News

Replica Michael Parkinson To Host “World First” AI Podcast

An AI replica of iconic TV presenter Michael Parkinson is to host a podcast. Parkinson is leading Virtually Parkinson, which will be a completely unscripted conversation between a guest and the late TV host – a “world first,” according to its creators. Producer Deep Fusion Films said the AI Parkinson is built using knowledge garnered from his career, including his back-catalog of more than 2000 interviews with some of the most important cultural figures of our time. It is the latest AI series from Deep Fusion and was commissioned by Night Train Media’s fledgling label Night Train Digital, which manages the official Parkinson YouTube channel. The podcast series is planned to be released later this year with the full support and involvement of Parkinson’s family and estate. The chat show host died last year aged 88 following a stellar career. High-profile guests...

Apple TV+ has announced the programming that will be added to the streaming service next month. The Apple TV Plus October 2024 lineup includes Before, Curses! Season 2, Disclaimer, The Last of the Sea Women, Shrinking Season 2, Tú También lo Harías, and Where’s Wanda.

Apple TV+ offers premium, compelling drama and comedy series, feature films, groundbreaking documentaries, and kids and family entertainment. It is available to watch across all of a user’s favorite screens.

Shrinking Season 2 Apple TV Plus October 2024 Schedule

Available October 2

Where’s Wanda? (Comedy Series)

“Where’s Wanda?” is an eight-episode German-language dark comedy produced by UFA Fiction, starring International Emmy Award nominee Heike Makatsch (“Love Actually”), German Comedy Award winner Axel Stein (“The Vault”), multiple award-winning actress Lea Drinda (“The Gryphon”), newcomer Leo Simon, entrepreneur, actress, and author Nikeata Thompson (“How to Dad”), presenter and actress Palina Rojinski (“Welcome to Germany”), Kostja Ullmann (“My Blind Date With Life...

Apple TV+ today unveiled the trailer for Where’s Wanda?, the eight-episode German-language dark comedy produced by UFA Fiction. The trailer allows you to watch it in German with English subtitles or dubbed in English.

Apple TV+’s first German original will premiere globally, with the first two episodes on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, followed by one episode weekly through November 13.

The series stars International Emmy Award nominee Heike Makatsch (Love Actually), German Comedy Award winner Axel Stein (The Vault), multiple award-winning actress Lea Drinda (The Gryphon), and newcomer Leo Simon.

Entrepreneur, actress, and author Nikeata Thompson (How to Dad), presenter and actress Palina Rojinski (Welcome to Germany), Kostja Ullmann (My Blind Date With Life), and rising star Harriet Herbig-Matten (Maxton Hall) also star.

Where’s Wanda? tells the story of Dedo and Carlotta Klatt (Stein and Makatsch), who are desperate to locate their missing 17-year-old daughter, Wanda (Drinda), who disappeared months ago without a trace.

Apple TV+ has unveiled the trailer for ‘Where’s Wanda?,’ the eight-episode German-language dark comedy.

The series tells the story of Dedo and Carlotta Klatt (Stein and Makatsch), who are desperate to locate their missing 17-year-old daughter Wanda (Drinda), who disappeared months ago without a trace. When the police fail to find her, the family takes matters into their own hands, obtaining surveillance devices with the help of their tech-savvy son Ole (Simon). Disguising themselves as employees of an electrical company, they bug first their neighbourhood and then half their suburb, finding out that behind closed doors none of their neighbours are who they pretend to be.

It stars International Emmy Award nominee Heike Makatsch (Love Actually), German Comedy Award winner Axel Stein (The Vault), multiple award-winning actress Lea Drinda (The Gryphon), newcomer Leo Simon, entrepreneur, actress and author Nikeata Thompson (How to Dad), presenter and actress Palina Rojinski (Welcome to...

Exclusive: German drama series I Am Scrooge has landed homes in North America, Europe and Australia ahead of its world premiere at Seriencamp in Cologne this week.

Beta Film has sold the Rtl miniseries, which is from the German producer-distributor’s subsidiary Zeitsprung Pictures, to Mhz in the U.S. and Canada, Sbs in Australia, Dr in Denmark, Tet in Latvia and Rtl in Hungary. Launching on Rtl+ in Germany later this year, it will open Seriencamp tomorrow (June 5).

I Am Scrooge is set in West Berlin in 1988, following Arno Funke, a man operating under the alias ‘Scrooge McDuck’ who becomes the center of one of the most spectacular extortion cases in German criminal history. Funke, a failing artist, uses his talent to build bombs in his kitchen, detonating them overnight at high-end department stories as leverage for extortion. Detectives are soon on the cases, as Funke bags more than...

Welcome to Maxton Hall Private School! Prime Video has released the official trailer for Maxton Hall – The World Between Us, which takes viewers into the world of Ruby (Harriet Herbig-Matten) and James (Damian Hardung).

The Original series is based on Mona Kasten’s award-winning, bestselling novel Save Me. Produced by UFA Fiction, the German series tells the modern love story of James Beaufort and Ruby Bell, an upper-class boy and a working-class girl in a world of glamor, prestige, secrets, and drama.

In the series, when Ruby unwittingly witnesses an explosive secret at Maxton Hall private school, the arrogant millionaire heir James Beaufort has to deal with the quick-witted scholarship student for better or worse.

From that point on, the handsome student tries to buy Ruby’s silence. Although the two come from different worlds, they will soon risk everything to be together.

All six episodes are available exclusively on...

Confirming Germany’s importance as a growth market, Netfix on Wednesday announced 17 new and returning shows and movies produced by some of the country’s leading producers, including docuseries “Kaulitz & Kaulitz,” about the Tokio Hotel popstar siblings, and sci-fi drama “Cassandra,” about an overzealous electronic household helper.

Netflix presented 17 feature films, series, documentaries and reality shows at a special event in Berlin.

“We have seen again and again how local stories can captivate viewers here and around the world,” said Katja Hofem, Netflix’s VP of content for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. “We aim to continue this successful journey together with our partners, sharing a common goal of creating exceptional entertainment that moves and inspires people.”

Produced by Constantin Entertainment and premiering in June, “Kaulitz & Kaulitz” accompanies Tokio Hotel frontmen Bill and Tom Kaulitz, twin brothers from Magdeburg, Germany, on tour with their band and in their new home in Hollywood.

The selection include Langston Uibel, star of Christian Petzold’s Berlinale award-winner ‘Afire’.

Estonia’s Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (Poff) has unveiled this year’s Black Nights Stars, spotlighting eight rising actors from the Baltic Sea region.

The initiative brings together international casting directors and filmmakers with emerging talent from the region and is part of Discovery Campus, an education programme organised by Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event (Nov 13-17).

The selection includes Germany’s Langston Uibel, star of Christian Petzold’s Afire, which received the Silver Bear grand jury prize at the Berlinale in February.

The eight actors are:...

Programme at International Film School Cologne is headed by ’Borgen’ showrunner Jeppe Gjervig Gram.

Screenwriters including Domina’s Rachel Paterson and The Gryphon’s Senad Halilbasic are among 12 series writers from 10 countries selected for the 2023 edition of the European Showrunner Programme at International Film School Cologne (ifs).

The training and mentoring programme is run by Borgen showrunner Jeppe Gjervig Gram with showrunners Jeff Melvoin (Killing Eve), Petja Peltomaa (Syke/Nurses) as well as Philipp Käßbohrer and Matthias Murmann (How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast)).

The programme is designed to train up a new generation of showrunners in Europe. Show runners,...

It doesn’t exactly sound like something you’d expect to see on Disney+, on paper at least, but Deadline reports today that Disney+ has given the green light to a German series titled “Pauline,” which comes from the team behind Netflix’s How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast).

“Pauline” is said to be a coming-of-age story, so don’t expect too much horror here.

The site details, “Pauline follows an 18-year-old who accidentally becomes pregnant – from a one-night stand. With school stress, the climate crisis and the downfall of society weighing heavily on her mind, something she doesn’t need at all right now is catching feelings, especially not for her one-night stand Lukas, who, as it turns out, is the devil himself.”

Sebastian Colley wrote “Pauline,” with attached directors including Arabella Bartsch, Alma Buddecke and Facundo Scalerandi. The cast includes Sira-Anna Faal (Berlin Nobody) as Pauline, Ludger Bökelmann as Lukas,...

Disney+ has unveiled a German original about a teenager who falls in love with the devil from the team behind Netflix’s How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast).

Pauline follows the eponymous protagonist, an 18-year-old who accidentally becomes pregnant – from a one-night stand. With school stress, the climate crisis and the downfall of society weighing heavily on her mind, something she doesn’t need at all right now is catching feelings, especially not for her one-night stand Lukas, who, as it turns out, is the devil himself.

Pauline is penned by Sebastian Colley and EPs are Philipp Käßbohrer and Matthias Murmann, who combined on 2019’s How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast) for Netflix. Arabella Bartsch, Alma Buddecke and Facundo Scalerandi are directors.

“For a long time, the series has been and still remains a project very close to our hearts,” said Käßbohrer and Murmann.

“We’re thrilled that Disney+ loves...

Appointments

Argonon Group, the parent company behind “The Masked Singer U.K.,” has appointed former Jupiter Entertainment executive VP Steve McGovern as COO of its U.S. business with a remit across Leopard USA, Rose Rock Entertainment and future U.S. operations including acquisitions.

Argonon, a global production group headquartered in the U.K. and U.S., owns Scottish indie production company Bandicoot, which makes the U.K. version of “The Masked Singer” as well as “The Masked Dancer.”

As part of the group’s strategic shift to the West Coast and upscaled focus on streamers, networks and platforms, McGovern’s role will be based in Los Angeles. Shirley Escott, currently Leopard USA’s COO, relocates to London to pursue other projects after five years in the post. McGovern will report into Argonon CEO James Burstall and Laura Bessell, Argonon’s global COO.

The role will see McGovern work closely...

Internationale Filmschule Köln’s showrunner programme is headed by ’Borgen’ writer Jeppe Gjervig Gram

As the role of showrunner becomes increasingly important in European series production, the ifs Internationale Filmschule Köln’s European Showrunner Programme has secured an additional three years of funding from Creative Europe – Media Programme of the European Union.

The Film-und-Medienstiftung Nrw is on board as a funding partner and Netflix is continuing to support the programme both financially and in terms of experts and content. In addition to Series Mania and the Film Festival Cologne, the ifs has gained the Seriencamp and the Film Festival Göteborg as new festival partners.

Comedy actors Anke Engelke and Bastian Pastewka will star in a new German original series for Amazon Prime Video to be produced by Bildundtonfabrik.

The series is due to appear on the platform next year. Further details on the show have yet to be announced.

“Anke Engelke and Bastian Pastewka are a real dream team in front of the camera. Viewers can look forward to their first series project together on Prime Video,” said Philip Pratt, head of German originals for Prime Video.

News of the show was revealed by Pratt on Tuesday at a panel during the Berlin Film Festival about Prime Video’s international content strategy. Other speakers included head of Nordic Originals, Karin Lindström, and head of Nigerian Originals, Amazon Studios and Prime Video, Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu.

Amazon’s German shows have included thrillers such as the Matthias Schweighöfer starrer “You Are Wanted” and “Beat,” with Jannis Niewöhner,...

Exclusive: Sony and PlayStation Productions have rounded out the cast for their Gran Turismo film, based on the hit racing video game series of the same name, with six additions. Those joining the ensemble are Max Mundt (How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast)), Mariano González (O11CE), Harki Bhambra (This Is Going to Hurt), Lindsay Pattison, Théo Christine (Suprêmes) and Nikhil Parmar (Foundation).

The upcoming film based on the true story of Jann Mardenborough is billed as the ultimate wish fulfillment tale of a teenage Gran Turismo player whose gaming skills won him a series of Nissan competitions to become an actual professional race car driver. Previously announced members of its ensemble include Archie Madekwe, David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, Djimon Hounsou, Geri Halliwell-Horner, Daniel Puig, Maeve Courtier-Lilley, Emelia Hartford, Pepe Barroso and Sang Heon Lee.

Neill Blomkamp is directing from a script by Jason Hall and Zach Baylin. Producers include...

A total of 19 features and series were showcased.

Netflix has unveiled 19 upcoming films and series from Germany, Austria and Switzerland as it works to strengthen its slate of German-language productions.

The projects are part of the streaming giant’s push into local content, doubling investment to €500m between 2021 and 2023. Five films, nine series and five non-fiction titles were showcased at the streamer’s Content Remote Show this morning, offering a preview of the year ahead.

The films include the previously announced All Quiet On The Western Front, directed by Edward Berger and starring Daniel Bruhl, and Buba, a spin-off from...

Netflix has doubled its budget to €500 million ($571 million) for German-language productions between 2021 and 2023 and has revealed a raft of new projects.

On Tuesday, the Netflix German-language team presented a selection of 19 productions, including previously announced projects, at the Content Remote Show. The shows are from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

New series include eight-parter “Achtsam Morden” (working title), based on the book of the same name by Karsten Dusse, which topped the Spiegel bestseller list for over nine months and is now being filmed for Netflix by Constantin Film, Jan Ehlert and Nina Viktoria Philipp. Writers Miriam Rechel and Chris Geletneky tell the story of top lawyer Björn Diemel, who to save his marriage, finds a new work-life balance with the help of a mindfulness seminar and accidentally becomes a murderer in the process.

Another book adaptation, also produced by Constantin Television, is thriller series “Liebes Kind” (working title). Based on the novel by Romy Hausmann,...

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings was in Berlin this morning to open the streamer’s new Dach Headquarters.

Greeting a room of executives and content creators – including Jantje Friese, Anna Winger (Unorthodox), who just signed an overall deal with Netflix, Matthias Schweighöfer (Army of Thieves), Christian Schwochow (Munich – The Edge of War) and Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front) – the Netflix chief talked up the performance of German content on the service to date.

“The success around the world of German content is really incredible,” he commented without drawing on specific examples. A Vt played before his speech features titles such as Dark, How To Sell Drugs Online (Fast), and historical epic Barbarians.

“Producing content that Germans thrive on and spread around the world is such an opportunity,” Hasting continued, adding that the international proliferation of local language content continued to be “the really...

its August 2021 release schedule on Wednesday, revealing a number of new original movies and series will debut next month, alongside the arrival of numerous library series and films.

The full list of arrivals as well as departures is below, but here are some highlights for what’s new on Netflix for August 2021.

30 Rock and Friday Night Lights

The full series runs of both beloved NBC shows will arrive on Netflix in August.

Catch Me If You Can and Inception

While “The Departed” is among the big movies leaving Netflix at the end of August, the platform will have more than enough to keep Leonardo DiCaprio fans from scrolling endlessly through the app.

The Kissing Booth 3 and He’s All That

Netflix has increasingly programmed to the youth demographic with its slate, and August will feature a pair of movies that double as Gen Z bait: “The Kissing Booth 3...

Vlog Squad member Jeff Wittek currently has a hit docuseries rolling out on YouTube, but the 31-year-old -- who is sharing the story of how he injured his eye during a stunt gone awry -- has also brought the project to a brand new Patreon account, where he’s achieved unfathomable success.

Three episodes of the series, titled Don’t Try This At Home, are currently live on Wittek’s YouTube channel, which, prior to the accident, housed another venture titled Jeff’s Barbershop, where Wittek welcomed celebrity guests for interviews while offering up haircuts.

Wittek launched a corresponding Patreon account on April 19 in tandem with Don’t Try This At Home, stating that he planned to share behind-the-scenes content, bonus videos, and other moments from the series that had to be restricted due to YouTube guidelines. Now, a little more than a week later, Wittek's Patreon has amassed a staggering 33,423 Patrons...

Jeff Wittek doesn't want you to try this at home. Last summer, the YouTuber confirmed to his fans that he suffered serious injuries after getting into an accident. While the 30-year-old vlogger has refrained from sharing details about the day, that's all changing now. In a new docu-series on YouTube called Don't Try This At Home, Jeff is revealing new details about what caused damage to his face and skull. In episode two—titled "How I Broke My Face"—Jeff explained that he was trying to make a funny video with a group of vloggers. At one point, the group decided to place an excavator vehicle in a lake and swing people around from a rope. According to Jeff,...

Come July, Netflix viewers can rely on the musical musings of Fiddler on the Roof, the adorable animals of Charlotte's Web, the wisdom of Dr. Seuss' The Lorax and more to make time at home a little more bearable. 

The streaming platform will also release original series Unsolved Mysteries, The Baby-Sitters Club, Down to Earth With Zac Efron, Cursed and Stateless throughout the month.

Netflix series with new seasons dropping in July include The Umbrella Academy, Deadwind, The Protector, How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast), Norsemen and part two of Cable Girls' final season.

Other Netflix titles set to start streaming ...

Come July, Netflix viewers can rely on the musical musings of Fiddler on the Roof, the adorable animals of Charlotte's Web, the wisdom of Dr. Seuss' The Lorax and more to make time at home a little more bearable. 

The streaming platform will also release original series Unsolved Mysteries, The Baby-Sitters Club, Down to Earth With Zac Efron, Cursed and Stateless throughout the month.

Netflix series with new seasons dropping in July include The Umbrella Academy, Deadwind, The Protector, How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast), Norsemen and part two of Cable Girls' final season.

Other Netflix titles set to start streaming ...