Sky History boards Impossible Factual ZDF/Arte docs duo

Sky History has boarded a pair of ZDF-Arte documentaries exploring the origins of the Black Death and the mysteries of the Trojan War from The Cambridgeshire Crucifixion indie Impossible Factual.

Black Death: Patient Zero (working title) traces the roots of the world’s deadliest pandemic back to its earliest-known victims via exclusive access to new DNA analysis.  

Filmed in the UK, Italy and Germany, the doc will explore how the Black Death – an outbreak of bubonic plague – swept from Central Asia throughout Europe in the 14th Century, decimating the continent’s population, with estimates of the number of deaths totalling as many as 200m. 

The lead commissioner is Peter Allenbacher for Arte and ZDF, with the US’s WNET a co-producer on the doc. Arte is taking Patient Zero as a feature-length single (1 x 90 minutes), while WNET has taken an hour-long film. 

With shooting currently taking place across the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Turkey, fellow 90-minute Arte/ZDF single Troy Story (w/t) tracks 150 years of exploration and investigation of one of ancient history’s most recognised and intriguing sites: Troy.  

Outlined in epic detail in Homer’s Iliad, the legend of the Trojan War has captivated and enthralled audiences for thousands of years, with the ancient Greeks revering the epic story of love, betrayal and violence, heroes and gods’ gospel truth.  

For the past 150 years, archaeologists and historians have asked what if any historical truth lies at the heart of the Trojan war myth. In the doc special, Impossible Factual traces the efforts of these experts, following the evidence trail from a hill near the Dardanelles across the eastern Mediterranean, taking in the rise and fall of civilisations, uncovering extraordinary evidence and separating fact from fiction. 

Sky History has pre-bought both docs as 2 x 60-minute series after Impossible Factual brought on a host of global partners for the documentary. Other broadcasters to have pre-bought the series include Australia’s SBS and Viasat, who have both acquired the two-part versions of each doc. ZDF Studios will handle distribution for both series.

Black Death: Patient Zero (w/t) is directed by Impossible Factual’s head of documentary Adam Luria and produced by Daisy Carolath (The Lost Scrolls of Vesuvius with Alice Roberts). 

Luria also directs Troy Story, which is produced by Jerome Lyte (The Grand Tour). 

Impossible Factual managing director Jonathan Drake and creative director Steve Maher exec produce on both docs. 

The series follows on from Broadcast’s recent revelation that Impossible Factual is behind four-part Nat Geo/Disney+ history landmark Liberation: D-Day to Berlin, which was also funded through multiple partners. 

Drake told Broadcast the two fixed points of having a 90-minute and 60-minute film for ZDF/Arte and WNET respectively, gave the producer insight as to “what makes the best cut to suit everyone else and the wider distribution market”. 

“Hours of 45-52-minute running time are the sweet spot in most cases, and with a 90-minute version for Arte in process we can cut two by two hours for each story/episode,” he said.