Exclusive: France TV, Rai & ZDF pick up Bellingcat drama ‘The Kollective’

Manuel Alduy

France Televisions, Italian pubcaster Rai and Germany’s ZDF have picked up Bellingcat drama The Kollective, which is being written by Gomorrah scribes Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Ravioli.

The show, which has been in the works since 2019, is being produced by Amsterdam-based Submarine and has been inspired by the company’s hit documentary Bellingcat – Truth in a Post-Truth World.

The doc explored the work of ‘citizen journalism collective’ Bellingcat, with the drama set to pick up the story of the group as they seek answers after one of their members dies in mysterious circumstances in Cairo.

His young friends and colleagues look into the death but then find themselves trapped in a plot that threatens to destroy global democracy. The series takes viewers around the world, revealing connections between politics, fake news factories and crime from Malta to Saint Petersburg.

The series, to be exec produced by Submarine’s MD Femke Wolting, was first unveiled at Series Mania three years ago and is to be developed over the coming months. Manuel Alduy, head of cinema & international development at France Télévisions, told TBI he hoped the show would be greenlit in the first few months of 2023.

It will be English-language, something that The Kollective commissioners – which make up pan-European group The Alliance – said they wanted more of during a session at MIA Market in Rome.

Simone Emmelius

Autumn call for projects

Alduy said the show reflected the type of programming that the group wanted and put out a call for more ideas to be submitted for the next commissioning round in early 2023.

Simone Emmelius, SVP of international fiction, coproduction & acquisition, added that the focus is on harder hitting series, adding that “we don’t just want popcorn TV.”

“We’re looking for one-off topics that resonate with different audiences and which they hardly know – it should be high-end,” she said.

Emmelius added that she wanted producers to put forward projects in the coming months in time for a mid-January pitch and added that she was very “open-minded” to languages. However, she said predominantly English-language series had worked well previously and been “really helpful” to producers.

“We are looking for organically international European drama co-productions that inspire desire, provoke emotion and arouse reflection,” The Alliance added via a statement.

“Series with a positive tone, generous in its approach, with a contemporary appeal. Series whose setting will preferably be Europe, mainly France, Germany or Italy. Series that target families, or adults, or young adults, with a focus on some appealing genres such as adventure, action, family, romance.”

The Alliance has been behind a variety of dramas since its formation in 2018, including Germinal and Around The World In 80 Days from France.