Ampersand Fiction Boards International Rights On Russian Crime Series ‘The Dead Lake’

Tom Grater
·2 min read

EXCLUSIVE: Ampersand Fiction, the TV drama wing of Paris-based sales company Ampersand, is teaming with Russia’s 1-2-3 Production and GPM Entertainment Television to handle international distribution on crime thriller series The Dead Lake.

Directed by Roman Prygunov (Dukhless) and written by Roman Kantor, the scriptwriter behind the Netflix original To The Lake, the series is set in a tiny snow town in the Arctic Circle. Everything is turned upside down for the local residents when ambitious Moscow detective Maxim Pokrovsky is sent to investigate the most shocking crime in local memory: the death of the local oligarch’s daughter.

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To The Lake, also from 1-2-3 Production, first premiered on the Russian VOD platform Premier and was then picked up by Netflix, where last year it became one of the streamer’s top 10 most-watched international series in the U.S..

“1-2-3 Production is one of the most preeminent and talented Russian producers with strong titles like the award-winning Ordinary Woman, the Netflix original To the Lake or the worldwide success movie The Blackout,” said Mathurin Beauvert, Ampersand Fiction’s Head of Sales. “We are delighted to start a collaboration with such a quality partner. We selected the series The Dead Lake for its strong story-telling and international appeal which has already garnered interest from key territories.”

“1-2-3 Production team is thrilled to find new reliable international partner who shares our values and treats each project as a priority,” added Valeriy Fedorovich, producer, 1-2-3 Production.

“We’re seeing growth in global demand for Russian TV shows on the back of To The Lake‘s success and excited to have the chance to show international viewers another, no less original and captivating project, once more featuring winter, snow and unusual circumstances,” said Evgeniy Nikishov, producer, 1-2-3 Production.

”Thriller has been the first choice in Russian series among all the viewers outside Russia. And we have plenty great thrillers in our catalogue. But we’re also quite successful in other genres and we’ll be happy to introduce international viewers to the whole specter of content that we produce,” said Kate Dunaeva, Head of Licensing, GPM ETV.

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