Munich, 18 May 2023. The Swarm lands in the US: Beta Film and ZDF Studios have sold the audience hit to the major US network THE CW. The thriller-series by multiple Primetime Emmy® award winner Frank Doelger (Game of Thrones) is one of the biggest European TV productions to date and was widely acclaimed upon its release on throughout the continent. Praised by Variety as “Jaws rejigged for a generation of Greta Thunbergs,” The Swarm celebrated its world premiere at this year’s Berlinale and was recently acquired by SKY UK and Spain’s Movistar+ Plus.  

The deal with THE CW, home of signature series such as Riverdale, The Flash, and Supernatural marks a milestone for European productions, which are rarely able to cut through in the highly competitive US network market.  

The deal was negotiated by THE CW’s Jessica Lund and Kevin Levy together with Beta’s Jeffrey Engelen and Oliver N. Bachert.  

Earlier this year, The Swarm scored phenomenal ratings with up to ten million views per episode (linear and catch-up) in Germany alone. The series runs throughout the year in the UK, Japan, Italy, France, Spain, Scandinavia, and Central Europe among others. Beta Film and ZDF Studios are handling world sales.  

Produced by Intaglio Films’ Frank Doelger, ndF IP’s Managing Director Eric Welbers, Academy Award-nominated Marc Huffam (The Martian, Saving Private Ryan) and Ute Leonhardt (Killing Eve), the eight-hour series chronicles the struggle of humankind against an unknown enemy that lives in the depths of the sea: When the reckless treatment of the oceans threatens the natural habitat of this mysterious collective, it strikes back.  

The Swarm is based on Frank Schätzing’s international bestseller by the same name, published around the globe and translated into 27 languages. The series, directed by Barbara Eder (Barbarians), Luke Watson (Ripper Street) and Philipp Stölzl (The Physician), stars Alexander Karim (Dying of the Light), Cécile de France (The New Pope), Leonie Benesch (Babylon Berlin, The Crown), Barbara Sukowa (Hannah Arendt), and Takuya Kimura (2046, I Come With The Rain).  

The series is produced by Schwarm TV Productions GmbH & Co KG, a joint venture between Intaglio Films and ndF IP for ZDF, France Télévisions, Rai Fiction, Viaplay Group, Hulu Japan, ORF, SRF, in co-production with Bravado Fiction and Beside Production, in co-operation with ATHOS KG.