Walter Presents co-founder about launching in the Nordics and global curation

Five years ago, Italian-born TV drama fan Walter Iuzzolino had the masterly idea to launch the foreign-language drama streamer Walter Presents in the UK, with Global Series Network partners Jason Thorp and Jo MacGrath, and the backing from Channel 4.

Starting in 2022, through a recent partnership with C More in Scandinavia, the boutique curated service will be available across 13 territories.

Among the recent Nordic drama titles available on Walter Presents in the Uk via Channel 4 and/or its AVOD service All4 are Witch Hunt, The Inner Circle, Box 21, When the Dust Settles. Next up is the Swedish thriller Partisan.

The regular buyer of Nordic premium drama spoke to us.

Firstly how do you feel about launching in Scandinavia, where local stories and talents were among the first to inspire you?
Walter Iuzzolino: In reality, it feels like coming full circle. As you rightly say, Scandinavia is the region that made British people and English language-speaking audiences fall in love with foreign language drama. Before, it was seen as very niche, and subtitles were a bit scary for English people. But Scandinavian - and some French - TV dramas - have turned this perception on its head and made people realise that great stories are being produced all over the world.

Reversely looking at Scandinavia and content available there, local shows seem to dominate, next to English and US content. Broadcasters do have European series, but they haven’t yet broken into the mainstream. Therefore, it will be interesting to curate back into Scandinavia, the way I am curating lots of international and Scandinavian material into the UK and America. Over the years, I’ve seen what works or not, and what crosses borders. This has enabled me to bring a rich selection of the very best content to various countries, and soon to Scandinavia. It seems a nice way to thank the Scandis!!

You are now in 13 territories. Have some territories been more receptive than others to your offer?
WI: I must say the performance has been very coherent. We’ve been very successful everywhere. The important lesson has been to look at genres that translate beautifully around the world and transcend cultural divides. Crime thrillers, psycho thrillers, translate beautifully everywhere. It’s harder for romantic comedy-what makes Italians laugh is not necessarily what makes the Brits or Scandinavians laugh.

How big is your acquisition team, and how different is it for you to acquire content today?
WI: Buying remains fundamentally the same as in the early days. Of course, we have a much larger team, as the operational process of overseeing several countries is more complicated, but all the curation still goes via my desk. I still view everything that people send to me-from script, to early cuts, finished programmes, depending on who the production, commissioner, distributor is, and we go from there.

The difference is that before, only 1 in 10 shows were really of great quality to justify acquisition. A lot of local productions were rather average. Today, this has changed. Everyone has raised their game, so instead of 1 in 10, it’s more 1 in 3 shows that are being considered for pick up.

What new territories are bringing fresh and innovative content?
WP: I’ve been asked this question quite a bit. Indeed, there is a core of Central and Eastern European countries that are now absolutely delivering fantastic stuff. Also, few years ago, I started acquiring Belgian programmes. They somehow bridge the gap between Scandinavia and the UK.

Then Germany, France Spain are more established, and Italian drama is improving. Before, it felt very local; it didn’t have edge or cinematic quality to it, and there was still a major difference between Italian cinema of a certain class and TV shows. Now this has changed quite a lot, partly through RAI, Netflix, Amazon who are investing a lot locally.

The reality is that whenever big streamers invest heavily in a territory, that rapidly drives quality up. I’m not always a big fan of their productions; sometimes they lack the tightness of a curatorial filter, but I think that the resources that they put in a local market, always translates into everyone upping their game. They tap into great talent, who then become too expensive for most directors, who then have to reinvent themselves. So it’s a pressure on the system, but a good pressure that makes us all more creative and interesting.

Looking at Scandinavia, are you seeing a continuous improvement in quality and diversity?
WI: Yes, constantly. What is exciting is to see various genres blossoming. For instance post-SKAM, there is a lot of youth and young adult programming. Even a more adult-focused show like Cry Wolf from Denmark, has an in-depth look at troubled adolescence. It’s interesting to see how different offshoots of creativity play back into the mainstream.

How do you deal with the skyrocketing demand for quality foreign-language content? How do you make sure you get access to what’s best on the market?
WI: The whole idea of expanding into more territories was always essential. We started because we realised that the more territories we buy for, the more we can pay. We are now able to seal multi-content deals for multiple territories. This allows us to get shows at script stage, or when they need gap funding, or EU funding, and it can be beneficiary for a producer or broadcaster to attach an Anglo-American name that can spread a concept across more territories.

For me, the content is not the challenge. There is a lot of great stuff out there and more money than ever being poured into local productions. It’s more about curation, and spotting what is really innovative and really excellent in this plethora of quite good content, to then guide audiences in their choice.

Could your partnership with C More, lead to a wider collaboration in terms of co-financing and co-production of scripted content?
WI: Absolutely. We’ve already acquired a number of their shows that we’ve launched across our territories. We also produce English-language content [through Eagle Eye Drama]. Our portfolio is about half in-house original productions, and half adaptation of great shows from around the world. For instance our UK adaptation of the Swedish crime show Before We Die was a massive success on Channel 4. We are always looking for great content to adapt, therefore being quite close with C More will only help.

What about producing locally? Is that something you’d consider?
WI: To be honest, that will always be challenging. In each country, we work with strong local partners. I would feel presumptuous to produce. By definition, what we do is curation of international content. I’m rooted and based in the UK. I understand the British and American eco-system very well, and I am able to create meaningful content - or adapt meaningful content - that I feel would work here. So producing locally is not going to happen. However, what will happen more and more, is that we will be early in catching great local concepts, and understanding what might translate into an Anglo-American environment.

Then of course, being able to take risks and innovating is crucial. I remember, once Borgen and The Killing had landed in the UK and Scandinavia was the epicentre for a lot of great content, all buyers’ attention was on the region. Out of necessity, we started to look at other places such as France, Italy, Germany. Necessity made us innovate. Sometimes, it’s not about what’s established, it’s about what’s coming.

What will be next for you? Acquiring feature films?
WI: This has always been an interesting idea. We haven’t done it yet but are open to that. So far, beyond the acquisition and curation aspects, a lot of our efforts have gone into promoting and marketing a show, to get visibility in this crowded marketplace, and securing customer retention. This is easier to do with multi-episode shows than with a 90-minute movie. And it has to be said, there are wonderful SVOD services already doing movie curation very well, such as Curzon in the UK. It’s also about recognising what you’re good at. We are currently quite strong at the box set ‘binging-multi-episode-stay-with-us’ formula. If we do get into movies, it would probably have to be via movie package propositions.

If you have any message to give Nordic producers or creators, what would it be?
WI: It’s a tough question! Scandis are so good already and don’t need advice! I just think that the challenge for the Nordics will always be to keep innovating within the crime genre. Crime is overwhelmingly successful around the world, and audiences want fresh content, to be surprised. But you guys have been consistently innovating in the genre for decades. Just keep doing it!