Netflix to coproduce Euro drama trio

Netflix has boarded three high-profile European dramas as a coproducing partner, including the BBC’s forthcoming epic Troy: Fall of a City.

Ted Sarandos

The show is being produced for BBC1 by UK prodco Wild Mercury in association with Endemol Shine Group’s Kudos and is centred on the events of the Trojan War. The Night Manager scribe David Farr is its creator.

The series is due to start filming on location in South Africa this month and will premiere outside of the UK on Netflix.

Netflix has also confirmed it is on board BBC2’s Black Earth Rising, a thriller about the prosecution of international war crimes and the personal, legal and political turmoil it ignites.

Written and directed by Hugo Blick (Honourable Woman) and produced by Drama Republic, the show will premiere in the UK on BBC2 and globally on Netflix.

Finally, The Spy is from Canal+ and tells the true story of Israel’s most prominent spy, Eli Cohen, an Egyptian Jew who operated undercover in Syria at the start of the 1960s.

The series, from French prodco Legende Films (La Vie en Rose), is written and directed by Gideon Raff (Prisoners of War) and will premiere in France on Canal+ and globally on Netflix.

Details were unveiled by Netflix at an event in Berlin yesterday, at which the streamer claimed to have committed more than US$1.75bn to European productions (licensed, original and coproductions) since 2012, with 90 originals in various stages of development.

Other shows include Dark, Netflix’s first original from Germany, Italian crime thriller Suburra, and Las Chicas del Cable, a romantic 1920s drama from Spain that has been extended into a second season.

The streamer has also joined as a copro partner on shows such as Marcella with the UK’s ITV, Rita for TV2 Denmark and No Second Chance with France’s TF1.

Ted Sarandos, chief content officer at Netflix, said: “After four years of original programming and filming in 18 countries, we know compelling stories can come from anywhere and, no matter their origin, can resonate with audiences around the world.

“In fact, of the European shows available on Netflix last year, more than half of watchers came from outside of Europe, which is why we are confident our upcoming slate of international shows will be enjoyed by viewers in their home countries and beyond.”