The Cologne author Frank Schätzing at the Golden Camera in Berlin.
Photo: Getty Images, Getty Images. All rights reserved.
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Frank Schätzing, the author of the successful novel “The Swarm”, has sharply criticized the series adaptation of his book. The series was produced for ZDF under the direction of showrunner Frank Doelger. As an executive producer, he was already jointly responsible for “Game of Thrones”.
Like darling in one interview with the weekly newspaper “Die Zeit” that he was very dissatisfied with the implementation and distanced himself from it: “Some things are ready for the cinema, others emotional and talkative relationship box TV. It pilfers more than it swarms. Good cast, but underwhelmed. The global dimension of the threat is not noticeable, let alone the topicality or an intelligent alien strategy. One should have trusted the narrative of the novel more, the maximum escalation of the thriller.”
In the end, Frank Schätzing wanted nothing more to do with the project
Schätzing withdrew from the production due to differences in content with Doelger. It was already known that the director would change the novel template for the screenplay. Doelger justified the modification by saying that the 2004 novel was no longer up to date and the characters had to be adapted accordingly. Schätzing also criticized the fact that the conflict between the USA and China was not addressed despite modernization. Doelger responded to this with one statements: “The strength of the book and adaptation lies in the fact that there is no division into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ states, as this is too limited and does not do justice to the global problem of climate change.”
The eight-part series is set to premiere at the 73rd Berlinale, where the first three episodes will be shown on February 19. It will then be available from February 22 via the ZDF media library. At 40 million euros, it is the most expensive German-language TV production of all time, replacing “Babylon Berlin”.
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