Yahoo Finance Netflix Orders ‘The Barbarians,’ ‘Tribes of Europa’ and Three Other German Originals
Following on the success of supernatural drama “Dark,” Netflix is set to produce five new German originals, including an ambitious historical series that chronicles a bloody and decisive battle between Germanic tribes and the Roman Empire.
Kelly Luegenbiehl, Netflix’s vice president of original series for Europe, announced the development and production of the five new projects on Thursday at the Medientage München media conference in Munich. The slate will launch online beginning in 2019.
“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,” Luegenbiehl said.
The famous battle of the Teutoburg Forest, in which Germanic warriors halted the northward advance of the Roman Empire in AD 9, is the focus of “The Barbarians.” Created by Arne Nolting, Jan-Martin Scharf and Andreas Heckmann, the bloody encounter of two worlds is interwoven with the destinies of three young people who journey from innocence to guilt, loyalty to betrayal, and love to hate. Sabine de Mardt, Andreas Bareiss and Rainer Marquass produce for Gaumont.
In addition to historical adventure, the lineup of new originals spans genres from science fiction and contemporary crime to quirky coming-of-age stories and family sagas.
Wiedemann & Berg Television’s “Tribes of Europa” follows three siblings in the year 2070 who fight to survive in an apocalyptic Europe that has been fractured into countless micro-states after a mysterious global catastrophe. Tribes fight for dominance over the continent. Created by Philip Koch, who is set to direct, “Tribes” is written by Koch, Jana Burbach and Benjamin Seiler.
In BTF Productions’ “Don’t Try This at Home,” directed by Lars Montag and Arne Feldhusen, a high school student tries to win back the love of his life by teaming up with his best friend to launch Europe’s largest online drug business from a teenage bedroom. The series is written by BTF’s Philipp Kässbohrer, Sebastian Colley and Stefan Titze.
In “Skylines,” produced by Komplizen Film and StickUp Films, a young and gifted hip-hop producer in Frankfurt gets the chance of a lifetime when he signs with Skyline Records, but it soon becomes a whole new game when the worlds of music, organized crime and high finance collide. Created by StickUp’s Dennis Schanz, “Skylines” will be directed by Max Erlenwein and Soleen Yusef.
Jochen Laube and Fabian Maubach of Sommerhaus Film and Katharina Eyssen are producing an as-yet-untitled holiday miniseries about one family‘s crazy and emotional Christmas. Penned by Eyssen, the story revolves around four generations of women who finally come clean with all the secrets they’ve been keeping from one another.
All of the new German titles will be available globally on Netflix.
Christian Alvart’s gritty crime drama, “Dogs of Berlin,” about two corrupt cops battling the Berlin underworld and their own criminal activities, will be the next German original to stream on Netflix when it premieres Dec. 7.
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