Winner of the audience award and prize for best creation at this year’s Monte-Carlo Television Festival, six-part drama “The Seed” mixes Scandi-noir, ecological concerns and corridors-of-power intrigue into a tense geopolitical thriller that turns around the most elemental of concerns.
“Beneath all the thriller convention we explore this question of who feeds the world,” says show creator Christian Jeltsch. “Because whoever feeds the world has a hold on political power, and today only three companies supply us all.”
The seeds (ahem) of the idea were planted years ago, when Jeltsch read about mercenaries destroying a seed vault in Aleppo and connected the idea to the very real Svalbard Global Seed Vault just off the North Pole. The wheels began turning, the seeds took to sprouting, and soon the show-writer had a narrative full of international intrigue that begins when a young German activist goes missing on the Norwegian northern archipelago.
“Beneath all the thriller convention we explore this question of who feeds the world,” says show creator Christian Jeltsch. “Because whoever feeds the world has a hold on political power, and today only three companies supply us all.”
The seeds (ahem) of the idea were planted years ago, when Jeltsch read about mercenaries destroying a seed vault in Aleppo and connected the idea to the very real Svalbard Global Seed Vault just off the North Pole. The wheels began turning, the seeds took to sprouting, and soon the show-writer had a narrative full of international intrigue that begins when a young German activist goes missing on the Norwegian northern archipelago.
- 6/21/2023
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Leonine Studios has taken worldwide rights to German-Norwegian thriller series The Seed (working title), which is set around the explosive takeover of a seed company and comes from Chameleon writer Christian Jeltsch.
The Germany-based producer-distributor joins its subsidiary Odeon Fiction, alongside co-commissioners German broadcaster Ard Degeto and Norway’s Nrk and Czech producer Mia Film on the production, which began shooting on May 10 at spectacular original locations in Spitsbergen (Norway), Munich (Germany) and Prague (Czech Republic). The service producer in Spitsbergen is PolarX As.
Jeltsch, who is writing upcoming Sky Deutschland corporate lobbying mystery drama Chameleon and works on Ard procedural Tatort, is creator and head writer of the English-language series. He wrote the screenplays with Axel Hellstenius and Alexander Dierbach (Line of Separation) is directing.
Westworld‘s Ingrid Bolsø Berdal Heino Ferch stars opposite Heino Ferch.
The drama uses the Svalbard Global Seed Vault on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen as the backdrop to the six-part thriller. The vault acts as an insurance policy and backup facility for crops globally by providing storage for seed duplicates storied in gene banks around the world.
The Seed follows German detective Max (Ferch) and Norwegian policewoman Thea (Bolsø Berdal), who set out to find Max’s missing nephew Victor (Jonathan Berlin) in Spitsbergen. It soon becomes apparent his disappearance may be connected to the takeover of a seed company that is causing controversy in Brussels. As they plunge deeper into webs of intrigue and political interests they find their own lives in danger too.
Rainer Bock, Seumas Sargent, Erik Madsen and Friederike Becht round out the international cast.
“With The Seed, we would like to draw attention to an important global issue because it is about the struggle for food,” Ard Degeto Senior Vice President of Drama Christoph Pellander told Deadline. “With a top cast in front of and behind the camera, this is an exciting German-Norwegian co-production that will not only reach the German audience but also attract international attention.“
Pellander is overseeing the drama for Ard Degeto along with Head of Acquisitions and Co-Productions Sebastian Lückel, with Elisabeth Tangen doing the same for Nrk. The producers are Odeon Fiction’s Britta Meyermann (Spy City) and Mischa Hofmann and the Director of Photography is Ian Blumers. FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, Creative Europe Media of the European Union, the German Motion Picture Fund and the Czech Tax Incentive are supporting the production.
Babylon Berlin commissioner Ard Degeto and Nrk have been two of the most active co-producers of European drama this year. Last month, Deadline revealed Nrk had ordered a drama about Leonard Cohen’s relationship with muse Marianne Ihlen from the UK’s Buccaneer Media, Oslo-based Redpoint Productions and Canada’s Connect3 Media, for example.
Ard Degeto is working on several new dramas, including mystery thriller series Oderbruch, which is co-produced by Syrreal Entertainment and CBS Studios. Others such as Scandinavian series Blackwater, co-produced with Sweden’s Svt, ITV Studios-owned Apple Tree Productions and Filmpool Nord) are in post-production.
The firm is a wholly owned subsidiary of German public broadcaster Ard, commissioning and producing more than 100 productions of feature films, TV movies and series each year. It also acquires programs, with all of its content going out on the Das Erste (Ardi) channel and streaming platform Mediathek.
The Germany-based producer-distributor joins its subsidiary Odeon Fiction, alongside co-commissioners German broadcaster Ard Degeto and Norway’s Nrk and Czech producer Mia Film on the production, which began shooting on May 10 at spectacular original locations in Spitsbergen (Norway), Munich (Germany) and Prague (Czech Republic). The service producer in Spitsbergen is PolarX As.
Jeltsch, who is writing upcoming Sky Deutschland corporate lobbying mystery drama Chameleon and works on Ard procedural Tatort, is creator and head writer of the English-language series. He wrote the screenplays with Axel Hellstenius and Alexander Dierbach (Line of Separation) is directing.
Westworld‘s Ingrid Bolsø Berdal Heino Ferch stars opposite Heino Ferch.
The drama uses the Svalbard Global Seed Vault on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen as the backdrop to the six-part thriller. The vault acts as an insurance policy and backup facility for crops globally by providing storage for seed duplicates storied in gene banks around the world.
The Seed follows German detective Max (Ferch) and Norwegian policewoman Thea (Bolsø Berdal), who set out to find Max’s missing nephew Victor (Jonathan Berlin) in Spitsbergen. It soon becomes apparent his disappearance may be connected to the takeover of a seed company that is causing controversy in Brussels. As they plunge deeper into webs of intrigue and political interests they find their own lives in danger too.
Rainer Bock, Seumas Sargent, Erik Madsen and Friederike Becht round out the international cast.
“With The Seed, we would like to draw attention to an important global issue because it is about the struggle for food,” Ard Degeto Senior Vice President of Drama Christoph Pellander told Deadline. “With a top cast in front of and behind the camera, this is an exciting German-Norwegian co-production that will not only reach the German audience but also attract international attention.“
Pellander is overseeing the drama for Ard Degeto along with Head of Acquisitions and Co-Productions Sebastian Lückel, with Elisabeth Tangen doing the same for Nrk. The producers are Odeon Fiction’s Britta Meyermann (Spy City) and Mischa Hofmann and the Director of Photography is Ian Blumers. FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, Creative Europe Media of the European Union, the German Motion Picture Fund and the Czech Tax Incentive are supporting the production.
Babylon Berlin commissioner Ard Degeto and Nrk have been two of the most active co-producers of European drama this year. Last month, Deadline revealed Nrk had ordered a drama about Leonard Cohen’s relationship with muse Marianne Ihlen from the UK’s Buccaneer Media, Oslo-based Redpoint Productions and Canada’s Connect3 Media, for example.
Ard Degeto is working on several new dramas, including mystery thriller series Oderbruch, which is co-produced by Syrreal Entertainment and CBS Studios. Others such as Scandinavian series Blackwater, co-produced with Sweden’s Svt, ITV Studios-owned Apple Tree Productions and Filmpool Nord) are in post-production.
The firm is a wholly owned subsidiary of German public broadcaster Ard, commissioning and producing more than 100 productions of feature films, TV movies and series each year. It also acquires programs, with all of its content going out on the Das Erste (Ardi) channel and streaming platform Mediathek.
- 5/24/2022
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Vikings star Erik Madsen has been cast in the lead role in eco-crime drama Maritime from Wiedemann & Berg, the makers of Netflix’s first German-language series Dark.
Madsen will play troubled marine biologist Morten Solheim, who is fighting to save the world’s oceans and environment from corrupt governments after recently being released from prison.
The show, made for German public broadcaster Ard, will comprise a series of feature-length episodes, with production currently underway on the first film in Mauritius and the Indian Ocean.
Madsen played King Hemming in two seasons of History’s Vikings and also featured in Lilyhammer. He is joined on Maritime by Daniel Roesner (Alarm for Cobra 11), Hannes Jaenicke, Haley Louise Jones (Einstein), and Luko Omoto (Gunpowder Milkshake).
The first film is directed by Sven Fehrensen from a script by Nils Morten Osburg. Nanni Erben is the executive producer, while the Ard commissioning editor is Brigit Titze.
Madsen will play troubled marine biologist Morten Solheim, who is fighting to save the world’s oceans and environment from corrupt governments after recently being released from prison.
The show, made for German public broadcaster Ard, will comprise a series of feature-length episodes, with production currently underway on the first film in Mauritius and the Indian Ocean.
Madsen played King Hemming in two seasons of History’s Vikings and also featured in Lilyhammer. He is joined on Maritime by Daniel Roesner (Alarm for Cobra 11), Hannes Jaenicke, Haley Louise Jones (Einstein), and Luko Omoto (Gunpowder Milkshake).
The first film is directed by Sven Fehrensen from a script by Nils Morten Osburg. Nanni Erben is the executive producer, while the Ard commissioning editor is Brigit Titze.
- 11/4/2019
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
To celebrate the release of Age of Heroes on DVD and Blu-ray 13th June, Metrodome Distribution have given us three copies of the movie to give away on DVD. The first person picked out of the digital hat will also win a poster for the movie signed by Danny Dyer. As well as Dyer, the movie stars Sean Bean, Izabella Miko, James D’Arcy and is directed by Adrian Vitoria.
Synopsis: Age Of Heroes is an all-guns-blazing, World War II action film based on the incredible true story of the British special ops division 30 Commando, starring Sean Bean and Danny Dyer. Following the first mission of this elite unit, formed by ‘James Bond’ author Ian Fleming and a precursor to the modern day Sas, Age Of Heroes’ 30 Commando take on the might of the Fuhrer’s armed forces in a thrilling life-or-death operation.
The film follows the exploits of Corporal...
Synopsis: Age Of Heroes is an all-guns-blazing, World War II action film based on the incredible true story of the British special ops division 30 Commando, starring Sean Bean and Danny Dyer. Following the first mission of this elite unit, formed by ‘James Bond’ author Ian Fleming and a precursor to the modern day Sas, Age Of Heroes’ 30 Commando take on the might of the Fuhrer’s armed forces in a thrilling life-or-death operation.
The film follows the exploits of Corporal...
- 5/27/2011
- by Competitons
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
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