‘Northern Lights’ firm Deadpan & Asacha-owned Thalie co-producing Cold War comedy thriller

The Continental Method

Ireland’s Deadpan Pictures and Asacha Media Group’s French production house Thalie Images have partnered to co-produce The Continental Method, a comedic Cold War-era spy thriller, set against the backdrop of the Paris riots of May 1968.

Red Arrow Studios International is handling pre-sales and distribution outside of France and Ireland for the 12 x 30-minute series, which is based on real events.

The writing team is led by John Morton (Dead Still) and Victor Lockwood (Mental), with the show following fresh-faced Irish salesman, Conor O’Flaherty, who arrives in Paris to sell sweaters in the fashion capital of the world.

Caught up in the fervour of the times, he falls for a radical French student and is simultaneously recruited in a clumsy covert Irish government operation to acquire illegal arms as sectarian conflicts boil over in Northern Ireland.

But Conor is oblivious. The true intentions of his mission are concealed from him, and with trademark overzealousness, he inadvertently creates a web of deceit and intrigue that draws in French authorities, British Intelligence and a growing student uprising that is about to blow up in spectacular fashion.

Paul Donovan, co-founder of Deadpan Pictures, said: “Set between the remote Aran Islands and Paris at the height of 1960’s cool when social tension begins to boil over, The Continental Method perfectly blends deadpan humour with action, romance, and intrigue.”

Deadpan Pictures, which originated the idea for the series, is also behind titles including Northern Lights for Lionsgate, Can’t Cope Won’t Cope for Netflix and the BBC, Dead Still for Acorn TV and RTE (also written by John Morton, alongside Imogen Murphy), and Moone Boy, which was co-produced with Baby Cow for Sky.