Six-time Primetime Emmy award-winner Frank Doelger, whose credits include “Game of Thrones,” “The Swarm,” “John Adams” and “Rome,” and Intaglio Films, a joint venture between Beta Film and ZDF Studios, have started production on surveillance drama thriller “Concordia,” set in an experimental utopian community.
ZDF, MBC, France Télévisions and Hulu Japan have signed up as partners for the six-part series, shot in English and directed by Barbara Eder (“The Swarm,” “Barbarians,” “Cop Stories”). Doelger helms as executive producer and showrunner, alongside the executive producers Ute Leonhardt, Rafferty Thwaites, Jan Wünschmann and Robert Franke. Shooting takes place at various locations in Rome, Northern Italy, and Leipzig in Germany.
The world of “Concordia,” created by Mike Walden (“The Frankenstein Chronicles,” “U Want Me 2 Kill Him”) and Nicholas Racz (“The Burial Society,” “The Real Thing”), is powered by AI to ensure a freer, fairer, and more humane society. As the community approaches its 20th anniversary, cities around the world are lined up to replicate its success. Then the secret behind its creation threatens to destroy everything its creators have achieved.
Starring in the lead roles are International Emmy-winner Christiane Paul (“Counterpart,” “In July”) as Juliane, the visionary behind the new utopia; Steven Sowah (“For Jojo,” “Before We Grow Old”), who plays her son Noah, the ambassador and in charge of expanding the experiment; Ruth Bradley (“Ted Lasso,” “Humans”) takes on the role of Thea, an external investigator, who joins up with Isabelle, played by Nanna Blondell (“Black Widow,” “House of the Dragon”), to uncover secrets which led to the utopia’s creation.
Kento Nakajima (“Detective Novice,” “She was Pretty”), one of Japan’s top actors, stars as A.J., the 27-year-old Japanese wunderkind and head of the AI system that is the beating heart of Concordia. Jonas Nay (“Line of Separation,” “Deutschland 83”) joins the cast as Moritz, a senior operator of the anti-surveillance group called “The Faceless,” and one of the main antagonists of the project. Also starring are Ahd Kamel (“Collateral,” “Honour”), Hugo Becker (“Baron Noir,” “Leonardo”), and Joséphine Jobert (“Death in Paradise,” “Summer Crush”).
“Concordia” is written by Nicholas Racz, Isla van Tricht, and Mike Walden. Producers are Tobias Gerginov, Jacob Glass, and Sergio Ercolessi.
Doelger said: “Throughout history, blueprints for the reimagining of society along religious, political, economic, and environmental lines have been put forward – particularly in periods marked by a sense of tumult, cultural and financial dislocation, and a rise in violence, like our own. The visionaries behind Concordia think they finally have the technology to realize such a brave new world, only to discover that there is no way to keep evil out as it comes from the inside.”
Eder added: “I’m very excited to be part of a project that has such thought-provoking and increasingly pertinent subject matter. The exploration of surveillance, privacy, and data is the backdrop for this chilling thriller. ‘Concordia’ merges both, technology and its abuses, and also how it shapes the hierarchy of society.”
“Concordia” is supported by Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung, Sächsische Staatskanzlei, and Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, and is jointly distributed by ZDF Studios and Beta Film. The series is Intaglio Film’s latest production following the eight-part eco-thriller “The Swarm,” an international co-production with ndFI, ZDF, France Télévisions, RAI, ORF, SRF, the Viaplay Group, and Hulu Japan. “The Swarm” is in post-production.
