Alan Taylor, who is currently directing “The Sopranos” feature for New Line, will helm “The Swarm,” the environmental drama that will be exec produced by Frank Doelger (“Game of Thrones”).
Taylor won an Emmy for an episode of “The Sopranos” and directed nine installments of the landmark HBO series. His extensive TV credits also include “Deadwood,” “Sex and the City,” “Boardwalk Empire,” and “Lost.” On the big screen he has helmed movies including “Thor: The Dark World” and “Terminator: Genisys.”
“The Swarm” is for German pubcaster ZDF. It is the first project from Intaglio Films, the Berlin-based banner set up by Doelger with two other German-based entities, Beta Film and ZDF Enterprises, to work up big-ticket English-language series for the international market. It is making the series alongside Eric Welbers’ ndF International Production. The producers are presenting the drama at the In Development initiative at MipTV in Cannes. They said the series would be one of the biggest ever out of Europe.
“The Swarm” follows a global group of scientists and military personnel who discover that we are not the only intelligent species on this planet – and that deep down at the bottom of the sea resides a collective intelligence which has suffered the ravages of civilization on its habitat and has decided to fight back. It is based on a 2004 novel by Frank Schaetzing, first published in English in 2006 and now translated into 25 languages
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“It is rare to come across a show that is global in scale and yet really functions at an emotional and character level, while being highly relevant to what we are wrestling with today,” Taylor said. “It’s amazing material with the structure of a thriller. It builds towards an ending which I find devastating and transcendent, all at the same time.”
Doelger added: “With Alan helming this epic-scale production – which is both immensely timely and gripping – and bringing his creative leadership and vision, we’re confident ‘The Swarm’ will resonate with audiences both in Germany and globally.”