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AGC Television has officially added the title A Wolf's Prey to its slate, with AGC purchasing the global rights to this Lithuanian-German crime thriller! At its core, A Wolf's Prey is a crime mystery that is aimed at global audiences, and the deal is an indication that AGC believes in its international cross-border success.
The show is a 6-part drama with an approximate duration of 45 minutes, written and directed by Emilis Velyvis and commissioned by Lithuanian television station LRT and Telia Play. The combination of the Lithuanian and English tongue, paired with the Nordic tone of noir, puts A Wolf's Preys in a strong position as a crime drama staple.
Sources and manufacturing partners of A Wolf's Prey
The Lithuanian-German partnership of A Wolf’s Prey is rooted in two production companies, Kino Kultas (Lithuania) and Kodachrome (Germany). LRT and Telia Play commissioned the work, and it is an indication of local investment in local original drama on the part of the public and the private.
Writing and directing duties are led by Emilis Velyvis, a director of such films as Redirected and The Generation of Evil.
Due to the idea of the A Wolf's Prey being a project that is conceived as a bilingual project (English and Lithuanian), it may have flexibility in its translation, subtitling, or even hybrid versions depending on the various markets.
Elements of the story premise and genre
The middle of A Wolf's Prey is the savage killing that has shaken a small town. A young lady is brutally murdered in an enigmatic manner, and an ambitious female investigator has to dig deep into a maze of secrets, lies, and dark local networking. The show takes on much of the paraphernalia of Nordic noir: a distant or closed society, a grey ethical range, gradual revelation, and a dark, atmospheric air.
The choice to present the story both in Lithuanian and in English can possibly be explained by a strategic purpose: to maintain a local character but open up to a broader audience. A Wolf’s Prey can therefore walk the fine line between local crime drama and sellable series.
Cast & creative leadership
The cast attached has international and regional talent. One of the names is Edward Holcroft (Kingsman: The Secret Service). Lithuanian actress Ieva Andrejevaitė also features in Mission: Impossible (with credits by Ingeborga Dapkunaitaite (with cross-European flair) and Tommi Korpela), also bringing extra cross-European flavor.
On the executive part, Tero Kaucomaa (Son of a Pitch, Finland) comes on board as an EP, co-workers are Stuart Ford, Lourdes Diaz, and Diane Ferrandez of AGC. The managing director of Kodachrome, Michael Mullner, and the VP of legal and business affairs of AGC, Conor McElroy, made the rights deal.
AGC intention to buy and distribute
AGC Television is taking the series to international sales to non-Lithuanian and non-German broadcasters, streamers, and platforms by acquiring A Wolfs Prey, which gives the series worldwide rights. The show will be presented at MIPCOM, where the various content buyers usually get international licensing opportunities.
This addition is in line with the increased interest AGC has in scripted series that have international potential. The firm is moving towards locally based dramas that can be cross-border based, and A Wolf preys to that description. The ruling by AGC highlights the growing importance of playback value and exportability in financing in television.
Market significance & trends
European crime drama in the so-called Nordic noir, or Baltic noir variety, remains popular outside the US. A Wolf enters the market with competition against Scandinavian, British, and continental crime dramas. Its dual language and its production that fits on both is what may give it an edge, though.
In addition to this, there is increased usage of co-production and pre-sale models to share costs and risks and increase reach. A Wolf's Prey is representative of this tendency: local television stations, local film producers (Kino Kultas, Kodachrome), and an international distributor (AGC).
In case A Wolf's Prey has great pre-sales or licensing agreements in several countries, it would make the Lithuanian production more visible in the world of TV. Its success or failure may affect the future financing and distribution of dramas in the Baltic region.
Challenges & uncertainties
However, in spite of the promise, A Wolf's Prey has some issues. First, it has to struggle against the saturation of the genre of crime dramas, where originality and depth of the storyline are important. The story should be able to maintain suspense between the episodes.
Second, bilinguals are logistically and artistically complex to control: timing, subtitling, dubbing, and coherence of performance are important. Third, it can never be certain to have good licensing in diverse markets (where tastes and preferences on crime series vary).
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Last but not least, the event timing and marketing, such as MIPCOM, will probably be crucial: the interest of buyers, promotion, and strategic placement will define the number of markets that will purchase A Wolf’s Prey.
Also read: Top 10 small-town crime thriller shows to watch, explored
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