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THE EUROPEAN ALLIANCE, A+E MEDIA GROUP AND HULU PARTNER ON "THE KOLLECTIVE," A GLOBAL SCRIPTED SERIES PRODUCED BY SUBMARINE AND ANNOUNCE A STAR-STUDDED CAST
THE EUROPEAN ALLIANCE, FRANCE TÉLÉVISIONS, RAI FICTION (ITALY), ZDF (GERMANY) AND HULU WILL PREMIERE THE SERIES IN 2025
Paris, France - January 31, 2024 - THE KOLLECTIVE (6 x 60') has begun production and today announces its cast. Produced by Submarine (Undone; Apollo 10 ½, Bellingcat: Truth in a Post-Truth World) and created by Leonardo Fasoli (Gomorrah, ZeroZeroZero), Maddalena Ravagli (Gomorrah) and Submarine's Femke Wolting, the series is commissioned by The European Alliance and will be distributed worldwide by A+E Media Group.
Taking audiences around the world from Budapest to St. Petersburg to London, THE KOLLECTIVE is a gripping thriller about a group of intrepid young citizen journalists who, after a sudden tragedy, find themselves sucked into a globe-spanning web of government lies and corruption. Through a dangerous international investigation, the group exposes nefarious activities of rogue governments and discovers the human price of keeping truth alive.
The European Alliance, including France Télévisions, Rai Fiction (Italy), and ZDF (Germany), and Hulu (U.S.) will premiere the series in 2025. Videoland will premiere the series in the Netherlands.
THE KOLLECTIVE is directed by lead director and EP Assaf Bernstein (Fauda, Warrior) and Randa Chahoud (The Interpreter of Silence, Deutschland 89). The series boasts a star-studded international cast including Natascha McElhone (Ronan, Califonication, The Truman Show, The Crown) Celine Buckens (Showtrial, The Ex-Wife, War Horse), Felix Mayr (Unorthodox), Gregg Sulkin (World on Fire, Marvel's Runaways), Grégory Montel (Call my Agent, Transatlantic), Karel Roden (A Spy Amongst Friends, Bourne Supremacy), Cassiopée Mayance (Antigang La relève, The Clearstream Affair, La Mante), Martha Canga Antonio (Lupin) and Ralph Amoussou (Transatlantic, Marianne).
The series is written by Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravagli. Furthermore, in the creative team is writer and co-EP Ed Hemming, lead DOP Robrecht Heyvaert (Bad Boys For Life, Snowfall, Rebel), Lennert Hillige (The Forgotten Battle) and acclaimed designer Alexei Tylevich (Ant-Man and the Wasp, Calls) who is designing the on-screen investigations of The Kollective.
The series is executive produced by Submarine's Femke Wolting. For A+E Media Group, the executive producers arePatrick Vien, Alexandra Finlay, and Hannah Dal Pozzo. For Rai Fiction (Italy), the executive producers are Andreana Saint Amour and Andrea Ozza. For ZDF, the executive producers are Frank Seyberth and Laura Mae Harding. For France Télévisions, the executive producers are Manuel Alduy, Morad Koufane and Pascale Deschamps.
Femke Wolting, EP of The Kollective and co-CEO of Submarine, says "We made this series to highlight the bravery of the individuals who will do everything in their power to protect each other and the society around them, even in a time of political turmoil. With a fantastic creative team and cast to match, this series is equal parts thrilling, entertaining, and driving important conversations."
Leonardo Fasoli, creator and writer, adds, "We love investigating what is happening in the world around us and tackling difficult questions through our work. We feel like the battle for truth against fake news is the battle of our time, it's a fight for the millennial generation.
Director and EP Assaf Bernstein, "I'm honored to be a part of The Kollective, an exciting geo-political thriller as well as a cry for activism in our post-truth world."
Said Patrick Vien, Group Managing Director, A+E International, "We are thrilled to be working with Submarine and The European Alliance on The Kollective. We are also delighted that Hulu will air the series exclusively in the United States. This nuanced, action-packed story is a perfect representation of A+E's commitment to create impactful stories with resonant contemporary themes that captivate global audiences."
Said The European Alliance (France Télévisions, RAI Fiction & ZDF), "As a group of European Public Broadcasters, the European Alliance wishes to offer to our viewers programs which are at the same time demanding and entertaining. The Kollective is a highly thrilling and captivating series that addresses a reality that all countries face nowadays: When intentionally deceptive news go viral, influence millions and could threat democracies. France Télévisions, RAI and ZDF hope the public will embrace the journey of our six young heroes as they fight this reality and discover that fighting for truth may have a heavy price."
Since 2018, The European Alliance has co-produced 10 series (80 Days around The World, Leonardo, The Swarm, among others). The European Alliance was launched by France Télévisions, RAI and ZDF in 2018 as a European production pool whose aim was to co-produce innovative, qualitative and ambitious TV series for viewers in Europe and around the world.
The series is financially supported by Creative Europe, Eurimages, Netherlands Film Fund.
Notes to editors
KEY CREATIVE TEAM:
Assaf Bernstein - First Block Director (Ep 1-3)
Randa Chahoud - Second Block Director (Ep 4-6)
Robrecht Heyvaert - DOP eps 1,2,3
Lennert Hillege - DOP eps 4,5,6
Philip Schulz-Deyle - Producer
Victor Jenkins - Casting
Alison Riva - Production Design
Alexei Tylevich - Creative Director of Digital Design
Raffaele Lombot - 1st AD
Danny Rafic - Editor (Ep 1 & 3)
Koen Timmermans Editor (Ep 2 & 4)
CAST:
Natascha McElhone - Maya Blade
Aaron - Felix Mayr
Delia - Celine Buckens
Joshua - Gregg Sulkin
Etienne - Gregory Montel
Arielle - Cassiopée Mayance
Claude - Martha Canga Antonio
ABOUT SUBMARINE
Submarine is part of the Mediawan group, with the French conglomerate taking a majority stake in 2023. It is a global production company headquartered in Amsterdam, with offices in London & LA. Working across drama, documentary and animation, Submarine has produced critically acclaimed and internationally recognized series and films. Recent production include Amazon series Undone and Richard Linklaters feature film Apollo 10 1/2 for Netflix. Upcoming projects include Safe Harbor, a crime thriller from showrunner Mark Williams (Ozark, The Accountant); Echo Boy, a sci-fi thriller based on the book by NY Times best-selling author Matt Haig (The Midnight Library). Submarine has projects in development with top talent and collaborators including Stephen Daldry, Kevin Macdonald, 101 Studios & BBC Film.
ABOUT A+E MEDIA GROUP
A+E Media Group(R) is a global content company comprised of some of the most popular and culturally relevant brands in media, including A&E(R), Lifetime(R), The HISTORY(R) Channel, LMN(R), FYI,(R) and VICE TV(R). A+E Networks' portfolio extends across platforms and genres with scripted and factual production divisions, an independent film unit, FAST channels, AVOD and SVOD products, and podcasts. A+E Networks International(R) includes branded channels, content distribution, and scripted/unscripted co-productions around the world. A+E Networks' content reaches more than 414 million households in 200 territories in 40 languages. A+E Networks(R) is a joint venture of The Hearst Corporation and The Walt Disney Company.
About ZDF
ZDF (Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen) is Germany's national public television broadcaster. It is run as an independent non-profit corporation under the authority of the Länder, the sixteen states that constitute the Federal Republic of Germany. The nationwide channel ZDF has been broadcasting since 1st April 1963 and remains one of the country's leading sources of information. Today, ZDF also operates the two thematic channels ZDFneo and ZDFinfo. In partnership with other public broadcasters, ZDF jointly operates the internet-only offer funk, the German channels PHOENIX and KiKA, and the European channels 3sat and ARTE. https://www.zdf.de/zdfunternehmen/factsandfigures-100.html
About Rai Fiction
Rai Fiction is the division of Rai-Radiotelevisione italiana responsible for commissioning the production of TV dramas for all Rai channels. With an annual output of about 400 hours of programming per year, Rai Fiction is one of Europe's biggest commissioning entities for scripted TV drama. Rai Fiction has been building up its portfolio of major international co-productions over the last years. Among the others large-scale projects are the Medici saga, My Brilliant Friend, based on the worldwide literary phenomenon of Elena Ferrante's novels series; The Name of the Rose, TV adaptation of Umberto Eco's best seller. Since 2018, Rai Fiction is part of the European Alliance together with France Télévisions (France) and ZDF (Germany) aimed to produce quality TV series that can represent an European alternative to the new streaming players.
About France Télévisions
France Télévisions is France's leading broadcaster in terms of audience share (29.3% of the audience share for four years + in 2023). It comprises:
· France.tv, a video platform and a comprehensive range of themed digital offers (news, youth, sport, culture, education, France's overseas territories)
· France 2, France 3, France 4 (with Okoo & Culturebox) and France 5, national TV channels
· France Info, a global rolling news channel across all media
· France 3 with 24 regional channels in mainland France and 1ère with 9 global tv/radio/web channels for French overseas territories
France Télévisions dominates the French broadcasting landscape with more than 4 French people out of 5 watching France Télévisions every week across all media.
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