BBC Acquires Two Non-English Language Drama Series From Fremantle

The BBC has acquired two non-English language drama series from Fremantle set to air later this year.

Senorita 89 is a scandalous thriller from Fremantle and the Oscar-winning producers Pablo and Juan de Dios Larraín (A Fantastic Woman, La Jauría), and KaDeWe – Our Time is Now is a sophisticated drama created by the renowned filmmaker Julia von Heinz.

Created and directed by the award-winning showrunner Lucia Puenzo, Senorita 89 delves behind the curtain of Latin America’s beauty pageant culture in the 1980s, where hidden amongst the laughter, lights and glitter lurks a dark and disturbing world. The series follows budding beauty queens from all over Mexico as they gather at an imposing ranch deep in the forest, where they must stay for 3 months in a bid to be crowned the next 'Miss Mexico'. The stakes are raised by intense training sessions, strict diets – and even clandestine surgeries. But when one of the girls is suddenly found dead, the police are called in to investigate, throwing new light on a relentless regime of manipulation and mistreatment.

The BBC have also acquired the German-language series KaDeWe – Our Time is Now, based on Berlin's Kaufhaus des Westens (‘department store of the West’), which has been a landmark destination for high-end shoppers for over a hundred years. Produced by Constantin Television (We Children from Bahnhof Zoo) and UFA Fiction (Deutschland83/86/89), the drama follows four progressive and ambitious young friends Hedi, Fritzi, Harry and Georg as they go in search of self-fulfilment in the 1920s – a time of upheaval, reinvention, dog-eat-dog survival and liberating new opportunities for women. They all swear an oath of allegiance in the pursuit of individual and collective happiness. But when the Nazis sweep to power, the Jewish-owned store’s very existence is threatened, along with their friendship and hopes for the future.

"It is always special to partner with the BBC when bringing world class, premium drama to UK audiences," said Jamie Lynn, EVP Co-Production and Distribution, EMEA, International, Fremantle. "BBC have always been both trailblazers and tastemakers when selecting the very best of what the international drama word has to offer and these two exceptional, filmic series are case in point. Despite being set in two very different times in history, Senorita 89 and KaDeWe – Our Time is Now both address important topical issues surrounding women, beauty, culture and identity, that still resonate today. The spectacular talent, both behind and in front of the camera, bring the powerful stories to life and I'm confident both series will make a lasting impression on viewers."

www.bbc.co.uk