The man behind foreign drama streaming service "Walter Presents" on TV's new international hotspots

Walter Iuzzolino, the curator of Channel 4's "Netflix of foreign drama", tells us about the subtitled shows to look out for in 2016

German spy drama deutschland 83 could take over our screens this year

if there’s one television trend that has stood out above all others in the past five years, it’s how we learned to stop worrying and love subtitles. Kick-started by Scandinavian series such as The Killing, Borgen, and The Bridge, as well as French shows The Returned and Spiral, foreign drama has entered the mainstream – and become watercooler conversation. But looking beyond those two regions, there’s still a whole undiscovered world of programming out there ready and waiting for us – which is where Channel 4’s new streaming service, Walter Presents, comes in. A Netflix for international drama – but free of charge – it’s named after Walter Iuzzolino, an Italian former television producer based in London who came up with the concept. Iuzzolino recognised that there had been a world-wide improvement in quality TV drama to match that of the US, UK and Scandinavia – but he was still surprised and delighted by a lot of what he found. “We love Borgen and The Bridge and that stuff – but [other countries’ programmes] are just as beautiful and well written,” says Iuzzolino. “When you stop thinking about foreign drama as a very narrow prism – a certain type of landscape, a certain kind of female cop – then the world is your oyster.”

Walter Presents will offer a broad selection – from thrillers to comedies and costume dramas. Selecting their 700-odd hours of programming has been a true voyage of discovery, with Iuzzolino watching an eye-squaring 3,500 hours of telly – which certainly puts your weekend hangover binge to shame.

Iuzzolino hunted down top content through word-of-mouth and YouTube analytics, pouring through distributors’ catalogues for both their bankable big-hitters and overlooked gems. Based on his globe-trotting viewing adventures, we asked him to run through the places that he thinks are set to be television’s new international hotspots. Some of the shows mentioned will be available in their entirety from the site’s launch on 3 January; others will be aired first on More 4 and Channel 4 before going online. And lots more of them will be added throughout 2016. So, consider this an appetite-whetter ....

Germany

“German drama really is the next big thing. Deutschland 83 tipped the scale – [a story of Cold War spies], it’s so confident that it could have mainstream distribution all over the world. It was a co-production with Sundance, and has been shown in the United States already.

“The Germans always had a most exquisite talent in terms of film-making, but their television has [until now] been quite mainstream, straight and gentle. Then something started to change, and Deutschland 83 (starting on Channel 4 on 3 January at 9pm, with each episode available on Walter Presents thereafter) represents a culmination of that. The team behind it is husband and wife, Anna Winger, an American novelist, and Jorg Winger, a German producer. You get the best of both worlds: the fierce structure of an American storyteller – clever, sharp, fast – but the elegant film-making style, that clearly comes from Germany.

“In Germany, they have a historically important slot on Sunday night, for crime drama. What’s interesting is that they only do one or two a year, so the crafting is beautiful. It’s like a movie, really distilled. From that we have Cenk Batu (launching 3 January): he’s an undercover agent, a modern day 007, this very sexy, clever, brooding man. He takes on corporate crime, criminal gangs, terrorism – so quite dark stories, but getting audiences of seven million in Germany.

“Alongside that you have Hotel Adlon – it’s Mr Selfridge but stronger and better. It’s a three-parter directed by Oscar-nominated film director, Uli Edel, about an iconic hotel in Berlin that’s owned by a family and shown through three generations, from the Twenties till now. It’s a compelling costume piece, with that really rich Downton Abbey feel.”

Brazillian drama magnifica 70

South America

“South America was the biggest discovery for us – we thought [all the shows were] going to be too soap opera in tone, like the telly novellas. But there’s some brilliant stuff.

“Son of a Bitch is a funky Brazilian comedy; it makes you laugh but it’s got a really interesting dramatic backdrop. It’s about a football referee: on the pitch he’s moral and upstanding, but he’s a complete mess in his private life – getting divorced, practically a sex addict, moving back in with his mum ….

“We watched it on YouTube, [which was also where I came across one my very favourite South American shows]: Profugos, from Chile. It’s spectacular, multi-award winning – Breaking Bad meets Prison Break, and incredibly taut. Four men transport liquid cocaine throughout the border of Bolivia and Chile, and they find themselves hunted by the police and other drug dealers. This could be top class American drama, but it has its own visceral, Latin American [style]; it’s quite violent and bloody.

“Magnifca 70 is like Mad Men meets Boogie Nights with a weird twist. It’s set in Sao Paolo in the Seventies, so stylistically it’s very beautiful: it tells the story of a film censor in the military junta, and his job is effectively stomping out the erotic film industry. But he becomes absolutely obsessed with one actress, [the spitting image] of the woman he really loves – his wife’s sister, who died in mysterious circumstances … so there’s a thriller in there; [it pits] sexual liberation against political repression – it’s really clever.

“We also have the Argentinian show, Pure Evil (launching 3 January): it’s about a grumpy washed-out old cop, but it’s quite a perverse story – unlike a traditional whodunit, it’s more a cat-and-mouse game. There’s a twisted criminal who wants to torture this cop; all the crimes [the former commits] are very close to [the latter’s heart]. You can tell it’s from the land of telly novellas, because they have a slightly more emotive way of doing things, but there’s something that really grips.”

the Netherlands

“We’re used to thinking of the Netherlands as the country of game shows and reality shows, but their drama is quite outstanding. There is one that will be massive, Penoza: it’s basically a female Sopranos. This woman, called Carmen, finds herself at the helm of a crime ring after her husband gets killed; she’s a loving mother but also a ruthless criminal boss. It’s probably the best Dutch drama ever made, and it’s won an avalanche of awards around the world.

“The Neighbours is a very unusual story. It’s got a Desperate Housewives thing, but much, much darker. A young couple are about to have a baby; they move to this leafy, lovely suburb outside Amsterdam, but she loses the baby in episode one. In their grief they become closer to their neighbours who are this seriously hot couple – almost too glossily beautiful … the couples become closer and closer but it all unravels in an incredibly dark and violent way. It’s quite filthy, but beautifully written, and the actors are a real couple in real life – the Brad and Angelina of Holland.

“Another one, Prey, is like haute couture, real class – it tells the true story of the collapse of the ABN Amro bank, that bought and bought toxic assets (Fred Goodwin of RBS was also involved). It’s a boardroom scandal, about the man who led the bank to enormous growth … it feels very of its time.”

Critically acclaimed polish drama series "Burning Bush"

Eastern Europe

“The Czech Republic’s [output is] entirely unknown, but it’s just amazing. We have Burning Bush which is probably the most beautiful piece of television drama I’ve seen in my life. It’s real-life, about a young student who set himself on fire in protest [in 1969, against the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia]. But the story is of his grieving family and how they sue the government who try to smear the boy.

“The Lens (launching 3 January) is a really sexy, clever, arty thriller, about a young boy who’d like to go to film school. He doesn’t get accepted, but his dad is a traffic cop, and says ‘get a job with me’ [as a traffic photographer]. Then Dad gets killed in episode one – and because of the boy’s photos, they solve the case. He gets recruited by the lead crime unit, and it turns into a really gritty crime drama.

“We watched a lot of stuff from Poland and there were interesting stories but sometimes the quality was not quite up to scratch. Then we found The Pack – a six-parter about border guards, and a military conspiracy. The landscape, which is really a character in its own right, makes you want to go to Poland right away.

“In Poland, it had double the ratings of Game of Thrones. There’s absolutely an Eastern European style: it’s like a weekend in Prague. It’s in a time-warp – in a good way! The apartments, the cars, the tiles, it all looks vintage, but also incredibly elegant and contemporary. The drama is cinematic: very crisp, pared back, dark.”

Mexico

“We have one big iconic piece from Mexico. Mr Avila is a crime family story – he’s a life insurance salesman by day, and a hitman by night, unbeknown to his wife and child. The boss he works for dies, and as he becomes more powerful, his private life unravels … it goes really Tarantino, gritty crime, but it’s sort of funny. He’s a hitman with a heart – you love him.

“I know there’s more to be found there … it’s about restarting the digging operation!”

Walter Presents Launches 3 Jan: All4.com/WalterPresents