Red Arrow Studios International has signed a wave of international deals for powerful new anthology series Those Who Stayed (6 x 30’).
The heartfelt drama has been licensed by CBC’s streaming service CBC Gem in Canada, SBS Australia and France Télévisions. Launched at this year’s Mipcom, the series has already sold to Lumière for Benelux, DR in Denmark, ERR Estonia, Czech Television in the Czech Republic and RUV in Iceland.
Those Who Stayed is a unique drama anthology series for our time, inspired by true events which happened in Kyiv in the first few weeks after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. As the brutal war got underway, every second person left Kyiv. Yet every second person remained. These are their stories – variously moving, funny, sad, stark, unsettling, and uplifting.
The project brings together established and emerging Ukrainian talent with each episode written and directed by a different creator. Codeveloped by FILM.UA and Red Arrow Studios International, the series is produced by FILM.UA and coproduced by SVT (Sweden), NRK (Norway) and YLE (Finland) for 1 + 1 Media (Ukraine).
Earlier this fall the series made its debut on SVT and YLE and also on Netflix across CEE, where, in Ukraine, it is still one of the platforms top 10 shows.
Those Who Stayed will be showcased at this week’s Content London, with a panel discussion that will go behind the scenes with the coproduction partners of the series, featuring the head of dramas for joint commissioners SVT, NRK and YLE as well as FILM.UA’s head of development and coproductions Kateryna Vysknevska. The panel will be followed by a screening of an episode on Tuesday, November 28.
Rodrigo Herrera Ibarguengoytia, VP Scripted Acquisitions & Coproductions at Red Arrow Studios International, said: “It’s an honour to represent such a profoundly important and inspiring title around the world. We’re thrilled to have found new homes with leading broadcasting partners for Those Who Stayed, and this latest wave of deals is further proof that quality titles continue to resonate with international audiences – who will soon be able to enjoy this sincere and genuine series.”