‘House’ Set for Russian Remake with Aleksei Serebryakov in Hugh Laurie Role

'Leviathan' producer Non-Stop will construct Russian 'House'

Russian public broadcaster Russia Television and Radio has commissioned the first official remake of medical drama “House” for its flagship channel Rossiya 1, following a deal with NBCUniversal Intl.

The Russian “House” will be produced by Alexander Rodnyansky’s Non-Stop Production, which was behind 2014 film “Leviathan,” winner of the Golden Globe Award and an Oscar nominee for foreign-language film. Non-Stop’s other credits include films “Yelena” and “Stalingrad,” which was the highest-grossing Russian movie of the decade, as well as the TV adaptation of Dostoevsky’s novel “Demons” for Rossiya 1.

Taking the Hugh Laurie role will be popular Russian actor Aleksei Serebryakov, whose credits include “Leviathan,” “The Ninth Company” and “Cargo 200.”

Production on the 40-episode season will start in April, and its transmission date will be confirmed by the channel later this year.

Anton Zlatopolskiy, first deputy director of Russia Television and Radio, commissioned the Russian remake. He commented: “We have seriously considered all the pros and cons before obtaining the format of such a famous series. It is quite a challenge for us to create our own version. Neither well-known producers or actors, nor a big budget can guarantee success when it comes to a local version. There are always a couple of ‘secret ingredients’ that make a series outstanding and we know how to make them work.”

The series will be exec produced by Ekaterina Efanova for Rossiya 1, and Sergey Melkumov and Rodnyansky for Non-Stop.

Hannah Worrall, NBCUniversal VP, format sales and production, commented: “With 177 original episodes available for adaptation, this has the potential to be a long-running success on Rossiya 1, just as the U.S. series has been for so many broadcast partners globally.”

Non-Stop and Rossiya 1 have produced several event television miniseries together, including “White Guards” and “Demons,” and feature film “Stalingrad.”

The original American series was produced by Universal Television for the Fox network. Starring Laurie throughout its eight seasons, the drama won five Emmy Awards, two Golden Globes and a Peabody Award. In 2008 “House” was declared the most-watched series in the world.

http://variety.com/2016/tv/global/house-russian-remake-aleksei-serebryakov-hugh-laurie-1201741989/