Discovery and ProSiebenSat.1.’s OTT platform has commissioned a local version of Australian comedy Diary of an Uber Driver, distributed internationally by all3media international.
Leading independent distributor all3media international has secured the first scripted format adaptation of hit Australian comedy drama Diary of an Uber Driver, as Germany’s Joyn orders a local version.
Originally produced by Revlover Films for ABC Australia in association with all3media international and Create NSW, Diary of an Uber Driver is a character-driven comedy drama drawn from true stories, based on the hugely popular blog and e-book by Ben Phillips.
Following its launch as a scripted format earlier this year, the first international remake has now been commissioned in Germany by Joyn, the recently established regional streaming service backed by Discovery and ProSiebenSat.1.
Diary of an Uber Driver, which is the first original series to be developed by Joyn, is being produced in Germany by all3media production label Bon Voyage Films. Filming is set to start in Hamburg and the series is expected to launch on Joyn in the first half of 2020. The new German-language version will see Kostja Ullmann (A Most Wanted Man, Tatort) play the role of Ben. Julian Pörksen directs, with Amir Hamz, Christian Springer and Fahri Yardim as producers.
The original Australian version doubled ABC’s channel average amongst young adults when it premiered earlier this year. all3media international presented the format at Euro Pitch Vienna in March, where it was rated second out of 54 formats pitched at the event.
Stephen Driscoll, EVP EMEA & European Co-Productions at all3media international, said: “We’re pleased to confirm our first international partnership on Diary of an Uber Driver with Joyn and Bon Voyage and share their excitement to see the production launch next year.”
“We’ve received strong interest in this heart-warming scripted format since our initial pitch in Vienna, and we’re actively in development with other international territories to bring it to many more screens around the world in the very near future. Revlover Films are working hard on the season two script development so we can all find out what adventures life holds in store for these engaging characters very soon.”
Markus Schäfer, CEO at all3media Deutschland, commented: “I’m delighted that our joint venture Bon Voyage Films is the first company to produce an original drama series for Germany’s new VOD platform Joyn. Diary of an Uber Driver is a fresh, amazing drama series that I think will work perfectly for Joyn’s target audience.”
Part traditional narrative and part anthology television, each episode of Diary of an Uber Driver continues the journey of Uber driver Ben, as he uses what he learns from his passengers to piece together his place in the world. Can he figure out how to be a good man in a life that’s not quite what he expected, while helping others get to where they’re going, all in time for the birth of his first child?
The passenger characters appear in standalone episodes, but their effect on Ben ripple throughout the series. Some passengers’ lives we will learn about in more detail and some will be brief interactions, moments in time that speak to the overarching theme of an episode. Ben’s recounts of his driving experiences are curious, sensitive and very funny. It was Ben’s unique take on his passengers which saw the blog become not just a secret window into the life of the mysterious ‘driver’ figure, but also a fascinating portrait of the underrepresented parts of a community.
