First look images of new Sky Original ‘Paradiso’ from Sky Deutschland

• Eight-part-drama series based on Thomas Pletzinger’s novel Funeral For A Dog
• Stellar German cast includes Friedrich Mücke, Albrecht Schuch, Alina Tomnikov, Ina Geraldine Guy, Daniel Sträßer and Anne Ratte-Polle
• Produced by Eva Kemme and Martin Heisler of Flare Entertainment for Sky Studios

Sky today reveals first look images for new Sky Original ‘Paradiso’ – previously known as Funeral For A Dog based on Thomas Pletzinger’s novel of the same name.

The images were taken on location at Lake D’Iseo and Lake D‘Orta, Italy, where filming for the series commenced at the start of September.

The eight-part series is currently filming in Munich and Berlin, and will shoot in Bulgaria, Finland, New York and South America in early 2021.

The stellar German cast includes Friedrich Mücke (Ballon, Tatort), Albrecht Schuch (Berlin Alexanderplatz, Bad Banks), Alina Tomnikov (Arctic Circle – Der unsichtbare Tod), Ina Geraldine Guy (Into the Beat - Dein Herz tanzt), Daniel Sträßer (Hausen, Charité) and Anne Ratte-Polle (Es gilt das gesprochene Wort).

Based on the novel Funeral for a Dog, ‘Paradiso’ is the story of journalist Daniel Mandelkern who abruptly leaves his wife Elisabeth and travels to Italy for an interview with the celebrated German writer Mark Svensson who is living there in seclusion with the photographer Kiki Kaufmann.

Daniel’s visit is supposed to only last a few hours, but Tuuli Kovero, the heroine of Svensson's novel and his eternal love, asks him to stay. Daniel is fatally drawn into their lives, becoming entangled in the mystery of Tuuli's missing partner Felix Blaumeiser, as well as a fascinating story seemingly familiar from Svensson's novel: a love triangle that began in Colombia, blossomed in Finland, broke up in New York.

‘Paradiso’ is scripted by novelist Thomas Pletzinger (The Great Nowitzki) with head authors Hanno Hackfort and Bob Konrad (4 Blocks). It is directed by David Dietl (König von Deutschland, Rate Your Date) and Barbara Albert (Licht, Böse Zellen). Executive producers are Eva Kemme and Martin Heisler for Flare Entertainment, Marcus Ammon and Frank Jastfelder for Sky Deutschland and Jason Simms for Sky Studios. Andreas Perzl is producer for Sky Deutschland. The series is funded by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, FFF Bayern and Piemont Film TV Fund. NBCUniversal Global Distribution will handle the international sales of the series on behalf of Sky Studios

Eva Kemme, Producer Flare Entertainment, said: “Italy, Brazil, Finland, Bulgaria, New York, Germany in times of COVID 19 - is there anything more to say? We thank our partner, Sky, for giving us their loyalty and support. We also thank directors Barbara Albert and David Dietl, our fantastic captains in a stormy sea and a big ‘thank you’ to our brilliant cast and crew who all have braved the winds in such a positive way! Together, we have already accomplished so much and we are looking forward to our journey after the Christmas break.”

Andreas Perzl, Producer, Sky Deutschland, said: “To begin filming such an ambitious project with numerous international locations was always going to be a challenge, but especially so during these times. However, we know that our outstanding cast and our dedicated production team are in the best of hands and the safety of all involved will always be our top priority. Having captured the first part of the shoot set against the beautiful backdrop of Lake Orta, we can’t wait to take the story further afield and deliver a truly international series for viewers in 2022.”

Images are available for download below.

About Sky Deutschland

Sky Deutschland is one of the leading entertainment companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, offering a world class range of content from the best live sports, exclusive series and the latest movies to varied children's programs, exciting documentaries and entertaining shows – many of them Sky Originals.

In addition to the free-to-air channel Sky Sport News, viewers can watch programs at home and on the go via Sky Q and Sky Ticket. The entertainment platform Sky Q aggregates all conveniently in one place: Sky and free-to-air channels, thousands of films and series on demand and a wide range of apps. With Sky Ticket, customers can stream series, movies and live sports flexibly where they want and when they want, on a monthly cancellation basis. Sky Deutschland, headquartered in Unterföhring near Munich, is part of the Comcast Group and belongs to Europe's leading media and entertainment company Sky.

About Sky Studios

Sky Studios brings to screen unique stories from the very best talent in Europe.

We develop, produce and fund original drama, comedy and documentary for Sky’s 24m customers and beyond. Building on the success of critically-acclaimed Sky originals including Emmy-winning Chernobyl, Bafta-winning Patrick Melrose and international hits Das Boot, Riviera and Britannia, Sky Studios is the new creative home of Sky Originals, such as The Third Day with Jude Law, I Hate Suzie, co-created by Lucy Prebble and Billie Piper and BAFTA-nominated hit comedy, Brassic.

We’re an agile Studio, seeking out the best untold stories from new voices while working in creative partnership with today’s best writers, producers and on-screen talent to bring viewers stories they wouldn’t find anywhere else.

With commissioning talent and production capability across the UK, Germany and Italy, we understand local tastes across Europe better than anyone else and have plans to more than double our investment in original content by 2024, fully supported and backed by Comcast NBC Universal.

We’re also developing a new TV and movie studio, Sky Studios Elstree, which is expected to lead to the creation of over 2,000 new jobs and generate an additional £3 billion of production investment in UK creative sector in the first five years alone.

Sky Studios invests in the cultural economy and global production sector with equity stakes in several production companies in the UK and the US, including Great British Bake-Off creator Love Productions, and the premiere reality crime producer in the US, Jupiter Entertainment, creator of long-running hit Snapped. Sky Studios has invested in high quality factual specialists Blast Films and True North Productions; entertainment and format expert Znak & Co (US & UK); natural history producer True to Nature; drama producers The Lighthouse and Longboat Pictures; and growth businesses Sugar Films, Chrysalis Vision, and Talos Films (US).

Sky Studios launched in June 2019. The senior leadership team is Chief Executive Officer Gary Davey, Chief Content Officer Jane Millichip, Chief Operating Officer Caroline Cooper, Director of Drama UK Cameron Roach, Director of Comedy UK Jon Mountague, Director Original Production Sky Italia Nils Hartmann, and Director Original Productions Sky Deutschland Marcus Ammon.