Exclusive: Topic, HBO Max, SBS Oz buy Russian drama ‘Dead Mountain’

Dead Mountain: The Dyatlov Pass Incident

US streamer Topic and HBO Max in Latin America are expanding their Russian drama offerings after striking a deal to acquire noir scripted series Dead Mountain: The Dyatlov Pass Incident, with more deals in the works.

The show debuted earlier this year on Russia’s Premier.One and is based on the true story of how nine Russian hikers mysteriously died on a mountain in 1959, with the case remaining one of the biggest unsolved crime cases in Europe.

It is from Russia’s 1-2-3 Productions and has Evgeniy Nikishov and Valeriy Fedorovich serving as directors, producers and showrunners, with Ilya Kulikov attached as screenwriter.

First Look Media’s US streamer Topic will debut the show on 2 September, while Germany’s Beta Film – which sells global rights – has struck deals with SBS in Australia, ERR in Estonia and Cirkus in the Nordics.

The show has already been sold around the world, including to Disney’s Fox Germany, which debuted the series earlier this month. Final negotiations are taking place with operators in Poland and other Eastern European territories, Beta told TBI.

The deal marks the second Russian drama acquisition for Topic following An Ordinary Woman, which it picked up in September along with other international scripted series including Icelandic political thriller The Minister and Canadian dark comedy Happily Married.