HBO Max Greenlights Eastern European Comedy ‘The Winner’ From Berlinale Winner Jan Hřebejk; Preps Euro Launch

Max Goldbart
·1 min read

HBO Max has greenlit a six-part Eastern European comedy directed by Berlinale and Czech Lion winning director Jan Hřebejk as it gears up to launch in the region.

The Winner tells the story of Viktor Hudák, a fictional Prime Minister of a small European country ending his career in politics and returning to everyday life. When his successor radically overturns all the policies that he spent a lifetime building, he quickly realizes there is very little power in being an ex-prime minister.

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Acclaimed Slovak actor Ady Hajdu will play the lead in the six-parter, which is being written by Zuzana Dzurindová and Peter Nagy. Prague production company ETAMP Film is producing.

HBO Max exec Johnathan Young called The Winner a “joyous poke at pomposity, patriarchy and politics” and pointed out its uniqueness in featuring both Slovak and Czech characters.

Young is exec producing The Winner alongside Steve Matthews and Tereza Polachova is producing.

The move comes as HBO Max looks to strengthen its ties with the region as it gears up for European launch, which begins towards the end of this month in the Nordics, Spain and Andorra. HBO Max is also working on travel show Czech It Out! in the Czech Republic, the streamer’s debut European doc series.

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