Nico Hofmann Leaves UFA, Signs First-Look Deal With Beta Film (Exclusive)

Scott Roxborough
·2 min read

Nico Hofmann, the long-time CEO and current chair of German production giant UFA, maker of Generation War, Deutschland 83 and Charité, is leaving the Fremantle-owned company to go solo, setting up his own production house and joining forces with long-time collaborator Jan Mojto of Beta Film.

Hofmann will be stepping down as chairman of UFA on March 1 and has signed an exclusive first-look deal with Mojto’s Beta Film, producer of Babylon Berlin, that will see Hofmann, Mojto, and Beta producer Jan Wünschmann co-produce German and European series and films for the international market.

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Hofmann and Mojto have a history going back decades. The duo pioneered event television and helped elevate German drama to international prominence with such limited series, as The Tunnel (2001), The Tower (2012) and Generation War (2013). These award-winning dramas, co-produced between Mojto’s Beta and Hofmann’s UFA-owned production group TeamWorx (now UFA Fiction), were also ratings hits in Germany and internationally.

“Jan Mojto and I have been close colleagues and friends for more than twenty years – our eye for programming, uncompromising quality, and passion for our profession unites us,” said Hofmann. “It is the next logical step in my career to join forces and produce together with Beta Film. The individuals and their creativity are the building blocks for a long-lasting bond.”

Mojto, who said the deal was “the best decision I’ve made in my career,” called Hofmann “one of the best German producers; He is a gifted storyteller. His professional and personal qualities, which I have known for more than 25 years, are the ideal foundation for many projects to come – stories for Europe from Germany.”

Hofmann, who had been CEO of UFA since 2017, stepped down last September, handing the reins to Sascha Schwingel, a producer who began his career under Hofmann at teamWorx, overseeing such event series as Die Sturmflut and Dresden, and has held executive positions at public TV group ARD Degeto and commercial network RTL, overseeing such shows as Babylon Berlin and Gladbeck. Hofmann stayed on as chair of UFA in the transition period as Schwingel reorganized the group. Last week former Netflix exec Natalie Clausen, a producer on streaming hits The Empress and Kleo, who previously worked with UFA on shows including Charité and Deutschland 89, was named UFA’s new COO.

Reflecting on the Hofmann deal, Wünschmann said rising costs and “complex financing structures” have made it “challenging” to produce high-end fiction out of Germany but that he was “convinced, with our combined efforts, Nico Hofmann and Beta will produce outstanding projects.”

Hofmann and Beta were initially mum on their first collaborations. Hofmann is still negotiating with UFA over in-development projects and is expected to take a number with him to his new firm.

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