• Now in production in Germany and Chile by Story House Productions and Invercine & Wood
  • Commissioned by Joyn Germany and MEGA Chile
  • Distributed worldwide by Red Arrow Studios International
  • A haunting drama inspired by the real-life story of a German sect in Chile

MUNICH – XXXXXXX 2019: Joyn, the new German streaming platform launched in June 2019, has announced its first original drama series commission.

‘Dignity’ (8 x 52’) is a major new political thriller, commissioned by Joyn in Germany and MEGA in Chile. The series is produced by Story House Productions in Germany and Chilean film and TV producer Invercine & Wood, in co-production with the Chilean television fund CNTV and MEGA, and is currently in production in Germany and Chile. ‘Dignity’ will launch on Joyn alongside the other premium product in December 2019 and in Chile during 2020.

Red Arrow Studios International has secured global distribution rights to the drama, and will launch the series together with Joyn and MEGA at MIPCOM 2019.

‘Dignity’ is created by María Elena Wood and Patricio Pereira (‘Ramona’, ‘Mary & Mike’) The series was written by Andreas Gutzeit (‘Sprite Sisters’, ‘Open Desert’) with additional writing by Swantje Oppermann, Paula del Fierro and Enrique Videla. Script revisions were by Robert Krause and Florian Puchert. Julio Jorquera  (‘Ramona’, ‘Mary & Mike’) and Nancy Rivas (‘Berlin, I Love You’) are directing the series, which stars Marcel Rodriguez (‘7 Days Berlin’), Götz Otto (‘Downfall, ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’), Devid Striesow (‘The Counterfeiter’s), Jennifer Ulrich (‘The Wave’, ‘We Are The Night’), Antonia Zegers (‘El Club’, ‘Los perros’), Martina Klier (‘La Vacanza’, ‘Maria Montesori’) and Nils Rovira-Muñoz (Goliath96, ‘SOKO 5113’)

Katja Hofem,  CCMO and Managing Director  of Joyn, said: “We are very proud to offer this high-class series with international star appeal to our German audience. Joyn believes in local story-telling, and this story is of German and international relevance. This production is an important step for our young platform and shows our commitment to original production.”

Bo Stehmeier, President, Red Arrow Studios International, said: “’Dignity’ is a gripping and tense thriller which sheds a fresh light on this dark chapter of German and Chilean history. With a narrative thread high in emotion and drama, coupled with the outstanding creative power of both Invercine & Wood and Story House Productions behind the show, we’re confident the series will make for important viewing and captivate audiences around the world.”

‘Dignity’ is a haunting thriller inspired by the real-life story of a German sect in Chile. Established by former Nazi soldier Paul Schaefer in a quiet Chilean town, the mysterious, Germanic cult ‘Colonia Dignidad’ forged a four decades-long history of torture, child abuse and murder within the walls of its vast compound, protected by General Pinochet’s dictatorship.

Now, with a new government in power, Chile is finally ready to end Colonia’s violent legacy. Young federal prosecutor Leo Ramírez is tasked with bringing the sect’s elusive leader Paul Schaefer to justice. But Leo has his own secret history with Colonia. 20 years ago, his younger brother Klaus died there under mysterious circumstances, and it was Schaefer himself who paid for Leo’s education in Germany to keep him quiet.

Leo is determined to tear the walls of Colonia down once and for all – but when a young man claiming to be Klaus suddenly turns up alive, Leo must finally confront the demons that tore his family apart all those years ago.

Joyn is the new streaming service from ProSiebenSat.1 and Discovery featuring the largest free TV offering in Germany. With Joyn, viewers can watch live streams of 55 channels on a single platform. All channels from ProSiebenSat.1, Discovery, Viacom, WELT, Sport1, channels of public broadcasters ARD and ZDF, plus other partners are included in the service. Joyn also offers a vast on-demand library of original series, shows and exclusive preview, and more than 40 TV shows including ‘Grey’s Anatomy’. Joyn also has an attractive on-demand offering, enabling viewers who have missed a TV show or want to watch it again, a 30-day catch-up library. All content can be accessed without registration and Joyn already has over 3.8 million active monthly users across all devices.

In addition to ‘Dignity’, exclusive productions already announced include: a new season of ‘jerks’ with Christian Ulmen and Fahri Yardim; new comedy -drama ‘Die Läusemutter’;  and two Joyn originals: ‘Singles’ Diaries’ and ‘Technically Single’. In winter 2019, the series ‘Check Check’ with Klaas Heufer-Umlauf and ‘Frau Jordan stellt gleich’ with Katrin Bauerfeind will launch, produced exclusively for the Joyn Premium offer.

Story House Productions is an Emmy-nominated media production company with offices in Washington D.C., Berlin, Munich and Halifax. Founded in 1999, Story House has leveraged its unique position as a global media content provider in the United States and Europe. Its programs have been commissioned and aired by top broadcasters across the globe for over two decades.

Invercine & Wood, based in Santiago de Chile, was created in 2016 by Matias and Macarena Cardone, Andrés and María Elena Wood, and Patricio Pereira,  merging  two of Chile’s leading audiovisual companies, both recognized and awarded for the quality of their work. Some of their originals TV series are Ramona (Fipa D’Or 2017) and Mary&Mike (official selection Berlinale 2018). As the premier  producer of premium TV series in Chile, Invercine & Wood develops and produces both fiction series and documentaries for the national and international markets.

Red Arrow Studios International, a Red Arrow Studios company, is a world-leading TV distributor of scripted, formats and factual shows from a global network of in-house production companies, outstanding third-party producers and digital-content partners.

– Press release ends –

NOTES FOR EDITORS:

About JOYN

Joyn GmbH, founded in May 2019, is a 50/50 joint venture of ProSiebenSat.1 and Discovery. Joyn is a multi-channel entertainment streaming platform that bundles live streams and on demand contents of more than 50 channels from ProSiebenSat.1 and Discovery as well as 15 other content partners – on one platform and in one app. Users can view content free of charge and without registration on iOS and Android-enabled devices as well as on the web and via Smart TVs. The aim is to create a comprehensive German OTT platform for multi-channel content. New features and content will be added continuously until winter, and the content of maxdome will be integrated into the platform.

About Story House Productions

Story House Productions is an Emmy-nominated media production company with offices in Washington D.C., Berlin, Munich and Halifax. Founded in 1999, Story House has leveraged its unique position as a global media content provider in the United States and Europe. Its programs have been commissioned and aired by top broadcasters across the globe for over two decades.

With a production volume of over 150 hours of television a year, Story House is recognised as one of the top 100 global production houses in factual-based entertainment (Realscreen 2017).Producing long running series both in Germany and the United States, Story House has a proven track record in serial television production.

In drama television production, Story House cut its teeth with acclaimed drama documentaries like The First Emperor of China (History US/AETN International), Berlin Wall  (Discovery US/International) and The Cole Conspiracy (History US/AETN International). In addition, Story House produced Open Desert, the international romantic-thriller starring Jennifer Ullrich, August Wittgenstein and Leon Ockenden. In 2018 Story House began shooting the family movie The Sprite Sisters for Disney, which will premiere in movie theatre in January 2020.

About Invercine & Wood

Invercine & Wood, based in Santiago de Chile, was created in 2016 following the merger of two of Chile’s leading audiovisual companies, both recognized and awarded for the quality of their work. As the premier  producer of premium TV series in Chile, Invercine & Wood develops and produces both fiction series and documentaries for the national and international markets.

Its titles include Mary & Mike (6 x 50’, 2018), a co-production with Turner; Ramona (12 x 45’, 2017), winner of the Best Drama Series at the 2017 FIPA D’Or; Echoes from the Desert (4 x 50’, 2013); Bim Bam Bum (8 x 50’, 2013), and ‘The 80’s’ (2008-2014), the most watched and awarded TV series in the history of Chilean free TV.

Invercine & Wood presented its latest production, Mary & Mike, at the Drama Series Days during the 2018 Berlinale, it was the only Spanish language series in the selection.

About Red Arrow Studios International Red Arrow Studios International is a world-leading TV distributor of scripted, formats and factual shows from a global network of in-house production companies, outstanding third-party producers and digital-content partners. Led by Bo Stehmeier, with offices in Munich, London and Los Angeles, Red Arrow Studios International co-produces and finances global entertainment, and distributes acclaimed content to over 200 territories worldwide. Red Arrow Studios International is part of Red Arrow Studios, which is comprised of 20 production companies in seven territories; digital studio, Studio71; and film distributor Gravitas Ventures. Red Arrow Studios is a ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE company, one of Europe’s leading media groups.