International drama service Walter Presents has announced its acquisition of three Euro TV series for both sides of the pond from Wild Bunch TV.
Viewers in the US, Canada, the UK, and Ireland might very well be the envy of the world when it comes getting a wide range of television titles produced across Europe. And soon, we’ll be getting more.
First up is Single Bells, a Flemish-language holiday romantic comedy series from Belgium. The show centers on Mina (Julie Van den Steen, Control), who gets dumped unexpectedly a week before Christmas. This prompts her warm-hearted but meddlesome family to spring into action. Each of them arranges one blind date per day until Christmas Day, with the goal of finding a man for Mina, so that, for the first time in years, she doesn’t have to sit at the festive table as the only single.
The Walter Presents acquisition covers the first season of Single Bells, which begins streaming in the US and Canada tomorrow, Friday, November 6, on the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel.
The series is directed by Charlotte Vanhecke (Kafka), written by Geerard Van de Walle (Ferry 2), and produced by De Mensen.
Moving across the pond, Walter Presents will be bringing the French drama series Escort Boys and the Swiss crime thriller Alter Ego to Euro TV fans in the UK and Ireland.
Set amid the sun-soaked landscapes of the Camargue in Southern France, Escort Boys revolves around a failing actor, who, following the death of his father, returns home to a crumbling farm and to become guardian to his sister. With three of his friends also struggling financially, they launch a male escort service for women, which explodes in popularity and transforms their lives. What begins as a way to make fast money soon becomes a journey into identity, intimacy, and power, as each man navigates the emotional consequences of selling desire and keeping secrets from those closest to them.
This French-language series stars Guillaume Labbé (The Hookup Plan), Thibaut Evrard (Borgia), Simon Ehrlacher (The Returned), Corentin Fila (Wolf Hall), and Marysole Fertard (The Intern).
The acquisition covers the first two seasons. Season 1 of Escort Boys launches in the UK and Ireland on December 21, at 24:00, on Channel 4, with the boxset being available starting December 18 on Walter Presents via C4 streaming. (Viewers in the US can stream both seasons on Prime Video.)
The show is adapted from the Israeli series Milk and Honey (aka Johnny and the Knights of Galilee), created and directed by Ruben Alves (The Gilded Cage), scripted by lead writers Ruben Alves and Yaël Lebrati-Attuil (Dear You), and produced by Oberkampf Productions and Story Nation Productions (both Mediawan Studio companies). The series launched on Prime Video.
Lastly, we have Alter Ego, which opens at the height of the Bellinzona Carnival in Italian-speaking Switzerland, where locals indulge in wild partying until the daughter of a prominent politician is found dead in a forest. Investigating the death is local detective Leonardo Blum (Gianmarco Tognazzi, Fading Gigolo: The Sex Guru), who is joined by a leading forensic examiner and celebrity criminologist Michele Novak (Matteo Martari, All Heart). When another body turns up in strikingly similar circumstances, the case forces Blum to confront a serial killer investigation from his past.
The acquisition covers Season 1 of this six-part, Italian-language, Swiss-Italian-produced series, which is slated to premiere in the UK and Ireland in March 2027 (date tba).
The series is directed by Erik Bernasconi (Moka Noir) and Robert Ralston (Lockdown Collection II), and produced by Amka Films Productions for Swiss broadcaster RSI.
Said Walter Iuzzolino, curator and cofounder of Walter Presents:
“We are delighted to be working with Wild Bunch once again to deliver three new drama boxsets to our audiences, that demonstrate the wonderful breadth of storytelling coming out of Europe. Each show has a distinct personality: ‘Alter Ego’ is a deeply atmospheric crime mystery with meticulous attention to local detail, ‘Escort Boys’ is a fun, bold, irresistible story about masculinity and inversion of sexual power, whilst ‘Single Bells’ is an exciting addition as it expands the Walter Presents offering into the romantic comedy genre. We’re excited for our viewers to experience this latest selection.”
And Diana Bartha, Head of TV Sales and Acquisitions, Wild Bunch TV, said:
“We are thrilled to continue our close and ongoing collaboration with Walter Presents and the GSN team and to bring these exceptional shows to new audiences overseas. We are convinced they have all the ingredients to meet with major successes in English-speaking markets, and we are excited to see them reach their full international potential. Our partnership is built on shared values and a relentless passion for bold, vibrant, high-end European fiction series with strong international appeal.”
Keep it here for more Euro TV news.
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