RTL Preps German Version of Drama Series Suspects

CANNES: FremantleMedia has clinched its first global commission for the scripted format Suspects, which has been licensed by the German network RTL.

The procedural detective series will be produced in Germany by UFA Serial Drama. Suspects first launched in the U.K. on Channel 5 in 2014. A fly-on-the-wall style crime series, the drama sees the cast improvise their own dialogue based on detailed plot descriptions. Each episode tells a self-contained crime story.

Guido Reinhardt, executive producer at UFA Serial Drama, said, “Suspects is unlike any other drama out there at the moment. I’m a huge fan of the U.K. original: it combines the realism of documentary filming with great dramatic tension; intense action sequences with compelling story lines. It’s an extraordinary piece of work and I can’t wait to introduce a local version to German audiences.”