Following Berlinale and London Screenings the German high-end event series The Widow Killer continues its international roll-out, securing significant acquisitions by CANAL+ and Swedish public broadcaster SVT.

International distributor Intvition and gap financier Bravado Equity have finalized the agreements as part of the series’ growing global sales momentum. After successfully launching the series in Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, CANAL+ has now acquired the rights for the Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. SVT has secured the rights for Sweden.

The series, consisting of 4 x 45-minute or 2 x 90-minute episodes, is set to air on ServusTV in Austria and Czech Television later this year as well, further strengthening its European footprint. In Germany, The Widow Killer is set to premiere as one of the year’s major television events, launching on ARD on Good Friday in a prime holiday slot.

With strong broadcaster backing, premium positioning and increasing international demand, The Widow Killer is emerging as one of the standout European television events of the season.

Project Information

Based on the highly acclaimed novel of the same name by Pavel Kohout, The Widow Killer is set in German-occupied Prague during the final days of World War II. When the widow of a German Wehrmacht general is brutally murdered, rookie Czech detective Jan Morava is forced to collaborate with Gestapo agent Erwin Buback to track down a sadistic serial killer before he strikes again.

At the center of the story are two women whose destinies are inextricably linked to the case: Jitka, Morava’s courageous fiancée who goes undercover as bait, and Marleen, a seductive actress whose secret alliance with Buback threatens to turn desire into deadly danger.

More than a gripping thriller, The Widow Killer unfolds as a moral drama in which good and evil collide against the backdrop of political collapse. As the Third Reich spirals toward its downfall, Morava and Buback must relentlessly pursue a sinister killer while confronting their own inner conflicts.

The series stars Nicholas Ofczarek (e.g. “Pagan Peak”), Jonas Nay (e.g. “Deutschland 83, 86, 89”, “The Tattooist of Auschwitz”), Jeanette Hain (e.g. “Babylon Berlin”, “Davos 1917”), Devid Striesow (e.g. „The Counterfeiters“, „All Quiet on the Western Front”), Gerhard Liebmann (“Tatort”) and the Czech actors Diana Dulinková (“Two Words as the Key”, “Nobody Likes Me”) and Karel Dobrý (“Borgia”, “Carnival Row”, “The Crow”). The Widow Killer is directed by Christopher Schier and written by Klaus Burck.

The Widow Killer (original title: Sternstunde der Mörder) is produced by Zeitgeist Filmproduktion in co-production with Epo-Film Austria, ARD Degeto Film, NDR, ServusTV, HR and CANAL+ Austria, in cooperation with Bravado Equity and Česká Televize. The production is supported by FISA+ and RTR Fernsehfonds Austria. International distribution is handled by Intvition together with Bravado Equity.