It’s hard to believe it has been five years already but it really was back on Sunday, 3 January 2016 that the UK got its first video-on-demand service dedicated to subtitled non-English language dramas. On that day Walter Presents launched in the UK: with the first episode of the gripping German drama Deutschland 83 airing on Channel 4 and another 7 shows launching on All4. The German spy drama was – and I believe still is – the highest rated foreign-language drama in UK TV history. Since then the service – which was founded by Jason Thorp, Walter Iuzzolino and Jo McGrath – has gone from strength to strength, launching in multiple territories around the globe including in the United States in 2017.
In terms of UK content – and it’s the UK anniversary we’re really celebrating today – viewers have so far had the opportunity to enjoy 135* shows from 23 different countries. There have been 194** seasons and 1583 episodes of those 135 shows. You can find a full list of all those shows here.
I’m sure we all have a list of personal favourites – as well as, if you’re anything like me, plenty of shows still to catch up on. My own favourites would include: Before We Die, Burning Bush, Maltese: The Mafia Detective, Night & Day, The Out-Laws, Professor T, Ride Upon the Storm, Tabula Rasa, The Truth Will Out & The Twelve.
Of course this is just the beginning: Walter Presents is still going from strength to strength and promising their best ever slate of new dramas in 2021. In January they are off to country no. 24 with not one but two new dramas from Finland: All the Sins and Bullets. According to The Hollywood Reporter they should be off to at least one more new country sometime later in 2021 with the Austrian limited series Maria Theresia. Among other highlights confirmed as coming in 2021 are: Deutschland 89 (February), Amsterdam Vice (March), The Hunter (April), Gold Diggers (July), When the Dust Settles (Date TBC) and Rocco Schiavone (Date TBC). You can find a few more details about all these shows as well as others confirmed as coming to the service and yet more that are currently available on Walter Presents in the US (via PBS Masterpiece on Amazon, Comcast Xfinity X1 and Roku) and may or may not be added here later, on our extensive Walter Presents UK – Full Series list.
Happy Anniversary to Walter, (Jo and Jason). Here’s to 5 more years, and at least 10 more after that…
*135 shows includes Résistance, which first aired on More4 prior to the launch of Walter Presents but has since been included as part of the service. It also counts Deutschland 83 and Deutschland 86; The Court and Case and Vanished by the Lake, Killer by the Lake and Fear by the Lake as individual shows.
**194 seasons counts Elite Squad, Framed and Heartless as 2 season shows as that’s how they aired initially in their home countries. If memory serves they were all released here in the UK as one season shows.
Square Eyed World 