foreign drama

4 Blocks creators spill the secrets on making drama

4 Blocks (Credit: TNT Serie/Turner)

Since its debut in 2017, Berlin gangster series 4 Blocks has been pocketing awards and thrilling audiences. The TNT Serie drama has also shaken up the sometimes cosy world of German television.

4 Blocks tells the story of the Hamady crime family, which is engaged in a bloody fight with the rival al-Saafi clan for control of the drug trade in the Neukölln district of the city.

At an early-evening screening in central London at the end of January, the RTS – in partnership with TNT Serie and Turner – celebrated the release of the show’s second season.

New international dramas land on BBC Four

Ryan Gallagher (Ewen Leslie) and Damien Pascoe (Joel Jackson) in Safe Harbour (Credit: BBC/Hulu)

The selection of dramas includes new thriller Safe Harbour and returning favourites Trapped, Follow the Money and Cardinal.

Cassian Harrison, Channel Editor of BBC Four commented: “As the original home of contemporary international drama on British television, BBC Four continues to fire on all cylinders, bringing choice new titles and returning favourites back to its established Saturday night slot.”

 

Subtitles, sass and sex: why foreign programming is booming

Spiral

Subtitles, sass and sex are the latest must-haves for broadcasters who are serious about satisfying their audiences. British viewers’ expanding appetite for foreign-language shows has taken in the mafia in Gomorrah on Sky Atlantic, the chilly Icelandic landscape of Trapped on BBC Four and the visceral drugs drama Prófugos on Channel 4’s new online service, Walter Presents.

Channel 4 launches foreign drama on-demand service

Walter Presents

Channel 4 will launch a new on-demand service showcasing the best of foreign-language drama in January.

Walter Presents will be available for free on the channel’s digital hub All 4.

Former creative director at Betty, Walter Iuzzolino, will hand pick the content, drawn from around the world.

The first slate of dramas on the service, which launches on 3 January, includes Belgian drama-comedy Clan, German/US co-production Deutschland 83 and Argentinian psychological thriller Pure Evil.