KESHET STARTS SHOOTING ITS ADAPTATION OF THE BLACK COMEDY “STOCKHOLM”

Filming has begun on Keshet Tresor Fiction’s (KTF) German adaptation of the Israeli black comedy “Stockholm” for TVNOW and VOX. Currently shooting in and around Cologne and Bonn, filming will continue through September. The four-part black comedy will premiere first on TVNOW, and on VOX afterwards.

“Unter Freunden Stirbt Man Nicht” (You Don’t Die Among Friends) tells the story of a group of long-standing friends in their prime. When one of them - a renowned scientist and hottest candidate for the Nobel Prize in Business - dies unexpectedly, the bereaved come up with a daring plan. They want to keep their friend's death secret for the five days until the nominations are announced. First step: cool the bedroom and close the windows so that no flies can enter. But after this point, their endeavor quickly puts their friendship to the test and gets out of control.

Each of the 4x45’ episodes is devoted to one of the four friends, giving a unique perspective on their relationship with the deceased (Hermann), as well as their own personal lives and secret hidden agendas. The show features a stellar cast, with Iris Berben starring as Ella; Heiner Lauterbach as Joachim; Adele Neuhauser as Annette; Michael Wittenborn as Friedrich, and Walter Sittler taking on the role of Hermann.

Based on the bestselling book by Noa Yedlin and the series originally produced by Artza Productions for Keshet Broadcasting and KAN, this 4x45’ adaptation of the comedy-drama “Stockholm” is written by Claudius Pläging and produced in cooperation with TVNOW and VOX with the support of Film- und Medienstiftung NRW. Felix Stienz (Merz gegen Merz, Kroymann) directs, with KTF’s Tina Hechinger as producer alongside executive producers KTF’s Director of Fiction Programs, Christina Christ; and Tresor’s CEO, Axel Kühn. Thomas Disch is editorially responsible under the direction of Frauke Neeb and Hauke Bartel, Head of Fiction at Mediengruppe RTL Germany.

"‘Unter Freunden Stirbt Man Nicht’ is one of our first joint projects of the TVNOW ‘Fiction Offensive,’ and with shooting underway, we are pawing our feet with great motivation and anticipation. This funny, high-spirited and, at the same time, heart-warming story about the big issues of life immediately captivates us, and we are really looking forward to it being brought to life with a great cast and a strong team behind the camera,"  Frauke Neeb and Hauke Bartel said.

“In an age when people live longer and have better lives, ‘Unter Freunden Stirbt Man Nicht’ offers a refreshing perspective on this fascinating age group. This dark comedy breaks stereotypes and conventional assumptions, as our silver surfers’ friendships, family, loyalty, professionalism, love and lust are all put to the test – and the results are not what we may imagine. With its stellar cast and crew, and the perfect combination of VOX and TVNOW together as channel partners, we are proud that this is the first fiction project to come out of our German Keshet branch,”  Christina Christ added.

As international distributor for both the format and finished tape of Stockholm, Keshet International licensed the format for this black comedy to Tresor, the German independent production company it acquired in 2017. Together they launched the scripted division, Keshet Tresor Fiction, at the end of 2018 to extend its success from the non-fiction sector to the fiction sector.