CEE Fiction: Back to the Past
Defining trends in the Central and Eastern European scripted market is no easy task. At CEETV, we’ve been covering over 20 territories across the region for the past 16 years and while some common developments can be observed, the region‘s diversity and the vastly different tastes of viewers and consumers of content as well as the magnitude of each market make it difficult to speak of unified trends. Claims of a “booming” local scripted market or “landmark” co-production successes are often overstated, especially by media who have been trying to “redefine” the CEE market without really knowing it.
Operation Sabre
The countries in the region represent an endless treasure trove of stories, seamlessly blending universal themes with unique local narratives. Drawing from a rich collection of legends, historical events, and pressing social issues, this part of Europe offers an abundance of inspiration. Its history, marked by drama and complexity, fuels compelling tales that delve into social struggles, corruption, and injustice, alongside legends found nowhere else in the world. It is not a surprise that many markets have seen not only an increasing number of period dramas produced but also those shows have quickly become the most-watched ones in recent years. And this is definitely a trend that is gaining momentum, even more so with many new projects in development that deal with the past, attracting attention and winning awards at pitching contests and festivals.
Period dramas traditionally enjoy success in certain markets like Poland (pubcaster TVP has been producing hits in the genre for many years), Turkey (many of them turning into globalfavorites), high-end projects like Love in Chains in Ukraine (which also conquered many countries), etc. The past couple of years have proven that the popularity of period/costume dramas can be and is replicated in other countries in the region as well.
In Czechia and Slovakia, one project has become particularly successful – The Golden Swan (sold internationally as The Department Store) which first premiered on Voyo in Czechia and then on TV Nova and was later adapted in Slovakia as Danube, At Your Service! where it continuously tops the audience charts and actually enjoys a greater success than the original. The story is set in the department store of the era of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, with the Slovak adaptation following the family saga of the owners of the Danube department store in Bratislava/Pressburg, which was opened together with the declaration of the fascist Slovak state in 1939. Danube At Your Service! is Markiza’s most-expensive and arguably most-successful series, which returned with its 9th season in January this year.
After its success, Markiza was inspired by its period setting and went straight to the 1980s with its brand-new daily series The Promise. Here, the stress is on “daily” period series, quite a gamble for a small market like Slovakia, which has paid off so far in the ratings. „Our program director came up with the idea of making a daily series based on Mom for Rent (adaptation of Turkish series My Sweet Lie – ed.). A series that would be from the 1980s. We sat here for months, creating a world around it, inventing stories so that the audience would like it,“ the series‘ main scriptwriter Evita Twardzik told Reflex magazine. “It is more of a comedic than a dramatic series, although we cannot avoid dramatic lines, because the 80s brought with them things that were not cheerful for many families,” added Twardzik.
And that last remark brings us to another “mini”-trend in CEE – the Soviet storyline with elements of comedy. The one title that immediately comes to mind is Soviet Jeans – the Go3 series which won numerous awards at international festivals, garnered critical acclaim and has been sold to a bunch of countries. The creative team behind the series - StanislavsTokalovs and Teodora Markova - just recently won the Best Pre-Development Project Award: Scripted Series at the leading market event supporting the development of CEE series NEM Zagreb and its NEM Awards 2024. The duo are now developing The Last Divorce of Communism which was announced as the winner of the 2024 projects. This January, the series was also picked by pubcaster LTV with a total production budget of €885.000 (including VAT) for the six episodes. The premiere has been set for late 2026.
Going back to Slovakia, Danube is not the only period drama that enjoys success on the local market. Slovak pubcaster STVR (formerly RTVS) and commercial net JOJ also enjoyed big success with period projects –Time of Hope and 1890 and The Slavs (with the latter two being acquired by other CEE countries as well), respectively. Last year, Time of Hope became STVR’s second most-watched original series in the history of the pubcaster.
Czech pubcaster CT has also been offering numerous period dramas, one of the most popular ones being the Vypravej (Wonderful Times) series, also coming from The Golden Swan producer- Dramedy. The series, which aired between 2009 and 2013, is considered one of CT’s biggest successes. And case on point – another CT period drama called Devadesatky (The Nineties), the prequel of The Cases of the 1st Department in 2022 became the most watched Czech TV series since 2004 with an average viewership of 2.23 million viewers aged 15+, and with an average audience share of 47.51%.One of TV Nova’s most-recent successes is a Voyo Original project called The Markovic Method: Hojer which also deals with the past - the series is set at turn of 1970s and 1980s.
Serbia has been part of this trend as well. The enormous interest local viewers have shown in the RTS period drama series Sablja (Operation Sabre) about the assassination of PM Zoran Đindjić has been evidenced by the ratings of the first two episodes. And while newspapers carry the headlines that ‚the whole of Serbia watched Sablja‘, ‚Micanović was excellent in the role of Zoran Đindjić‘ and that ‚Sablja will remain one of the most exciting productions in the region‘, the preliminary viewership data points to over 1.300.000 viewers. The premiere of the series was seen by 1.265.000 viewers, while the second which aired on Sunday evening was watched by more than 1.330.000 viewers, recording a share of 28.3% on Saturday and 29.2% on Sunday, November 3, when Sablja became the most-watched TV content in Serbia. The period drama also enjoyed big success at international festivals.
Staying on the topic ‘awards’, and looking at the Top 3 series of the NEM Awards in the past two years, one can clearly see that period dramas from CEE have global appeal (the jury is comprised of experts not from CEE). In 2023 the three winners were: first place: Spy/Master from Romania; second place: The King from Hungary and third place: Moth Hunting from Poland. Unsurprisingly, all three projects deal with stories from the past. In 2024, the winners were The Specialists from Czechia, The Thaw from Poland and The Bay of Spies also from Poland, with the third title being once again a period drama.
Most of the big international streamers have also chosen period dramas for their debut in the CEE region (in their strategies Poland is synonymous with CEE). Disney+ is working on an original called Breslau set in 1936. Netflix’s first Polish original was called 1983 (for clarification whether it is a period drama or not: the series is set in 2003; 20 years after a coordinated terrorist attack took place on multiple sites in Poland in 1983 which altered the course of history - the Iron Curtain is still in place and the Cold War did not end). Max’s first original Polish drama is called Lady Love and also deals with the past.
Even Romania is jumping on the “back to the past” wagon, with PRO TV producing a prequel of its highly successful crime series The Clan which is the local adaptation of Turkish format Insider. „Continuing a successful series is a great joy for any actor, and especially for the viewers. The story of Our Father (Tatutu) takes place 20 years ago and shows us Bebe Macelaru’s rise to the top of The Clan. A script like this is rare to come across – brilliant work by Lia Bugnar and Anghel Damian. I can’t wait to see the reactions from those who will watch the series, now also on PRO TV,” said actor George Mihaita who plays the titular role.
Bulgaria’s most-successful film at the box office ever is the 2024 title Gundi – a movie about the famous Bulgarian footballer from the 60s which clearly indicates a strong demand for stories from the past. Unfortunately, the Bulgarian TV scripted market saw a tough couple of years, with commercial broadcasters scaling down their scripted output (bTV has opted for entertainment shows entirely in 2024), with pubcaster BNT becoming the broadcaster which invests into local fiction the most. And while not being a period drama per se, one of its latest projects: Mamnik which will premiere this year and is an adaptation of a novel, is inspired by local folklore and legends.
One of the most interesting new period projects is the coproduction Rise of the Raven which is being distributed by Beta Film and is the highest-budget Hungarian series ever. The series co-produced by Hungary’s TV2 and Austrian public broadcaster ORF follows the fearless warrior Janos Hunyadi who defeated the Ottoman Army and defended Europe in 1456. The 10-episode series is set to air in 2025 so it remains to be seen how viewers in different countries and especially those in CEE will welcome the ambitious project.
A period drama will be also Estonia’s most-expensive series production ever. Von Fock is co-produced by five countries and had its premiere at the Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn in November. The TV premiere is coming on ETV this March with ZDF Studios holding the international distribution rights. It is also another great example of successful co-production models in the region. The series is produced by the Estonian prodco Zolba Productions in collaboration with Nafta Latvia and Berghein Production from Latvia and Movie.mento and Albolina Film from Italy. The project is funded by the national broadcasters of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with the support of the Estonian Film Institute, the Council of Europe Film Foundation Eurimages and the European Commission‘s support program creative European Media.
In Greece, period drama series have been dominating the market for many years with big recent hits like Soul Daughters, The Witch, Grand Hotel, etc. The biopics of ERT and the historical series of Mega have also thrilled the Greek audience.
When describing the most important prerequisites for a successful series, producers, writers, distributors; etc. place original, strong and most importantly authentic stories first. Many period drama series in the CEE region stand out with the creators’ ability to delve deep into their history, identity, and cultural heritage, transforming them into compelling narratives that resonate both locally and globally. These dramas often serve as mirrors reflecting the social and political realities of their communities, tackling themes such as post-communist transitions, identity struggles, and pressing social issues. History, with all its drama and complexity, provides an endless source of inspiration, whether through tales of corruption, injustice, or folklore unique to this part of the world. And one thing is certain: CEE will be increasingly looking into its turbulent past, rich history and unique traditions as a source of inspiration for new fiction.
Period dramas traditionally enjoy success in certain markets like Poland (pubcaster TVP has been producing hits in the genre for many years), Turkey (many of them turning into globalfavorites), high-end projects like Love in Chains in Ukraine (which also conquered many countries), etc. The past couple of years have proven that the popularity of period/costume dramas can be and is replicated in other countries in the region as well.
In Czechia and Slovakia, one project has become particularly successful – The Golden Swan (sold internationally as The Department Store) which first premiered on Voyo in Czechia and then on TV Nova and was later adapted in Slovakia as Danube, At Your Service! where it continuously tops the audience charts and actually enjoys a greater success than the original. The story is set in the department store of the era of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, with the Slovak adaptation following the family saga of the owners of the Danube department store in Bratislava/Pressburg, which was opened together with the declaration of the fascist Slovak state in 1939. Danube At Your Service! is Markiza’s most-expensive and arguably most-successful series, which returned with its 9th season in January this year.
After its success, Markiza was inspired by its period setting and went straight to the 1980s with its brand-new daily series The Promise. Here, the stress is on “daily” period series, quite a gamble for a small market like Slovakia, which has paid off so far in the ratings. „Our program director came up with the idea of making a daily series based on Mom for Rent (adaptation of Turkish series My Sweet Lie – ed.). A series that would be from the 1980s. We sat here for months, creating a world around it, inventing stories so that the audience would like it,“ the series‘ main scriptwriter Evita Twardzik told Reflex magazine. “It is more of a comedic than a dramatic series, although we cannot avoid dramatic lines, because the 80s brought with them things that were not cheerful for many families,” added Twardzik.
Danube At Your Service
And that last remark brings us to another “mini”-trend in CEE – the Soviet storyline with elements of comedy. The one title that immediately comes to mind is Soviet Jeans – the Go3 series which won numerous awards at international festivals, garnered critical acclaim and has been sold to a bunch of countries. The creative team behind the series - StanislavsTokalovs and Teodora Markova - just recently won the Best Pre-Development Project Award: Scripted Series at the leading market event supporting the development of CEE series NEM Zagreb and its NEM Awards 2024. The duo are now developing The Last Divorce of Communism which was announced as the winner of the 2024 projects. This January, the series was also picked by pubcaster LTV with a total production budget of €885.000 (including VAT) for the six episodes. The premiere has been set for late 2026.
Going back to Slovakia, Danube is not the only period drama that enjoys success on the local market. Slovak pubcaster STVR (formerly RTVS) and commercial net JOJ also enjoyed big success with period projects –Time of Hope and 1890 and The Slavs (with the latter two being acquired by other CEE countries as well), respectively. Last year, Time of Hope became STVR’s second most-watched original series in the history of the pubcaster.
Czech pubcaster CT has also been offering numerous period dramas, one of the most popular ones being the Vypravej (Wonderful Times) series, also coming from The Golden Swan producer- Dramedy. The series, which aired between 2009 and 2013, is considered one of CT’s biggest successes. And case on point – another CT period drama called Devadesatky (The Nineties), the prequel of The Cases of the 1st Department in 2022 became the most watched Czech TV series since 2004 with an average viewership of 2.23 million viewers aged 15+, and with an average audience share of 47.51%.One of TV Nova’s most-recent successes is a Voyo Original project called The Markovic Method: Hojer which also deals with the past - the series is set at turn of 1970s and 1980s.
Serbia has been part of this trend as well. The enormous interest local viewers have shown in the RTS period drama series Sablja (Operation Sabre) about the assassination of PM Zoran Đindjić has been evidenced by the ratings of the first two episodes. And while newspapers carry the headlines that ‚the whole of Serbia watched Sablja‘, ‚Micanović was excellent in the role of Zoran Đindjić‘ and that ‚Sablja will remain one of the most exciting productions in the region‘, the preliminary viewership data points to over 1.300.000 viewers. The premiere of the series was seen by 1.265.000 viewers, while the second which aired on Sunday evening was watched by more than 1.330.000 viewers, recording a share of 28.3% on Saturday and 29.2% on Sunday, November 3, when Sablja became the most-watched TV content in Serbia. The period drama also enjoyed big success at international festivals.
The Witch
Staying on the topic ‘awards’, and looking at the Top 3 series of the NEM Awards in the past two years, one can clearly see that period dramas from CEE have global appeal (the jury is comprised of experts not from CEE). In 2023 the three winners were: first place: Spy/Master from Romania; second place: The King from Hungary and third place: Moth Hunting from Poland. Unsurprisingly, all three projects deal with stories from the past. In 2024, the winners were The Specialists from Czechia, The Thaw from Poland and The Bay of Spies also from Poland, with the third title being once again a period drama.
Most of the big international streamers have also chosen period dramas for their debut in the CEE region (in their strategies Poland is synonymous with CEE). Disney+ is working on an original called Breslau set in 1936. Netflix’s first Polish original was called 1983 (for clarification whether it is a period drama or not: the series is set in 2003; 20 years after a coordinated terrorist attack took place on multiple sites in Poland in 1983 which altered the course of history - the Iron Curtain is still in place and the Cold War did not end). Max’s first original Polish drama is called Lady Love and also deals with the past.
Even Romania is jumping on the “back to the past” wagon, with PRO TV producing a prequel of its highly successful crime series The Clan which is the local adaptation of Turkish format Insider. „Continuing a successful series is a great joy for any actor, and especially for the viewers. The story of Our Father (Tatutu) takes place 20 years ago and shows us Bebe Macelaru’s rise to the top of The Clan. A script like this is rare to come across – brilliant work by Lia Bugnar and Anghel Damian. I can’t wait to see the reactions from those who will watch the series, now also on PRO TV,” said actor George Mihaita who plays the titular role.
Bulgaria’s most-successful film at the box office ever is the 2024 title Gundi – a movie about the famous Bulgarian footballer from the 60s which clearly indicates a strong demand for stories from the past. Unfortunately, the Bulgarian TV scripted market saw a tough couple of years, with commercial broadcasters scaling down their scripted output (bTV has opted for entertainment shows entirely in 2024), with pubcaster BNT becoming the broadcaster which invests into local fiction the most. And while not being a period drama per se, one of its latest projects: Mamnik which will premiere this year and is an adaptation of a novel, is inspired by local folklore and legends.
One of the most interesting new period projects is the coproduction Rise of the Raven which is being distributed by Beta Film and is the highest-budget Hungarian series ever. The series co-produced by Hungary’s TV2 and Austrian public broadcaster ORF follows the fearless warrior Janos Hunyadi who defeated the Ottoman Army and defended Europe in 1456. The 10-episode series is set to air in 2025 so it remains to be seen how viewers in different countries and especially those in CEE will welcome the ambitious project.
Soviet Jeans
A period drama will be also Estonia’s most-expensive series production ever. Von Fock is co-produced by five countries and had its premiere at the Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn in November. The TV premiere is coming on ETV this March with ZDF Studios holding the international distribution rights. It is also another great example of successful co-production models in the region. The series is produced by the Estonian prodco Zolba Productions in collaboration with Nafta Latvia and Berghein Production from Latvia and Movie.mento and Albolina Film from Italy. The project is funded by the national broadcasters of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with the support of the Estonian Film Institute, the Council of Europe Film Foundation Eurimages and the European Commission‘s support program creative European Media.
In Greece, period drama series have been dominating the market for many years with big recent hits like Soul Daughters, The Witch, Grand Hotel, etc. The biopics of ERT and the historical series of Mega have also thrilled the Greek audience.
When describing the most important prerequisites for a successful series, producers, writers, distributors; etc. place original, strong and most importantly authentic stories first. Many period drama series in the CEE region stand out with the creators’ ability to delve deep into their history, identity, and cultural heritage, transforming them into compelling narratives that resonate both locally and globally. These dramas often serve as mirrors reflecting the social and political realities of their communities, tackling themes such as post-communist transitions, identity struggles, and pressing social issues. History, with all its drama and complexity, provides an endless source of inspiration, whether through tales of corruption, injustice, or folklore unique to this part of the world. And one thing is certain: CEE will be increasingly looking into its turbulent past, rich history and unique traditions as a source of inspiration for new fiction.
