The rise of Flemish television
Is Belgian drama the new Scandi noir? The Flemish television world is enjoying huge success. The Guardian is full of praise for our television series. The broadcasting rights of Belgian fiction series are sold en masse abroad. Flemish television has also been nominated 4 times for the Rockie Awards in Canada. In short, the road to success is wide open.
The British newspaper The Guardian is a big fan of Belgian television. Thanks to Channel 4, a number of Flemish series are watched on British screens. For example, the Flemish series 'Clan' was released as 'The Out-Laws' in the UK. The Channel 'Eén' series 'Professor T', 'Tabula Rasa' and the VTM series '13 Geboden' also got the go-ahead from Channel 4. Walter Iuzzolino from Channel 4 admires the way we combine genres and atmosphere. Belgian series are unpredictable. It is this sophisticated approach which appeals to viewers abroad.
The tragicomic Flemish TV series 'Gevoel voor tumor', about the struggle of a young cancer patient, was also bought by the Dutch public broadcasting service (NPO). Red Arrow, an international distributor active in 200 countries, will distribute the series further afield.
Several Flemish series, including 'Tabula Rasa', 'Code 37' and 'Beau Séjour' are also currently enjoying success on Netflix. In a first, Netflix is financing 'Undercover' along with VRT and several other production companies, which is a Flemish-Dutch police series with Tom Waes in the lead role. The 10-part series will be shown on Channel 'Eén' in 2019, and subsequently on Netflix.
Four Flemish television series have been nominated for the Rockie Awards in Canada. The programmes 'Salamander', 'De infiltrant', 'De laatste 24 uur' and 'Sorry voor alles' are competing for the prestigious award. The latter programme also won an Emmy Award last year. The winners will be announced during a gala ceremony on Monday 11 June in Banff.