Viaplay commissions real-life drama ‘Roombeek’ as next Dutch Original
- ‘Roombeek’ based on Enschede fireworks warehouse explosion in May 2000
- Four-part series produced by EndemolShine Scripted, a Banijay Benelux label
- Viaplay set to premiere at least 70 Originals in 2022
One of the biggest disasters in recent Dutch history, the Enschede fireworks warehouse explosion in May 2000, will become the subject of a four-part scripted Viaplay Original series. The compelling drama ‘Roombeek’ will relate the devasting human impact of the tragedy and its aftermath, and is produced by EndemolShine Scripted, a Banijay Benelux label. ‘Roombeek’ is the latest addition to Viaplay’s fast-growing slate in the Netherlands, which features projects developed by some of the country’s biggest creative talents.
Saturday, 13 May 2000 is a day etched in the Dutch collective memory. A warehouse filled with fireworks caught fire and exploded in the Roombeek suburb of the city of Enschede – killing 23 people, including four firefighters, and injuring nearly 950. Roombeek itself was largely destroyed, with 200 homes ruined and 1,500 heavily damaged.
Casting for the series is underway, and production will begin in early 2023. ‘Roombeek’ is produced by EndemolShine Scripted’s Gerd-Jan van Dalen and Viaplay Group’s Kennard Bos.
Filippa Wallestam, Viaplay Group Chief Content Officer: “We have very high ambitions for our Dutch Originals, and are committed to working with both established and upcoming local talents to tell unique stories that can attract a broad audience. ‘Roombeek’ will be a sensitive and high-quality production that looks beyond the headlines to show us some of the human lives affected by a tragic event.”
Viaplay’s scripted Dutch Original slate includes the true crime drama ‘The Hunt for Jasper S.’, produced by Willem Bosch and Pieter Kuijpers; the dark comedy ‘Something Stupid’, created by bestselling novelist Saskia Noort; and Liesbeth Strik’s drama ‘The Guilty’.
Viaplay launched in the Netherlands in March with a unique combination of Viaplay Originals, Hollywood films and series, kids content and premium live sports. The streaming services STARZPLAY and hayu are also included in a Viaplay subscription.
About Viaplay Originals
At least 70 Viaplay Originals are set to premiere in 2022. Upcoming Originals include ‘Listen Up!’; ‘End of Summer’; ‘R.I.P. Henry’; ‘Below’; ‘Thunder in My Heart’ season two; ‘Live Life’; ‘There's Something Going On’; ‘It Could Have Been Us’; ‘Threesome’ season two; ‘R.S.V.P.’; ‘The Fortress’; ‘The Hunt for Jasper S.’; ‘Liv Ullmann: The Road Less Travelled’; ‘Those Who Kill’ season three; ‘Face to Face’ season three; ‘The Meaning of Life’; ‘Something Stupid’; ‘The Guilty’; ‘Stockholm Bloodbath’; ‘Delete Me’ season two; ‘Boys’; ‘The Dreamer – Becoming Karen Blixen’; ‘Fenris’; ‘Gold Run’; ‘Last Light’; ‘Cell 8’; ‘Elvira’; ‘North Sea Connection’; ‘Limbo’; ‘Litvinenko’; ‘Karma and Jonar’; ‘Ronja’; ‘The Uninhabitable Earth’; ‘Polish Murderesses’; ‘Black Dog’; ‘Freedom of the Swallow’; ‘Honour’ season three; ‘Pørni’ season three; ‘Hilma’; ‘Who Shot Otto Mueller?’; a biopic of Börje Salming; ‘Taylor’s Island’; ‘What about Monica’; ‘THE KINGDOM EXODUS’; ‘Estonia: The Last Wave’; ‘Stella Blómkvist’ season two; ‘The Swarm’; ‘Perfect People’; and ‘Margeaux’.
Two major English-language films will be produced by Viaplay every year. The company has also established a UK-based joint venture with FilmNation Entertainment and invested in US studio Picturestart.
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NOTES TO EDITORS
Viaplay Group AB (publ) is the international streaming challenger. Our Viaplay streaming service is available in every Nordic and Baltic country, Poland, the US and the Netherlands, and we are expanding rapidly by launching in the UK in 2022, followed by Canada, Germany, Austria and Switzerland in 2023. Viaplay will have a market presence in at least 21 countries by the end of 2023, including at least five partner markets for the Viaplay Select branded content concept. Every day, millions of customers enjoy our unique entertainment offering, including acclaimed Viaplay Originals and an unrivalled line-up of premium live sports. From streaming to TV channels, radio stations and production companies, our purpose is to tell stories, touch lives and expand worlds. Viaplay Group is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm (‘VPLAY B’).
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