Dutch Features Global Entertainment has sold live-action children series “Rudy’s Crazy Christmas Show” to the pay TV group Canal Plus in France and French-speaking Africa. The series will be broadcast over the Christmas holidays on Dec.25 and 26 on Canal Plus.
The Dutch show, which will be dubbed in French, follows a child superstar, Rudy (Kylian de Pagter), and Sara (Noëlle Simson), an 11-year-old girl who suffers from a serious illness and hopes to receive a medical treatment in France. When Rudy wakes up in Sara’s garage due to a misunderstanding, her parents decide to keep Rudy hostage and ask his parents for a hefty ransom in hopes of finally paying for their daughter’s treatment. The event reaches a dramatic climax on Christmas Eve, when Rudy is supposed to perform his long awaited Crazy Christmas Show.
Pim van Collem, Dutch Features CEO, said this was a “historic deal” for the company. “It is the first time a Dutch family series has been acquired for prime time broadcasting in France and French-speaking Africa during the holidays,” said van Collem. “We are immensely proud and happy that our ‘Rudy’ will reach audiences far beyond the Netherlands and we hope families near and far will enjoy this heartwarming feel good story,” added the executive.
Directed by Anna van der Heide and Nicole van Kilsdonk, “Rudy’s Crazy Christmas Show” was directed by Luuk van Bemmelen and Martijn Hillenius. The show consists of 20 episodes of 10 minutes each, which were originally broadcast on Dutch public TV in December 2020 by broadcaster VPRO. The series was produced by Iris Otten, Sander van Meurs and Pieter Kuipers for Pupkin Film, in co-production with VPRO Youth.