Jonas EMS’s novel changes to Ya Thriller ‘Shadow Lekts’

The children are not good at the German YA thriller “Shadow Lekken”, screening on the new series of Monday Mania buyers in advance, with Bèta film that handles international distribution.

After a mysterious suicide of one of his students, a small high school in the city is terrorized by a website that seems to know all their intimate secrets. The so -called “Shadow Page” is ready to expose everything: chats, screenshots, explicit photos and videos. Nobody is safe. And it turns out that nobody is innocent.

So far, so much “gossip girl”. But the series, based on the best-selling novel by actor and influencer Jonas EMS, is not exactly a German answer to the iconic teenage drama in New York-Inet.

“It follows the same principles,” says Stefan Raiser, who produces for Dreamtool Entertainment. “Shadow leaks” is sold by Beta Film.

‘I grew up with’ Gossip Girl ‘. I thought it was great to look at it and I was somewhat shocked by the reboot [in 2021]. It was boring. When I got hold of Jonas’s bestseller, I looked at ’13 reasons why. ‘That was more of a reference for us, because it was also a bit dark and all these secrets came out. ”

We all hide unsavory things on our phones, EMS argues.

“We try to be so careful and yet we give all our information away to the cloud. We wanted to show what happens to people when all their secrets come out. Is it going to free you or does it lead to even bigger problems?”

EMS also acts in the show, accompanied by Samirah Breuer as new girl Nola, Florian Geißelmann, Ludger Bökelmann, Tanya Nguyen and Marven Gabriel Suarez Brinkert.

Raiser adds: “My 12-year-old son always thinks about what he should say to his friends, he thinks about it day and night, but he is so carefree with his damn phone. One of the things that I stood out in Jonas’s book was exactly this point: maybe it hurts to have your secrets out, but it is really liberating?”

“It is so relatable: being young and wild, take That Photo and in the temptation to deliver it to the real bad guy to get yourself out of a difficult situation. Of course they turn on each other. It is entertaining and commercial, and more popcorn-y than arthouse, but it is still very realistic. ”

Holding on the point of view of the younger generation and their problems was the key.

“When I first met Jonas, he said:” I watch all those TV shows about Gen Z and even younger generations, and most of them don’t feel authentic. It feels like about 40, 50-year-olds they make and don’t know what they’re talking about. The board in our writer’s room said: “We didn’t just make a show.”

“I do not believe in the mentality of the ‘Young Toy Cost’, because newcomers can easily be overwhelmed. You can’t just place young directors and young writers in the driver’s seat, because experience in making films is invaluable. Yet the real magic happens when experienced professionals get back a little and make room for the younger generation.”

Things escalate quickly in the series. Revelations that have been excavated by the “Shadow page” can destroy lives – they are also too juicy for them to stop clicking.

“We wanted to ‘bind’ the viewer to the story from the start. It is aimed at a generation that continues to scroll through Tiktok and Instagram, so we had to make sure that we can pack a blow and keep them interested for 45 minutes,” says EMS, who himself follows a substantial social media, including 3.4 million followers on Tick and 2.9 million on YouTube.

“From my very first conversation with Jonas I was struck by how deep he understands the world of entertainment on platforms such as Tiktok and YouTube. His instinct to cut the core is downright impressive,” says Raiser.

“I was quickly convinced that it is a good way to follow his leadership, but I also constantly asked:” Is this too much? What happens in this curled city? ” Nobody seems to be normal there, “he laughs.

“Then they convinced me to do a ‘deep dive’ and we went a little undercover, sent people to schools. These were the stories that the children told us. We gave them the script of the pilot episode and they told us to add ‘more juice’.”

Although there are great shows for the younger audience – “sex education” is very recognizable and it has very credible characters ” – some of them miss” commercial tone and approach “.

“If I look around, in Germany or even in Europe, many of those local series are very artistic and they don’t really look cinematic. That is not what we wanted to do. I think this format will travel.”

Or result in more seasons.

“We are, how can I say it, very optimistic. We started developing a second season. If you only knew what would come,” Raiser teases.

“The parents are also on the chopping block.”

Apparently the adults are not good either. XOXO.