Join us as we take you through a year’s worth of Deadline’s Global Breakouts. Our fortnightly feature shining a spotlight on the TV shows and films killing it locally has been running for two years now and in 2024 we came across projects ranging from slapstick gameshows to extreme sport explorations to post-war Italian gender politics deep dives. Scroll down for each and every Breakout of the past 12 months.
What Will You Do, Ieyasu?
Image Credit: NHK
We started the year in Japan, where annual historical taiga drama What Will You Do, Ieyasu? was generating hype long before Shogun.
There’s Still Tomorrow (Italy)
Image Credit: Wildside
Our first European Breakout of the year came from Italy. In Paolo Cortellesi’s debut There’s Still Tomorrow, which shook up the local box office, a downtrodden Rome housewife dealt with domestic violence against the backdrop of the 1946 referendum giving women the right to vote.
The Bay of Spies (Poland)
In Poland, Bay of Spies arrived on pubcaster TVP just as bosses were being fired by a new government amid political turmoil, which felt oddly prescient when related to the espionage drama.
Spinners (South Africa-France)
Image Credit: Showmax
Spinners for Showmax and Canal+ managed to combine The Fast & Furious with Top Boy, all the while holding a mirror up to society.
Rewind (The Philippines)
Image Credit: Star Cinema
For the first time in March, we journeyed to The Philippines to profile a time-travelling romance, Rewind, that reminded us of cinema’s emotional power.
House of Gods (Australia)
Image Credit: NBCUniversal/Matchbox/ABC
Ever pondered how The Sopranos might have worked had it been set in a mosque? Well think no more and read our profile of Australia’s House of Gods.
Gangnam Project (Canada-UK)
Image Credit: CBC
What better way to explore universal themes of belonging than via the phenomenon that is K-Pop, done with class in Canadian-British kids series Gangnam Project.
99 To Beat (Belgium)
Image Credit: VRT
When we visited the formats hub of Belgium, we came across a hit musical chairs-inspired series, 99 To Beat, that was utilizing the popularity of Squid Game to great effect.
The Goat Life (India)
Image Credit: Visual Romance Image Makers
India is so much more than Bollywood, and in The Goat Life we located the third highest-grossing Malayalam language film of all time that had been banned in multiple nations for its visceral portrayal of the immigrant experience.
Santri Pilihan Bunda (Indonesia)
Image Credit: Vidio
Wattpad toons are a treasure trove of IP and Indonesia’s Vidio certainly caught on with Santri Pilihan Bunda, which juxtaposed conservative values with progressive to get Gen-Z talking.
After The Party (New Zealand)
Image Credit: ITV Studios
New Zealand has produced plenty hits down the years and it was worth the long journey to see what Robyn Malcolm’s Mare of Easttown-like After the Party was doing to shake up the landscape and pose difficult questions to its audience.
Samuel (France)
Image Credit: Valseur Films
A French short-form animation was a rare outing for Global Breakouts but having captured attention at Annecy, Samuel, which spotlights the growing pains of a 10-year-old boy, was well worth a peek.
The Boy That Never Was (Ireland)
Image Credit: Sphere Abacus/RTE
We hadn’t been to Ireland for a while, but RTÉ’s The Boy That Never Was with its devastating tale of a parent’s worst nightmare was garnering scintillating reviews and we were hooked.
Freeze (Japan)
Freeze, a rather ridiculous Japanese slapstick gameshow, was creating many a comedy moment, and international buyers were interested.
Stranded on Honeymoon Island (Denmark)
Image Credit: Seven.One Studios International
As MIPCOM kicked off, we headed to expert format nation Denmark to profile a Married at First Sight-esque series turning plenty of heads. Stranded on Honeymoon Island was defining the adventure reality genre.
Rematch (France)
Image Credit: Federation
Queen’s Gambit sent the world chess mad but Rematch proved that in the AI era there could be more than one series about the ancient game
Waves (Czech Republic)
Image Credit: Dawson Films
In the Czech Republic, local box office hit Waves, which was put forward for the Oscars, was delving deep into the dramatic events of the Soviet invasion.
Soviet Jeans (Latvia)
What does Latvian communism and Finding Nemo have in common? Dive deeper into Series Mania winner Soviet Jeans and you’ll find out.
Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In (Hong Kong)
Image Credit: Media Asia Film
The year ends in Hong Kong, where Twilight of the Warriors has been awakening the city’s golden cinematic past.