Peak TV is officially back now that producers across the globe\u2014with the help of savvy distributors who know a thing or two about plugging gaps in financing\u2014have figured out how to work with an array of new filming protocols. And the choice available to buyers today is significant, to say the least, from period to contemporary in a range of styles.<\/p>\n
![\"Image\"](\"http:\/\/newsletters.worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/img\/2022-03-21-ChrisOttinger-MGM-322.png\")
MGM is unveiling Billy the Kid<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, billed as an epic romantic adventure about the legendary outlaw. \u201cBilly the Kid<\/em> is a meticulously researched and masterfully written coming-of-age story by Michael Hirst, the creator of Vikings<\/em>,\u201d says Chris Ottinger, president of worldwide television, distribution and acquisitions at the studio. \u201cThis series includes all of the action-packed excitement that you would expect from a Western drama, but also includes so many meaningful themes that will undoubtedly resonate with viewers around the globe today.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Image\"](\"http:\/\/newsletters.worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/img\/2022-03-21-RobertFranke-ZDF-322.png\")
ZDF Enterprises (ZDFE) also has some period dramas in its extensive new and returning scripted slate, including the lush three-parter Between Two Worlds<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, which is set in a small town in Germany in the 1950s. \u201cThe U.S. military presence in West Germany in the early \u201950s is paving the way for a new era of individual freedom, permissiveness and capitalism,\u201d says Robert Franke, VP ZDFE.drama. The story focuses on \u201ctwo women who both strive to create lives for themselves during a time of great change, coming into conflict with the old order.\u201d White Night<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, meanwhile, is set in both the 1970s and modern day, combining family drama with a murder mystery. ZDF Enterprises is also touting Agatha Christie\u2019s Hjerson<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, a \u201cplayful, meta contemporary whodunit,\u201d according to Sebastian Krekeler, director ZDFE.drama; the rebooted Spanish anthology Stories to Stay Awake<\/strong><\/em><\/a>; and the coming-of-age drama and post-apocalyptic disaster thriller Sl\u00f8born<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Image\"](\"http:\/\/newsletters.worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/img\/2022-03-21-StephenDriscoll-All3Media-322.png\")
Not surprisingly, there\u2019s an abundance of crime and suspense drama on the market. All3Media International is showcasing a slew of new and returning properties, including the Icelandic thriller Black Sands<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, which Stephen Driscoll, executive VP for EMEA, calls \u201ccinematic Nordic noir that flawlessly combines a gripping murder mystery with intriguing and poignant family drama.\u201d Driscoll also highlights Jed Mercurio\u2019s Trigger Point<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, a \u201ctautly drawn, action-packed story\u201d starring Vicky McClure that has been renewed for a second season; season three of the Welsh drama Hidden <\/strong><\/em>(Craith<\/em>)<\/strong><\/a>; the four-part The Holiday<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, which Driscoll calls a \u201csizzling thriller\u201d; The Forge\u2019s Rules of the Game<\/strong><\/em><\/a> with Maxine Peake; and the second season of the international co-pro Van der Valk<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Image\"](\"http:\/\/newsletters.worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/img\/2022-03-21-CeciliaRossignol-Gaumont-322.png\")
Gaumont, meanwhile, is bringing to market the French noir Off Season<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, which C\u00e9cilia Rossignol, executive VP of international sales and development, says is \u201cfar from a straightforward thriller series. Over six episodes, the police investigation\u2014with its cliffhangers and terrible revelations\u2014is the framework for a reflection on what it means to become and be a parent, and asks: Are all lines worth crossing to save a child?\u201d Rossignol also highlights Gaumont\u2019s new female-led dramedy Nona and Her Daughters<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, describing it as \u201ca comical, sometimes fantastic way of exploring new family forms.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Image\"](\"http:\/\/newsletters.worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/img\/2022-03-21-MiguelGarcia-Atresmedia-322.png\")
From Atresmedia Televisi\u00f3n, there\u2019s The Age of Anger<\/strong><\/em> (La Edad de la Ira<\/em>)<\/strong><\/a>, the TV adaptation of the novel of the same name, which focuses on a seemingly normal teen who is accused of brutally murdering his father. Miguel Garcia, sales director, calls it a \u201cpremium limited series that explores youth through the eyes of the teenagers.\u201d Thistle<\/strong><\/em> (Cardo<\/em>)<\/strong><\/a>, meanwhile, serves as a generational portrait, Garcia notes. \u201cThistle<\/em> is a series that shows the reality of many young people born in the \u201980s and \u201990s whose lives are not what society promised\u2014harder than they imagined and with fewer opportunities than they thought.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Image\"](\"http:\/\/newsletters.worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/img\/2022-03-21-IzzetPinto-GlobalAgency-322.png\")
There are also several new Turkish dramas in the mix in this TV Drama Screenings Festival. Global Agency is highlighting The Game of My Destiny<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, \u201ca classic melodrama,\u201d says Izzet Pinto, the company\u2019s founder and CEO. \u201cYou can find romanticism, drama and suspense, as well as epic, complex and very well-constructed love stories with key elements of the traditional telenovela, but updated for today\u2019s viewers.\u201d Also on offer is Redemption<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, about a woman whose daughter has been kidnapped.<\/p>\n![\"Image\"](\"http:\/\/newsletters.worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/img\/2022-03-21-EkinKoyuncu-KanalD-322.png\")
Kanal D International is showcasing Three Sisters<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, a literary adaptation set at the end of the \u201990s. Ekin Koyuncu, executive director, reports, \u201cThree Sisters<\/em> is a heartwarming family drama set in a very cozy coastal town in the northwest of Turkey. It is not a story that solely consists of sorrow, but one that demonstrates its characters retracing their steps back to the good old times.\u201d Also available is the romantic comedy Twist of Fate<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, a show that has \u201creached millions of people both on Kanal D and YouTube,\u201d Koyuncu says.<\/p>\n![\"Image\"](\"http:\/\/newsletters.worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/img\/2022-03-21-ScottJones-ArtistView-322.png\")
Rounding out the TV Drama Screenings Festival slate are two films from Artist View Entertainment that target millennial audiences: Paint<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, \u201ca tightly crafted, very real look at life for those looking to survive with creative aspirations,\u201d says Scott J. Jones, the company\u2019s president, and Plus One <\/strong><\/em>(a.k.a. First Blush<\/em>)<\/strong><\/a>, \u201ca realistic look at how love is shared freely between some of today\u2019s young adults.\u201d<\/p>\n