Following the success of their German programs Dark and Babylon Berlin, Netflix has announced their third original series from the country with the upcoming The Wave, based on the 2008 film of the same name and the 1981 young adult novel by Todd Strasser.
Inspired by a real experiment that shocked the world and the highly-acclaimed hit movie, The Wave follows a group of rebellious teenagers. In pursuing their dream of a better tomorrow they build a community that spreads into a mass phenomenon. What begins as an idealistic and playful uprising against the establishment, soon starts to take a terrifying turn – but the power of The Wave has already grown out of control…
“We are excited to produce ‘The Wave’ for Netflix and enjoy the creative freedom to turn this powerful and compelling story into a German series with a strong global appeal”, said Christian Becker and Executive Producer Dennis Gansel adds: “’The Wave’ conveys a message that is more relevant than ever – and not only in Germany, but worldwide.”
“We are thrilled to announce our third original series coming out of Germany. Based on a highly acclaimed book and film, ‘The Wave’ has everything it needs to excite global audiences,” said Erik Barmack, Vice President of International Originals at Netflix. “With ‘Dark’ we have already proven that Germany is a home of great and globally successful storytelling. The combination of the powerful plot and the strong line up of German creatives that will be working on ‘The Wave,’ makes us very excited.”
The Wave will be produced for Netflix by the creators and producers of the award-winning film. Christian Becker will be Executive Producer on the series for Rat Pack Filmproduktion (Jim Button, Fack Ju Göhte) along with Dennis Gansel (The Wave, Before the Fall, Mechanic: Resurrection) and Peter Thorwarth (Bang Boom Bang, Not My Day) and in co-production with Sony Pictures Television (producer Astrid Quentell). The first season will start its production later this year and is expected to be available to Netflix members globally in 2019.
