‘Shades of Blue’ Creator Adi Hasak Teams With Scandinavian SVOD Viaplay & Kew Media On Munich Massacre Drama Series
EXCLUSIVE: Shades of Blue creator Adi Hasak has a new series. Margeaux, an international drama about the Munich Olympic massacre, hails from Scandinavian SVOD service Viaplay and Leaving Neverland distributor Kew Media.
The drama is told from the point of view of an Israeli Mossad psychologist as well as the Palestinian co-ordinator behind the attack. The series will be produced in multiple languages, including Hebrew, Arabic, English and German.
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Margeaux, which is set to set production this fall, is the latest straight-to-series order for the Netherlands-born, Israeli-raised Hasak. It follows the Jennifer Lopez-fronted cop drama Shades of Blue, which ran for three seasons on NBC, as well as Hasak’s adaptation of Norwegian crime thriller ?yevitne as Eyewitness for USA Network. He is also developing a U.S. remake of German drama The Last Cop with Red Arrow Studios International and Universal Television. Additionally, Hasak has teamed up with Dynamic TV for a U.S. version of another German series Tempel.
Hasak will write the entire first season and will serve as showrunner, while JJ Wienkers will serve as co-writer as well as in a production capacity.
The Munich Olympic massacre occurred during the 1972 Summer Olympics. The Palestinian terrorist group known as Black September took eleven Israeli Olympic team members hostage and eventually killed all of them after a televised day-long stand-off. Subsequently, an Israeli Mossad team was sent to track down those responsible and avenge the murder of the Israeli athletes.
The Israeli and Palestinian storylines in the show will present both sides of the story and explore the personal and psychological scars of everyone involved as they spiralled into a cycle of violence of which they quickly lost control. Hasak was a victim of a terror attack as a young boy and years later was caught up in a cycle of violence as an Israeli paratrooper in 1980s Beirut.
“A meditation on violence and terrorism, gender politics, gay rights, redemption and love – Margeaux offers a unique perspective on who we used to be, and what has led to who we are today,” Hasak said..” I’m thrilled to have the enthusiastic support of NENT Group and Kew Media as my producing partners and distributors in this unique and international character-driven franchise.”
The series will air on Nordic Entertainment Group’s digital platform Viaplay in the Nordic region. Kew Media will sell internationally.
NENT Group has been aggressively ramping up its originals slate. Its shows include Alex, The Great Escape, Those Who Kill and Cold Courage, and is aiming to premiere 20 original productions every year. Veni Vidi Vici premiered on Hulu, Swedish Dicks on Pop TV and Black Lake on BBC Four and AMC-backed Shudder. It recently moved into the short-form horror genre with YA series Cryptid from the producers of French/Swedish crime drama Midnight Sun and is working on six-part comedy-drama series Love Me with Josephine Bornebusch (Welcome To Sweden) and Borg vs McEnroe and The Girl In The Spider’s Web star Sverrir Gudnason.
The company also recently partnered with Arrival and The Big Sick studio FilmNation Entertainment to launch a UK-based television production business.
“The psychological depth and dramatic scope of Margeaux demonstrate how high NENT Group is aiming with our original series,” said said Jakob Mejlhede Andersen, NENT Group EVP and Head of Content.
Added Carrie Stein, EVP Global Scripted TV Series at Kew Media Group, “Adi is a one-of-a-kind talent and it’s especially good to be working with him on a show that resonates so personally.”
Hasak is represented by attorneys Patti Felker and David Ryan.
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