ANALYTICAL | THE ENDLESS WORLD OF TV SERIES
THE ENDLESS WORLD OF TV SERIES | ANALYTICAL
so any bit of today’s normality would cause trouble on the set. In the
Paradox world the infected attack and kill animals as well as humans, so
occasional stray dog or cat walking or even barking on the background had
to be shooed away. A fun fact about Kerch is that most of the characters’
names are taken from actual relatives of the actors. We have several people
playing a character with the name of their grandfather, who fought and
died in the battles for Kerch.
open to any project from any country as joint talents mean better content.
Conclusion.
Well, once again we were enchanted by Georgian charisma. So, we wish
them to find a lot of new companies for co-production and to expand the
horizons of TV dramas!
Last year a group of Swedish documentary filmmakers created a B2B
organization. It is a network of documentary filmmakers living or working
in various countries from the Baltic Sea in the North to the Black Sea in
the South. It builds connections among filmmakers from Georgia through
Ukraine and Baltic countries up to Sweden. Such route is not only logical,
but also has historical grounds, if you remember the famous way: from
the Varangians to the Greeks. Unfortunately, there were no cameras at that
time; otherwise it could produce a great docume ntary series! But anyway,
from the Georgian banks, we’re moving to Europe, more precisely – to
the Baltic region!
SSTR: How come that you partnered with a Ukrainian channel?
GDS: Georgia and Ukraine share many things both historically and
in current years. It was always obvious for GDS that Ukraine would be
one of the strongest partners in the region. The series Paradox was sold
in Ukraine to NLO TV in 2014, and they decided to team up for coproduction of the second season. We have two Ukrainian characters in the
second season, so, when we thought about distribution, MK-Distribution
was a natural choice. I worked with the company as a buyer before and
knew that their level of professionalism was very high. Therefore, we were
more than happy to sign the deal.
SSTR: Which series and films are going to be
on your channel in 2016?
GDS: We are currently working on those
decisions. We hope for Paradox to come back for the
3rd season, but it might happen in early 2017. A sci-fi
series post production takes a long time, and we don’t
want to rush. The second season is still on air now.
Tiflis was always planned as a story that would finish
in 2 seasons. Tiflis is the first Georgian product that
has not just viewers but fans, and they are not happy
with the series being completed, but we would rather
have a quality story than make it longer and damage
the storytelling by turning it into a boring soap opera.
As I said, we go for quality. Husbands and Wives is
coming back with another 30 episodes starting in
March 2016. We have some major ambitious projects
planned for 2016, but I would rather talk about them
after everything is confirmed.
SSTR: Do you plan any new co-production
projects? What are they about?
GDS: At the moment we have only co-production
with the Ukrainian channel NLO, but we hope for
more. We are open to discuss any project, because it is
very cheap to film in Georgia compared to any other
place. We have: tax incentives of 20% for foreign
production, huge stock of talented professionals
waiting for the next project, and wonderful locations.
We hope for more projects from Ukraine and hope
to work with Turkish companies, but as I said, we are
18 | SEASON SCREEN TV REVIEW | ISSUE 5 FEBRUARY 2016
“The main focus here is for locally
produced content: big shiny shows,
local series and realities, special
one-offs dedicated to actualities
in the country. Besides, series
marathons are quite a popular t
hing in Latvia, when in one weekend
you can see the whole season
of a series you like. It is a great
possibility for smaller channels
to grab viewers and hold them
for longer than usual.”
LATVIA, MTG TV
Television in Latvia was first tested in 1937 and introduced in 1954.
At the moment, TV industry not only Latvia, but in all Baltic countries
is ata very interesting stage. Things are changing fast, and therefore local
TV markets are very dynamic. They pay serious attention to viewer habits,
needs, and of course global trends. It’s clear that people desire to consume
both entertaining and informative content. Actually, it was always so, the
only difference now is that necessary video product is broadcasted not
only on TV, but through different platforms and devices. MTG TV, as
a multiplatform company, has two inseparable focuses: strong and high
quality content, which must be offered and provided to the viewers on
time, and platforms they are ready to use. The main focus here is for
locally produced content: big shiny shows, local series and realities, special
one-offs dedicated to actualities in the country. Besides, series marathons
are quite a popular thing in Latvia, when in one weekend you can see
the whole season of a series you like. It is a great possibility for smaller
channels to grab viewers and hold them for longer than usual.
GITA PĒTERSONE
MTG TV Latvia
Head of ACQ/ Programme
planning / Research
Interview.
SSTR: What series and films are going to be broadcasted by your
TV platform in 2016? (films/series/programs? genres? etc.)
MTG TV LATVIA: Speaking of the acquired content, we have deals
ISSUE 5 FEBRUARY 2016 | SEASON SCREEN TV REVIEW | 19