The CW Nabs Big-Budget Euro Series ‘The Swarm’ for U.S.
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The Swarm, the big-budget series based on the Frank Schätzing best-seller and executive produced by Game of Thrones producer Frank Doelger, has landed with The CW in the U.S..
The deal sees the Beta Film and ZDF Studios thriller headed to American audiences after debuting at the Berlin Film Festival and recently being acquired by Sky for the U.K. and Spain’s Movistar+ channel. The U.S. deal also comes amid the WGA writers strike, when the appeal of foreign TV product for American buyers is expected to grow.
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The Swarm chronicles the struggle of humankind against an unknown enemy that lives in the depths of the sea. Just as the reckless treatment of the oceans threatens the natural habitat of this mysterious collective, it strikes back.
The series stars Cécile de France, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Jack Greenlees, Lydia Wilson, Krista Kosonen, Alexander Karim, Leonie Benesch and Barbara Sukowa. The ensemble cast includes Japan’s Takuya Kimura and Takehiro Hiera, Americans Rosabell Laurenti Sellers and Dutch Johnson and Canadian Joshua Odjick.
The Italy-shot series has also been sold to Japan, Italy, France, Scandinavia and Central Europe, with Beta Film and ZDF Studios handling world sales.
The Swarm is produced by Schwarm TV Productions GmbH & Co KG, a joint venture between Intaglio Films and ndF IP for ZDF, France Télévisions, Rai Fiction, Viaplay Group, Hulu Japan, ORF and SRF, in co-production with Bravado Fiction and Beside Production and co-operation with ATHOS KG.
The U.S. acquisition deal was negotiated by The CW’s Jessica Lund and Kevin Levy together with Beta’s Jeffrey Engelen and Oliver N. Bachert.
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