Scripted

After its sweeping successes at Berlinale, Series Mania, and at its premieres in Germany and Austria, The Swarm crosses waters, heading to the UK and abroad. The event thriller, characterized by Variety as “Jaws rejigged for a generation of Greta Thunbergs,” was acquired by SKY UK and is set to be broadcast on SKY Max later this year. Negotiations with an US-partner are in the final stages. Movistar+ Plus bought the show for Spain.

The eco-thriller scored phenomenal ratings in Germany on ZDF and Austria’s ORF. In Germany, The Swarm gained up to ten million views per episode (linear and catch-up), multiple prime time wins and big successes within the younger target group (14–49 years old). Throughout the year, the series will continue its international roll-out and will be available on Hulu Japan, on Viaplay Group in Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, on Italy’s RAI, France Televisions and on Swiss’ SRF. Beta Film and ZDFStudios are handling world sales.

Produced by multiple Primetime Emmy award winner and Game of Thrones’ executive producer Frank Doelger and ndF IP’s managing director Eric Welbers, The Swarm is one of Europe’s biggest TV productions to date. The series is based on Frank Schätzing’s international bestseller, published around the globe and translated into 27 languages. Starring Alexander Karim (The Lawyer), Cécile de France (The New Pope), Leonie Benesch (Babylon Berlin, The Crown), Barbara Sukowa (Hannah Arendt), and Takuya Kimura (2046, I Come With The Rain), The Swarm chronicles the struggle of humankind against an unknown enemy that lives in the depths of the sea: when the reckless treatment of the oceans threatens the natural habitat of this mysterious collective, it strikes back.

The eight-hour series is produced by Schwarm TV Productions GmbH & Co KG, a joint venture between Intaglio Films and ndF IP for ZDF, France Télévisions, Rai Fiction, Viaplay Group, Hulu Japan, ORF, SRF, in co-production with Bravado Fiction and Beside Production, in co-operation with ATHOS KG.