Keshet International Lands CEE Format Sales from Scripted Slate

Keshet International (KI) has licensed a number of titles from its scripted catalog, including the espionage drama False Flag, for local remakes in Central and Eastern Europe.

NTV Russia signed a deal that will see the thriller False Flag being adapted for Russian audiences. The local version will be produced by WeitMedia and directed by Sergey Chekalov for NTV Russia’s 2019 schedule. Currently in preproduction, the Russian treatment is scheduled to begin shooting in August in St. Petersburg, with additional shoots planned on location outside of the city and in Cyprus.

Timur Weinstein, NTV’s general producer, said, “NTV successfully adapts international formats. Russian versions of U.S. series Shameless and Scandinavian Bron/Broen (The Bridge) aired on our channel, and now we are filming local adaptation of the hit series The Good Wife. Action-packed spy drama False Flag won its audiences and gathered a considerable amount of international awards. We are happy that NTV Channel has a chance to present this series to Russian audiences.”

Russia’s CTC Media ordered a local remake of the romantic comedy The Baker and the Beauty. Produced by Art Pictures Studios Russia and directed by Fyodor Stukov, the 17×30-minute series will be known locally as The Beauty and the Outskirts Guy and will premiere this fall. Anna Chipovskaya (Ottepel, Vychislitel) and Nikita Volkov (Two Women, Dance to Death) are set for starring roles.

Epsilon TV in Greece commissioned an adaptation of the comedy Traffic Light. Co-produced by Tanweer Alliances and View Master Films, the series has already started filming and is set for a fall premiere.

Also in Greece, the sitcom Your Family or Mine is getting a fifth season on Alpha TV.

Keren Shahar, KI’s COO and president of distribution, said, “This most recent raft of licensing deals in the CEE region builds on the phenomenal success of Traffic Light in Russia and Your Family or Mine in Greece, and reinforces the universal appeal of Israeli scripted dramas and comedies with audiences in Central and Eastern Europe and beyond, either as finished tape or as locally tailored adaptations.”