TV Drama In-Demand Recap

Missed any of our TV Drama In-Demand reports? Here’s your chance to learn about some of the most-compelling crime, romance & family, Scandinavian and Turkish shows on offer in the global marketplace.

Crime
Commissioned by SVT from Yellow Bird in co-production with SVT and Film i Skåne, Banijay Rights’ The Hunt for a Killer is a 6×45-minute true-crime drama about the police detectives who solved the March 1989 murder of 10-year-old Helen Nilsson in Sweden. The drama is due to launch this autumn. ZDF Enterprises is showcasing the 4×100-minute/8×50-minute Standing Tall. Made by Publispei for Rai, the crime series is directed by Gianluca Maria Tavarelli and follows a former policeman’s unofficial investigation into his son’s death. From Israel, the Dori Media International-distributed Dumb is about a frustrated and stoned 30-year-old actress who goes undercover as a student in high school trying to help her arrested ex-boyfriend, who was charged with drug dealing. With three seasons to its credit on HOT in Israel, the Dori Media Darset-produced show has also been successfully adapted in Germany. Nippon TV is also exploring format opportunities on its Your Turn to Kill, the finale of which scored 12.9 percent average individual ratings, where the annual prime-time average in 2019 was 6.9 percent. You can see the crime report here.

Romance & Family
Love and lots of high drama are in store with these offerings. ZDF Enterprises has a wealth of romance and family TV movies, miniseries and series to offer via its Romance Collections. “Our ‘love and romance’ catalog consists of thousands of hours of international rating hits,” says Robert Franke, VP of ZDFE.drama at ZDF Enterprises. “Based on bestselling novels, our films tell stories full of love, romance and passion—interspersed with dramatic strokes of fate, intrigue and machinations.” Ruthless City has been a hit in Turkey and Kanal D International is looking to replicate that success globally. “The Karaçay and Yılmaz family members being tested with the sin after an indecent deal has become an addiction for the Turkish audience,” says Kerim Emrah Turna, executive director of Kanal D International. From GMA Network in the Philippines, The Way to Your Heart touches on themes of sibling rivalry, a mother’s love and family drama.

Scandinavian Drama
This report shows how much Scandi drama has expanded beyond Nordic Noir. Based on the works by Jens Lapidus, ZDF Enterprises’ Top Dog focuses on the clash between Stockholm business attorney Emily Jansson and Södertälje ex-con Teddy Maksumic. The 8×45-minute series is produced by Filmlance International in co-production with TV4/C MORE, ZDF and ZDF Enterprises. Eccho Rights’ Love Me is a warm and humorous series about love, sex, fear and sadness, passion and relationships. It became the most-watched Viaplay Original of all time upon its launch, having already been renewed for a second season before it even aired. Commissioned by TV2 Denmark, the Dynamic Television-distributed The Sommerdahl Murders is a blue-sky crime procedural.

Turkish Drama
Turkish dramas continue to make waves abroad, and the crop showcased in our Turkish drama report are no exception. From Kanal D International, “Romance Next Door has the essence of the old Turkish movies,” says Kerim Emrah Turna, executive director. A brand-new highlight from Global Agency, Mr. Wronghas been drawing audiences to FOX TV in Turkey; the series doubled the channel’s average audience share in general, but the third episode almost tripled its audience share. A historical epic, The Ottoman from ATV is “a period drama with superior production elements,” says Müge Akar, content sales deputy manager at ATV. Calinos Entertainment’s Forbidden Fruit remains a hit for FOX TV and has been licensed into 15-plus markets.