“Bookish”
Beta Film is set for this year’s London TV Screenings with a slate of European series. Headed by the crime drama “Bookish”, created by and starring Emmy Award winner Mark Gatiss ("Sherlock", "Doctor Who"), Beta Film has already sold the series ahead of its premiere on UKTV’s specialist crime drama channel U&alibi later this year, to BBC First for Benelux and AMC Networks in Latin America and Brazil, Turkish Radio and Television TRT for Turkey, and HRT for Croatia. Negotiations in further key territories are underway.
The lineup also includes Berlinale Panorama entry “Other People’s Money”, the Spanish thriller “Shades, Unforgettable - Memories of Revenge”, the French remake of the Turkish success format “Persona” with International Emmy Award winner Haluk Bilginer, and the Norwegian drama “A Better Man”.
Blending post-war nostalgia and a thoroughly modern sensibility and tone, the six-part series “Bookish” is produced by Eagle Eye Drama for UKTV and PBS. It stars Mark Gatiss as the eccentric but whip-smart bookshop owner Gabriel Book, who likes nothing more than solving the knottiest of crimes. The cast also includes Bridgerton star Polly Walker, Connor Finch (“Everything I Know About Love”), Joely Richardson (“The Gentleman”, “The Ballad of Renegade Nell”), Daniel Mays (“The Long Shadow”, “Code 404”), and Jonas Nay (“Deutschland 83”, “Concordia”), among others.
Selected for Berlinale Panorama, “Other People’s Money” (8x1h) tells the story of how a criminal network of mega-rich investors, bankers, and lawyers stole 146 billion Euros from European taxpayers. Inspired by true events and the research of Oliver Schröm (“Die Cum-Ex-Files”, “Die Akte Scholz”), Christian Salewski, Niels Fastrup (“Det Store Skatterøveri”), and Thomas G. Svaneborg, “Other People’s Money” is produced by X Filme Creative Pool and True Content Entertainment in co-production with EPO-Film, ZDF, and DR, in association with New8. “Other People’s Money” celebrates its world premiere on February 20 at the iconic Zoo Palast in Berlin.
Crime thriller “Shades” (6x1h, Secuoya Studios/Stellarmedia for SkyShowtime), led by Fast & Furious star Elsa Pataky (“Furiosa - A Mad Max Saga”), follows six troubled patients who gather for a weekend retreat at a picturesque vineyard to complete a famed psychiatrist’s unconventional treatment. When the doctor is found murdered, everyone has a motive.
In the vein of “Breaking Bad” and “Dexter”, “Unforgettable - Memories of Revenge” (4x1h) follows retired clerk Esther, who is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Now, she sets out to get bloody revenge on criminals who have evaded the law – before she forgets. The series is produced by Calt Studio in co-production with Besides Production and RTBF for M6 Group. The Turkish format “Persona” is created by Hakan Günday and Onur Saylak and produced by Ay Yapim for Puhu TV.
Finally, “A Better Man", directed by Thomas Seeberg Torjussen and produced by Maipo Film for NRK, (4x1h) tells the unconventional story of Tom, a middle-aged misogynist and internet troll forced to hide in women's clothing. What begins as a desperate bid for survival evolves into an eye-opening journey as Tom discovers empathy, intimacy, and unexpected new possibilities.