Crime drama Śleboda (Deadly Ties), streaming service SkyShowtime‘s first locally commissioned Polish original series, which has turned out to be an audience hit, will return for another season under the working title Pionek, the joint venture of Comcast and Paramount Skydance said on Thursday. It will be based on the second novel in the critically acclaimed series of novels by Małgorzata Fugiel-Kuźmińska and Michał Kuźmiński that was adapted for Śleboda.
Pionek, set to start production later this year, marks SkyShowtime’s first Polish recommission and will continue the story of Anka Serafin and Sebastian Strzygoń, with Maria Dębska and Maciej Musiał set to return in the lead roles.
Śleboda quickly became the streamer’s best-performing series in the market to-date, leading SkyShowtime to make it available across all its more than 20 markets. The series revolved around Anka (Dębska), a young anthropologist on a journey of self-discovery, who travels to the beautiful landscape of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra mountains only to stumble upon a dead body. She quickly becomes entangled in a murder mystery, crossing paths with Sebastian (Musiał), a shameless journalist on the hunt for a scoop, and Jędrek (Pacek), a local police officer with whom she shared a teenage romance.
Pionek will again be written by Karolina Frankowska and Katarzyna Golenia and directed by Michał Gazda and Bartosz Blaschke. Maciej Lisiecki will serve as the director of cinematography. Magdalena Szwedkowicz (Forgotten Love) and her MAG Entertainment will once again produce the series.
The show joins the streamer’s growing slate of original Polish productions, including The Cop. A New Chapter, and the upcoming first Polish documentary series, Krychowiak: One Step From the Top.
Said SkyShowtime chief content officer Kai Finke: “Following on from the stand-out success of SkyShowtime original Śleboda, we’re incredibly excited to continue the gripping story of Anka Serfain and Sebastian Strzygoń with Pionek, sharing another compelling instalment from Małgorzata Fugiel-Kuźmińska and Michał Kuźmiński’s acclaimed crime series. As our first Polish recommission, Pionek marks a thrilling new chapter for Polish drama on SkyShowtime and reflects our commitment to working with the best creative talent to produce authentic, locally produced storytelling.”