Hot on the heels of last month’s Tracking the Scripted Giants Report from K7, which saw yes Studios’ thriller Your Honor named as the joint number one scripted format of the decade, the distributor now reports three new format deals – all for comedy drama titles – with leading European producers.
In Germany, Hager Moss Films, producers of the popular Dark Rivers and Lena Fauch franchises – and part of the Constantin Film group – has acquired the format rights to yes Studios’ successful romantic comedy Bloody Murray (9 x 25). The series focuses on the relationship between best friends and roommates Murray and Dana and their daily struggles as single, thirty-something women. Dana is a gynaecologist, and Murray is a film lecturer specialising in romantic comedies…who sometimes takes cues from her work.
Bloody Murray – the winner of Best Comedy at Series Mania in 2022 – was created and written by Stav Idisis and produced by yes TV and Kastina Communications for yes TV. A second 9 x 25 series has recently aired in Israel to great acclaim. Bloody Murray has recently been adapted in Georgia.
Also in Germany, Banijay’s MadeFor Film (Tatort, How to Kill Your Sister), has signed a deal to adapt Who Died? (10 x 24), a touching romantic comedy set in the most unlikely of places – an oncology department. Eran is a recently diagnosed and downtrodden single man, while Michal is a longtime cancer survivor and a woman who truly devours life. After meeting at a cancer ward, their unique connection sparks the first steps in a journey that runs the full gamut of emotions – from great highs to frightening lows. But mostly it’s a journey full of love and optimism.
Who Died? Is inspired by the life of its creator, the comedian and author Eyal Eltawil and co-written with Sarel Piterman and Yogev Yefet. The original series was produced by yes TV and Artza Productions for yes TV.
In France, Babylone Hills Productions and Screenline Productions (Culte), will adapt Significant Other, the multi-award-winning comedy drama previously adapted in the UK by Nicola Shindler’s Quay Street Productions for ITVX. Significant Other follows two lonely neighbours in their late 40s – a single woman and a newly divorced man – whose paths cross on the night that he decides to commit suicide by swallowing medication and she has a heart attack. Their hesitant, obstacle-filled relationship begins as they are taken to the hospital together in an ambulance.
Created by Dana Modan, Assi Cohen and Ram Nehari, and running for two seasons (12 x 25 and 7 x 25), the original version was produced by yes TV and July August Productions for yes TV.
Sharon Levi, managing director of yes Studios, says: “yes Studios has a growing slate of brilliant homegrown comedies, and I am delighted that they are starting to gain traction with international producers and broadcasters. Each of these three titles is funny of course, but it’s the nuanced characters, the universal situations they find themselves in – and the big heart at the core of each series – that is attracting attention and demonstrating their readiness for adaptation. We look forward to working with each of these production partners as their versions take shape – and with several of our more recent comedy launches, such as Little Fucker and Brewing Trouble also under review, we hope for many more such adaptations to come.
“In addition to representing our own slate internationally, we are also part of a small local team demonstrating the strength of wider Israeli storytelling on the world stage. As a nation, we continue to punch well above our weight, and we remain proud that this year’s Tracking the Scripted Giants report placed Israel behind Korea and the UK as the third biggest exporter of formats in 2024/25.”
