Former HBO Europe executives Johnathan Young and Ioanina Pavel have launched a new production company that will produce premium television drama in Romania for local and international audiences.
Bucharest-based May One is already working on its first commission, the Netflix series Subteran, announced in October last year and produced alongside Tudor Reu (Mobra Films).
The company wants to open up Romanian resources and talent to the international industry through a series of partnerships and collaborations.
“Romania is a hot-bed for creativity, and the country provides an enticing and fascinating backdrop for TV,” says Johnathan Young. “With our knowledge and network in this vibrant, exciting space we want to be a hub for local talent, to attract collaborations, and create high-quality drama that brings a different flavour to international audiences.”
Pavel continues: “Here in Romania we have ideas that won’t be found anywhere else, and the creative talent to back them up. Our aim is to elevate these for local and global audiences, tapping into our unique vision and landscape to create bold, genre shows that feel unique and distinctive, but have broad appeal.”
Young and Pavel have many years of experience developing and producing drama in Romania and Central Europe. At HBO Europe in his role as VP Original Production, Young oversaw HBO’s slate of original local language series in the region. His Executive Producer credits include award-winning Polish series Wataha (The Pack), Romanian-German international co-production Hackerville, and most recently HBO Max’s Cold War spy drama Spy/Master, which had its world premiere at this year’s Berlinale.
Pavel began as a Development Executive at HBO Romania, working on hit Romanian gangster drama Umbre (Shadows) and Hackerville, before going on to produce a variety of series including romantic drama RUXX, reality contest One True Singer, and Spy/Master for HBO Max.
