German Buzz Title ‘House of Promises’ Wins MipDrama

The parents of missing Madeleine McCann have welcomed news Portuguese authorities have declared a German national as a 'formal suspect' in the case - and said they 'have not given up hope' that she's still alive. Christian Brueckner, 44, was identified as a murder suspect by German prosecutors in June 2020, but he has not been charged since then.

A German national linked to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has been made a “formal suspect” by Portuguese authorities. A 44-year-old man was identified as a murder suspect by German prosecutors in June 2020, but has not been charged.

EXCLUSIVE: Chernin Entertainment has hired former Red Arrow Studios Chairman and CEO Jan Frouman.

Marta Balaga Following their collaboration on short “When the Hurlyburly’s Done” and “Killing All the Flies,” Alex Eslam and Hanna Maria Heidrich share directorial duties on eight-episode German Sky Atlantic series “Souls,” which competed at Canneseries this week.Produced by Geißendörfer Pictures and Sky Deutschland, its complex plot combines the concept of reincarnation, the kind of love that cheats death and even sees one of its characters, played by Julia Koschitz, caught in a time loop à la Bill Murray in “Groundhog Day.”“It was always clear to me that this topic was way too big to focus on just one storyline,” explains Eslam, who created the series. His protagonists, who seemingly have nothing in common, represent the past, present and the future connected to one tragic event: a passenger plane accident that left many questions unanswered. Until teenage boy Jacob, fresh off a traumatic incident of his own, announces that in a previous life, he was actually the plane’s pilot.

Welcome to Deadline’s International Disruptors, a feature where we shine a spotlight on key executives and companies outside of the U.S. shaking up the offshore marketplace. This week, we’re speaking to Romain Bessi, CEO of French group Newen Studios. The company, which is producing Liaison, the first English and French language original for Apple TV+, is ramping up its global ambitions and Bessi takes us through the overall strategy. 

Marta Balaga The 7th MipDrama ended on Sunday with German series “House of Promises” named as the winner of the Buyers’ Coup de Coeur Award. While the showcase received mixed reactions from the participants, gathered onsite in Cannes – with only Italy’s “Bangla” opting for a more humorous approach – the event marked a win for Finland’s Elisa Viihde, presenting “Evilside,” “Summer of Sorrow” and “The Invicibles” (with Viaplay also attached.) It must be some kind of a record that three out of 10 series are from the same commissioning broadcaster,” said Sari Lempiäinen, executive producer at Elisa Viihde.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentHamburg 1982. Andreas, in the family bathroom, spies his mother’s stockings, pulls one over his head breathing in deeply.

Ed Meza @edmezavarPicture Tree International (PTI) has acquired Constantin Film’s hit comedy film series “Bavarian Rhapsody,” about a laid-back cop in a small town in southern Germany.The eight-part movie series, which PTI is presenting at the MipTV mart in Cannes this week, includes the latest installment, “Guglhupf Squadron,” which Constantin is releasing in theaters in August. PTI will screen a trailer reel of the series and part seven in the franchise, last year’s “Kaiserschmarrn Drama.”Based on Rita Falk’s bestselling book series that also celebrates Bavarian cuisine, the movie franchise began in 2013 with “Sweet Buns Blues” and also comprises 2014’s “Winterpotato Dumplings”; “Porkhead Al Dente” (2016); “Wheatnoodles Affair” (2017); “Sauerkraut Coma” (2018); and the sixth installment, “Leberkäs Junkie” (2019).

“Historic Collaboration” From India’s Zee And Mexico’s TelevisaUnivision

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorGermany has been a source of shows for the international market for decades, but with series like “Deutschland 83” in 2015, and “Babylon Berlin” and “Dark” in 2017, the bar was raised and the sense of what constituted German drama shifted, and international buyers took note.One of them was Christian Vesper, who bought “Deutschland 83” when he was drama chief at Sundance TV. Vesper remembers that at that time it was unheard of for a U.S. channel to buy a German drama.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentIn one of the biggest swings in Europe’s market, Erik Barmack, the former Netflix VP of international originals, is teaming with Benjamin Munz, producer of “Blood Red Sky,” Netflix’s most-watched non-English movie of all time, on a tentpole high-speed German action film, “The Chase.”Billed by Barmack as “‘The Fast and the Furious’ meets ‘Money Heist’” – which he helped bring to Netflix – “The Chase” marks the first movie out of the gate at Munz’s Berlin-based new label, Fright Zone, the first production company in Germany that will focus exclusively on developing and producing fantasy, action, horror and science fiction films as well as TV shows in and from Germany. Overseen by founder and CEO Munz, Fright Zone will produce with Barmack, who is now working out of his own L.A.