The Alliance, the pact formed by Europe’s top state broadcasters to counter the growing power of Netflix and other streaming giants, has joined forces on a high-end adaptation of bestselling environmental sci-fi thriller “The Swarm.”
As previously announced, multi Emmy award-winning producer Frank Doelger (“Game of Thrones”) is executive producing the English language series via his Intaglio Films, which is a joint venture between Beta Film and German pubcaster ZDF. Italy’s RAI Fiction, France Televisions and Scandinavian streamer Viaplay have now come on board, they announced in Berlin.
Shooting on the eight-episode “The Swarm” based on Frank Schätzing’s novel, which has been translated in some 25 countries, is set to start in 2020.
Oscar-nominated producer Mark Huffam (“The Martian,” “Game of Thrones”) has also come on board alongside Doelger as an executive producer, in association with Schätzing and Eric Welbers of the UK’s ndF. The series is being produced by Friedemann Goez (“The Same Sky”) and Charlotte Groth (“All Claire”). Robert Sterne (“The Crown,” “Chernobyl”) is on board as casting director.
Schätzing’s book turns on a global group of scientists and soldiers who must tackle the challenge posed by anomalous behavior in marine animals such as underwater worms drilling the continental shelf and toxic jellyfish, lobsters and whales attacking human beings. The sea animals are reacting to the devastation of their habitat.
“The Swarm” is the latest show spawned by The Alliance, which has four other projects in various stages.
They are: Abu Dhabi-set thriller “Mirage,” which started airing in France on Feb. 17; “Around the World in 80 Days,” for which a playdate by year’s end is planned; “Leonardo,” with Frank Spotnitz as showrunner, now shooting in Rome; and Italian mystery series “Sopravissuti” set to start shooting in the Spring.