FremantleMedia takes German Cold War drama

FremantleMedia International has taken global distribution rights to Deutschland 83, a major new German drama set for RTL Television.

The German-language drama, set during the Cold War in 1983, follows a 24-year-old East German native sent to spy on the West in order to gather secrets on NATO military strategy.

FMI has picked up rights from FremantleMedia stablemate UFA Fiction, which is producing. Co-creators and writers Anna and Joerg Winger, the former of whom is a US novelist and the latter a UFA producer behind long-running ZDF procedural Soko Leipzig.

“Deutschland 83 is fast-paced, edgy, humorous and highly entertaining,” said Jens Richter, CEO of FMI. “Anna Winger and Joerg Winger, along with UFA Fiction, have elegantly translated a complex idea into a unique high-end drama which we believe will be one of the biggest dramas of 2015.”

Joerg Winger executive produces the show alongside UFA chairman Nico Hofmann.