Broadcaster commissioning initiative The European Alliance has put The Kollective, a journalism-based mystery drama from Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravagli (Gomorrah – The Series, ZeroZeroZero) and producer Femke Wolting, into development.
The announcement came during a session at MIA Market in Rome today, where its execs called for producers to pitch ideas for high-end limited series by January 2023. It represents the ninth series to come from the Alliance, which comprises Germany’s ZDF, France Télévisions and Italy’s Rai.
The Kollective runs to six parts and is born out of a meeting between Wolting and The Alliance’s Manuel Alduy, who is also Director of Cinema and International Development France Télévisions, at last year’s MIA Market event.
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It will tackle subjects such as fake news, attacks on EU democracy, bottom-up investigations and the freedom of press, “wrapped up in a highly-charged global thriller and a heart-breaking love story.” Its title refers to a group of international writers who support each other.
According to the synopsis: “After one of their members is killed while investigating a mysterious plane crash in the Congo, a group of passionate young amateur journalists called The Kollective find themselves drawn into a globe-spanning web of fake news, corruption, espionage and murder. Emotions run high as the group battles to uncover the mystery of a shadowy new cold war, as well as their own complex feelings and desires. Slowly realising that all roads lead back to Putin’s resurgent Russia, they must call upon their innovative technological skills, fierce bravery and youthful self-belief to stop a dark conspiracy that threatens to destroy democracy itself.”
Call for pitches
Elsewhere in the session, the Alliance, which was set up to allow European broadcasters to compete with streamers on shows on high-end production values and stories, called for producers to pitch new ideas by the end of January next year.
Simone Emmelius, Senior Vice President, International Fiction-Coproduction and Acquisition ZDF,
Francesco Nardelli, Rai Fiction Deputy Director, Drama, said the Alliance wanted more shows in the vein of Around the World in 80 Days and Germinale, while Simone Emmelius, SVP International Fiction-Coproduction & Acquisition at ZDF said pitches should be “one-off series on topics that resonate with our audiences and are also different to what they already know.”
She called for projects with “high-end cast and creatives and with a cinematographic look; Leonardo and 80 Days – that’s the look we’re interested in. We don’t want you to send us average series you’d offer us as domestic projects.”
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