Federation backs German prodco co-founded by RTL alum Philipp Steffens

Philipp Steffens and Julie Link are behind Glisk

Pascal Breton’s Federation Entertainment is backing a new German production and talent management company co-founded by the commissioner of hit period drama Deutschland 83.

Philipp Steffens, who commissioned the series during his time as head of fiction at German broadcaster RTL, has launched Glisk with his wife Julie Link, in partnership with Federation. Producer Link’s credits include Catfish: The TV Show and Police Women of Dallas.

Glisk plans to produce scripted and unscripted shows as well as formats for the German market, and will also target international multi-genre coproductions with global appeal. The founders are aiming to bring German content and brands to an international audience.

In addition to production, Glisk will act as a talent management company for established and rising stars including actors, writers and directors.

The Cologne-headquartered company is the first venture into Germany for Federation, which has embarked upon a period of expansion over the past 12 months. This has included partnering with US-based entertainment studio Anonymous Content, launching LA-based management and production company Animal Federation and setting up a new UK operation.

Breton, founder and president at Federation Entertainment, said: “Germany was the last major European country where Federation had yet to establish a solid presence because we were waiting to meet the right partners.

“Julie Link and Philipp Steffens are those partners. Julie and Philipp perfectly embody the balance between artistic excellence and an ambition to engage our ever-growing audiences, particularly on digital platforms.”

Steffens left RTL in 2019, when the broadcaster merged its scripted teams for linear and streaming. As head of fiction, he was responsible for all drama and comedy productions, ordering shows such as The Teacher in addition to the hit Deutschland franchise.

Steffens previously created and produced The Valley and Der Letzte Bulle (The Last Cop), which won both a German Television Award and a Jupiter Award for Best Series. He also produced Flying Home, a film starring Jamie Dornan and directed by Dominic Deruddere.

Meanwhile, Link was most recently MD at Splendid Studios, where she produced young-adult feature Misfit, which was later adapted as a series for Netflix.

Before that, Link was international consultant for critical content and executive VP of development at Relativity Television. Her credits at Relativity include reality series Catfish: The TV Show and format Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

In a joint statement, Steffens and Link said: “As husband and wife, we have wanted to work together for a long time and the last year has provided the perfect environment for us to make our dream a reality.

“Our aim is to build a company that offers great partnership opportunities to the creative community. We want to be an incubator for great ideas and bring them to light creating engaging and emotional content that travels globally.

“We couldn’t ask for a better partner than Federation Entertainment – they have a real understanding of our goals and will be an incredible support as we are able to tap into the outstanding talent at the global network of independent studios. From our base in Cologne, we are thrilled to join Federation Entertainment’s growing team to develop content with real global outreach.”