Paramount+ Teams With RAI and ZDF on ‘The Gymnasts’ From Italy’s Indigo Film (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentParamount+ has partnered with Italian and German public broadcasters RAI and ZDF on coming-of-age TV series “The Gymnasts” from Italy’s Indigo Film (“The Great Beauty”) to be directed by Cosima Spender (“Palio”) and Valerio Bonelli.Also on board as a key partner on “The Gymnasts” — which was recently presented at the Series Mania Co-Pro Pitching Sessions — is London-based super-indie All3Media International, which will be handling international sales of the show in territories not covered by its main broadcasters.The project is part of The Alliance, the production pact forged among continental Europe’s leading public broadcasters to co-finance innovative, high-profile TV series for the international market.

But, in an interesting twist, “The Gymnasts” will be premiering as a Paramount+ original in Italy and across France, the U.K., Canada, Australia, Latin America and South Korea.Based on Italian author Ilaria Bernardini’s bestselling novel “Corpo Libero,” the six-episode series revolves around a team of elite female teenage gymnasts engaged in an international competition high up in the snowy Italian Alps.During what is the most important week of their lives, rivalries are fierce and relationships become complex as the young athletes vie for a chance at making the Olympic team.

Tensions and obsessions escalate until it is revealed that one of the competitors is dead and the police suspect murder.In the U.K.

a translated version of the novel is set to be published in early August with the title “The Girls are Good,” following HarperCollins’ acquisition of world rights (excluding Italy).