''The Sleepers'' ( cz, Bez vědomí) is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

drama television series, that premiered on

HBO Europe HBO Europe is a premium television group of channels by HBO. It is available as a group of film channels and streaming television services in Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegr ...

in November 2019.Christopher Vourlias
"Director Ivan Zacharias and Actor David Nykl on HBO Spy Drama ‘Sleepers’"
''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', July 4, 2019. An

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...

thriller created by Ivan Zachariáš and Ondřej Gabriel, the series stars Martin Myšička and

Tatiana Pauhofová Tatiana Pauhofová (born 13 August 1983) is a Slovak actress born in Bratislava. Life and career Tatiana (Tania) Pauhofová studied Acting at Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava. She was chosen among the 'Shooting Stars' of European Fi ...

as Victor and Marie, longtime political exiles from

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

who return to the country on the eve of the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...

. Soon after their return, however, they are involved in a car accident which leaves Marie in a coma; when she awakes, Victor has disappeared and nobody knows where he is, forcing Marie to solve the questions of whether his disappearance was politically motivated, and whether she is in danger herself. The cast also includes Jan Vlasák, Martin Hofmann,

Lenka Vlasáková Lenka Vlasáková (born 27 April 1972, in Prague) is a Czech actress. She played the title role in ''Lea'', released in 1997; Lucie in ''Kawasaki's Rose'', released in 2010; and ''U mě dobrý'' (''Fine with me''), released in 2008. Selected fi ...

, Petr Lnenicka,

Hattie Morahan Harriet Jane Morahan (born 7 October 1978) is an English actress. Her roles include Sister Clara in The Golden Compass (film), ''The Golden Compass'' (2007), Gale Benson in ''The Bank Job'' (2008), Alice in ''The Bletchley Circle'' (2012–2014 ...

David Nykl David Nykl (born 7 February 1967) is a Czech-Canadian actor of film, television, commercials and theater. He is best known for portraying Dr. Radek Zelenka in the SyFy television series ''Stargate Atlantis'' and Anatoly Knyazev in the DC Com ...

, Kristýna Podzimková and Jevgenij Libeznuk. CIA partner and world-renowned expert in spy technology, H. Keith Melton, and expert in Czechoslovak secret service, Daniel Povolný, also contributed to the series as an expert advisor. The series was shot primarily in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, with some location shooting in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Filming in Prague was complicated by the fact that Pauhofová was simultaneously performing in a stage play in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

, in neighbouring

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

, meaning long commutes between the set and the theatre. In advance of its television premiere, two episodes of the series received preview screenings at the

Karlovy Vary Film Festival The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival ( cs, Mezinárodní filmový festival Karlovy Vary) is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become ...

, and in the Primetime program at the

2019 Toronto International Film Festival The 44th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 5 to 15 September 2019. The opening gala was the documentary film '' Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band'', directed by Daniel Roher, and the festival closed with a ...

. The series received the honorable mention from international jury on

Serial Killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

festival.

References

External links

* 2010s Czech television series Czech drama television series 2019 Czech television series debuts Political drama television series HBO Europe original programming Espionage television series Czech-language HBO original programming {{CzechRepublic-tv-prog-stub