International spy drama series 'Extractors' is back

Voyo/Keshet

One of the most expensive Czech drama series to date is getting a second run, with the focus on another real-life rescue mission.

follows a Czech team of agents who work behind the scenes to bring home people held captive abroad. The first season is inspired by the real-life case of two Czech women kidnapped in southwest Pakistan and the efforts to secure their release.

The six-part series was an original from Voyo, the streaming service that is part of the main Czech commercial network TV Nova. Keshet International bought the distribution rights and is now marketing them.

During a session about the spy drama at the NEM Dubrovnik event in Croatia, Voyo co-creator and director Lenka Szántó revealed that the streamer is currently working on a second season of the drama. The first scripts are available, she said. It’s not yet clear which real-life incident the season will draw inspiration from, but Szántó told Deadline that it will be a headline-grabbing case and that season 2 will see the extractor team take on missions in Colombia, Libya and Lebanon.

Szantó said Extractors was Voyo’s flagship show in 2023 and explained that it was based on events that had been making headlines in Czech newspapers for years. It was filmed at home and in Türkiye.

“There was a huge public controversy in Czechia because when they came back, one of them was still wearing the hijab and part of the public was outraged,” Szántó explained. “We said if we can explain why this happened, we have a story.”

Voyo brought in investigative journalist Jaroslav Kmenta and a real spy to act as a consultant and ensure the spy story accurately represented the work of agents on the ground. “We’re not playing James Bond or Jason Bourne, our goal was to be authentic,” Szántó said.

Anke Stoll, senior vice president of acquisitions and co-productions at Keshet International, has picked up the show for international distribution. “I thought it was a great thriller and a very sensitive portrait of these two women, and you could see the budget and the quality behind it,” she said during the NEM session, hosted by Deadline. “It’s a spy thriller but it’s more about showing what people experience and how they react, so there’s a human drama at the heart.”

The show is now on the Keshet slate. It shared a trailer with buyers at the London Screenings and will continue its sales efforts at MIPCOM Cannes and beyond.