David Farnor | On 12, Feb 2019

Production is underway on Ares, Netflix’s first Dutch original series.

The eight episode psychological horror stars Jade Olieberg, Tobias Kersloot, Lisa Smit, Robin Boissevain and Frieda Barnhard, with Golden Calf-winning actress Rifka Lodeizen in a supporting role. It follows the titular secret student society in the heart of Amsterdam, where best friends Rosa and Jacob surrender to a world of wealth and power. But slowly they start to realize they’ve entered a demonic place, built on secrets from The Netherlands’ past. A place where true power comes at a terrible price.

The series is directed by Giancarlo Sanchez and Michiel ten Horn and script development run by Michael Leendertse. The complete writing team consists of Leendertse, Thomas van der Ree, Joost Reijmers, Matthijs Bockting, Pieter van den Berg and Sarah Offringa. The series is produced by Pieter Kuijpers (Van God Los, Feuten, TBS), Iris Otten and Sander van Meurs and is written by Winchester McFly (Bankier van het Verzet, Smeris)

It will premiere on Netflix later this year.

 

Netflix announces first Dutch original series

19th April 2018

Netflix has ordered its first Dutch original series.

The untitled project is a supernatural teen horror, comprising eight half-hour episodes.

Created by Pieter Kuijpers, who produces alongside Sander van Meurs, it is written by Winchester ‪McFly‬ (Bankier van het Verzet, Lois), Michael Leendertse, Thomas van der Ree, Joost Reijmers, Matthijs Bockting, Pieter van den Berg and Sarah Offringa. Emma Kuijpers is Junior Consultant and the series will be helmed by showrunner Michael Leendertse (The Spiral, Van God Los, Smeris).

The show is set in the liberal city of Amsterdam, where a group of Dutch students have it all: youth, wealth, sex, power… and the portal to a demonic world from the Dutch Golden Age they opened by accident.

Kuijpers says: “I’m looking forward to creating a series that combines two genres: coming of age and horror. In a subtle way the series points to the ruthless past our Dutch wealth is based upon. I think it’s an honor and also very exciting to work with Netflix, one of the biggest and best players in the world of drama and film.”

“A Dutch original has been on our wishlist for some time now. We are delighted to be working with such a talented group of Dutch creatives. This story is going to be an interesting blend of different genres and we are excited to bring this to our global audience next year,” adds Erik Barmack, VP of International original series at Netflix.

The show hails from production company Pupkin, an Amsterdam-based independent company with a track record creating children’s drama, series for young adults and families. Pupkin is well known for its true-crime drama, with recent titles including Taart (Penguins and Pastry), Aanmodderfakker (The Peter Pan Man), Smeris (Force), Van God Los (The Godless) and Riphagen.

The new series will premiere on Netflix worldwide in 2019.

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