The Seed (Die Saat), a six-part miniseries from Odeon Fiction and writer Christian Jeltsch (Tatort), is now shooting in Prague. Production on the series began on May 10, with filming taking place in Munich and Spitsbergen (Norway) in addition to Prague.
An international cast for The Seed includes Ingrid Bolsø Berdal (Westworld, 2014’s Hercules), Heino Ferch (Downfall, Der Tunnel), Rainer Bock (Better Call Saul, Wonder Woman, A Most Wanted Man), Jonathan Berlin (The Forger), and others.
Alexander Dierbach serves as series director for the six-episode miniseries, from a script by series creator Jeltsch and Axel Hellstenius.
Ferch stars as German detective Max Grosz, who works with Norwegian policewoman Thea Koren (Berdal) to investigate the disappearance of his nephew in Spitsbergen. As they dig into the mysterious circumstances surrounding the nephew’s disappearance, they uncover an international conspiracy with ties to politics and the controversial takeover of an agricultural company.
Details of The Seed’s plot bear some comparison to the ongoing EU subsidy fraud scandal involving former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and his agricultural conglomerate Agrofert, but the connection is likely coincidental.
The Seed also incorporates the real-world Svalbard Global Seed Vault on Spitsbergen into its story. The seed vault serves as a backup storage for millions of unique seed types throughout the world.
“With The Seed, we would like to draw attention to an important global issue because it is about the struggle for food,” Christoph Pellander, Editor-in-Chief for producer ARD Degeto, said in a press release.
“With a top cast in front of and behind the camera, this is an exciting German-Norwegian co-production that will not only reach the German audience but also attract international attention.“
In Prague, production on The Seed has taken place in Old Town and other locations around the city center over the past few weeks, with filming expected to continue through June.
The Seed is one of two large international productions currently taking place in the center of Prague, with an American-produced miniseries titled Lucky Man, set during WWII, also currently shooting in the Czech capital. Production details for Lucky Man, including members of its cast, have not been formally announced.
Additional international productions, including the new reboot of The Crow and the Anne Frank miniseries A Small Light, are also expected to film in Prague this summer.
Lead photo: Heino Ferch and Ingrid Bolsø Berdal in The Seed courtesy Odeon Fiction / Dusan Martincek
