In a deal with distributor Cineflix Rights, streaming service Topic has picked up an Icelandic and a Russian TV series, plus a French Canadian one, for the US and Canada.
Topic‘s deal with Cineflix Rights includes the Icelandic political thriller The Minister and the first two seasons of the Russian drama An Ordinary Woman, as well as the French Canadian dark comedy Happily Married.
The Minister (Ráðherrann) (Iceland)
Recently nominated in the TV Fiction category at the Prix Europa 2020 and in the Best TV Series category at the Venice TV Awards, The Minister stars Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (Trapped, NOS4A2, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald) as a populist Prime Minister whose worsening mental health condition threatens the stability of the government and the lives of those around him.
Costars in the eight-episode series include Anita Briem (The Tudors), Gunnar Bersi Björnsson (The Valhalla Murders), Tinna Hrafnsdóttir (The Cliff), Ragnar Jónsson (The Lava Field), and Jóel Sæmundsson (Cover Story).
An Ordinary Woman (Obychnaya zhenshchina) (Russia)
The first Russian drama to be shortlisted for Séries Mania in 2018, An Ordinary Woman stars Anna Mikhalkova (To the Lake) as Marina, an ordinary woman living a seemingly ordinary life in Moscow — but whose secret career running a clandestine network of prostitutes is threatened following the death of one of her “girls.” (Mikhalkova won the TV festival’s Best Actress Award for her work in this series.)
Seasons 1 and 2 of An Ordinary Woman include 17 hour-long episodes.
Happily Married (C’est comme ça que je t’aime) (Canada)
While this isn’t a Euro TV series, it is a French-language series (the second for US viewers), so we’ll start covering French Canadian titles from now on.
An official selection at Berlinale Series 2020 and the Best Drama Series award winner (amongst its ten awards) at the 35th Prix Gémeaux, Happily Married tells the story of two Québécois couples in crisis, let down by love, friendships, and family. Set in 1974, in a society where divorce is frowned upon, their search for marital bliss leads them to make a set of drastic decisions — which ultimately finds them becoming the most infamous quartet of criminals in Quebec history.
Said James Durie, Head of Scripted, Cineflix Rights:
“Interest in foreign-language dramas has never been higher, and all three series feature taut, multi-layered contemporary stories with brilliant ensemble casts to create top-notch entertainment. We’re thrilled to be signing this deal with Topic to bring these riveting stories to US audiences for the first time.”
Added Ryan Chanatry, General Manager of Topic:
“After screening these critically hailed titles from Iceland, Canada, and Russia, we knew Topic would be the perfect home. We’re excited to be working with Cineflix Rights in bringing these acclaimed series to Topic’s North American audience.”
Stay tuned for updates.
__________________
Share this post/page.
Outbound links on this page include non-affiliate links and affiliate links; the latter allows us to earn income from qualifying actions.