David Farnor | On 26, Oct 2018

Netflix continues its investment in German content this year, ordering five new original projects.

“At Netflix, we want to tell local stories with global appeal. We are excited to have found this in these five projects, which – each in their unique way – are both undeniably German and at the same time tell stories that are relevant to viewers all over the world”, said Kelly Luegenbiehl, Vice President Original Series Europe, who announced the commissions at Medientage München yesterday.

Indeed, Netflix has already demonstrated the ability for European series to prove big hits internationally: its German supernatural mystery Dark is one of the most-watched entirely non-English shows on Netflix, with a fandom in countries as wide-ranging as Chile, Bangladesh and Canada – for every hour that has been watched in Germany, nine hours have been watched internationally. Other German projects already in production including Dark Season 2, Dogs of Berlin and The Wave.

These five new series span a variety of genres and formats, from epic tales of the past and future to contemporary crime dramas, coming-of-age stories and compelling family sagas. After a mysterious global catastrophe in a post-apocalyptic future, the Tribes of Europa battle for dominance over the new continent; The Barbarians tells the story of an arduous fight between the Roman army and the Germanic tribes; young adult comedy Don’t Try This At Home see three high schoolers create Europe’s hippest online drug business; and in Skylines, a twenty-something hip-hop producer in Frankfurt is playing gangsters off against the police force. Finally, the slate is wrapped up with an untitled Christmas mini-series that depicts four generations of women who come together for the festive season to reconcile and face long-kept secrets.

Luegenbiehl commented: “This is a meaningful investment in the German market and we are looking forward to working with local creatives, talent and production companies. We want to continue to support our creatives in their vision and offer unique storytelling and premium quality to our consumers.”

Here’s a full rundown of what’s been commissioned:

Tribes of Europa


2070. After a mysterious global catastrophe what remains of Europe is fractured into countless micro-states. Several so-called ‘Tribes’ fight for dominance over the continent. This is the post-apocalyptic, adventurous saga of three siblings who set out to change the fate of this new “EUROPA”.

Written by Philip Koch, Jana Burbach, Benjamin Seiler, it’s produced by Wiedemann & Berg Television (Quirin Berg and Max Wiedemann).

Don’t Try This at Home

To win back the love of his life, a high school student and his best friend launch Europe’s largest online drug business from a teenage bedroom. Written by Philipp Käßbohrer, Sebastian Colley and Stefan Titze, it’s directed by Lars Montag and Arne Feldhusen and produced by BTF Productions (Matthias Murmann and Phillip Käßbohrer).

Skylines

In Frankfurt, a young and gifted hip-hop producer gets the chance of a lifetime when he signs with Skyline Records. But the worlds of music, organized crime and high finance collide when the label owner’s gangster brother returns from exile to claim his share. Created by Dennis Schanz, it’s directed by Max Erlenwein and Soleen Yusef and produced by Komplizen Film (Maren Ade, Jonas Dornbach, Janine Jackowski und David Keitsch) and StickUp Films (Dennis Schanz and Luis Singer).

Untitled Christmas mini-series

A three-part series about one family‘s crazy and emotional Christmas holidays. The story revolves around four generations of women who finally have to come clean about all the secrets they have been keeping from each other.
Written by Katharina Eyssen, it’s produced by Sommerhaus Film (Jochen Laube and Fabian Maubach) and Katharina Eyssen.

The Barbarians

In the famous battle of the Teutoburg Forest, Germanic warriors in 9 AD halted the spread of the Roman Empire in their advance north. This bloody encounter of two worlds is tragically interwoven with the destinies of three young people whose fate will lead them from innocence to guilt, from loyalty to betrayal, and from love to hate. Created by Arne Nolting & Jan-Martin Scharf and Andreas Heckmann, it’s produced by Gaumont (Sabine de Mardt, Andreas Bareiss, Rainer Marquass).

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