German director Christian Schwochow, currently in production on the third season of Netflix’s The Crown, has boarded his next project, the English-language space drama Children of Mars.
Babylon Berlin producer Beta Film and fellow German shingle Neuesuper will produce the eight-hour miniseries about a group of astronauts sent to colonize the red planet.
Neuesuper producer Simon Amberger wrote Children of Mars and will act as a producer on the series. The drama is set in a near future where an eccentric tycoon sets up a private mission to colonize Mars, and 13 astronauts, including the tycoon himself, set up on a one-way trip to the red planet. But while they may have left Earth behind, they cannot say the same for their past.
Neuesuper is currently in post-production on 8 Days, a mini-series for Sky Deutschland set in the eight days before a meteorite hits Europe, wiping out all life. Children of Mars will be the company’s first English-language production.
Schwochow is one of Germany’s hottest television directors. His previous German series include NSU – German History X, Bad Banks and The Tower. He is directing two episodes of the upcoming third season of Netflix’s The Crown, the first non-British director to helm the royal drama.
“Since I have focused my work on stories of present and past times so far, it is more than exciting for me to develop and create this series about a world in the near future,” said Schwochow.
Beta is handling world sales on Children of Mars and will be introducing it to buyers at MIPCOM in Cannes this week.
