Factual

ZDF Enterprises, the commercial arm of German pubcaster ZDF, has secured global distribution rights from Berlin-based Story House Productions for their new three part documentary One Day in... (3 x 50’). The unique series explores a day in the life of ordinary people living in three different, fascinating historical settings.

Commissioned by ZDF for their top rating Terra X slot, production on One Day in... begins this month with delivery expected in autumn. ZDF Enterprises has a long-standing relationship with Story House Productions having distributed numerous factual titles for them such as History of Weapons, Myths - The Greatest Mysteries of Humanity, World War A - When Aliens Attack and How Climate Made History.

Ralf Rueckauer, Vice President ZDFE.unscripted, ZDF Enterprises, said: “This series presents an exciting concept. Viewers will be taken on a journey into the past, not to see how kings or rulers lived, but to experience the life of a common person. And it will throw up some surprises along the way as we see striking differences and parallels to our modern lives.”

Going back in time to a castle in the High Middle Ages, New York at the height of industrialisation and Dresden in the post-war era, the series tells the story of everyday life in three diverse settings. What values and morals did the ordinary person abide by? What was a work day like, what was the standard of hygiene and how was justice meted out?

High-end CGI, in depth research and superb dramatic reenactments, featuring a cast of well-known actors from international successes such as Paul Lux (Dark, Babylon Berlin), Leon Blaschke (The Boat, Perfume, The Wall between us) and Henrike von Kuick (Baader-Meinhoff-Complex), make the stories come alive. Top experts such as David Huyssen, a Senior Lecturer in American History, and Dr Katherine Lloyd (Lecturer, Museum Studies), are interviewed in the series giving valuable insight into the daily life of a common citizen in these historical times.