Former HBO Europe execs Johnathan Young and Ioanina Pavel have resurfaced with their own indie.
The pair have launched May One, which will be based in Bucharest, Romania — one of the former homes of HBO Europe. They are out of the gate with Subteran, a Netflix series announced last October that is produced alongside Tudor Rue from Mobra Films and now filming.
May One will seek to develop, produce and provide creative partnership for quality series shot in Romania, working with established and new talent from both within and outside the country. The company will look to open up Romanian resources and talent to the international industry to create collaborations in Europe and beyond.
In that sense, it harks back to HBO Europe’s ethos, which sought to bring together Central Eastern European talent with others from Western Europe and the U.S. It was considered one of the key international producers in the region,...
The pair have launched May One, which will be based in Bucharest, Romania — one of the former homes of HBO Europe. They are out of the gate with Subteran, a Netflix series announced last October that is produced alongside Tudor Rue from Mobra Films and now filming.
May One will seek to develop, produce and provide creative partnership for quality series shot in Romania, working with established and new talent from both within and outside the country. The company will look to open up Romanian resources and talent to the international industry to create collaborations in Europe and beyond.
In that sense, it harks back to HBO Europe’s ethos, which sought to bring together Central Eastern European talent with others from Western Europe and the U.S. It was considered one of the key international producers in the region,...
- 2/29/2024
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Former HBO Europe executives Jonathan Young and Ioannina Pavel have launched a new production company, May One, aiming to develop and produce high-end TV drama in Romania for local and international audiences.
The veteran TV execs have been involved in several high-profile HBO productions shot in Eastern Europe, including the award-winning Polish series Wataha (The Pack), the Romanian-German
thriller Hackerville and HBO Max’s Cold War espionage drama Spy/Master, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival last year.
Spy/Master
As vp original production at HBO Europe, Young oversaw HBO’s slate of original local language series in the region. Pavel began as a development executive at HBO Romania, working on such series as the gangster drama Umbre and Hackerville, before going on to produce a variety of shows, from the romantic drama Ruxx to Spy/Master.
May One will be based in Bucharest and plans to develop, produce and co-produce high-end series to shoot in Romania,...
The veteran TV execs have been involved in several high-profile HBO productions shot in Eastern Europe, including the award-winning Polish series Wataha (The Pack), the Romanian-German
thriller Hackerville and HBO Max’s Cold War espionage drama Spy/Master, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival last year.
Spy/Master
As vp original production at HBO Europe, Young oversaw HBO’s slate of original local language series in the region. Pavel began as a development executive at HBO Romania, working on such series as the gangster drama Umbre and Hackerville, before going on to produce a variety of shows, from the romantic drama Ruxx to Spy/Master.
May One will be based in Bucharest and plans to develop, produce and co-produce high-end series to shoot in Romania,...
- 2/29/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Warner Bros. Discovery is letting go of 29 staff in Europe, including key programming execs, as it moves to phase out HBO Max European originals and shift towards a new local commissioning model, Deadline can reveal.
Among the top level execs leaving the business are HBO Max Emea VP Original Programming and Production Cee Johnathan Young; VP and Commissioning Editor of Original Programming, Nordics Christian Wikander; and Head of Unscripted Original Production Annelies Sitvast. Mia Edde, who joined last year as Executive Director, Content Acquisitions in Turkey has already left.
In total, 29 will depart over the next 15 months, with the other departures coming from the teams of the exiting executives.
Deadline understands Wbd will continue to invest in local commissions and acquisitions in Europe, but that original programming responsibilities will now be handled by the company’s local linear and streaming teams, and no commissions will be made purely for streaming.
Among the top level execs leaving the business are HBO Max Emea VP Original Programming and Production Cee Johnathan Young; VP and Commissioning Editor of Original Programming, Nordics Christian Wikander; and Head of Unscripted Original Production Annelies Sitvast. Mia Edde, who joined last year as Executive Director, Content Acquisitions in Turkey has already left.
In total, 29 will depart over the next 15 months, with the other departures coming from the teams of the exiting executives.
Deadline understands Wbd will continue to invest in local commissions and acquisitions in Europe, but that original programming responsibilities will now be handled by the company’s local linear and streaming teams, and no commissions will be made purely for streaming.
- 8/25/2022
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Warner Bros. Discovery shared a change of strategy for its streaming business in Europe on July 4, saying that it would be “ceasing our original programming efforts for HBO Max in the Nordics and Central Europe” and had already ended “our nascent development activities in the newer territories of Netherlands and Turkey, which had commenced over the past year.”
The media giant said at the start of the week that it had halted the development of original fare in parts of Europe following the merger that created the new industry powerhouse and amid its “work on combining HBO Max and Discovery+.”
HBO Max’s originals in the affected region include the likes of Danish family drama Kamikaze, Swedish sex comedy Lust, Hungarian spy thriller The Informant, Polish crime drama The Thaw and Romanian comedy drama Ruxx.
Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the company...
Warner Bros. Discovery shared a change of strategy for its streaming business in Europe on July 4, saying that it would be “ceasing our original programming efforts for HBO Max in the Nordics and Central Europe” and had already ended “our nascent development activities in the newer territories of Netherlands and Turkey, which had commenced over the past year.”
The media giant said at the start of the week that it had halted the development of original fare in parts of Europe following the merger that created the new industry powerhouse and amid its “work on combining HBO Max and Discovery+.”
HBO Max’s originals in the affected region include the likes of Danish family drama Kamikaze, Swedish sex comedy Lust, Hungarian spy thriller The Informant, Polish crime drama The Thaw and Romanian comedy drama Ruxx.
Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the company...
- 7/7/2022
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Heavily localized content complementing a wealth of new and library offerings out of the U.S. is very much the modus operandi for HBO Max in Europe.
The WarnerMedia-backed streamer, which will soon be combined with Discovery Plus, rolled out recently to 13 countries in Central and Eastern Europe (Cee), as well as Portugal and the Netherlands, with Turkey, Greece, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to follow later this year. There are no plans to launch HBO Max in Russia or Ukraine.
Variety can exclusively reveal that one of HBO Max’s big bets is musical talent format “One True Singer,” which promises to launch the next big singer in Romania.
In the show, 14 young artists are selected from hundreds of applicants. Having impressed a jury made up of Alex Cotoi, Alina Eremia, Șerban Cazan and Bruja, they make it inside the “One True Singer” house and compete for a €100,000 prize.
The WarnerMedia-backed streamer, which will soon be combined with Discovery Plus, rolled out recently to 13 countries in Central and Eastern Europe (Cee), as well as Portugal and the Netherlands, with Turkey, Greece, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to follow later this year. There are no plans to launch HBO Max in Russia or Ukraine.
Variety can exclusively reveal that one of HBO Max’s big bets is musical talent format “One True Singer,” which promises to launch the next big singer in Romania.
In the show, 14 young artists are selected from hundreds of applicants. Having impressed a jury made up of Alex Cotoi, Alina Eremia, Șerban Cazan and Bruja, they make it inside the “One True Singer” house and compete for a €100,000 prize.
- 3/17/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
HBO Max has a crowded month of new movies and shows streaming in March, from franchise films to original series debuts — and it’s shaping up to be a go-to streaming service for awards contenders, just in time to get caught up before the Oscars.
Warner Bros. films “Dune” and “King Richard,” both of which are nominated in several key categories including Best Picture, make their return to streaming on HBO Max. “Dune” returns on March 10, but last-minute viewers looking to catch up before the Oscars will only have a few days to stream “King Richard,” which returns on March 24. The 94th Academy Awards ceremony airs on March 27.
Fellow Best Picture contenders “Drive My Car” and “West Side Story” are also arriving on HBO Max in the coming weeks. “Drive My Car,” which has been in limited theaters, is finally available to stream on March 2, as is “West Side Story...
Warner Bros. films “Dune” and “King Richard,” both of which are nominated in several key categories including Best Picture, make their return to streaming on HBO Max. “Dune” returns on March 10, but last-minute viewers looking to catch up before the Oscars will only have a few days to stream “King Richard,” which returns on March 24. The 94th Academy Awards ceremony airs on March 27.
Fellow Best Picture contenders “Drive My Car” and “West Side Story” are also arriving on HBO Max in the coming weeks. “Drive My Car,” which has been in limited theaters, is finally available to stream on March 2, as is “West Side Story...
- 2/26/2022
- by Haleigh Foutch
- The Wrap
Launch also includes several central European territories
HBO Max has confirmed plans to launch in a further 15 European countries on March 8, taking its global footprint to 61 territories.
The 15 additional European countries are: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.
Later this year, HBO Max will expand to a further six European countries including Greece and Turkey.
However, HBO Max will not be available in the UK, Germany and Italy for the next few years due to an existing HBO output deal with Sky.
The WarnerMedia-owned streaming...
HBO Max has confirmed plans to launch in a further 15 European countries on March 8, taking its global footprint to 61 territories.
The 15 additional European countries are: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.
Later this year, HBO Max will expand to a further six European countries including Greece and Turkey.
However, HBO Max will not be available in the UK, Germany and Italy for the next few years due to an existing HBO output deal with Sky.
The WarnerMedia-owned streaming...
- 2/1/2022
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
HBO Max is continuing a steady roll-out in Europe with its second wave of countries.
The WarnerMedia-owned streaming service is launching in an additional 15 nations on March 8, this time targeting Central and Eastern Europe. This covers Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.
Christina Sulebakk, general manager for HBO Max Emea, says it has been a “cautious choice” to get the markets launched in Europe, where the HBO Max roll-out began in earnest in October with launches in the Nordics as well as Spain and Andorra.
Those countries were obvious choices as the company had solid streaming customer bases that were already familiar with HBO Nordic and HBO España VOD services. “[We had to] make sure we could migrate over that customer base and get them on HBO Max first,” says Sulebakk.
Similarly, HBO has been operating different brands...
The WarnerMedia-owned streaming service is launching in an additional 15 nations on March 8, this time targeting Central and Eastern Europe. This covers Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.
Christina Sulebakk, general manager for HBO Max Emea, says it has been a “cautious choice” to get the markets launched in Europe, where the HBO Max roll-out began in earnest in October with launches in the Nordics as well as Spain and Andorra.
Those countries were obvious choices as the company had solid streaming customer bases that were already familiar with HBO Nordic and HBO España VOD services. “[We had to] make sure we could migrate over that customer base and get them on HBO Max first,” says Sulebakk.
Similarly, HBO has been operating different brands...
- 2/1/2022
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
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