Maria Theresa: Celebs Rumors

Christopher Vourlias Principal photography is underway near Budapest on “Rise of the Raven,” an epic drama series produced by veteran Canadian producer Robert Lantos’ Serendipity Point Films (“Crimes of the Future”) and Beta Film (“Gomorrah”) that marks the most lavish TV production in Hungary’s history.Adapted from author Bán Mór’s bestselling novels, the 10-episode series tells the story of the Hungarian warrior Janos Hunyadi, who defeated the Ottoman army in 1456 at the Battle of Belgrade, halting its march across Europe.Lantos, whose producing credits include “The Sweet Hereafter,” “Johnny Mnemonic” and “Eastern Promises,” spoke exclusively with Variety about a passion project more than a decade in the making. He was joined by Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning director Robert Dornhelm (“The Children of Theater Street,” “Maria Theresa,” “War and Peace”) and Hungarian directors Attila Szász (“Tall Tales,” “Eternal Winter”) and Orsi Nagypal (“The Deal,” “The Outpost”), who joined the conversation fresh off shooting an epic battle sequence outside Budapest.

Walter's Choice has taken U.S. streaming rights to Maria Theresa, a The Crown-style period epic about the first, and only, female ruler of the Habsburg Empire.