ZDF orders Professor T drama remake

German broadcaster ZDF has ordered a German version of Professor T., the Belgian cop drama.

The scripted format deal means the series will get remade for the second time, with filming just wrapped on a French version for commercial free-TV broadcaster TF1.

ZDF’s version of Professor T. will be made by German producer Rowboat Film, which is a subsidiary of Beta Film.

Format and finished shows are handled by Beta, and the distributor will be selling the original Belgian version, the French version, upcoming German version and the format at MIPCOM.

The show centres on dysfunctional but brilliant police psychologist, Professor Thalheim, played by Matthias Matschke (Grand Budapest Hotel) in the German version, which will run to four parts.

The original show was made by Salamander prodco Skyline for free-TV broadcaster VRT, which Is currently airing the second season.

The series is part of Beta Film’s MIPCOM line-up. Other new drama offerings include HBO Europe original Wasteland, a dark drama set on the Czech/Polish border. Beta will also launch TV movie The Same Sky, set in a divided Berlin in the 1970s, and Maximilian and Marie de Bourgogne, a miniseries about the creation of the Hapsburg Empire.