It is the most ambitious Central European television production of all time: Rise of the Raven (WT) is based on the bestselling novels by Bán Mór, which tells the true life story of Janos Hunyadi, the fearless warrior who defeated the vast Ottoman army and defended Europe in 1456 at the Battle of Belgrade.

Robert Lantos’ Serendipity Point Films, the National Film Institute of Hungary, TV2 Hungary, and Beta Film, known for international hot sellers like Gomorrah and Babylon Berlin, have joined forces on the ten-hour show. Advanced negotiations with leading European broadcasters to board this unique co-production are underway. Rise of the Raven is currently in pre-production with casting in progress.

In Hunyadi’s honor, every day at noon, church bells toll all over the world. He is truly “for whom the bell tolls”.

The series is financed by the National Film Institute of Hungary, Serendipity Point Films, Twin Media, HG Media, MR Film and Beta Film. TV2 will broadcast the show in Hungary and Slovenia.

Robert Lantos is Executive Producer of the series. His feature credits include: Berlin Award winner Museo; Golden Globe winner, Venice Award winner and Oscar nominee Barney’s Version; Cannes Award winner Adoration; Oscar and Golden Globe nominee Eastern Promises; Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner Being Julia; Cannes Official Selection Ararat; Golden Globe nominee and European Film Award winner Sunshine; Berlin Award winner eXistenZ; Cannes Grand Jury Prize winner and Oscar nominee The Sweet Hereafter; and Cannes Jury Prize winner Crash. His lengthy television credits include: Shot Through the Heart (HBO); Sword of Gideon (HBO); Due South (CBS); and Total Recall (Showtime).

Award-winning director George Mihalka is the showrunner and will direct the final three episodes. Mihalka is responsible for hundreds of hours of premium American primetime television, including: The Firm (NBC), Transporter (TNT), and Bullet to Beijing (Showtime). He has worked with Hollywood stars such as Sir Michael Caine, Sir Michael Gambon, Stanley Tucci and Steve Buscemi and is the recipient of the Directors’ Guild of Canada’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Globally acclaimed Robert Dornhelm will direct the first two episodes. His credits include Emmy and Oscar nominated productions such as: Anne Frank: The Whole Story, starring Sir Ben Kingsley, Children of Theatre Street, starring Grace Kelly, the Venice Golden Lion nominated The Venice Project starring Lauren Bacall and Dennis Hopper, the Golden Globe nominated Requiem for Dominic as well as Echo Park with Susan Dey and Tom Hulce. His most recent TV series include Vienna Blood with Matthew Beard, and Maria Theresa.

Completing the team is director Orsi Nagypal, whose credits include The Deal, CW’s The Outpost, and the Hungarian In Treatment.

HG Media Group founder Tibor Krsko (Fateless, Children of Glory, The Song of Names), Cecilia Hazai, and Kinga Hazai are also producing as well as Oliver Auspitz and Andreas Kamm of MR Film (Vienna Blood). The series is written by George Mihalka, Balázs Lengyel, Balázs Lovas, Zsófia Ruttkay and Attila Veres.

“In the 15th Century, Hunyadi’s victories changed the course of European history. Our objective is to bring this story to audiences worldwide by creating a high-end series drawing on talent from all over Europe,” says Csaba Káel, government commissioner for the development of the Hungarian film industry and chairman of the National Film Institute of Hungary.

“Through sheer courage and cunning, Janos Hunyadi defeated the far larger invading Ottoman army and in so doing saved Europe,” says Executive Producer Robert Lantos. “For the past ten years, I have been working with my creative partners to adapt Bán Mór’s extraordinarily powerful ten-volume historic fiction for the screen. In Beta Film, I have found an ally who shares our ambitious vision.”

Showrunner George Mihalka: “Since I left Hungary as a child, it’s been my dream to come back and work in my homeland and native language. I am excited to be a part of this fabulous team, show running the first international limited series produced and shot in Hungary. The true story of Hunyadi, while specific to Central Europe, is universal in scope and theme. It is a saga of bravery, love, perseverance, the fight for freedom, and the eventual victory over forces that threatened not only his homeland but the rest of Europe.”

Koby Gal-Raday, Beta Film’s Chief Content Officer: “Rise of the Raven is a one-of-a-kind, cinematic, and epic story, very much relevant to today’s audiences worldwide. Due to the high quality of the scripts, the international talent leading the show, and the ambitious production vision, we strongly believe in its high global potential.”

Based on the bestselling novels by Bán Mór, Rise of the Raven unveils the adventurous life of heroic warrior Janos Hunyadi in grueling 15th Century medieval Europe. While Hunyadi’s life is troubled with scandal, political power-play and conspiracies between famous noble families emerging from Warsaw and Rome to Belgrade, Vienna and Prague, his strongest allies are the women in his life: Elizabeth Szilagyi, his wife who stood by his side and often fought in his place, and Mara Brankovic, his first love who broke his heart by becoming the lead woman in Sultan Murad’s court and a close confidante of the Turkish leader. In a decisive victory against all odds at the Battle of Belgrade, Hunyadi puts an end to the Ottoman invasion, shaping the history of Europe.