David Farnor | On 30, Nov 2015

Channel 4’s new VOD service Walter Presents launches in January 2016 – and the broadcaster has released the first trailer from the new site.

In an age where BBC Three is going online and Ash vs Evil Dead is premiering entirely on Virgin Media’s on-demand service, Channel 4’s decision to launch a new streaming platform rather than a traditional channel is certainly timely. The content, though, is even more so: Walter Presents will showcase TV programmes from around the world for UK viewers, through a new partnership between Global Series Network (GSN) and Channel 4.

For those who love their French and Scandi serial dramas – and there are a lots of us – the promise of a new, free VOD service (as part of Channel 4’s All 4) is a dream come true, promising jumpers and chilling deaths galore. The new trailer for the service gives us a taste of what to expect, from black comedy to mysterious murder.

WHat’s up with the name? It comes from Walter Iuzzolino, the Chief Creative Officer of GSN, who will personally curate the new service.

“This is the perfect time to introduce UK viewers to a much broader choice of the very best dramas and box sets from around the world, which they never previously knew existed,” says Walter.

Walter has already hand-picked the first shows to launch the service, including Deutschland 83 and Belgium’s Clan.

Germany’s 8-part thriller, set amid the menaces of a divided Germany in the early 1980s, is the first German-language drama ever to air in the US, proving a hit on SundanceTV channel this summer. Created by German-American husband and wife team, Anna Winger and Joerg Winger, the series reveals the experiences of Germans from both sides of the wall.

Clan, meanwhile, is the hilariously dark tale of four sisters who plot to bump off their loathsome brother-in-law after he marries the fifth sibling in the family. The format is so successful that it’s already being remade in the US. We’ll have an interview with Clan’s creator for you nearer the time of Walter Presents’ launch, but for now, here’s a glimpse:

Add to Watchlist