Today at Series Mania, The Walt Disney Company EMEA revealed a raft of exclusive announcements including four greenlights, as part of their upcoming slate of EMEA Original titles for Disney+.
Disney+ continues to commission across the region with greenlights in France, Germany and Spain as well as a pipeline of production in Italy, the Netherlands and Nordics. Liam Keelan, SVP Original Content, Europe and Africa, Disney+, was joined on today’s panel at Series Mania Forum by Sofia Fábregas Bernar (VP, Original Productions, Spain), Benjamina Mirnik-Voges (VP, Original Productions, Germany, Switzerland and Austria), and Kevin Deysson (Director, Original Productions, France).
In France, “The Lost Station Girls”, an Original series based on a true crime story in Southern France, between 1995 and 2001. A teenage girl disappears, and three young women are murdered around a train station in Perpignan. They are all beautiful, free spirited, and defiantly independent. Their faces appear in the newspapers. They became “The Lost Station Girls.” It stars Camille Razat, is created by Gaëlle Bellan and produced by Itinéraire Productions who made the BAFTA nominated, French Original “Oussekine” for Disney+.
The next locally produced Original series from Germany announced is “Vienna Game”. The six-part series is produced by Bettina Kuhn for Satel Film and written by co-creator Stefan Brunner. Filming for the series is underway in Austria and Hungary and the show invites audiences to the infamous Congress of Vienna – an opulent, ecstatic party that lasted nine months and that led to a century of peace in Europe for the first time. It is a political game of luck, money, love, and power against the spectacular backdrop of Vienna.
Two Spanish Originals are also announced today, “Lucrecia: A Murder In Madrid” and “Return to Las Sabinas.” Unscripted series, “Lucrecia: A Murder In Madrid” explores the story of the murder of Lucrecia Pérezs in a night club in Madrid in 1992. This documentary series features unpublished archival material and first-person testimonies of the crime that went down in history as the first racist murder in Spain. Justin Webster (“El Pionero”, “Muerte en León”) is the lead writer and executive producer, along with Sumpta Ayuso (“The Madrid Connection”). The series is also co-written and directed by David Cabrera (“Six Dreams,” “El Pionero”) and Garbiñe Armentia (“Muerte en León,” “Six Dreams”).
“Return to Las Sabinas” will see 70 episodes released – a new episode every day from Monday to Friday, exclusively on Disney+. This ambitious project is being launched in collaboration with Diagonal TV (Banijay Group) responsible for ‘Amar en tiempos revueltos’, the production that reinvented daily broadcast series on linear television. In “Return to Las Sabinas,” after many years apart, the Molina sisters receive a call that makes them return to their hometown, Manterana, to attend to their father’s health problems. This unexpected return means a reunion with the life and loves that they had tried to forget. Settled in their family estate Las Sabinas, they will face secrets from the past that will change their lives forever.
Finally, Disney+ released an exclusive clip from upcoming action-adventure fantasy series from the UK, “Renegade Nell.” The series follows Nell Jackson, played by Louisa Harland, a quick-witted and courageous young woman, who finds herself framed for murder and unexpectedly becomes the most notorious outlaw in 18th-century England. When a magical spirit called Billy Blind (Nick Mohammed) appears, Nell realizes her destiny is bigger than she ever imagined.
Liam Keelan said: “We’ve had a fantastic year across Europe with our Originals. Ambitious shows such as “Cristobal Balenciaga” from Spain, “Everything Is Fine” from France and “The Interpreter of Silence” from Germany have made a real impact with audiences across the region. We’ve continued to work with world-class talent both in front and behind the scenes to ensure our output is premium and popular. We’re now looking ahead to the upcoming releases of some incredible new shows including German Original “Pauline”, Spanish Original “Past Lies” and French Original “Becoming Karl Lagerfeld” to add to our growing slate.”