Beta Film announced it has wrapped shooting on the German series of The Net (Promised Land), while the Italian series (Power Play) is prepping filming and the Austrian series (Prometheus) is in post production; and revealed further additions to the cycle are currently in development, among others in Brazil and Portugal.
The ambitious series-cycle The Net continues its international rollout with now three series in production. Each of the stand-alone projects sheds further light on the global football business, building a connected narrative about corruption and criminal activity up to the highest ranks.
The eight-hour series The Net – Promised Land (Sommerhaus for ARD Degeto), directed by Rick Ostermann (The Boat) and featuring Tom Wlaschiha (Game of Thrones, Stranger Things) and Birgit Minichmayr (3 Days in Quiberon, Downfall), wrapped shooting today whereas the Italian series, The Net – Power Play (Cross Productions), will start filming in March. Director Volfango De Biasi (Crazy for Football) and Lorenzo Sportiello (Non Uccidere) are currently scouting for talents and locations in Rome and Tuscany.
In the meantime, The Net – Prometheus, directed by International Emmy Award-winner Andreas Prochaska, is already in post-production. The stellar cast features multi-awarded Tobias Moretti (Louis van Beethoven, The Winemaker, Bad Banks), Britain’s Amanda Abbington (Sherlock) and Angel Coulby (Undercover, Merlin), among others.
The 22 hours of unprecedented serial storytelling are set to air during the football World Cup this fall/winter in Qatar. Further additions to the cycle are currently in development, among others in Brazil and Portugal.
The ARD Degeto production The Net – Promised Land, which just wrapped, is set between Ghana, Germany and Switzerland and revolves around Lea (Birgit Minichmayr), a lawyer from Berlin with a strong sense of justice and an instinct for people. After losing her fiancé in a mysterious car accident, she starts investigating the dark truth behind it, leading her to the highest levels of corruption in world football. Max von der Groeben, Eva Mattes, Raymond Thiry and Sophie von Kessel will also appear in front of Juan Sarmiento G’s camera. Scripts were written by Bernd Lange, Johannes Flachmeyer, Anneke Janssen and Thomas Ritter.
Jochen Laube, Producer Sommerhaus Serien GmbH, on The Net – Promised Land: “Our series is set in the epicentre of power in football, the World Football Association, WFA. This is where all the threads come together and where, over eight episodes, great explosive power develops. We tell stories at and beyond the pitch, gripping thrillers, which have equal relevance for the football world as well as to non-football-savy viewers.”
Christoph Pellander, Editorial Director ARD Degeto, adds: “This has never happened before in the European television market: We are entering into new collaborations with the cross-border, cross-content series The Net and bringing an ambitious series cycle to German TV. Today our German series The Net – Promised Land, directed by Rick Ostermann successfully finished shooting. The Austrian series The Net – Prometheus directed by Andreas Prochaska as well as his son Daniel Prochaska is already in post-production. The Net is a unique project for our sophisticated audience, to whom we will offer first-class and exciting entertainment in the ARD Mediathek and on Das Erste, around the time of the World Cup in Qatar.”
The Net – Promised Land is produced by Sommerhaus Serien GmbH in co-production with Das Netz GmbH, a joint venture between Red Bull Media House and Beta Film, commissioned by ARD Degeto for ARD. The global series is based on the original idea of Matthias Hartmann and Plinio Bachmann.
The Net – Prometheus is produced by MR-Film in co-production with ServusTV, ARD Degeto and Das Netz GmbH, The Net – Power Play is produced by Cross Productions in co-production with Das Netz GmbH.
