Amazon goes for Russia’s Gogol

Gogol was originally released as a film trilogy in Russia

MIPTV: The first Russian television drama to be released in cinemas has been acquired by Amazon Prime Video for its subscribers in the US, Canada and the UK.

Gogol was released as a trilogy of films in Russia before it launched on TV3 as an eight-episode series last month.

Described as a gothic adventure detective show, the story centres on real-life figure Nikolay Gogol, one of Russia’s most acclaimed 19th century writers, who is planted in a ghastly world of fairy tales and his own stories.

Central Partnership, part of Gazprom-Media Holding, is distributing the series, which is produced by Gazprom-owned TV3 and Sreda. Janson Media completed the deal with Amazon Prime.

Vadim Vereschagin, Central Partnership’s CEO, said: “Placing Gogol on Amazon Prime Video proves once again that we are moving in the right direction in terms of international sales. One of our main goals is to raise awareness about high-quality theatrical and TV content produced in Russia, and we have been reaching this goal successfully.”

Valeriy Fedorovich, producer and CEO of TV3, added: “Two years ago TV3 announced that it would develop out of the box. Since then, we have managed to push the boundaries of TV. Placing Gogol on one of the leading world online services is another big step for TV3’s expansion into the global market.”

The Gogol film trilogy has previously had a theatrical release in Germany, the UK, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Cyprus and the UAE.