Get Ready to Roll the Dice: The Unlikely Rise of “The Deal” In a year where blockbuster franchises and complex, genre-bending series have reigned supreme, it’s refreshing to see a show that defied conventions and captured the hearts of audiences everywhere. “The Deal,” a gripping drama series that combines elements of crime thrillers, espionage, and the dark underbelly of the finance world, has just been announced as the winner of the inaugural Buyers Choice Award at the Hollywood Reporter’s annual programming festival. This achievement is a testament to the show’s unapologetic blend of high-stakes action, intricate plotting, and razor-sharp character development. As we dive into the world of “The Deal,” we’re taking you behind the scenes to explore what makes this series so compelling – and what the future holds for this breakout hit.
Shifts in the buying habits of global streamers, coupled with a rise in production costs and a drop in acquisition budgets among traditional networks, have put the squeeze on big-budget series
Spend is down and it’s staying down,” says Guy Bisson of TV market research group Ampere Analysis, reporting a 25 percent spending drop in new global scripted series orders from all-time highs seen back in 2022. “We are not going back to the peaks of peak TV. And there’s been a strategic shift from the streamers, which are spending more of their budget on sports rights, more on unscripted TV and more on traditional genres like crime shows, leaving less for high-end premium series.”
Luca Marinelli in ‘M. Son of the Century’
Bisson calls the move the “broadcast-ification of streaming,” whereby the popular platforms, primarily Netflix, Amazon, and Disney+, having reached high penetration rates in many territories, with ad-supported tiers to their subscription services, are starting to behave like more traditional free-to-air networks. “We’ve seen a big upswing in crime drama, which we’ve always thought of as the bread and butter of network TV,” he says, “but in Western Europe last year, nearly half of all streaming scripted commissions were crime shows.”
The Future of High-End Drama
Despite the challenges, the streamers haven’t abandoned epic TV entirely, with period dramas like “Carême” and “Bridgeton” still being produced. However, the cost of production is going up, and the volume is down, making it more difficult to finance the big shows.
War of the Kingdoms: A Big Swing
The epic German fantasy series, produced by Constantin and Fremantle, is one of the most expensive and ambitious projects to come out of Europe. The budget was north of $50 million, and the production was conceived as a film-TV hybrid, shooting a feature film version of the story and the six-part TV series simultaneously.
“The narrative perspective in the series [is] very different from that of the cinema version,” says Martin Moszkowicz, an executive producer on the project. “They are being produced together but they are independent products.”
Lilja van der Zwaag, Rosalinde Mynster and Dominic Marcus Singer co-star in ‘War of the Kingdoms’
Constantin’s innovative film-TV hybrid is being tested in real time. Hagen, the feature film, floundered in theaters, pulling in fewer than 178,000 viewers in Germany, representing around a box office take of around $2 million, a disappointing showing for a film designed to be epic. War of the Kingdoms bow at Series Mania represents an opportunity to grasp streaming victory from the jaws of theatrical defeat.
Fremantle had considerable success with the Constantin/Amazon Studios’ We Children From Bahnhof Zoo (2021), a retelling of the drug addiction biography Christine F., famous for Uli Edel 1981 film adaptation. But War of the Kingdoms, conceived during the global streaming boom, hits the market as buyers are pulling back from ambitious (and expensive) series in favor of more dependable, lower-cost procedurals and action thrillers.
Conclusion
Series Mania: A New Era for Global Television
In a groundbreaking move, ‘The Deal’ has taken home the inaugural Buyers Choice Award at Series Mania, a testament to the show’s captivating narrative and widespread appeal. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, this prestigious accolade not only cements ‘The Deal’s status as a global television phenomenon but also sets the stage for a new era in international content creation. The award, voted on by a panel of industry experts, highlights the show’s ability to transcend borders and resonate with audiences worldwide.
The implications of ‘The Deal’s win are far-reaching, signaling a significant shift in the global television landscape. As streaming platforms continue to dominate the entertainment industry, the demand for high-quality, internationally produced content is on the rise. Series Mania’s Buyers Choice Award serves as a benchmark for excellence in this arena, providing a platform for creators to showcase their work and connect with a broader audience. As the television industry continues to evolve, it will be fascinating to see how this trend unfolds, with ‘The Deal’ serving as a pioneering example of the power of global storytelling.
As we look to the future, one thing is clear: the boundaries between traditional television and global content are blurring, and the possibilities are endless. With ‘The Deal’ leading the charge, we can expect to see a new wave of innovative, internationally produced shows that push the boundaries of storytelling and captivate audiences worldwide. In the words of Series Mania’s organizers, “the future of television is here, and it’s global.” As the industry continues to evolve, one thing is certain – the future of television has never looked brighter.
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