Witnesses moved to Germany, Norway

Broadcasters in Germany, Belgium and Norway have picked up French-language drama The Witnesses to air in a primetime slot.

RTL Crime in Germany will air the new 6×52’ series after striking a deal with French sales house Newen Distribution.

In French-speaking Belgium, the drama will broadcast on the RTBF channel while in Benelux the series will air on Telenet and VRT in Flemish-speaking parts of the country.

Newen has also shopped Witnesses to Norway, where the drama will air on NRK2.

Witnesses is only the second French-language drama to broadcast on primetime on NRK and RTL Crime, following the ratings success of The Returned. It was recently bought by UK broadcaster Channel 4.

Witnesses (Les Témoins) was France 2’s flagship drama of the autumn season. Described as a noir thriller, the story is set in Northern France and features actor Thierry Lhermitte, star of the French version of Doc Martin.

The series is produced by Paris-based Cinétévé and was written and directed by Hervé Hadmar and Marc Hernoux, who were previously behind fellow thrillers Les Oubliées (Forgotten Girls) for France 3 and Pigalle La Nuit for pay TV platform Canal+.