Wiktor Piątkowski is a writer, producer, and showrunner. He created and co-wrote HBO’s first original series produced in Poland, Wataha, and has worked on four Netflix original feature films, including Squared Love. He also developed the first Polish Viaplay series, Murderesses, and the Canal+/Polsat co-production Sortownia. A sitcom he co-created and co-wrote, Just Push Abuba, premiered on ZDF in 2018. His producer credits include feature films like Święta inaczej, as well as short films such as Reset and documentaries including Over theMountains and Trzej przyjaciele z boiska.

Wiktor graduated from the Polish National Film School in Łódź and is an alumnus of several prestigious programs, including Serial Eyes, European TV DramaSeries Lab, European Showrunner Training, Canneseries Writers Club, Racconti, The Owl, and Berlinale Talents. He is a member of SEAN, the Polish Filmmakers Association (SFP), and the Polish Screenwriters’ Association. Additionally, Wiktor runs screenwriting workshops both in Poland and internationally, holds a PhD in TV marketing, and manages Bahama Films, an independent production company based in Warsaw.

CEETV’s Yako Molhov met him during the 2024 edition of the Heart of Europe International TV Festival.


Wiktor, Poland has become one of the most-dynamic markets in CEE when it comes to TV and streaming and especially in terms of scripted content. What makes the Polish TV market so attractive, besides the fact that it is the biggest one in CEE?

You mentioned one of the biggest factors, which is the size of the country. And now, after the war and when Russia is excluded from the international community, we are the biggest Central and Eastern European country, so the size is one factor. I think another factor is the long history of co-productions in Poland, starting from the great directors like Andrzej Wajda or Krzysztof Kieślowski. And I think our TV market is also pretty, pretty strong and we have all the big major streamers present on our market but also there's always the public broadcaster and private networks, also a few film schools. What is also important is the Polish community in other European countries - in England,Iceland, Ireland, etc. Polish is the second most popular language after the local language; the Polish community is huge in the USA; you can find Poles everywhere. They could also be kind of like the ambassadors of those films or TV series that are produced here. I also think the price, the value for price, the quality that you can get to shoot here in Poland is a big factor. I think Poland is just between those top European countries, which offer great value, but unfortunately for like way higher budgets. You also have smaller CEE countries that are cheaper in terms of production but maybe the price for value is not there yet on this level.


The aforementioned streamers have announced ambitious CEE content strategies but for the time being the bulk of those plans include Polish content. CEE is avast market, with lots of different territories with different specifics. Doyou believe the latest Polish series will travel well across the entire region, both as ready-made content and formats and does viewers' taste differ much int he different countries?

I think there are some similarities, but basically all our countries are different. I've never worked in any of those streaming companies, I've cooperated with them, but from the outside, so I cannot talk about their strategies because I don't know them. But if I have to guess, I would say that it's like a safe bet to start from the biggest market and then put the feet there and then move further to smaller markets, so I think more local content will come soon from other territories, not only the biggest countries, but also smaller countries. And I also really believe in co-productions because I believe that if it's a co-production between two or three Central and EasternEuropean countries, we can make it interesting for all of the two or three markets. I think there's a chance that a Polish show could be popular in Romania or a Bulgarian show in Poland, but I think if it's a co-production with a cast that the audiences in those countries know, that would definitely help. And also, local talents engaged starting from the very beginning, from the writing till the end of the production.


Netflix, for which you have made 4 original films, has become one of the biggest players in terms of original fiction in Poland and has been investing quite a lot in local content. How has the most-popular international streamer which launched in Poland in 2016 changed the Polish scripted market and what're your thoughts on the recently adopted legislative changes that will see royalties paid by streamers to Polish filmmakers and actors?

I believe it was a big game changer for us when Netflix entered the Polish market and when they started to produce. And it was a great boost for the whole market. For me as a writer, creator, producer, it's really amazing that something that you write, you create something in your rather small or medium-sized market, and then it can be on top of the world. Like three of those four movies, they made it to number one in the non-English category in films. And it's really amazing that a rather small project can do it, it would never happen before this great revolution that the streamers brought to our market. So, this is really amazing. And also, they brought international standards, protection for all film professions. I think that the rates went higher as well, so people started to earn more money. Now the royalties are coming, which is also great to unify the situation in the whole European Union so that we can work all on equal terms, fair terms. So, I think that's good that the legislation in Poland speeded up.


I think it was one of the last countries to do so...

Yes, we were one of the last countries. So, it's really good that we finally changed it and I think it's a really huge game changer. And also I would say that what the streamers, Netflix and other streamers changed is they opened the door to different genres and projects that would never be produced. I remember when I started 15 years ago in this market I created and pitched a comedy series set in the medieval times, and everybody was looking at me like I'm crazy. And now, I think a year or two years ago, a Polish comedy series called1670, taking place in the past was created, it was so popular, not only in Poland, but also in other countries. And it would never happen 15 years ago.


Polish pubcaster TVP is currently in liquidation and most recently rumors appeared about a potential sale of leading commercial broadcaster TVN by its current owner Warner Bros. Discovery. Also, Viaplay, which up till recently has been investing into local fiction, found itself into financial troubles. How is this situation affecting the Polish TV market and especially investments into local fiction, are local producers worried?

Of course we are all worried about that. I created the first original Viaplay series (Murderesses, e.d.) and we had plans for the next season and so it affected me personally as well. I think when you look at the trends in every market, it's up and down, it's constant fluctuation. And I think probably now it's not the best time, but I hope in one, two, maybe three years we'll get back there. And the political situation stabilizes in Poland. So, I hope the public television soon will get on track, because we need the public television in our region, it has an important role in the production landscape. With TVN, you mentioned, yes, it's a big question mark for the industry what's going to happen? So, we are waiting but I think the better times are coming.


Earlier this year we talked to two former HBO Europe execs who recently founded May One in Romania who told us that "it’s unlikely that there will be a sudden surge of money flowing east". HBO Europe was one of the leading commissioners and co-producers of premium drama series in CEE, up till 2022, including your series Wataha (The Pack/The Border). Do you believe major international streamers can fill the "void" left by HBO Europe when it stopped investing into CEE fiction or traditional broadcasters will keep their leading role?

I think the local audiences need local content and this will never change. And, of course, there are some fluctuations because of the situation in the US, in the American market. I personally think, but I'm not saying this as a writer-producer, but as a graduate of the Warsaw School of Economics, that from the economic point of view, some mergers and acquisitions will take place probably in the future. And I think the market is waiting for it, it's this time that we are waiting for what's going to happen. But, in my opinion, this will resolve in the next three, five years.

Continues with Pt. 2