Topic is adding a few more seasons and titles to its growing library of English-dubbed versions of popular international TV series.
Five weeks ago, North American streaming service Topic launched its historic first-time deployment of AI-driven dubbing in a TV series — kicking it off with English-dubbed versions of five hit international television series, including the Swedish- and Danish-language crime thriller The Bridge (Bron/Broen), the German-language adaptation of that series called Pagan Peak (Der Pass), the Finnish-language mystery-crime drama Arctic Circle (Ivalo), the Russian-language real-life mystery drama Dead Mountain (Pereval Dyatlova), and the Hebrew- and Yiddish-language alternate reality-set drama Autonomies.
To date, all four seasons of The Bridge are available in the AI-powered English-dubbed version, as are the first two seasons of Pagan Peak. Dropping tomorrow, December 8, is that for Season 2 of Arctic Circle, with the English-dubbed version of the German true-crime mystery drama series Dark Woods becoming available on Thursday, December 15.
The original-language, English-subtitled versions of all of Topic’s international TV titles remain in place and will continue to be available for streaming in the US and Canada.
Curious as to how folks have been responding to Topic’s new English-dubbed offerings, I asked Topic’s General Manager Ryan Chanatry via a quick email interview.
LJ: “Generally speaking, what has the response been to the English-dubbed titles on Topic?”
RC: “We are still within our initial soft launch period for our English-dubbing option, so it’s still early for us to say as we’ve not yet extensively promoted or marketed the availability. But we’ve already answered many emails about the new feature from both subscribers and crime lovers in general. We’re excited to be the first platform in the world to be releasing series using AI technology via our partner Deepdub, and we’ll begin to more heavily promote the series with dubbed options early in 2023 once “The Killing” is released (season 1 on January 26th).”
LJ: “Are the hours streamed comparable to or higher than the original-language versions of the shows in the first month?”
RC: “We don’t yet have solid data around hours streamed given the soft launch, but anticipate as we bring awareness to the option, the streaming hours should match or exceed the original-language versions. We’re also very appreciative of our early and loyal audience who we know prefer the original-language options and will continue to provide viewers with subtitles.”
LJ: “What have subscribers (existing and new) said about Topic adding English-dubbed versions of shows?”
RC: “We’ve received comments via social and emails that people are intrigued by the option and are excited to check it out. We know from past advertising campaigns that many potential viewers are eager to engage with international series but have been waiting for an English audio option.”
LJ: “Have you seen an uptick in subscriber numbers?”
RC: “We’ve seen great momentum in our growth the last two months and project that some of the growth is related to subscribers understanding that our offering is expanding, and they will have the ability to choose between dubs and subtitles for major titles moving forward. We will have more insight in early 2023.”
LJ: “Will there be a regular schedule of adding English-dubbed titles to Topic?”
RC: “Yes, we anticipate regularly adding dubbed versions over 2023 and onwards, starting with The Killing, Salamander, and then Prisoners of War scheduled over January – April. Bullets and Christian will follow with several more yet to be announced series after that!”
LJ: “How will offering English-dubbed titles affect Topic’s program selections in future (if at all)?”
RC: “Our programming filters remain the same as before dubbing. Topic’s goal is to ensure that US and Canadian audiences have access to the best unreleased crime & thrillers from around the world. As our audience grows from the addition of the dubbed options, we will aim to premiere our new series with both subtitles and dubs available upon release.”
So there’s more good stuff headed to Topic for viewers who prefer watching international TV shows dubbed into English over reading subtitles. Ditto for folks who prefer the English-subtitled, original-language version of programs — the Dutch crime thriller series The Spectacular premieres next Thursday, December 15, and the Italian crime-fantasy drama series Christian arrives on Topic in January! Subscribers can add The Spectacular and Christian to your watchlist now.
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