7m linear viewers flock to The Swarm on ZDF
March 7, 2023
Frank Doelger’s Berlinale entry The Swarm (8xone hour) has cast a spell on millions of fans throughout Germany. The thriller series premiered Monday night on ZDF, drawing a linear audience of 6.8 million, while already having garnered over ten million views within the first twelve days on ZDF’s digital platform. With a TV market share of 24.4 per cent overall and 11.7 per cent in the younger target group (14-49 years), The Swarm won the prime time in both viewer segments. Also on March 6, The Swarm premiered on Austria’s ORF, winning primetime as well with a market share of up to 23 per cent.The Swarm, which was celebrated by international media as “Jaws rejigged for a generation of Greta Thunbergs” (Variety), will open throughout Europe and internationally within the following months. The highly anticipated series, produced by multiple Primetime Emmy award winner and Game of Thrones-Executive Producer Frank Doelger and ndF IP’s Managing Director Eric Welbers is one of Europe’s biggest TV projects, based on Frank Schätzing’s international bestseller, published around the globe and translated into 27 languages.Starring Alexander Karim (The Lawyer), Cécile de France (The New Pope), Leonie Benesch (Babylon Berlin, The Crown), Barbara Sukowa (Hannah Arendt), and Takuya Kimura (2046, I Come With The Rain), The Swarm chronicles the struggle of humankind against an unknown enemy that lives in the depths of the sea. When the reckless treatment of the oceans threatens the natural habitat of this mysterious collective, it strikes back.The eight-hour series is produced by Schwarm TV Productions GmbH & Co KG, a joint venture between Intaglio Films and ndF IP for ZDF, France Télévisions, Rai Fiction, Viaplay Group, Hulu Japan, ORF, SRF, in co-production with Bravado Fiction and Beside Production, in co-operation with ATHOS KG. Beta Film and ZDF Studios are handling world sales.