Max Orders Season 2 Of Polish Breakout ‘The Japanese Gate’

EXCLUSIVE: The Japanese Gate will open once more on Max.

The Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) streamer has ordered a second season of the drama, which stars Lena Góra and Karol Pocheć, with a script already in growth.

The information got here throughout a wide-ranging interview with Dorota Eberhardt, VP of Programming at WBD in Poland, throughout which she mentioned content material spend for 2025 that we perceive is within the eight determine vary, addressed native competitors and talked in regards to the impression of reveals comparable to Netflix’s Adolescence.

The Japanese Gate‘s recommission ought to come as no shock, given its outsized impression for WBD streamer Max, the place it has set a number of data.

Tapping into issues across the precarious political atmosphere in Europe, the collection is billed as “a contemporary espionage sport amid brewing worldwide battle and rising tensions.” It’s set within the spring of 2021 and follows the story of Polish spy Ewa Oginiec (Góra), who after a private tragedy plans to stop the intelligence service and begin an bizarre life, however is derailed when Russian operatives expose her accomplice (Pocheć), who disappears and not using a hint.

Produced by WBD-owned TVN, it’s directed by Oscar nominee Jan P. Matuszyński and likewise stars Leszek Lichota, Bartłomiej Topa, Andrzej Konopka, Jan Englert, Tomasz Ziętka, Antoni Sztaba and Ewelina Starejki.

In accordance with WBD, Season 1 has ranked because the second-most watched scripted title in Europe this 12 months, trailing solely The White Lotus Season 3, and attracted the most important viewers for an EMEA unique since Max’s launch in June final 12 months, as a part of the streamer’s ongoing international roll out.

Within the U.S., it has carried out notably strongly, offering its largest viewers outdoors of Poland and gaining good critiques within the New York Occasions, and is the most-watched European manufacturing since Spain’s 30 Cash. Moreover, it’s the second most-viewed non-English language collection globally since its premiere after Brazilian telenovela Scars of Magnificence. The information is from January 31 – March 7 and the efficiency of all European native originals over these 35 days.

“The Japanese Gate is an ideal instance of Max’s capacity to create high-quality content material in any language, for any market, and it’s well-liked internationally,” Eberhardt instructed Deadline. “After an extremely profitable first season, we’re certain followers shall be simply as excited as we’re for The Japanese Gate to return for an additional season.”

With the Ukraine Struggle now going past three years, and Russia persevering with assaults regardless of talks with the U.S. seemingly pointing to a ceasefire, The Japanese Gate seems to have tapped into what Eberhardt referred to as “the seek for the zeitgeist.”

“Regardless of whether it is crime, thriller or costume drama, we all the time wish to be sure that is the story that resonates with the viewers and addresses their fears or feelings,” she added. “We wish to be within the dialog. The Japanese Gate exceeded all our expectations to that finish.”

Notably, when WBD Poland’s in-house growth workforce at its TVN community started engaged on the thought 5 years in the past, it had been conceived as a “political fiction” during which Russia assaults Poland, which borders Ukraine to the west. “It actually was very a lot fiction then, however two years later, the entire world realized it’s not fiction anymore,” mentioned Eberhardt. “It’s simply brutal actuality.”

Staying near actuality

The script was then redeveloped as a spy story, however modifications have been nonetheless required as increasingly more of the concepts got here true – for instance, one scene had been deliberate for an assault on a music live performance, however following the Hamas-led bloodbath on the Nova competition on October 7, 2023, this was understandably dropped. “It’s wonderful that the story ended up so near actuality,” mentioned Eberhardt.

Nevertheless, what did find yourself on display has minimize by means of, and Eberhardt mentioned the largest problem now was to “provide you with a narrative that is essential to folks, however doesn’t exaggerate how a lot this might occur in actuality.” Growth is nicely underway, with Matuszyński returning to direct.

The Japanese Gate is only one instance in a pattern for packages reducing by means of on Max Poland that deal with a dwell international concern. One other is Piekło Kobiet (Ladies’s Hell), a collection from Oscar-winning The Zone of Curiosity producer Ewa Puszczyńska. The collection is at the moment in manufacturing, having begun capturing this month, with Anna Maliszewska directing.

Piekło Kobiet is ready in Thirties Warsaw round themes of feminine friendship and solidarity in a world dominated by males, and follows the story of an formidable medical scholar, who discovers his sister has died after an unlawful abortion following a rape. He begins suspecting a mysterious man linked to an advert in a matrimonial journal, however finds the title’s male editor-in-chief uninterested, not like his spouse, who decides to assist.

“The entire story is across the first wave of feminists in Poland,” mentioned Eberhardt. “It’s about girls’s empowerment and the proper to decide on. It’s a dressing up drama, however shock, shock: One-hundred years later we’re just about in the identical second.”

The ‘manosphere’

Elsewhere, one other collection, A First rate Man, dropped on Max on Friday (March 21). The present stars Krzysztof Czeczot as a faithful father, husband and expert coronary heart surgeon who makes a split-second determination that threatens to change the course of his life, after discovering his son is being bullied. It’s the first TVN manufacturing that’s being branded as a HBO unique within the U.S. and dropped day-and-date. “It’s a psychological thriller and regardless that there isn’t any brutal crime or police chases, you’ll be able to’t cease watching as a result of it would make you so tense,” mentioned Eberhardt.

In several methods, each reveals lock into the heated debate across the ‘manosphere’ – the world created and inhabited by the likes of influencer Andrew Tate. The breakout present of this 12 months thus far, Netflix’s not too long ago launched Adolescence, broaches the identical topic head on with a plot involving a teenage boy arrested for killing a feminine classmate.

“Adolescence is a fully wonderful story, and that is the form of artistic competitors I take pleasure in,” mentioned Eberhardt. “In a method, A First rate Man and Adolescence each deal with an analogous trending essential story, beginning with an act of violence from teenage boys that triggers every part.”

Extra broadly, Eberhardt says of her content material technique: “Once we search for any fee for any scripted present, there are some normal guidelines that we share with some other streamer: The strongest genres, one of the best expertise in the marketplace, unique concepts and nice leisure, however the additional layer we all the time search for is the zeitgeist.”

WBD in Poland

Poland has been a key European marketplace for WBD for a few years. Again in March 2015, Scripps Networks Interactive paid €584M ($631M) to purchase a majority stake in business community TVN after which shelled out the identical quantity for the remaining a couple of months later. Three years later, Discovery purchased Scripps for $14.6B and TVN entered the WBD fold on the merger of David Zaslav’s outfit and WarnerMedia in 2022.

In December 2024, the present Polish coalition authorities, led by pro-EU chief Donald Tusk, added TVN to an inventory of “strategic corporations” that can not be bought with out its approval, amid fears of a hostile takeover and an indication of rising political unrest earlier than elections in Could. This got here earlier than Reuters in January reported WBD acquired at the least three non-binding bids of round €1B for TVN Group, together with one from the Berlusconi household’s MediaForEurope and one other from Polish businessman Michal Solowow by means of his MS Galleon fund.

No-one at WBD is commenting on the file, but it surely’s honest to say the Polish political pendulum has swung in each instructions by way of its possession. The previous right-wing authorities had moved to ban international possession of Polish media in 2021, with the state of affairs settling after Tusk was sworn in as Prime Minister in December 2023. Nevertheless, a far-right occasion alliance is at the moment polling at over 20% forward of elections in Could, so the longer term for media and leisure is unclear.

Eberhardt’s solely political focus is reflecting the sentiments of the nation by means of Max’s reveals, and establishing the streamer as a number one power within the SVOD market. With Netflix readying its big-ticket drama Heweliusz, Prime Video contemplating it a prime rising European development driver and Disney+ capturing its first scripted collection, Breslau, the problem is critical. Nevertheless, Eberhardt makes a compelling pitch for her streamer’s credentials.

“I’m an enormous fan of artistic competitors, however by way of manufacturing and enterprise we’re in a privileged place in Poland,” she says. “We have now Max, the theatrical Warner Bros enterprise and the TVN community, which has been in the marketplace for 30 years with 25% share. We make 3,000 hours a 12 months. We have now completely unbelievable know-how and we’re very aggressive by way of manufacturing budgets. We have now the experience, an in-house scripted manufacturing workforce and on the coronary heart of our operation, our personal growth workforce. It’s tremendous distinctive to have our personal script docs, plus now we have our personal investigative journalists inside the corporate and an enormous library of archive supplies. This all offers us this a bonus over the competitors.”

An additional profit is premiering TVN’s largest leisure reveals – Max has launched native variations of The Traitors, So You Assume You Can Dance, Bought Expertise and Lodge Paradise. Outdoors of the linear system, it final month premiered the Oscar-winning Latvian animation Stream, which is able to then launch on the linear HBO channel in Could. “On prime of an amazingly strong unique manufacturing slate, we even have the content material from linear channels and wonderful assets from WBD,” says Eberhardt.

There are a number of studio offers in place, although most acquisitions are “cherry-picked” and are usually for native Polish-language movies. TVN produces movies and these too may be piped by means of to Max ought to the pic match the streamer’s focus.

The plan for 2025

Max has an originals slate of round 20 titles proper now, all at completely different phases of growth and manufacturing. Since launch final 12 months, 4 scripted titles and three docs have rolled out, and this can improve to 6 scripted titles and 4 or 5 docs this 12 months, relying on how filming progresses. Deadline understands the funding is available in at a wholesome eight-figure greenback quantity, not an insignificant quantity for the Polish market.

There may be additionally extra scope for co-production, a subject that may underpin this week’s large European occasion, Collection Mania, in Lille, France. “It’s very a lot in Max technique to personal the IP and exclusivity is among the key options globally,” however, having mentioned that, once we have a look at the European market, we completely really feel windowing and co-pros are the best way into the longer term,” says Eberhardt. “Totally different platforms have completely different audiences, and the titles can work in several home windows.”

No matter kind the funds takes, Ebehardt says the main focus is to inform “inform essential, present tales.” She cites potential within the variety of displaced Ukrainians dwelling in Poland following the Russian invasion and extra in effervescent modern narratives round maternity and parenthood for scripted.

In docs, crime tales that spotlight the previous are in demand, with Eberhardt citing 33 Zdjęcia z Getta (33 Pictures From the Ghetto), a characteristic from filmmaker Maciej Grzywaczewski, who learns a collection of startling pictures taken in Warsaw’s Jewish ghetto throughout the Second World Struggle and at the moment held at Washington’s Holocaust Museum have been taken by his father. It’s going to start a six-month competition circuit in April on the anniversary of the start of the Warsaw Ghetto Rebellion earlier than touchdown on Max on the finish of the 12 months.

As for The Japanese Gate‘s second season, expectations are actually sky-high. “We would like it to surpass it, not solely number-wise,” says Eberhardt. “The expectations for sequels are all the time larger from the viewers, and ourselves. We would like extra drama, extra characters, extra twists and extra nice plots. We have now to deliver a lot extra, and that’s what makes it so difficult.”