ESG unveils German drama outfit

The MadeFor Film team

Endemol Shine Group, which is in the process of being bought by France’s Banijay, has launched a new scripted label in Germany.

Berlin-based MadeFor Film will be led by joint CEOs Nanni Erben and Gunnar Juncken and aims to create and produce premium series and films for the domestic and international markets.

It will also pursue opportunities for coproductions within Endemol Shine and with other platforms and partners.

Erben and Juncken are experienced TV and film producers in Germany and worked together on long-running ARD Das Erste police procedural Tatort, among other projects.

Award-winning producer and author Ralf Husmann joins the team as showrunner, along with producers Rima Schmidt and Tasja Abel.

Schmidt worked for Munich-based prodco H&V Entertainment recently, while Abel arrives from LA-based distributor and financer Dynamic Television and will be responsible for MadeFor Film’s coproductions.

The label will join Endemol Shine Group’s scripted producers, led by Lars Blomgren, in territories including the Nordics (Filmlance, Rubicon), the Netherlands (NL Flms), France (ES Fiction), Iberia (Diagonal), Israel, Italy, Poland, Russia and India.

The company aims to build on the 69 non-English-language scripted titles that emerged from Endemol Shine last year, up from 50 in 2018.

Blomgren, head of scripted for EMEA at Endemol Shine, said: “Nanni and her team have an excellent creative reputation and are behind some of Germany’s most popular scripted series. We are excited to collaborate and bring MadeFor’s home-grown content to the world stage as we collaborate and leverage Endemol Shine’s unique global and local axis.”

Erben said: “We have an exceptional team in place with huge potential to create thrilling scripted series that not only entertain audiences in Germany but also globally. The German market is known for producing a high calibre of drama and it’s a brilliant time to launch MadeFor internationally.”

Recent and forthcoming non-English scripted series across Endemol Shine Group include Sweden’s Caliphate, Tsunami (both SVT) and Bear Town (HBO Europe); Norway’s Beforeigners (HBO Europe); The Idhun Memories (Netflix) from Spain; Israel’s Valley of Tears (IPBC), Fifty (YES) and Queens (Hot); Bombay Begums (Netflix) in India; and a new theatrical release for Penoza and an adaptation of The Councilman, both in the Netherlands.

Banijay recently completed the financing for its US$2.6bn buy-out of Endemol Shine, which was announced in October last year.