Lionsgate Acquires U.S. and U.K. Rights to Robert Lantos’ Epic Period Drama ‘Rise of the Raven’ (EXCLUSIVE)
by Leo Barraclough · VarietyLionsgate has acquired U.S. and U.K. rights to the epic period drama “Rise of the Raven,” which is being sold by Beta Film. The series is produced by Robert Lantos, whose credits include Oscar nominees “Eastern Promises,” “Being Julia,” “Barney’s Version” and “The Sweet Hereafter.”
The Lionsgate deal marks an international milestone for a Hungarian production, as foreign-language series rarely travel to the U.S. and U.K.
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“Rise of the Raven” set all-time ratings records on its broadcast television premiere on TV2 in Hungary and immediately reached No. 1 on Netflix in the country.
“Rise of the Raven” was also sold to CBC in Canada, RAI in Italy, SBS in Australia, Telekom Deutschland in Germany, LG Uplus in South Korea, YES in Israel, and across the Middle East and North Africa region, among other territories.
The 10-part series is directed by Oscar-nominated Robert Dornhelm (“Vienna Blood,” “Maria Theresa,” “War and Peace”), Orsi Nagypál (“Robin Hood,” “The Outpost”) and Attila Szász (“Tall Tales”), with Balázs Lengyel (HBO’s “Golden Life”) serving as showrunner and director of the final episode.
Lantos’ other credits include Berlin Silver Bear winners “eXistenZ” and “Museo,” Cannes Jury Prize winner “Crash” and Golden Globe best picture nominee “Sunshine.”
“Rise of the Raven’s” producers also include Tibor Krsko, Kinga Hazai, Cecilia Hazai and Ari Lantos.
Based on Mór Bán’s bestselling novels, “Rise of the Raven” tells the story of fearless army commander János Hunyadi (Gellért L. Kádár), who devotes his life to defending Europe against an Ottoman invasion. His life is plagued by scandal, political power plays, and conspiracies between noble families from Italy, Poland, Austria, Serbia and Hungary.
His closest allies are the women in his life: Erzsébet (Vivien Rujder), the wife who not only stands by him, but fights alongside him, and Mara (Franciska Törőcsik), his first love, who becomes the chief concubine at the court of Sultan Murad (Murathan Muslu).
When the Ottoman Empire mobilizes an army of unprecedented size to march west with the objective of conquering the Vatican and Europe, Hunyadi leads his small but mighty army to the battlefield, sealing a hard-fought victory.
“Rise of the Raven” is produced by Serendipity Point Films, Twin Media, HG Media, MR Film and Beta Film, co-produced by Hungary’s TV2 Network and Austrian public broadcaster ORF, with the support of the National Film Institute of Hungary.