Beta Issues ‘Trigger’ Warning

By Jamie Lang

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Germany’s Beta Film has been working since October’s Mipcom on finding broadcasters for Russian psychological murder-mystery series “Trigger” to the world, and announced yesterday a trio of new territories which have picked up the show.

The series is produced by Sreda, one of Russia’s most important TV production companies, and was commissioned by Channel One Russia.

Confirmed sales were announced with Brazil’s Globo and HOT in Israel,  Japanese VoD-rights were scooped by U-Next, and a German broadcast partner is in the final stages of negotiation.

According to Beta, the deals put “Trigger” at the top of the hill of best-selling Russian series in international to date. Beta has also secured rights to another Sreda series, “Alibi.”

“Trigger” is the story of Artem, an uptown Moscow mental health professional known for pushing his clients to confront their fears, often in extreme ways. Things go pear-shaped when one of Artem’s clients apparently commits suicide, and the doctor is jailed when he is deemed as having influenced the act.

Once out, Artem must begin to rebuild his life both professionally and personally, with the grey cloud of his downfall hanging over him. In order to win back his wife, his license to practice therapy and his reputation, Artem must prove his own innocence, while exposing the real killer behind his client’s death.

“We are extremely happy to see Trigger exceed our expectations,” said Christian Gockel, EVP of international sales and acquisitions at Beta Film, in a press release. “Working together with Sreda Production Company definitely strengthens our belief that Russian content is highly competitive in the global arena.

He added: “The project confirms Beta Film’s philosophy of taking outstanding local content to the international level which can count on Russia as a new but already reliable supplier in this global trend. Despite political volatility, the Russian market is consistent with the rest of the world and Beta Film is glad to spearhead this great new opportunity.”

Alexander Tsekalo, founder and CEO of Sreda added: “From the beginning, Sreda Production was aiming to produce TV series on international level.”

Sreda has made a splash since jumping into TV production in 2012. Their first series, “The Other Side of the Moon,” was voted as the year’s best by the Russian Association of Producers of Cinema and Television. The company was also the first Russian production house to sell six series to Netflix, and has a history of teaming with major European companies, such as Eccho Rights and Beta.