Eastern European TV Producers Search for Breakout Hit After ‘Great Netflix Correction,’ HBO Pullout
variety.comChristopher Vourlias Amid turbulent times for global streaming services who continue to course correct after years of pursuing subscriber growth at all costs, TV writers and producers in Eastern Europe are pondering the next step for a region still searching for its first international breakout hit. “The biggest challenge is the great Netflix correction — the recalibration, the reassessment of dollars,” Ioanina Pavel, who served as creative producer on the HBO Max original series “Spy/Master,” said Friday at the Transilvania Film Festival. “It’s not a bad thing, but it is a challenge.
There’s been a glut. The Golden Age of TV is now coming to a close. It’s not a bad thing; it just means a reallocation of money.” “Spy/Master,” a six-part drama series set during the Cold War that dropped its final episode last week, is one of the last productions from Central and Eastern Europe for Max, after parent company Warner Bros.
Discovery announced last year it will no longer produce originals for the streaming service in the Nordics, Central Europe, the Netherlands and Turkey.
The move sent shockwaves across a region where HBO Europe was long one of the leading commissioners and co-producers, and where local broadcasters have struggled to marshal the resources necessary to produce premium drama series for the international market.
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