángel Silvestre. Executive Producers for HBO Max are Steve Matthews, Miguel Salvat and Antony Root.

Versatile Finnish helmer A.J. Annila is on board to direct the thriller series with a working title of “ID” which marks HBO Max’s first commission of a Finnish premium TV show.

Set in the art fraud world, the six-part series is co-created by seasoned writer Aleksi Bardy and Mia Ylönen for Finnish production powerhouse Helsinki-Filmi, a subsidiary of Finland’s Aurora Studios.

“ID” revolves around art fraud investigator Emma who goes undercover to infiltrate an auction house in Stockholm in order to investigate the firm’s connection to a notorious money launderer known as Blanko. Under her new identity, the quiet Emma morphs into a different person, the party animal and hot-headed socialite Annika. Her change of persona triggers long-hidden memories to resurface, forcing Emma to confront her past.

Annila, who contributed earlier to HBO Nordic’s anthology series of short films “At Home” (Eristyksissä), said he is thrilled...

Exclusive: Here’s a trailer for the second season of Beforeigners, HBO Max’s debut original from Norway.

The sci-fi drama from Lilyhammer’s Eilif Skodvin and Anne Bjørnstad is introducing a wealth of new international cast members for the second season, including Paul Kaye (Game of Thrones) Ann Akin (I May Destroy You), Jade Anouka (His Dark Materials), Billy Postlethwaite (Chernobyl), Hedda Stiernstedt (The Restaurant) and Philip Rosch (The Alienist). Krista Kosonen and Nicolai Cleve Broch will reprise their roles as main characters Alfhildr and Lars and Tobias Santelmann (The Last Kingdom) will return as Olav the Holy.

The series starts with Oslo shaken by a brutal murder. Lars and Alfhildr are brought back together in an investigation with ties to several countries and centuries which raises the question: could Jack the Ripper have ‘timeigrated’ to the present? Police detectives, Lars and Alfhildr soon realize that if they are to capture the killer,...

HBO Max has greenlit a six-part Eastern European comedy directed by Berlinale and Czech Lion winning director Jan Hřebejk as it gears up to launch in the region.

The Winner tells the story of Viktor Hudák, a fictional Prime Minister of a small European country ending his career in politics and returning to everyday life. When his successor radically overturns all the policies that he spent a lifetime building, he quickly realizes there is very little power in being an ex-prime minister.

Acclaimed Slovak actor Ady Hajdu will play the lead in the six-parter, which is being written by Zuzana Dzurindová and Peter Nagy. Prague production company Etamp Film is producing.

HBO Max exec Johnathan Young called The Winner a “joyous poke at pomposity, patriarchy and politics” and pointed out its uniqueness in featuring both Slovak and Czech characters.

Young is exec producing The Winner alongside Steve Matthews and Tereza Polachova is producing.

Sales

Red Arrow International has sold documentary “Controlling Britney Spears” to a raft of territories. The 75-minute documentary contains new allegations from insiders with intimate knowledge of the pop icon’s daily life under her controversial conservatorship.

The documentary has been sold to Sky (U.K.), Nine (Australia), Crave (Canada), Three (New Zealand), Talpa TV (the Netherlands), Vgtv (Norway), TV2 (Denmark), TV4, MTV and Cmore (Sweden and Finland), Discovery (Italy and Philippines), Originals Factory (French and German-speaking Europe), HOT8 (Israel), yes-Dbs (Israel), TV Nova’s streamer Voyo (Czech Republic and Slovakia), Pro Plus (Slovenia), Globo for its GloboPlay streaming service (Brazil), and Tvn Grupa Discovery (Poland) including for its streaming platform Player.

“Controlling Britney Spears” is a follow-up to “Framing Britney Spears” and was produced in partnership by The New York Times and Left/Right, a Red Arrow Studios company. It premiered last month on FX and Hulu in the U.

Ahead of the streamer’s Oct. 26 arrival in Spain, representatives from several shows commissioned for WarnerMedia’s HBO Max assembled at the San Sebastian Film Festival on Sunday to preview their shows, slated to arrive on the platform on or after its launch.

Four series were presented to an at-capacity press conference held in San Sebastian’s Kuursal conference center, the main hub for the Spanish festival.

First up was “Todo lo otro,” a release day launch for HBO Max staring multi-hyphenate Abril Zamora who writes, directs and stars in the story of a group of 30-somethings living in Madrid who have reached adulthood and found themselves living lives different from what they’d once dreamed. Playing the series’ lead protagonist, Zamora stars as Daphne, pushing middle age, recently single and with a crap job. Complicating things even more, she finds herself falling for her best friend, who himself is...

One moment, Julie, just 18, a fashion influencer, 159,258 followers, is swanning down a street in Copenhagen, with her BFFs Constanze, Micke and Sofia. The next, her parents and big brother are dead, killed in a plane crash in Africa.

Julie gets the family mansion, but can’t think of any good reasons for living.

There’s a before and after, Julie says in “Kamikaze,” HBO Max’s first Danish original. “Before when I thought of time, that would bring me closer to whatever I was looking forward to. And now I only think of time as something between myself and all the things I will never get back,” she reasons.

Over the course of eight energetic half-hour episodes, Julie seeks a reason to live, while attempting comic and dramatic life-exits in a journey which takes her to Seoul, London, Mexico and finally, in an narrative stretch which punctuates the whole series,...

Set to launch in Europe later this year, HBO Max has bolstered its originals pipeline with the announcement of “García!” a new series to be produced in Spain based on the popular graphic novel of the same name by authors Santiago García and Luis Bustos.

Miguel Salvat, Steve Matthews and Antony Root, the trio behind HBO España’s fan-favorite horror thriller “30 Coins” from Spanish maestro Alex de la Iglesia, are teaming once again as executive producers on the six-hour series.

“’García!’ is a project with enormous narrative and epic visual ambition. The tiniest details combine to become an action-packed adventure series, sometimes honoring the great genre traditions, but sometimes blowing them up. In ‘García!’ whilst we see a Spain that has changed somewhat in the last few decades, some elements remain the same,” said Salvat.

Set in modern-day Spain, the novel, published by Astiberri Ediciones, plays on cultural and...

Álex de la Iglesia’s spot on the Mount Rushmore of Spanish genre filmmakers was cemented long ago thanks to cult classics such as “The Day of the Beast” and “Common Wealth,” finding more recent success with local hits like “The Bar” and “Perfect Strangers.”

The filmmaker has now turned his attentions to TV with his new high-end horror series “30 Coins,” already a hit in Spain where it is has been wowing local critics and trending on social media for the three weeks since its release. Produced by de la Iglesia’s Pokeepsie Films for HBO, the series will cross the Atlantic and debut with a two-episode double-feature on HBO’s linear network in the U.S. on Jan. 4, and be available to stream on HBO Max.

“’30 Coins’ presents a fantastic opportunity to highlight the great work being done within this company internationally. The uniquely captivating world created by...

French pay-tv group Canal Plus has pre-bought exclusive rights for France to the anticipated series “Patria” from HBO Europe ahead of its September premiere.

“Patria” was created and written by Aitor Gabilondo (“El Príncipe”), based on Fernando Aramburu’s bestselling novel of the same name.

Directed by Felix Viscarret and Óscar Pedraza, “Patria” spans over three decades and tells a story of the Spanish Basque Country through the eyes of two friends and their respective families who are divided by violence and political struggle. “Patria” is set in the aftermath of the ceasefire pronounced by the Eta (the armed Basque nationalist and separatist organization) and follows Bittori, who returns home to her village where her husband was murdered by the terrorist to get closure.

The show is headlined by Elena Irureta, Ane Gabarain, José Ramón Soroiz and Mikel Laskurain.

“We are pleased that HBO Europe’s Patria has found a home on Canal Plus,...

HBO Europe drama series “30 Coins” (“30 Monedas”), directed by Spanish genre director Alex De La Iglesia, has debuted its teaser. The show will world premiere at the upcoming Venice Film Festival.

“30 Coins,” slotted as an out-of-competition screening, is the only TV series in the Lido lineup so far.

Venice, which is on track to be the first major international festival to hold a physical edition, will run Sept. 2-12.

“30 Coins” turns on exiled priest Father Vergara, played by Eduard Fernández (“El Nino”), an exorcist, boxer and ex-convict, living in a remote village in Spain. Hoping to be lost and forgotten, Vergara’s demons catch up to him.

Co-written by De la Iglesia and Jorge Guerricaechevarría, the show is executive produced for HBO Europe by Steve Matthews, Miguel Salvat and Antony Root. De la Iglesia and Carolina Bang are executive producers for Pokeepsie Films. Production Services for “30 Coins” were provided by Pokeepsie Films,...

Madrid — HBO Europe’s “Patria” will debut day and date on May 17 in the U.S. and 61 countries across Europe and Latin America, a first for HBO Europe, the pay and streaming TV service announced on Thursday, also dropping the first trailer to the series.

In the U.S., “Patria” will be made available on HBO Now, HBO Go, HBO On Demand, HBO Latino, and partners’ streaming platforms.

Depicting the visceral impact of the Basque Country’s armed conflict on normal people on both sides – as well as many somewhere in between – “Patria” will also be available on HBO Europe’s branded services in 21 countries including Spain. In Latin America, it will be broadcast on HBO in over 40 countries and will be available on HBO Go.

The scale of the roll-out reflects the artistic ambition of the Spanish series, the first production announced by HBO España, its signature original series,...

In this week’s jam-packed International TV Newswire, Variety catches you up on HBO’s first Danish original series “Kamikaze,” the first deal between ViacomCBS-owned broadcasters since the merger, David Tennant’s upcoming 80-day global circumnavigation, an un-scripted deal between Japan’s Nippon TV and the U.K.’s The Story Lab. Also on the mix: Eccho Rights’ newest global pickup from Sweden, U.K. Creative Content Eis Fund’s first investment, and the Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize’s jury announcement.

HBO Europe Announces First Danish Original Series

For HBO it’s always been about quality, not quantity, so it’s no surprise that HBO Europe has enlisted an all-star team for its first Danish original series, “Kamikaze.” The series will be directed by “Borgen” director Annette K. Olesen and executive produced by Hanne Palmquist, and Steve Matthews and Antony Root.

Based on the novel “Muleum” by Norwegian writer Erlend Loe,...

Drama based on Erlend Loe’s Norwegian novel, ‘Muleum’.

HBO Europe has greenlit eight-part drama Kamikaze, marking its first Danish original series.

Based on Erlend Loe’s Norwegian novel, Muleum, the series will be produced by Ditte Milsted from Copenhagen-based Profile Pictures with a script by Johanne Algren, who wrote Sundance 2018 feature Holiday.

All episodes will be directed by Annette K Olesen, who has helmed episodes of Sandi-noir series Borgen and features including Minor Mishaps, In Your Hands and Little Soldier, all of which played in competition at Berlin.

The story centres on an 18-year-old girl who embarks on a...

HBO Europe has ordered Kamikaze – its first Danish original. The WarnerMedia-backed European broadcaster has given a greenlight to the eight-part series, which is an adaptation of Erlend Loe’s Norwegian novel Muleum.

The show follows Julie, a fierce and hypnotically charming 18-year-old main character as she goes through an existential struggle back to life after losing everything.

The story begins shortly after her 18th birthday, when Julie receives a final text message from her father. Seconds later, her parents and big brother are killed in a plane crash in Uganda. She is left alone in a giant mansion, and on the face of it has everything others only dream of: youth, beauty and money – lots of money. As the loss of her family sinks in, she is forced to find a reason to keep going and embarks on a dangerous journey of rediscovery that will take her from her...

HBO Europe has unveiled the first trailer for its Isabel Coixet drama Foodie Love and set a premiere date.

The WarnerMedia broadcaster is to launch the series, which features Laia Costa, star of German crime feature Victoria, and Cromo and Supermax star Guillermo Pfening in December across Europe. In Spain, where the series marks HBO Europe’s first original out of the country, it will launch on December 4 and will roll out across the rest of the continent on December 25.

HBO Europe operates a slew of linear and digital services including Svod services in Scandinavia, Spain and Portugal as well as linear networks across Central Europe. In the Baltics, HBO content is available via partner Telia in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Foodie Love is an eight-part, half-hour series about the relationship between two food lovers who meet through a mobile app.

Costa plays one half of the couple whose relationship is forged between courses.

San Sebastian — Amid large expectation, HBO Europe has revealed first footage giving a first sense of tone and pace of its Spanish original series “Patria.”

A packed-to-overflowing press conference on Saturday morning at the San Sebastian Festival can be read as one sign of the potential popularity of the eight-part series.

The panel sneak-peek was attended by “Patria” creator and writer Aitor Gabilondo (“El Príncipe”), actresses Elena Irureta and Ane Gabarain, who play the leads, the series HBO producers Miguel Salvat and Steve Matthews, head of development HBO Europe.

“Patria” weighs in as HBO’s signature Spanish series. It was HBO’s first series announced out of Spain, two years ago on the eve of 2017’s San Sebastian Festival, when it was still in development.

That development proved characteristically lengthy.

“Steve worked with Aitor on the development of the scripts from a distance,” Salvat said in San Sebastian. “He hadn...

HBO has released the first international trailer for its quirky Norwegian sci-fi drama Beforeigners. The series, which comes out of HBO Europe and stars Blade Runner 2049’s Krista Kosonen and Aquitted’s Nicolai Cleve Broch, is to launch on August 21.

The drama, which will be available in the U.S. via the WarnerMedia-owned network’s digital platforms, was created by Anne Bjørnstad and Eilif Skodvin, the creative team behind Netflix’s Lilyhammer.

It follows a new phenomenon that starts happening all over the world. Powerful flashes of light occur in the ocean, and people from the past appear. They come from three separate time periods: The Stone Age, The Viking era and late 19th Century. No one understands how this is possible, and the people from the past, called ”beforeigners”, have no memory of what’s transpired. Only one thing is certain: they keep coming and there is no way back.

As it continues pulling into the Nordic drama talent pool, HBO Europe has ordered the Norwegian original “Wilderness” (“Utmark” ), an eight-part series created and written by Kim Fupz Aakeson (“In Order of Disappearance”). The award-winning Icelandic director Dagur Kári (“Virgin Mountain”) is helming all eight episodes of the series.

“Wilderness” is a quirky comedy drama set in a small Norwegian town a little north of the middle of nowhere, and revolving around a corrupt sheriff, an alcoholic shepherd, a nature-loving bootlegger, a God-hating pastor and a grieving pimp. The HBO Europe original drama is produced by Finn Gjerdrum and Stein Kvae at Paradox.

“(‘Wilderness’) is bold, at times totally hilarious – and human all the way,” said Hanne Palmquist, the commissioning editor and VP original programming at HBO Nordic. “Kim Fupz has created an original bunch of flawed yet wonderful characters living in a far-flung place where civilization is a choice rather than a given,...

Kim Fupz Aakeson, writer of Liam Neeson feature Cold Pursuit, has created a quirky Norwegian comedy for HBO Europe. The premium broadcaster has commissioned eight-part series Utmark/Wilderness, which will be directed by Dagur Kári, director of Paul Dano’s The Good Heart.

Aakeson is also behind AMC’s David Schwimmer drama Feed The Beast, which was based on his Danish series Bankerot. It is produced by Finn Gjerdrum and Stein Kvae at Paradox.

Utmark/Wilderness is a quirky comedy drama set in a small Norwegian town a little north of the middle of nowhere. A sheep lies savaged. A dog runs free. A wife leaves her husband. So begins a chain of revenge that entangles a whole town. Corrupt sheriff, alcoholic shepherd, nature-loving bootlegger, God-hating pastor, grieving pimp…everyone knows everyone in this secluded corner of the Nordic North. Now an optimistic new school teacher rolls in, hopeful for a fresh start.

HBO Europe is adding to its growing Spanish slate with “Por H o por B” (“Whatever”), a comedy series produced by Globomedia, part of TV giant The Mediapro Studio, and new Madrid-based company Lacoproductora.

Written and directed by Manuela Burló Moreno, the 10-episode half-hour takes the characters from her Goya-nominated short film “Pipas,” with actresses Marta Martín and Saida Benzal reprising their roles as friends Hache and Belén.

The two childhood friends living in the hipster Madrid neighborhood of Malasaña – a far cry from their roots on the outskirts of the city. The inevitable cultural clash leads to a cataclysm of ridiculous and awkward consequences as they navigate their friendship, and the fake new world they’re now a part of.

“Por H o por B” has started to shoot in Madrid, with Brays Efe, Itziar Castro, Javier Bódalo and Fernando Albizu also joining the cast.

Globomedia’s Javier Pons,...

HBO Europe is doubling down on scripted in Spain with a hipster series set in Madrid. The premium broadcaster has ordered Por H o por B. The comedy is written by Manuela Burló Moreno and the characters are based on her own short film Pipas.

The series, which has an English working title of Whatever, stars Marta Martín and Saida Benzal, who will reprise their roles as friends Hache and Belén. The 10-part half-hour series is produced by Lacoproductora and Globomedia.

It comes after HBO Europe ordered an adaptation of Fernando Aramburu’s novel Patria, Isabel Coixet’s Foodie Love and Alex de la Iglesia’s 30 Coins.

Por H o por B follows Hache and Belén, who are reunited after a few years of not speaking to each other and find themselves living in the hipster Madrid neighborhood of Malasaña – a far cry from their roots on the outskirts of the city.

HBO Europe has released the first-look teaser trailer for Lukas Moodysson’s upcoming TV comedy series “Gosta.” The highly-anticipated show marks the acclaimed Swedish filmmaker’s first foray into television and was HBO’s first commissioned drama series out of Scandinavia.

The eponymous Gosta (Vilhelm Blomgren) is a 28-year old child psychologist who gets his first job in a small rural town. He wants to be the kindest person in the world and help everyone he meets, but sometimes it goes better than others. Amy Deasismont and Mattias Silvell also star as Gosta’s girlfriend and father, respectively. The trailer opens and closes with the three leads on a car journey.

The show was written and directed by Moodysson, with the trailer’s comedic tone akin to titles like 2000’s “Together” and 2013’s “We Are the Best!” among the director’s feature work. The first four 30-minute episodes will debut...

Laia Costa, star of German crime feature Victoria, and Cromo and Supermax star Guillermo Pfening are to star in Isabel Coixet’s HBO Europe drama Foodie Love.

Production has begun on the series, which is an eight-part, half-hour series about the relationship between two food lovers who meet through a mobile app.

BAFTA Ee Rising Star Costa plays one half of the couple whose relationship is forged between courses. She plays a thirty-three-year-old book editor, smart, and somewhat suspicious of relationships. Argentinian actor Pfening plays the other half, a successful mathematician, cultivated, and at times a little naïve.

The two thirty-somethings embark on getting to know each other with the doubts of those who retain the scars of previous relationships. Over several dates they’ll have to discover if their common devotion to Japanese yuzu or shared distaste for foodie pretension are enough to build the foundations of a lasting love story.

Project will be produced by Miss Wasabi Films.

Spanish filmmaker Isabel Coixet is set to write and direct her first TV series with Foodie Love, a HBO Europe production.

The eight-part half-hour series will be produced by Miss Wasabi Films and will shoot this year.

The protagonists of the series will be connected by a mobile app that finds couples among foodie lovers. Two thirty-somethings embark on getting to know each other - over several dates they’ll have to discover if their common devotion to Japanese yuzu or shared distaste for foodie pretension are enough to build the foundations of a lasting love story.

The Bookshop filmmaker Isabel Coixet is writing and directing her first series for television – half-hour drama Foodie Love.

The director, who is behind My Life Without Me, Map of the Sounds of Tokyo and Emily Mortimer-fronted The Bookshop, is making the original Spanish production for HBO Europe. Produced by Miss Wasabi Films, production begins later this year.

The eight-episode series follows foodie lovers that find their match via a mobile app. Two thirty-somethings who embark on getting to know each other with the doubts of those who retain the scars of previous relationships. Over several dates they’ll have to discover if their common devotion to Japanese yuzu or shared distaste for foodie pretension are enough to build the foundations of a lasting love story.

Miguel Salvat, Steve Matthews and Antony Root executive producers alongside Coixet.

Coixet said, “Foodie Love is the fusion of two of my passions: love stories and food.

Spanish director Isabel Coixet has signed on to write and direct her first TV series, Foodie Love, for HBO Europe.

The eight-part half-hour series will be produced by Coixet’s own Miss Wasabi Films for HBO Europe and begin production this year. Miguel Salvat, Steve Matthews and Antony Root are executive producers for HBO Europe.

The original Spanish series, which will premiere day-and-date across all HBO Europe territories, follows two thirty-somethings who meet through a foodie-lover app and embark on a relationship despite past scars. Over several dates they’ll discover where their tastes overlap and whether their passion for food,...

Spanish director Isabel Coixet has signed on to write and direct her first TV series, Foodie Love, for HBO Europe.

The eight-part half-hour series will be produced by Coixet’s own Miss Wasabi Films for HBO Europe and begin production this year. Miguel Salvat, Steve Matthews and Antony Root are executive producers for HBO Europe.

The original Spanish series, which will premiere day-and-date across all HBO Europe territories, follows two thirty-somethings who meet through a foodie-lover app and embark on a relationship despite past scars. Over several dates they’ll discover where their tastes overlap and whether their passion for food,...

HBO Europe has ordered 30 Coins (30 monedas), an original Spanish horror series directed by Venice and Goya-winning director Álex de la Iglesia. Produced by Pokeepsie Films, 30 Coins will shoot later this year in Spain. The series is an HBO Europe original production and will premiere day-and-date across HBO Europe territories.

Co-written by De la Iglesia and his long-time writing partner Jorge Guerricaechevarria, 30 Coins tells the tragedy of Father Vergara, an exorcist, boxer and ex-convict, who is exiled by the church to a remote town in Spain. He wants to forget and be forgotten, but his enemies will soon find him.

When Vergara is linked to a series of mysterious paranormal events in the village, Paco, the town’s naive mayor, and Elena, a restless veterinarian, try to uncover the secrets of his past, and the significance of the ancient silver coin he keeps hidden. Slowly the unlikely trio of heroes find...

Madrid, Spain — HBO Europe has greenlit production on a new series from famed Spanish genre director Alex De La Iglesia titled “30 Coins.”

The series’ eight episodes will shoot this year in Spain. Long-time Iglesia writing partner Jorge Guerricaechevarría is co-writing, with De La Iglesia’s Madrid-based Pokeepsie Films co-producing. Executive producering for HBO Europe are Miguel Salvat, Steve Matthews and Antony Root.

“30 Coins” turns on exiled priest Father Vergara, an exorcist, boxer and ex-convict, living in a remote village in Spain. Hoping to be lost and forgotten, Vergara’s demons catch up to him.

The town’s ambitious mayor Paco teams with local veterinarian Elena to unearth the secrets of Vergara’s past. The three end up teaming and find themselves in the middle of a global conspiracy to control the 30 pieces of silver paid to Judas Iscariot when he turned on Jesus of Nazareth. The coins are, as one might imagine,...