Crime series “Death in Paradise” will get its first international adaptation – in Croatia.
The non-English crime drama will bring its mixture of whodunnit mystery and paradise location to the Croatian island of Brač. Principal photography is planned for spring 2027.
While the original UK series is produced by Fremantle company Red Planet Pictures for the BBC, the Croation adaptation – called “Ubojstvo u raju” – will be produced for HRT1 by CGM Films, already behind “Sram.”
The series will be helmed by the same producers, Bruno Mustić and Ivan Lovreček, with Jelena Gavrilović joining the project as director.
In a shared statement, Mustić and Lovreček admitted they were “very excited” to bring “Death in Paradise” to Croatia.
“The series is one of the BBC’s most successful programs, and with ‘Ubojstvo u raju’ we will bring that same blend of murder mystery, humor, warmth and strong sense of place to Croatia. We want to adapt the series to Croatian culture, creating an authentically Croatian world with characters and cases rooted in Adriatic Island life,” they said.
The original “Death in Paradise” – created by Robert Thorogood – has reached audiences in more than 230 territories. Fifteen years from its UK premiere, it remains a mainstay of BBC One: its 16th series is currently in production, with the show already recommissioned for Season 17.
It also has two spin-offs, “Beyond Paradise” and “Return to Paradise.”
Rose Hughes, SVP Global Format Sales at BBC Studios also praised the show’s “intriguing murder mysteries and rich local character.”
“We’re delighted to see CGM Films bring the format to Croatia for its first-ever international adaptation, and look forward to seeing how they make it uniquely Croatian against a stunning new backdrop.”
It will be set in a fictional island community, with production taking place in and around Supetar. The series will be written by Sonja Tarokić and Valentina Batalić, with Maja Fišter serving as the commissioning editor for HRT.
“I’m very pleased that HRT will be bringing [it] to our Croatian audience. Having already worked closely with the same independent production company on the successful local adaptation of ‘Sram,’ I’m confident that this new project will build on that experience and that, together, we can create another high-quality series that resonates with Croatian viewers,” said Rahela Stefanović, The Editor-in-Chief of Croatian Radiotelevision.
Maja Fišter, commissioning editor at HRT, added: “A strong partnership between the broadcaster and production team is essential when adapting an established international format for a local audience.”
“We have built a relationship based on trust and mutual understanding, and for ‘Death in Paradise’ we have a shared commitment to preserving the essence of the original while giving the series a distinctive Croatian identity.”
The format – and series – are internationally distributed by BBC Studios.
“The original series has been a well-established and recognizable brand in Croatia for over a decade. It has built a loyal audience here, so Croatian viewers are already familiar with its world, tone and characters. But what we particularly love about ‘Death in Paradise’ is how a proper whodunit is wrapped in sunshine, humor and warmth,” Ivan Lovreček told Variety.
“For an hour, you’re somewhere else. On a gray winter evening, that’s pure escapism. That’s a big part of why it works all over the world. We are not simply moving the original series to a Croatian location. We want the Croatian environment, culture and relationships to become integral to the stories and characters.”
For Lovreček, Croatian identity is much more than just beautiful locations and the Adriatic Sea.
“The real identity comes from the people, and the way of life in a small Mediterranean community. There’s a strong contrast between continental and coastal life with different mentalities, social dynamics, habits, food and language. There’s always a certain tension between those two worlds, but also a great deal of humor in the way people perceive each other.”
He added: “For us, this provides immense opportunities for good storytelling and adapting the characters to feel genuinely Croatian.”
At the heart of the story is the relationship between Petar, a detective who feels out of place, and the local police team. Particularly Marina, whose understanding of the island challenges his way of doing things.
“We want audiences to enjoy solving the mystery, but also to become attached to the characters and their evolving relationships. Since Croatia has more than a thousand islands, creating our fictional island gave us the freedom to draw on habits and traditions from across the Adriatic and bring them together in our own world,” said Bruno Mustić.
“Tourism plays a major role in Croatia. It’s interwoven with our stories alongside island traditions, close-knit communities and the contrast between how a place appears to visitors and what life there is actually like.
He’s adamant that to make a story universal, you have to make it specific.
“Our primary audience is in Croatia and the wider region, but the combination of a globally beloved format, mysteries and a distinctly Adriatic setting gives us confidence in the show’s international potential. We’re absolutely hoping the series will travel.”