ZDF Studios sets sail with Spanish-language drama Boundless, kicks off NEM

NEM Dubrovnik 2022 opened yesterday

NEM: Germany’s ZDF Studios has boarded Spanish-language period drama Boundless (6×45’) as global distributor and screened the first episode to delegates at a star-studded party in Dubrovnik last night.

The company has picked up distribution rights outside Amazon Prime Video’s exclusive window and that of pubcaster RTVE in Spain. The show debuts on Amazon in Spain and Latin America this Saturday, to be followed by launches in the UK, the US, France and Germany during the summer.

Boundless is produced by Spain’s Mono Films in coproduction with Fulwell 73 Productions for RTVE and Amazon Prime Video. It is being produced in association with EiTB, Canal Sur and Ayuntamiento de Madrid and in participation with ZDF Studios. The series marks the first move into non-English-language content for UK indie Fulwell 73 as well as international coproductions.

L-R: ZDF Studios’ director of drama Susanne Frank, plus actors Gonçalo Diniz and Niccolò Senni

Boundless tells the story of the first circumnavigation of the world by explorers Juan Sebastián Elcano and Ferdinand Magellan, who set sail from Spain more than 500 years ago. It is directed by Oscar nominee Simon West (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Con Air, The General’s Daughter).

The cast includes Rodrigo Santoro (Westworld) and Álvaro Morte (Money Heist) and the show was shot in locales including the Dominican Republic, Basque Country, Madrid and Seville. It was written by Paxti Amezcua.

“Boundless is one of the biggest and most ambitious dramas that ZDF Studios has ever had the pleasure of being involved with,” Robert Franke, VP of drama at ZDF Studios, told NEM delegates. “The producers have been fantastic in securing top-class talent, both on and off screen, in order to do this epic story justice.”

Franke added: “It was the right decision for the producers to stay true to the origin of the story and leave it in the language those people spoke. Lot of things otherwise get lost in translation and you lose a lot of the performance.

“Nowadays, with all the streaming platforms bringing content in native languages, there is a much greater acceptance among audiences to really appreciate original language. We always prefer to have something in native language because it’s more authentic and it will better resonate with the audience.”

As well as Franke, director of drama Mirela Nastase and others from the ZDF Studios team, the screening last night was attended by Boundless stars Gonçalo Diniz and Niccolò Senni through a Q&A, while exec producer Miguel Menéndez de Zubillaga joined virtually.

NEM Dubrovnik, organised by Mediavision, continues until Thursday.