Canada’s CBC picks up Beta Film’s historical epic Rise of the Raven

Rise of the Raven will air at the Toronto International Film Festival in September

CBC in Canada has picked up Beta Film’s historical epic Rise of the Raven, which will debut on streamer CBC Gem after its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

It is the latest deal Beta has secured for the 10-part series, which has also been acquired by Italy’s RAI for broadcast in 2026. Croatia’s HRT, Telekom Deutschland in Germany, Slovakia’s STVR, Blue TV in Switzerland, YES in Israel and Czech TV aired the pan-European drama earlier this year following its world premiere at Mipcom last fall.

The European epic has previously been a ratings hit in Hungary on TV2 and Austria’s ORF. It will debut on CBC Gem on September 19.

Rise of the Raven tells the story of fearless army commander János Hunyadi (Gellért Kádár), who devotes his life to defending Europe against an Ottoman invasion. His strongest allies are the women in his life: Erzsébet (Vivien Rujder), the wife who fights alongside him, and Mara (Franciska Töröcsik), his first love, who breaks his heart by becoming lead concubine in Sultan Murad’s (Murathan Muslu) court. When the Ottoman Empire mobilises an army with the objective of conquering the Vatican and Europe, Hunyadi leads his small but mighty army to the battlefield.

It is produced by Robert Lantos and his Serendipity Point Films, as well as Twin Media, HG Media, MR Film and Beta Film, coproduced by TV2 and ORF, supported by the National Film Institute of Hungary.

The showrunner is Balázs Lengyel (HBO’s Golden Life), who also directs the final episode. The series is written by Lengyel, George Mihalka, Balázs Lovas, Zsófia Ruttkay, Attila Veres and Bán Mór, who wrote the series of novels the show is based on.

The producers are Tibor Krsko, Cecilia Hazai, Kinga Hazai, Ari Lantos, Oliver Auspitz and Andreas Kamm of MR Film, as well as Koby Gal-Raday. Directors are Robert Dornhelm (Maria Theresa, War and Peace) and Hungarian directors Orsi Nagypal (The Deal, the CW’s The Outpost) and Attila Szasz (Tall Tales, Eternal Winter).

The European cast also includes Cornelius Obonya, Laurence Rupp, Giancarlo Giannini, Elena Rusconi, Francesco Acquaroli, Karel Roden, Thomas Trabacchi and Rade Serbedzija.

Learn more about the series and hear from showrunner Balázs Lengyel and stars Gellért Kádár and Vivien Rujder in this video from C21’s sister site Drama Quarterly.