HBO Europe lines up cocaine drama

Wataha (The Pack) has been given a second run

HBO Europe has unveiled a Warsaw-set drama about a cocaine dealer and has extended fellow original Wataha into a second season.

Blinded by the Lights (6×60′) is set in the run-up to Christmas and follows the Polish capital’s biggest cocaine dealer as his plans for a holiday in Argentina go awry.

The show is being directed and co-written by Krzysztof Skonieczny (Hardkor Disco) and is based on the eponymous novel by Jakub Żulczyk’s, who also co-wrote the screenplay.

Antony Root, exec VP of original programming and production at HBO Europe, said the show was part of the company’s strategy to expand its production efforts in the region.

“We believe Blinded by the Lights, a story set in Warsaw’s demi-monde and showing off the city in a wholly new way, will not only appeal to Polish audiences but also to our subscribers all around the HBO Europe region,” he said. “We are confident it will equally excite audiences internationally.”

Antony Root

HBO has also started production on the second season of Wataha, its drama about a border guard unit based in the remote Bieszczady Mountains on Poland’s border with Ukraine.

The 6×60′ first run was the highest-rating premiere in HBO Poland’s history and also aired on Channel 4’s Walter Presents in the UK.

Root added that Wataha “has already proved its appeal to viewers having achieved huge ratings in Poland for its first season.”

He continued: “It also played extremely successfully in the other HBO Europe territories and has sold in foreign markets. We are very excited by this new chapter and the way the writers explore some of the challenges now faced on Europe’s longest border.”

HBO Europe’s other originals include Pustina, which was ordered after the firm unveiled plans last year to double its local drama output, as revealed by C21.

The broadcaster is also moving into production in Scandinavia and runs channels and VoD services in almost 20 countries across Europe, following launches in Spain, Poland and the Czech Republic.