TVDRAMA
BBC Studios has signed deals that will see Smother adapted in Slovakia and Doctor Foster remade in the Czech Republic.
Smother follows a widower who, in the aftermath of her husband’s tragic death, discovers the complex and damaged relationships that he had with his family and the effects his controlling, manipulative behavior had on each of them. Film Kolektiv will produce a 12-part Slovakian adaptation for TV Markíza and Voyo.
Slovakian adaptations of other BBC Studios titles include Mistresses (Milenky), which aired in 2018, and Doctor Foster (Zrada), which aired in 2024.
The original Smother was written by Kate O’Riordan (Mr. Selfridge) and was produced by BBC Studios and Treasure Entertainment for RTÉ.
In the Czech Republic, a deal for a ten-part adaptation of Doctor Foster has been signed with TV Nova and Voyo. The thriller, the world’s most adapted scripted format this decade, tells the story of a trusted doctor whose life implodes when she suspects her husband of having an affair.
Doctor Foster was originally written by Mike Bartlett and produced by Drama Republic in the U.K.
“BBC Studios continues to be one of the top scripted format distributors in the world, owing to the incredibly crafted stories and characters within our catalog, available to be retold in new ways and to new audiences around the world,” said Magdalena VanNiekerk, format sales director of unscripted at BBC Studios. “Relationship and family-based dramas like Smother and Doctor Foster are appreciated by our customers as they share universal themes, such as betrayal and revenge in these cases, which resonates with audiences wherever they are in the world. These types of stories have the ability to spark conversations long after the episodes end. The Markíza and TV Nova groups are long-standing partners, and we look forward to working together again to create another local hit for their audiences.”
