Netflix creative partnership with Winger
September 13, 2021
Netflix has announced a multi-year partnership with the creator of critically acclaimed mini-series Unorthodox, Anna Winger, and her production company Airlift Productions. The overall deal will see Winger and Airlift Productions develop and produce international drama series for Netflix.
The Airlift Productions team expands with the new addition of Camille McCurry as partner. Based in Berlin, the production company is working with writers from all around the world on projects set in Europe, Africa and the UK. Winger will also work with Netflix’s Grow Creative initiative to help foster the next generation of talent in Europe.
The first project for the partnership with Netflix will be Transatlantic (working title), a drama series set during the 1940 refugee crisis in Marseilles, France. It is inspired by the true adventures of the Emergency Rescue Committee and Julie Orringer’s 2019 novel, The Flight Portfolio. The series is created by Winger and Daniel Hendler and is currently in pre-production.
Winger is also working with Anne Mensah’s team in the UK on a contemporary original series set in the English countryside.
Winger said: “Berlin is a crossroads for international artists. As an American living and working here, far from Hollywood, my work is deeply rooted in local conversations. I founded Airlift as an umbrella for resulting collaborations and am thrilled that Netflix provides us with such a direct connection to the global audience. This partnership is an opportunity to build on our Unorthodox experience, bringing ambitious projects to life.”
Rachel Eggebeen, Director of Original Series, EMEA, Netflix, “We are very excited about our new partnership with Anna. Having witnessed her magic whilst collaborating on Unorthodox, we’re already aware of her unique talent for turning stories into thrilling global hits. The combination of Anna’s creative vision and our ambitions for our growing European drama offering align perfectly. We’re looking forward to working with Anna and the team at Airlift Productions to bring their series to our members in Germany and around the world.”
Winger is an American writer, producer and creator of the Emmy & Peabody award-winning series Unorthodox and Deutschland83. Raised in Kenya, Massachusetts and Mexico, she studied at Columbia University in New York. Her novel, This Must Be the Place, is published by Riverhead. Her personal essays have appeared in the New York Times, the FAZ and the Süddeutsche Zeitung.