HBO Europe Greenlights Polish Drama The Thaw

HBO Europe has added the new six-part Polish drama The Thaw to its local originals slate.

Created and written by Marta Szymanek (The Pack) and directed by Xawery Żuławski (Bird Talk), The Thaw is set in Szczecin, Poland, where the body of a young woman is discovered under the melting ice. As a female police officer on the case tries to uncover who she was and why she died, she confronts her own circumstances as a single mother playing the role of a perfect police officer, who is also a woman in crisis.

The Thaw, the latest original production from HBO Europe, is produced by Bogumił Lipski and executive produced by Izabela Łopuch, Johnathan Young and Antony Root for HBO Europe. Andrzej Besztak is the executive producer for Magnolia Films. Production on the series is slated to commence in January 2020.

Lipski said: “At HBO, we are always most interested in telling emotional human stories. When we started working with Marta Szymanek on The Thaw, we knew that the biggest strength of her idea was its uncompromising candor and courage in addressing issues commonly perceived as difficult, or even shameful. This time we invite the audience into the world of a thirtysomething-year-old police officer. The compelling crime layer of the show reveals much more—a deeply human and painfully relevant story about things that are most challenging—grief, mourning, loneliness and the sense of being left behind.”

Szymanek added: “The Thaw is a crime drama and a love story about the relationship between a mother and her 7-year-old daughter. It’s a story that proves that we can search for life even in the darkness. This is exactly what the main character does during her investigation. Because eventually, it lets her experience her private thaw.”

Johnathan Young, HBO Europe’s VP of original programming and production for Central Europe, commented: “On the surface, The Thaw is an investigative thriller. But the reason it is so compelling is because it is about a fascinating female character who is both ordinary and extraordinary, frozen in pain and grief and her worse nightmares. The intensity and courage of the writing make this pure HBO.”