Diary of an Uber Driver Set for German Treatment

all3media international has secured the first scripted format adaptation of the Australian comedy drama Diary of an Uber Driver, with Germany’s Joyn ordering a local version.

Diary of an Uber Driver, which is the first original series to be developed by Joyn, is being produced in Germany by the all3media production label Bon Voyage Films. Filming is set to start in Hamburg, and the series is expected to launch on Joyn in the first half of 2020.

Originally produced by Revlover Films for ABC Australia in association with all3media international and Create NSW, Diary of an Uber Driver is a character-driven comedy drama drawn from true stories, based on the blog and e-book by Ben Phillips. It launched as a scripted format earlier this year.

Part traditional narrative and part anthology television, each episode of Diary of an Uber Driver continues the journey of Uber driver Ben, as he uses what he learns from his passengers to piece together his place in the world.

The passenger characters appear in standalone episodes, but their effect on Ben ripples throughout the series. Some passengers’ lives we will learn about in more detail and some will be brief interactions, moments in time that speak to the overarching theme of an episode. It was Ben’s unique take on his passengers that saw the blog become not just a secret window into the life of the mysterious “driver” figure, but also a portrait of the underrepresented parts of a community.

The new German-language version will see Kostja Ullmann (A Most Wanted Man, Tatort) play the role of Ben. Julian Pörksen directs, with Amir Hamz, Christian Springer and Fahri Yardim as producers.

Stephen Driscoll, executive VP for EMEA and European co-productions at all3media international, said, “We’re pleased to confirm our first international partnership on Diary of an Uber Driver with Joyn and Bon Voyage and share their excitement to see the production launch next year. We’ve received strong interest in this heart-warming scripted format since our initial pitch in Vienna, and we’re actively in development with other international territories to bring it to many more screens around the world in the very near future. Revlover Films are working hard on the season two script development so we can all find out what adventures life holds in store for these engaging characters very soon.”

Markus Schäfer, CEO at all3media Deutschland, commented, “I’m delighted that our joint venture Bon Voyage Films is the first company to produce an original drama series for Germany’s new VOD platform Joyn. Diary of an Uber Driver is a fresh, amazing drama series that I think will work perfectly for Joyn’s target audience.”

Amir Hamz at Bon Voyage Films added, “In each episode we get right into the middle of the big and small dramas and comedies of human life, experiencing ups, downs and abysses unfiltered, just like Ben, our main character. The great thing about the drama is that the characters are unpredictable, fascinating and yet represent a kaleidoscope of our society. You really want to dive into the world of Diary of an Uber Driver because it’s big fun.”