A global rush to buy the rights to a series starring the Ukrainian president

Television stations and streaming platforms, including "Netflix", are racing to buy the rights to a series starring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the former actor who became the "hero" of his country under attack, according to an investigation by "Agence France Presse" from Stockholm.

"We are flooded with requests. All over the world, people are asking for rights to display," said Nicola Soderland, co-founder of the small Stockholm-based company Eco Rights, which specializes in licensing intellectual rights.

Since the first day of the attack on Ukraine, channels in Britain, Greece, Romania, France and Germany have joined a series of television stations that participated in negotiations to obtain the rights to the series ("Servant of the People"), which was launched in 2015.

"We have signed about 15 agreements and are still in the process of negotiating about 20 other agreements," Soderland said, next to the series' poster above his desk, adding: "We are in talks with Latin America and the United States, with Netflix and many destinations."

In Italy alone, 3 or 4 entities are currently competing to buy the rights to the series, which is also broadcast in Greece on a daily evening during prime time.

The Swedish agent considered that "there is solidarity with the Ukrainians and a curiosity to know who" Zelensky is, who is attracting great international attention after he impressed the whole world by his stand against the Russian invasion.

"I went to lunch with him in Kyiv, he had all these crazy and funny ideas," said the Swedish, who specializes in broadcasting rights.

Söderland takes his phone out of his pocket to show his photos with Zelensky in Cannes, France in 2016, on the sidelines of the audio-visual sector forum that France organizes annually.

It is hard to believe, according to Soderland, that this "funny actor so loved by the Ukrainian public", despite his portrayal of Napoleon during his invasion of Russia, would become Vladimir Putin's number one enemy and "a world leader who embodies and speaks of the entire nation" from besieged Kiev.

It seems that the series "The People's Servant" was forward-looking, as its topic centers on a history professor who succeeds in assuming the presidency of Ukraine.

The tremendous success of this work in Ukraine opened the door for Zelensky to launch his political career.

"He has always been telling us that representatives have become presidents in the United States," Malmburg explained, recalling meetings with Zelensky.

Although no contact was made recently with Zelensky himself, "Echo Rights" was able to contact one of his contacts in Ukraine, after days of interruption related to the war.

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