Drops of God is an International Emmy winner for Apple TV+ now, but it wasn’t the easiest sell for producer Dynamic Television.
During a Seriesly Berlin session in Germany yesterday, Klaus Zimmermann, Managing Partner at Dynamic, recalled how the series, which was made with Legendary Television, came together. Set in the world of French fine wine and based on a Japanese manga, it wasn’t plain sailing.
“We had presented the show to everybody, included Apple and Netflix at this stage,” he said. “Nobody wanted it and frankly the script really needed to have the vision to be confident. It didn’t tick any box for anybody.”
Selling the concept was challenging even to the creative community. Zimmerman drew audience chuckles as he explained the reaction of Oded Ruskin, who was previously best known for directing episodes of action series such as Hulu’s No Man’s Land. Zimmerman called hiring him as director “completely out of the box for this show.”
“I didn’t want specifically a French director, because I didn’t want to make a French show and wanted to make something different to a local drama,” he added. “This director comes from a very muscular action-driven, thriller crime world. He said, ‘I hate wine and I don’t speak French so why have you come to me?’”
As luck would have it, Ruskin read the script and his view changed completely. “What he saw in the script, and where we were totally aligned, was that the poetic, softer side of the show still had this brutal tension, as it is very suspenseful,” said Zimmermann.
A pilot was shot and soon the streamers were back to the table, with France Télévisions also onboard. As we revealed at the time of Apple’s acquisition, Legendary, which had the rights, had seen several offers tabled.
“The way [Ruskin] shot it and the rhythm he executed made it a show that looks and feels like a thriller, while being set in the poetic wine world. We started sending the episode out to streamers and that was the moment Apple responded very strongly saying it was for them.”
The Quoc Dang Tran-written series – a co-production between Apple, Legendary, Dynamic, France Télévisions and Hulu Japan, and in partnership with Adline Entertainment – follows the Parisian daughter of a recently-deceased world-renowned figure in the wine world who discovers that her father has left her an extraordinary wine collection, but to claim it, she has to compete with his brilliant young oenologist protégé.
We later featured Drops of God as a Global Breakout, and our faith proved well placed when it won the Best Series category at the 2024 International Emmys.
Zimmermann also addressed whether the best policy was to strike global deals with streamers, or sell territory-by-territory. Apple has worldwide rights for Drops of God, with Hulu Japan and France Télévisions having non-exclusive rights in their home territories.
“Part of the equation when you go territory-by-territory with a returning show is when you get the good news that your main commissioner wants a new season, you have to go out to all the other buyers to confirm,” he said. “Because they’re not the main commissioner, they may not have aired the show yet.”
This was the case for Drops of God Season 2, which Apple acquired in May last year. “Apple had the first window, so they were ahead of everybody else, so it was an easy decision for them but the others had to wait to see if it worked for them. We took the risk on Season 2, which airs on Apple next year.”
Seriesly Berlin wrapped yesterday after three days of screenings and conference sessions in the German capital.
The post ‘Drops Of God’ Producer Recalls Director’s Initial View On Apple TV+ Series: “I Hate Wine And I Don’t Speak French” – Seriesly Berlin appeared first on Deadline.
