MIPTV Spotlight: ZDF Studios

ZDF Studios is bringing a vast slate of new titles across scripted, factual and junior to MIPTV 2022.

From its drama catalog, Stories to Stay Awake refreshes Chicho Ibáñez Serrador’s horror anthology series with the help of contemporary Spanish directors. The title’s four stand-alone episodes “pay homage to the past and are on the cutting edge of the future,” says Fred Burcksen, president and CEO. He continues, “The anthology revolutionized the Spanish television landscape back in the ’60s. Now, more than 50 years later, it returns to transform it once again.”

Also among ZDF Studios’ drama titles, White Night centers on the Hébert family after the sudden death of their matriarch, with flashbacks to the ’70s that retrace the former supermodel and businesswoman’s life. The series “follows a family struggling to cope with an imbalance of power wielded by a person who is no longer alive, interwoven with a murder mystery,” Burcksen says.

The drama Between Two Worlds tells a story of friendship between two women in West Germany amid the U.S. military presence in the ’50s. Both women strive to create a future for themselves during a time of great change and conflict.

Leading ZDF Studios’ factual catalog, Africa from Above takes viewers on an aerial adventure to see the natural wonders and diverse habitats of the continent while also getting to know the people who live across its various countries. The series delivers a fresh perspective on the continent with a bird’s-eye view.

From wildlife filmmaker Reinhard Radke, Lions versus Hyenas, meanwhile, seeks to correct misconceptions about the titular African predators. It documents their different hunting techniques, family structures and more.

Telling the story of four visionaries, Going Circular explores the concept of circularity, an economic system based on the idea that nothing should go to waste. “It’s a deceptively simple idea that is at the heart of nature and the natural world, but very few of us actually live this way,” says Burcksen. “And yet, it has the potential to save our planet’s resources and save us from the ravages of future climate change.”

In ZDF Studios’ children’s catalog, the animated series Pettson and Findus, based on the book series by Sven Nordqvist, follows the adventures of an inventive farmer and his lively cat. “We are presenting 26 brand-new episodes full of creative, heartwarming and enjoyable stories,” Burcksen notes.

Another animated series on the slate, Tilda Appleseed centers on a white mouse who lives in a tiny house at the foot of a church wall with her pet, Snaily. She lives close to her best friends, including a grey mouse, a hedgehog, a robin and lively squirrel twins.

Set in 1905, the new live-action series Theodosia is based on the books by best-selling author Robin L. LaFevers. It follows Theodosia Throckmorton, the daughter of two Egyptologists excavating in the Valley of the Kings. When she and her brother stumble upon a hidden tomb with a mysterious artifact, they unlock a strange magical power.

“MIPTV 2022 is the first market for our just-rebranded company ZDF Studios,” Burcksen notes. “We invite anybody with good ideas to talk to us at ZDF Studios or to our production companies about investments, sales and distribution.”