Keshet’s Stockholm heads to Germany

Stockholm was adapted from the bestselling book by Noa Yedlin

RTL Group’s German streaming platform TVNow and linear channel Vox have jointly greenlit an adaptation of the Israeli black comedy Stockholm from Keshet Tresor Fiction (KTF).

Adapted from the bestselling book by Noa Yedlin and the Israeli series produced by Artza Productions for Keshet Broadcasting and pubcaster Kan, the 4×45’ German series will be known locally as Unter Freunden Stirbt Man Nicht (You Don’t Die Among Friends). It follows a group in their late 60s who cover up their friend’s death so he can achieve his ambition of winning a Nobel Prize.

The show is being written by Claudius Pläging (Der Vorname, Pastewka) and produced in cooperation with TVNow and Vox and supported by regional funding body Film und Medienstiftung NRW. It will star Iris Berben (Die Protokollantin), Adele Neuhauser (Tatort, Brecht), Heiner Lauterbach (Der Fall Collini), Michael Wittenborn (Wir sind die Neuen) and Walter Sittler (Der Kommissar und das Meer).

Felix Stienz (Merz Gegen Merz, Kroymann) will direct, with KTF’s Tina Hechinger as producer. It will be exec produced by RTL Germany’s joint heads of fiction Hauke Bartel and Frauke Neeb, KTF’s director of fiction programmes Christina Christ and Tresor CEO Axel Kühn.

The series is not only the first commission for Keshet-owned Tresor’s new scripted division, KTF, it is also one of the first scripted orders for TVNow, according to the Israeli company.

“In an age when people live longer and have better lives,  Unter Freunden Stirbt Man Nicht offers a refreshing perspective on this fascinating age group,” said Christ. “This dark comedy breaks stereotypes and conventional assumptions, as our silver surfers’ friendships, family, loyalty, professionalism, love and lust are all put to the test.”

Keshet International has sold the original Israeli series to Topic (US) and CBC (Canada), and closed option deals for the format in Finland and Sweden. US-based Keshet Studios is also developing an English-language feature based on the show, while a second season is being written by Yedlin for Keshet and Kan.