Jewish dramedy The Zweiflers to premiere on German streamer ARD Medithek

ARD has ordered domestic drama series The Zweiflers for its VoD service Mediathek

German pubcaster ARD has ordered domestic drama series The Zweiflers, about a dysfunctional Jewish family, for its VoD service Mediathek.

The 6×45’ series is produced by Berlin-based Turbokultur in coproduction with ARD Degeto Film and Hessischer Rundfunk for ARD.

The project was supported by Hessen Film, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, FFF Bayern and the GMPF (German Motion Picture Fund).

The Zweiflers will be available in German, English, Russian and Yiddish languages. ZDF Studios is handling global distribution.

It follows family patriarch and Holocaust survivor Symcha Zweifler. He wants to sell his delicatessen empire when suddenly he is confronted with his past in Frankfurt’s red-light district just after the Second World War.

The international cast includes Aaron Altaras (Unorthodox), Saffron Coomber (Three Little Birds), and Sunnyi Melles (Kaiser Karl).

Sebastian Krekeler, director drama, ZDF Studios, said: “It’s only once in a while that you come across a family drama with such distinctive characters, wonderfully portrayed by a great international cast.

“Nuanced with emotional family and cultural conflicts, The Zweiflers is a tragicomedy that many people will relate to regardless of their religion and background.”

David Hadda, showrunner and CEO of Turbokultur, said: “Our aim was simply to tell the story of a Jewish family living in Germany without having to explain ourselves.

“The more specific our characters, the more universal our story becomes. We have achieved this by creating our show as thoughtfully and authentically as possible at all levels of production.”