In order to answer the question of whether we can expect more Greek producers to come to Netflix in 2023, it is useful to first answer some other, more fundamental questions: why, to this day, and despite the globalized methods of television viewing, Greek television remains pure internal business? Aside from the demonic spirit and connections of Christophoros Papakaliatis, what made the platform invest in Maestro? What criteria does the platform use to buy the rights to a Greek series? A proper analysis of the data we have can allow us to look relatively accurately into the future and into data that does not yet exist.

The same applies to Greek television as it does to Greek literature: the reason for the limited distribution is due to two factors. Firstly, these are the economic and technical prerequisites for its production. In a highly competitive international market, the viewer becomes accustomed to the highest standards and gradually refuses to settle for less. A bad production (as most Greek productions are compared to other European or American productions) has little chance of attracting the attention of an audience that has learned to look for original scripts, to enjoy cinematic direction, to be impressed by unimaginable effects. and to be touched by the exquisite acting (in Greek series, the actors often only have one shot). Just as a book written on foot can’t compare to a book by a writer who’s paid enough to take his time, research, and do his best, so a series shot in the studio by underpaid directors with underpaid actors can’t compare to book. to be preferred over another who takes himself seriously. Seriousness defines the whole and is visible in the result; at the same time, it does something else: it attracts both those who have and those who do not have a strict criterion; in the end, she conquers all the common people. You don’t have to have a PhD in film theory to recognize a pretentious spectacle and become addicted to it.

The second factor is related to the element of locality and its perception by a foreign audience. Will an Englishman, a Frenchman, an American, etc. choose To see a Greek series depends on how it represents the Greeks and Greece: how do those to whom we want to sell a creative product see us? Like pre-modern boobies? How to mosaic scenic landscapes? How emaciated outcasts roam the ruined cities with outstretched hands? There are many opinions about the predominant Greek image abroad, but it is not difficult to see that most agree on the image of the exotic; sometimes good, sometimes bad, Greek exotic tends to be extreme in every version and hinders the emergence of a commercially favored image. situation, i.e. golden mean. From an unremarkable, disabled person who doesn’t inspire familiarity, who wants to hear a story? How much will he feel that this story was his own? Why not hear the story better from someone close to it? From someone who will talk to him about life in a language he understands, literally and figuratively? We can offer a very good show to a non-Greek, but if he does not find us attractive and reliable enough, he will not give us his time and attention.

“Maestro” was chosen by Netflix because it meets the criterion of technically high-quality production, and at the same time offers a recognizable image of Greece (or a stereotype that for many outside of Greece exhausts Greece): sea, picturesque, island aura, beautiful nature, beautiful houses. We don’t know if the series will be successful (maybe). We don’t know if those who see it will see it with genuine interest or in the same way they see a hopeful tourist spot (beautiful Greece is there, it will always be there and waiting for us). But we can assume that it’s not the clever writing or the charming story that ensured that Papakaliati’s creation was accurately recorded on Netflix. It is rather a photogenic, highly polished contemporary example of what one might imagine as Greek; a compelling case for “inclusion” that satisfies Netflix’s strategic need to spread its tentacles in all possible countries, giving its audience what of those countries may seem familiar, understandable, relevant to its experience. The drama on the attractive Greek island “sells” the attractive island more than the drama itself.

With that in mind, yes, there is a chance to see more Greek TV series (or movies) on Netflix, the road doesn’t seem overwhelming. In fact, the method now seems clear: the combination of a high budget and elements of Greece’s international character can bring the fruits of extraversion. But what constitutes an element of the Greek physiognomy at the international level? Nuggets of Greek folklore, glorious ancient past, Greek landscape, economic crisis, social unrest and political instability (people rummaging through garbage or throwing Molotov bottles at the Constitution), moussaka, bouzouki, hairy men with bellies, European Greek-Americans with strange customs – these are some of the points of view through which the international community has learned to recognize the Greek factor. They sound ironic and condescending, but they are real. Any other approach would also require a different approach to the narrative material and its visualization on our part. In relation to the latter, we have black midnights and little desire to change.

A look at the modern television scene is evidence of the fixation of the inner navel: Greece in the 50s and 60s, Greece of parochialism and vendettas, Greece of the pope and parish, Greece of the 80s, Greece of closed society and suffocating micro-urbanism. The problem, of course, is not the retrospectiveness of the series, because Netflix loves retro; the problem – always in everything that concerns the chances of exporting a Greek series – is that our retro is about no one but ourselves. . Historically, Greece has little in common with the countries whose TV productions it admires, so it’s unlikely that a foreigner would want to watch a series set against the backdrop of a junta, a Greek cult, or a small, underdeveloped village. Retro relies on nostalgia: but no one is nostalgic for something with which they are not directly or indirectly connected.

What made the platform invest in Maestro? By what criteria does he buy the rights to a Greek series?

The exportability of Greek TV outside of the budget, which is now a rudimentary condition, will depend on the new stories it decides to tell. We must think smart and realistic: the great asset of the age is the flexible intercultural connection, which, thanks to the Internet and digital technologies, ignores borders, distances and language barriers and automatically creates a common experience between completely unconnected people. We live in a time when irrelevant people become significant through an app, a song, a meme. This is a unique opportunity. Television closer to the Western standard is not mimetic television, but a mechanism that takes into account how people today speak and behave, their common reference points, everything that unites them, without assimilating them.

In a few words:

· We need more stories about the urban experience, about the madness, anxieties and condition of the metropolitan man, about the elements of everyday life that connect Athens with Paris, London and New York (punctuality, class, finding a home and job, fluid human relationships).

· We need actors who are ready to get rid (at least for a while) of the limiting heaviness of their over-theatricality and open up to screen realism (with a different style, with a different articulation, with a different mood).

· We need directors who take an example, do not copy, and are able to understand television conventions and conditions. its possibilities and limitations.

· We need a Greek portrayal of universal truth: to find our voice in a dialogue that resonates outside of our little room.

Netflix should not be seen as an end in itself – there are also a large number of low-cost producers on the platform. However, it can work as a motivation for self-correction. Greek television does not need to be captivated by its negative connotations, it can do better.