Exclusive: Leonine Studios has taken worldwide rights to German-Norwegian thriller series The Seed (working title), which is set around the explosive takeover of a seed company and comes from Chameleon writer Christian Jeltsch.
The Germany-based producer-distributor joins its subsidiary Odeon Fiction, alongside co-commissioners German broadcaster Ard Degeto and Norway’s Nrk and Czech producer Mia Film on the production, which began shooting on May 10 at spectacular original locations in Spitsbergen (Norway), Munich (Germany) and Prague (Czech Republic). The service producer in Spitsbergen is PolarX As.
Jeltsch, who is writing upcoming Sky Deutschland corporate lobbying mystery drama Chameleon and works on Ard procedural Tatort, is creator and head writer of the English-language series. He wrote the screenplays with Axel Hellstenius and Alexander Dierbach (Line of Separation) is directing.
Westworld‘s Ingrid Bolsø Berdal Heino Ferch stars opposite Heino Ferch.
The drama uses the Svalbard Global Seed Vault on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen as the backdrop to the six-part thriller. The vault acts as an insurance policy and backup facility for crops globally by providing storage for seed duplicates storied in gene banks around the world.
The Seed follows German detective Max (Ferch) and Norwegian policewoman Thea (Bolsø Berdal), who set out to find Max’s missing nephew Victor (Jonathan Berlin) in Spitsbergen. It soon becomes apparent his disappearance may be connected to the takeover of a seed company that is causing controversy in Brussels. As they plunge deeper into webs of intrigue and political interests they find their own lives in danger too.
Rainer Bock, Seumas Sargent, Erik Madsen and Friederike Becht round out the international cast.
“With The Seed, we would like to draw attention to an important global issue because it is about the struggle for food,” Ard Degeto Senior Vice President of Drama Christoph Pellander told Deadline. “With a top cast in front of and behind the camera, this is an exciting German-Norwegian co-production that will not only reach the German audience but also attract international attention.“
Pellander is overseeing the drama for Ard Degeto along with Head of Acquisitions and Co-Productions Sebastian Lückel, with Elisabeth Tangen doing the same for Nrk. The producers are Odeon Fiction’s Britta Meyermann (Spy City) and Mischa Hofmann and the Director of Photography is Ian Blumers. FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, Creative Europe Media of the European Union, the German Motion Picture Fund and the Czech Tax Incentive are supporting the production.
Babylon Berlin commissioner Ard Degeto and Nrk have been two of the most active co-producers of European drama this year. Last month, Deadline revealed Nrk had ordered a drama about Leonard Cohen’s relationship with muse Marianne Ihlen from the UK’s Buccaneer Media, Oslo-based Redpoint Productions and Canada’s Connect3 Media, for example.
Ard Degeto is working on several new dramas, including mystery thriller series Oderbruch, which is co-produced by Syrreal Entertainment and CBS Studios. Others such as Scandinavian series Blackwater, co-produced with Sweden’s Svt, ITV Studios-owned Apple Tree Productions and Filmpool Nord) are in post-production.
The firm is a wholly owned subsidiary of German public broadcaster Ard, commissioning and producing more than 100 productions of feature films, TV movies and series each year. It also acquires programs, with all of its content going out on the Das Erste (Ardi) channel and streaming platform Mediathek.
The Germany-based producer-distributor joins its subsidiary Odeon Fiction, alongside co-commissioners German broadcaster Ard Degeto and Norway’s Nrk and Czech producer Mia Film on the production, which began shooting on May 10 at spectacular original locations in Spitsbergen (Norway), Munich (Germany) and Prague (Czech Republic). The service producer in Spitsbergen is PolarX As.
Jeltsch, who is writing upcoming Sky Deutschland corporate lobbying mystery drama Chameleon and works on Ard procedural Tatort, is creator and head writer of the English-language series. He wrote the screenplays with Axel Hellstenius and Alexander Dierbach (Line of Separation) is directing.
Westworld‘s Ingrid Bolsø Berdal Heino Ferch stars opposite Heino Ferch.
The drama uses the Svalbard Global Seed Vault on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen as the backdrop to the six-part thriller. The vault acts as an insurance policy and backup facility for crops globally by providing storage for seed duplicates storied in gene banks around the world.
The Seed follows German detective Max (Ferch) and Norwegian policewoman Thea (Bolsø Berdal), who set out to find Max’s missing nephew Victor (Jonathan Berlin) in Spitsbergen. It soon becomes apparent his disappearance may be connected to the takeover of a seed company that is causing controversy in Brussels. As they plunge deeper into webs of intrigue and political interests they find their own lives in danger too.
Rainer Bock, Seumas Sargent, Erik Madsen and Friederike Becht round out the international cast.
“With The Seed, we would like to draw attention to an important global issue because it is about the struggle for food,” Ard Degeto Senior Vice President of Drama Christoph Pellander told Deadline. “With a top cast in front of and behind the camera, this is an exciting German-Norwegian co-production that will not only reach the German audience but also attract international attention.“
Pellander is overseeing the drama for Ard Degeto along with Head of Acquisitions and Co-Productions Sebastian Lückel, with Elisabeth Tangen doing the same for Nrk. The producers are Odeon Fiction’s Britta Meyermann (Spy City) and Mischa Hofmann and the Director of Photography is Ian Blumers. FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, Creative Europe Media of the European Union, the German Motion Picture Fund and the Czech Tax Incentive are supporting the production.
Babylon Berlin commissioner Ard Degeto and Nrk have been two of the most active co-producers of European drama this year. Last month, Deadline revealed Nrk had ordered a drama about Leonard Cohen’s relationship with muse Marianne Ihlen from the UK’s Buccaneer Media, Oslo-based Redpoint Productions and Canada’s Connect3 Media, for example.
Ard Degeto is working on several new dramas, including mystery thriller series Oderbruch, which is co-produced by Syrreal Entertainment and CBS Studios. Others such as Scandinavian series Blackwater, co-produced with Sweden’s Svt, ITV Studios-owned Apple Tree Productions and Filmpool Nord) are in post-production.
The firm is a wholly owned subsidiary of German public broadcaster Ard, commissioning and producing more than 100 productions of feature films, TV movies and series each year. It also acquires programs, with all of its content going out on the Das Erste (Ardi) channel and streaming platform Mediathek.
- 5/24/2022
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Leonine Confirms U.S. Date For Spy City
Leonine has confirmed that Odeon Fiction and Miramax’s high-end spy thriller series Spy City has sold to AMC Networks and will launch on AMC+ in the United States on April 15, 2021. The six-part series from UK writer William Boyd was produced by Leonine Studios’ production banner Odeon Fiction. Co-financed and executive-produced by Miramax and distributed through ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group, the series stars Dominic Cooper (Preacher) in the lead role of Fielding Scott, an English spy who is sent to Berlin in 1961 to sift out a traitor in the UK Embassy or among the Allies, shortly before the construction of the Berlin Wall. Producers are Odeon Fiction’s Britta Meyermann, Mischa Hofmann and Ann-Kathrin Eicher. Dominic Cooper, William Boyd, Thomas Augsberger and Bill Block are executive producers, alongside with Magenta TV’s Michael Schuld, Sven Philipp and Zdf’s Wolfgang Feindt and Annika Schmidt.
Leonine has confirmed that Odeon Fiction and Miramax’s high-end spy thriller series Spy City has sold to AMC Networks and will launch on AMC+ in the United States on April 15, 2021. The six-part series from UK writer William Boyd was produced by Leonine Studios’ production banner Odeon Fiction. Co-financed and executive-produced by Miramax and distributed through ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group, the series stars Dominic Cooper (Preacher) in the lead role of Fielding Scott, an English spy who is sent to Berlin in 1961 to sift out a traitor in the UK Embassy or among the Allies, shortly before the construction of the Berlin Wall. Producers are Odeon Fiction’s Britta Meyermann, Mischa Hofmann and Ann-Kathrin Eicher. Dominic Cooper, William Boyd, Thomas Augsberger and Bill Block are executive producers, alongside with Magenta TV’s Michael Schuld, Sven Philipp and Zdf’s Wolfgang Feindt and Annika Schmidt.
- 4/12/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
FX released a trailer for the third and final season of “Pose,” which will debut on May 2.
Nearly two years after Blanca Evangelista’s (Mj Rodriguez) triumphant return to the ballroom, she gets a new job working at a hospital, while newly-engaged Angel (Indya Moore) and Papi (Angel Bismark Curiel) seem happy as ever. Following a health scare last season, Pray Tell’s (Billy Porter) fate is up in the air. “I knew this disease was gonna eat me alive, but I’m not going out without a fight,” he says in the trailer. Watch it in full below.
Also in today’s TV news roundup, Showtime announced a virtual farewell event featuring the cast of “Shameless,” taking place April 11 at 7 p.m. Pt., immediately following the series finale. Showrunner John Wells will join cast members William H. Macy, Jeremy Allen White, Ethan Cutkosky, Shanola Hampton, Steve Howey, Emma Kenney,...
Nearly two years after Blanca Evangelista’s (Mj Rodriguez) triumphant return to the ballroom, she gets a new job working at a hospital, while newly-engaged Angel (Indya Moore) and Papi (Angel Bismark Curiel) seem happy as ever. Following a health scare last season, Pray Tell’s (Billy Porter) fate is up in the air. “I knew this disease was gonna eat me alive, but I’m not going out without a fight,” he says in the trailer. Watch it in full below.
Also in today’s TV news roundup, Showtime announced a virtual farewell event featuring the cast of “Shameless,” taking place April 11 at 7 p.m. Pt., immediately following the series finale. Showrunner John Wells will join cast members William H. Macy, Jeremy Allen White, Ethan Cutkosky, Shanola Hampton, Steve Howey, Emma Kenney,...
- 4/6/2021
- by Haley Bosselman and Ethan Shanfeld
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: With AMC’s Preacher coming to a close this summer, Dominic Cooper is set to star in the six-part espionage Cold War series Spy City from Miramax and Germany’s H&v Entertainment and Zdf.
Novelist and screenwriter William Boyd is currently writing Spy City. German-Portuguese filmmaker Miguel Alexandre will direct, and Johanna Wokalek and Leonie Benesch (The Crown, Babylon Berlin) also star.
Cooper will play an English spy who is sent to Berlin in 1961 to sift out a traitor in the UK Embassy or among the Allies, shortly before the construction of the Berlin Wall. The city, declared by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev as “the most dangerous place on earth,” is teeming with spies and double agents. One wrong move could trigger the looming threat of nuclear war as American,...
Novelist and screenwriter William Boyd is currently writing Spy City. German-Portuguese filmmaker Miguel Alexandre will direct, and Johanna Wokalek and Leonie Benesch (The Crown, Babylon Berlin) also star.
Cooper will play an English spy who is sent to Berlin in 1961 to sift out a traitor in the UK Embassy or among the Allies, shortly before the construction of the Berlin Wall. The city, declared by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev as “the most dangerous place on earth,” is teeming with spies and double agents. One wrong move could trigger the looming threat of nuclear war as American,...
- 7/11/2019
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
London-based Headline Pictures, the outfit behind Quartet and The Invisible Woman, has revealed further details of its slate of high end TV dramas.
One of the company’s long gestating projects, Philip K Dick adaptation The Man In The High Castle, is now shooting in Seattle.
Headline has partnered with Amazon Studios, which is wholly funding the project, and is being filmed in the first instance as a pilot.
This will be broadcast in December and a decision will be taken as to whether a 10-part series will follow.
The drama, set in an alternate future in which Germany and Japan won the Second World War, is scripted by Frank Spotnitz and is being directed by David Semel.
The Man In The High Castle has been put together as a production between Scott Free, Headline Pictures and Electric Shepherd, the production arm of the Philip K. Dick estate.
“Headline created this show, secured the rights...
One of the company’s long gestating projects, Philip K Dick adaptation The Man In The High Castle, is now shooting in Seattle.
Headline has partnered with Amazon Studios, which is wholly funding the project, and is being filmed in the first instance as a pilot.
This will be broadcast in December and a decision will be taken as to whether a 10-part series will follow.
The drama, set in an alternate future in which Germany and Japan won the Second World War, is scripted by Frank Spotnitz and is being directed by David Semel.
The Man In The High Castle has been put together as a production between Scott Free, Headline Pictures and Electric Shepherd, the production arm of the Philip K. Dick estate.
“Headline created this show, secured the rights...
- 10/7/2014
- by geoffrey@macnab.demon.co.uk (Geoffrey Macnab)
- ScreenDaily
Britta Meyermann joins German independent production company.
Global Screen exec Britta Meyermann has stepped down to join German independent production company Odeon Film.
Since 2011, Meyermann has run the acquisitions department at Munich-based Telepool-Global Screen as vp acquisition and co-production.
In her new role, as head of international co-production at Odeon, she will be in charge of establishing the international division of the company, which will focus on development and co-production of TV series and feature films for the international market.
Meyermann will be report to Odeon CEO Mischa Hofmann.
Meyermann previously worked as a consultant in the film finance department of PricewaterhouseCoopers before, in 2006, joining the newly founded Majestic Film Production and Distribution Company in charge of business affairs, project coordination and acquisitions.
In 2009 she moved to Zdf Enterprises where she was responsible for acquisitions (feature films, TV series) for German broadcasters Zdf and ZDF_neo before joining Global Screen in 2011.
Global Screen exec Britta Meyermann has stepped down to join German independent production company Odeon Film.
Since 2011, Meyermann has run the acquisitions department at Munich-based Telepool-Global Screen as vp acquisition and co-production.
In her new role, as head of international co-production at Odeon, she will be in charge of establishing the international division of the company, which will focus on development and co-production of TV series and feature films for the international market.
Meyermann will be report to Odeon CEO Mischa Hofmann.
Meyermann previously worked as a consultant in the film finance department of PricewaterhouseCoopers before, in 2006, joining the newly founded Majestic Film Production and Distribution Company in charge of business affairs, project coordination and acquisitions.
In 2009 she moved to Zdf Enterprises where she was responsible for acquisitions (feature films, TV series) for German broadcasters Zdf and ZDF_neo before joining Global Screen in 2011.
- 12/9/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
COLOGNE, Germany -- David Gronewold's Odeon Film has acquired German production house Hofmann & Voges, the company behind zombie comedy "Night of the Living Dorks" and the politically incorrect hit "Where Is Fred?"
Warner Independent Pictures recently announced it was remaking "Dorks", billed as "Revenge of the Nerds" meets "Shaun of the Dead", for the U.S. market (HR 3/15).
In addition to their film work, Hofmann & Voges are one of Germany's top independent television production companies. In-house series include cross-culture sitcom "Turkish for Beginners", which recently won the Adolf Grimme Prize, one of Germany's top TV honors.
Under the agreement, company founders Mischa Hofmann and Philip Voges will stay on as managing directors and take minority stakes in Odeon Film.
Gronewold, who controls Odeon through his investment fund GFP, will be named CEO of the entire group.
The move comes a day after Entertainment Value Associates, the fund management group set up by Odeon and fund manager Kai-Roger Grueneke, signed a deal to manage the assets of the Vif1 film fund, which includes the cult sci-fi series "Lexx -- the Dark Zone" (HR 3/27).
Warner Independent Pictures recently announced it was remaking "Dorks", billed as "Revenge of the Nerds" meets "Shaun of the Dead", for the U.S. market (HR 3/15).
In addition to their film work, Hofmann & Voges are one of Germany's top independent television production companies. In-house series include cross-culture sitcom "Turkish for Beginners", which recently won the Adolf Grimme Prize, one of Germany's top TV honors.
Under the agreement, company founders Mischa Hofmann and Philip Voges will stay on as managing directors and take minority stakes in Odeon Film.
Gronewold, who controls Odeon through his investment fund GFP, will be named CEO of the entire group.
The move comes a day after Entertainment Value Associates, the fund management group set up by Odeon and fund manager Kai-Roger Grueneke, signed a deal to manage the assets of the Vif1 film fund, which includes the cult sci-fi series "Lexx -- the Dark Zone" (HR 3/27).
- 3/28/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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