Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS), the French branch of the public broadcaster, is set to launch its first co-produced show with internet and streaming giant Netflix. The production will be released in English and French and will focus on the dramatic rise of a luxury hotel in the Swiss mountains.

Netflix announces new Swiss TV show 

Alongside Stranger Things, Squid Game, Wednesday and Bridgerton, Netflix will soon add a brand new Swiss series to their lineup: Winter Palace. The project, announced by RTS on September 11, will be an eight-part historical drama charting how British aristocrats and Swiss hoteliers founded the winter tourism trade as we know it today.

According to a report from Variety, the series will focus on the true story of Swiss hotelier Andre Morel, who sought to open a five-star luxury hotel in the Alps that would remain open throughout the winter. Set in 1899, Morel teams up with British aristocrat Lord Fairfax on a journey including unrelenting guests, devious workers, bad weather and local resistance towards their new, groundbreaking establishment. The show will be available in English and French.

New hopes that Winter Palace will spur other Swiss-made shows

The series will be produced by studios based in France and Geneva, written by British screenwriter Lindsay Shapero and directed by Fribourg’s own Pierre Monnard. Point Prod, one of the studios, told Variety that “having just secured the perfect shooting locations, we are excited about the breathtaking landscapes and extraordinary places that viewers will get to discover.” 

In a statement, RTS said “the support of Netflix makes the production of this Swiss initiative possible, and it will soon shine worldwide, to the delight of both our audience and this new international player in the Swiss audiovisual industry.” It is hoped that with the implementation of Lex Netflix in 2024 - a law that requires international streaming services to contribute a percentage of their Swiss revenue towards local productions - even more Swiss productions will start to emerge.

Filming will begin in October 2023, with a tentative release date of late 2024. Viewers in Switzerland will be able to see the show on RTS 1 and Play Suisse, before the series will be made available on Netflix around the world.

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