29 July 2020
Original S4C drama Byw Celwydd (Living a Lie) will be streamed to audiences in Germany, Austria and Switzerland on new SVOD platform Sooner.de after an agreement between producer Tarian Cyf, English sales house Videoplugger and ContentScope.
Living a Lie is an epic political series commissioned by Welsh language public service broadcaster S4C. Intrigue and corruption in a fictional Welsh Assembly.
Following a similar tone to Nordic Noir, this epic series tells the story of intrigue and corruption within a fictional Welsh assembly after the ruling coalition is thrown into disarray and scandal after the death of their party leader while in the company of a prostitute. With a stellar cast including Matthew Gravelle (Broadchurch) and Cath Ayers (Keeping Faith).
The series has already been sold to many territories around the world, including USA, Canada, Israel, South Africa and 13 European nations.
German VoD platform owned by ContentScope, launched June 18th 2020, that will focus predominantly on European content both in serial and single film form.
Andreas Wildfang Executive Director, ContentScope GmbH said: "Series content is the native SVOD content more than single films, the whole 90-minute film is an arbitrary remain from the 1920s, it just never changed, that's whats I find so interesting with series.
"Sooner are not just for art-house movies but we are interested in auteur-driven content, and 'Living a Lie' is a great example, of this."
Branwen Cennard Producer, Tarian Cyf said: "The continued success of 'Living a Lie' is testament to the exceptional production values achieved by the talented crew, cast and writers responsible for the project."
Amanda Rees, S4C Director of Content, said: "Welsh language drama continues to grip audiences worldwide and it is exciting to see that there is a big appetite from new SVOD platforms to acquire an S4C Original series, such as Living a Lie/Byw Celwydd."
Emanuele Galloni, CEO Videoplugger said: "Welsh politics will now captivate a German-speaking audience, as Brexit has made an impact on Europeans surely this will be a great way to show that UK is more than Westminster.
"We are thrilled to have placed Byw Celwydd on the newly launched Sooner platform."
