Japan’s fastest-growing streaming platform U-NEXT has acquired exclusive rights to popular Dutch series “Mocro Maffia” and mini-series “The Swell” from the Netherlands-based sales agent Dutch Features Global Entertainment.
Directed by Bobby Boermans (“App”) and Giancarlo Sanchez (“Horizon”), “Mocro Maffia” is a fiction series based on the popular book of the same name by journalists Wouter Laumans and Marijn Schrijver. The plot is inspired by the recent gang war between rival organized crime gangs operating in the Amsterdam underworld.
The show follows a young generation of gangsters who rule the streets in major European cities such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp. “Mocro Maffia” stars Moroccan-Dutch actors Achmed Akkabi and Walid Benmbarek (“Brothers”) and Dutch actor Daan Schuurmans (“Neighbors”).
“Mocro Maffia” bowed last year in the Netherlands on RTL’s VOD platform Videoland by where 60% of all subscribers binge-watched the entire series on its debut weekend, making it Videoland’s number one series in 2018. “Mocro Maffia” previously acquired by the SVOD platform Maxdome for Germany, Switzerland and Austria and Russian Report which picked up the rights to the series for the CIS territories.
“The Swell,” meanwhile, is a gripping disaster thriller comprising six episodes. Set in the aftermath of a catastrophic storm in Holland, the series follows people from different backgrounds who struggle to survive. The series was picked up by Sundance Now (AMC) Channel for the U.S., U.K., Canada, Germany, Australia and New Zealand, Spain, France, Belgium and Denmark.
“In the last year, U-NEXT has seen a double-digit growth in its number of subscribers and it is rapidly becoming one of the strongest all-encompassing entertainment platforms in Japan,” said Francoise Nieto-Fong, head of international sales for Dutch Features. “After the success we’ve had with both series, both via VoD platform and premium broadcasters, this makes for the perfect platform to launch our series into Asian territories.”
Jeffrey Shimamoto, the head of international business development for U-NEXT, said that “Dutch Features has become a powerful partner for U-NEXT in The Netherlands bringing content to the table that has quintessential Dutch flavor consisting of dark themes mixed with biting social commentary.”
