France Télévisions, SBS & CBC acquire Ukrainian war drama ‘Those Who Stayed’

Those Who Stayed (Source: Red Arrow Studios International)

Australian broadcaster SBS, France Télévisions and CBC Gem, the streaming service of CBC in Canada, have acquired Ukrainian drama anthology series Those Who Stayed.

Launched at MIPCOM last month, the 6 x 30-minute series is inspired by events that took place in Kyiv in the first few weeks after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The series explores the stories of people who remained in the Ukrainian city rather than leave following the outbreak of the war, with each episode written and directed by a different creator.

Co-developed by FILM.UA and Red Arrow Studios International, the series is produced by FILM.UA and co-produced by Nordic broadcasters SVT in Sweden, NRK in Norway and YLE in Finland, for 1 + 1 Media in Ukraine.

The series launched earlier in the fall on on SVT and YLE and also on Netflix across CEE, and has already sold to Lumière for Benelux, DR in Denmark, ERR Estonia, Czech Television in the Czech Republic and RUV in Iceland.

Rodrigo Herrera Ibarguengoytia, VP of scripted acquisitions & co-productions at Red Arrow Studios International, said: “We’re thrilled to have found new homes with leading broadcasting partners for Those Who Stayed, and this latest wave of deals is further proof that quality titles continue to resonate with international audiences – who will soon be able to enjoy this sincere and genuine series.”