With a Boost From Netflix, Greek Drama Readies to Go Global

The Thessaloniki Film Festival launched its inaugural Agora Series strand on Nov. 10 with a host of international TV executives and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in attendance, highlighting the determination of both the government and the local industry to jump-start the domestic TV sector.

Addressing a full house at the historic Olympion Cinema, where he outlined government efforts to support the Greek screen industries through measures like its 40% cash rebate and a 30% tax relief program, Mitsotakis announced: “We hope that this is just a beginning.”

Buoyed by the cashback scheme, the sun-splashed Mediterranean nation hosted 20 international TV productions last year, according to the prime minister, including the Apple TV Plus spy thriller “Tehran.”

Local production on prestige drama series is ramping up — and foreign buyers are taking notice. Earlier this week, Netflix announced that it had acquired worldwide rights to the drama series “Maestro” (pictured), directed by and starring Christoforos Papakaliatis, the first Greek TV show to bow on the streaming service. The series, which is currently airing on private broadcaster MEGA, will launch on Netflix in Greece and Cyprus on Dec. 19, ahead of a worldwide rollout in early 2023.

Speaking on a panel of industry executives on Thursday, Netflix Italia manager of content acquisitions Veronica Vitali held the show up as the type of series the streaming service is looking for from the growing Greek TV business.

“‘Maestro’ is a great example of…a show that feels very local, very Greek. But at the same time, it touches on universal themes like forbidden love, human nature, conflicts, family,” she said. “This is what we hope will make people connect with it around the world.”

Ferdinand Dohna, a producer at Munich-based production and distribution powerhouse Beta Film, which is selling the Greek abduction thriller “Silent Road” internationally, noted that the series underscores a dramatic tradition dating back to the days of ancient Greece. “It really shows the Greek excellence in storytelling,” he said.

Government and financial institutions are increasingly getting on board to help that tradition translate into globe-trotting TV drama. Earlier this week in Thessaloniki, the Hellenic Development Bank (HDB) introduced a €62.5 million ($64 million) loan guarantee program aimed at the audiovisual sector, including motion picture, video and television production, and computer game development. The program offers a guarantee rate of 80% for low-interest loans of between €25,000 ($25,600) and €900,000 ($922,000) provided by partner lenders Piraeus Bank and Optima Bank.

Along with the successful cashback scheme and tax relief program, as well as production costs that are low relative to most of Europe, Greek producers now have a raft of financial instruments at their disposal — even if they’ve traditionally been hamstrung by cash-strapped local broadcasters.

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Producer Julien Leroux, however, of London-based outfit Paper Entertainment, stressed that “you don’t need to have a €1 million ($1.02 million) [per episode] budget to be relevant outside of Greece.”

“Look at Israel,” said Leroux, who served as executive producer on season one of the Emmy-winning “Tehran” and co-produced season two. “Israel is producing for very low budgets, similar to the ones in Greece, and Israeli content is traveling the world. It’s not necessarily about money. It’s also about creative ambition and bringing singular, ambitious, innovative stories to the audience — first in Greece, and if it works for a Greek audience, then maybe there’s a shot for it to work outside of Greece.”

“Tehran,” which was released globally by Apple TV Plus in 2021 after debuting on Israeli public television, is co-produced by Greek broadcaster Cosmote TV and largely filmed in Athens, which doubles as the Iranian capital. “It’s working amazingly well,” said Leroux. “There is such a wide range of different locations in Greece. It’s phenomenal. This is an enormous advantage that Greece has over a lot of other territories.”

“We know how special Greece is,” added Vitali, noting that Netflix has shot more than 10 productions in the country in recent years, including Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Lost Daughter.”

But while “locations are a big factor,” she asked an audience of Greek producers eager to work with the streaming giant “what you would bring to the world.”

“Why would that story be told by you and not by an American company or writer? What makes it special? What value are you adding to this story? Most of the time, if anyone can tell that story, that’s probably not the best story for you to tell,” she said.

“Start with what feels familiar to the Greek audience and try to elevate that — to bring a fresh take and tell something that has not been told.”

The Thessaloniki Film Festival runs Nov. 3 – 13.