Tele München to coproduce €26m Rai drama

Tele München Group (TMG) is set to co-produce an eight-hour adaptation of Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose, said to cost €26 million (US$30.3m).

Germany-based TMG will produce the series with 11 Marzo and Palomar and in association with Rai Fiction, and have all worldwide distribution rights outside Italy.

The series is set to air sometime in the first three months of 2019 on Italian pubcaster Rai.

The Name of the Rose tells the story of a Franciscan monk William of Baskerville (John Turturro, pictured) and his apprentice, who arrive at a secluded monastery in the Alps and become witnesses to a series of murders during the Middle Ages.

Herbert L. Kloiber, managing director of TMG, said: “We are thrilled to be part of this high class, state-of-the-art adaptation, which will also resonate well with a young audience that loves the suspenseful story in a gloomy and thrilling medieval setting.

“Those who are already familiar with the book will see a new modern take and details to this multilayered story that can only be told in a series.”

The crime thriller was first adapted as a feature film with Sean Connery and Christian Slater in 1986, and received some international success.