SERIAL EYES

TALK TO A SERI­AL EYE with Samuel Jef­fer­son (SE#5): The Mak­ing of KRANK

News,

On April 1st, 2025, we hos­ted a spe­cial edi­tion of TALK TO A SERI­AL EYE, our online talk series that spot­lights con­ver­sa­tions with our accom­plished alumni and esteemed fac­ulty. Samuel Jef­fer­son, co-cre­at­or and head writer of KRANK BER­LIN, joined us to dis­cuss the cre­at­ive pro­cess behind the series and shared insights into the chal­lenges of writ­ing a med­ic­al drama for television.

KRANK BER­LIN is a grip­ping hos­pit­al drama that takes view­ers into the high-pres­sure world of one of Berlin’s busiest emer­gency rooms. The series was co-cre­ated by Seri­al Eyes alum­nus Samuel Jef­fer­son (SE#5) and brings the raw real­it­ies of emer­gency medi­cine to the screen. The story fol­lows Dr. Park­er, played by Haley Louise Jones, who moves from Munich to Ber­lin after a per­son­al crisis, seek­ing a fresh start in the chaot­ic world of the ER.

Pro­duc­tion & Style: KRANK BER­LIN was pro­duced by Real Film Ber­lin, a long-stand­ing Seri­al Eyes industry part­ner since the very begin­ning. Dir­ec­ted by Vikt­or Jakovleski, the series employs a raw and immers­ive storytelling style that places view­ers dir­ectly in the heart of the emer­gency room. It stands out for its authen­t­ic depic­tion of hos­pit­al life, enhanced by a pulsat­ing techno soundtrack that under­scores the ten­sion and urgency of each scene.

Authen­ti­city & Recep­tion: The series aims for high authen­ti­city, por­tray­ing the chal­lenges and pres­sures faced by med­ic­al staff in an over­crowded emer­gency ward. This por­tray­al has been praised for its intens­ity, while also spark­ing dis­cus­sions about the bal­ance between dra­mat­ic storytelling and med­ic­al realism.

Seri­al Eyes gradu­ate Samuel Jef­fer­son played a key role in shap­ing the script, once again demon­strat­ing how our alumni con­trib­ute to innov­at­ive European storytelling. The series serves as an example of how Seri­al Eyes-trained writers tackle com­plex med­ic­al nar­rat­ives for an inter­na­tion­al audience.

Click HERE to rewatch the TALK TO A SERI­AL EYE Con­ver­sa­tion!  

What to Expect from This Episode:

  • Writ­ing the Pulse of KRANK BER­LIN - In this ses­sion, Samuel Jef­fer­son takes a deep dive into the writ­ing pro­cess behind KRANK BER­LIN, a com­pel­ling hos­pit­al drama that sheds light on the relent­less world of emer­gency medi­cine. Draw­ing from his own exper­i­ence as an ER doc­tor, Jef­fer­son craf­ted a com­plex and immers­ive nar­rat­ive that cap­tures both the tri­umphs and struggles of med­ic­al professionals.
  • Chal­lenges of Med­ic­al Drama – Samuel shares the unique chal­lenges of adapt­ing real-life med­ic­al exper­i­ences into a fic­tion­al nar­rat­ive, bal­an­cing the need for med­ic­al accur­acy with the demands of storytelling for tele­vi­sion. The series aims to provide a grip­ping and enga­ging por­tray­al of hos­pit­al life while also reflect­ing on the social and polit­ic­al ten­sions with­in the health­care system.
  • Col­lab­or­a­tion with Dir­ect­or Vikt­or Jakovleski – One of the high­lights of the ses­sion is the dis­cus­sion on the col­lab­or­a­tion between Samuel Jef­fer­son and renowned dir­ect­or Vikt­or Jakovleski. Samuel explains how they nav­ig­ated the cre­at­ive pro­cess togeth­er and how Jakovleski’s vis­ion helped shape the final product.
  • Cre­at­ive Pro­cess & Team­work - Samuel provides insights into the col­lab­or­at­ive writ­ing pro­cess, reveal­ing how he and the writ­ing team approached char­ac­ter devel­op­ment and the over­all nar­rat­ive arc of the series. He dis­cusses how they worked with med­ic­al con­sult­ants to ensure accur­acy and how the script evolved through vari­ous drafts.