US producer Starlings Television is developing English-language versions of the distributor’s series Honour and Trap.
Chris Philip, President of Starlings Television, and Fredrik af Malmborg, Managing Director of Eccho Rights, announced that Starlings TV will be developing two international formats distributed by Eccho Rights: Heder (Honour) from Sweden and Trap from S. Korea.
Honour is the successful Swedish series that premiered on Viaplay in August to great reviews and record-breaking viewing figures for the Nordic streamer. Created by Sofia Helin, Alexandra Rapaport, Julia Dufvenius and Anja Lundqvist – Rapaport, Dufvenius and Lundqvist also star – the series is produced by Stockholm-based production company Bigster (co-headed by Rapaport).
Honour follows four talented female lawyers fighting for justice for those who need it most: women who are weak, abused, and ignored by the rest of society. They support each other inside and outside of the courtroom as they cope with far-reaching conspiracies and messy personal lives. Despite their success, these women have their own dark secret, one that could threaten everything that they’ve worked so hard to build.
Trap is a collaboration between director Shin-woo Park (White Night) and drama writer Sang-wook Nam (Ten). The South Korean suspense format aired on OCN in 2019, and features dark, edgy aesthetics, and gripping scenes alternating between past and present.
Trap follows a retired news anchor on vacation with his wife and son, who suddenly finds himself trapped in a gruesome hunting game that ends with him severely injured and his family’s fate unknown. After finding his son’s lifeless body in the woods, he is determined to get answers and exact justice. With the help of a veteran detective and a brilliant profiler, he must infiltrate a powerful cannibalistic organisation that takes innocent lives for pleasure.
“Eccho Rights consistently delivers great content and both of these formats are of exceptional quality and will be easily adapted for the US market. We are thrilled to be working with Fredrik and his team on these two exciting series”, said Chris Philip, President of Starlings Television.
“We are excited about co-operating with Starlings on these two US adaptations. Chris and the team at Starlings share our global approach and they have a very good eye for matching the right talent to projects” said Fredrik af Malmborg, Managing Director of Eccho Rights.
Starlings Television is currently producing/financing two scripted series, Pandora, which is airing on The CW, from show runner Mark Altman and producer Thomas Vitale, and Departure, starring Emmy Award-winner Archie Panjabi and Academy Award-winner Christopher Plummer, directed by TJ Scott and produced by Shaftesbury.
