The Elite

In Brussels a group of politicians’ and diplomats’ wives form a witch coven, first to help their husbands; then to reach their own personal goals, resulting in mayhem, tragedy and bloodshed – just another day in politics.

Behind every successful man stands a strong woman – but what if that woman was more powerful than anyone could ever imagine?

Five women find true power; a power that is singularly their own. It does not come from their social status, it does not come from money. It is pure witchcraft; magic. They mean to use it only for good, but power has a way to corrupt even the best of intentions.

At first, the women use this power to help their husbands succeed; in the treacherous and ever-changing landscape of EU politics the men need all the help they can get to survive and move up the career ladder. But the more the women exercise their power the more they question their traditional roles.

Imagine a series with the political intrigue of House of Cards, the carefully constructed dread of Rosemary’s Baby and the satirical bite of Desperate Housewives. That’s The Elite. The Elite is a show about control, desire, its main antagonism is between integrity and corruption.

Elsa, the Swedish housewife moves to Brussels with her husband, a newly elected member of the European Parliament. While he is at work, shaping the future of Europe one vote at a time, Elsa plays the role of a traditional homemaker; a role she never dared to stretch beyond. It all changes when she meets four other wives whose husbands are also members of the European political elite - and she finds that the women have formed a coven; through rituals, they can make impossible things happen. After surviving the initiation ritual Elsa enters the coven and learns the craft of magic: the art of harvesting the latent forces of nature and focusing it to manifest their needs and desires. They are members of the elite, so they have all their material needs satisfied, but even those who have everything will find new things to crave. They explore their own desires and needs; these fears can be terrifyingly personal - vanity, fear of ageing, issues with body image, gender roles, family problems; just as they could be societal - and now they have the influence to make a change at the very centre of power. They find that they could switch the roles around; and make their husbands mere pawns they could control. What they don’t expect is that men have their own methods of fighting back, and of course, any career politician sees such a coven as the perfect tool for hidden political influence. The members of the coven have to face hard choices as their personal lives, the world of politics and witchcraft become inseparably intertwined. The Elite is a melting pot of separate genres, but it is firmly rooted in complex characters and deals with the realities of contemporary Europe. The European Union is facing its biggest challenges right now, and it either corrodes away or survives its plights stronger than ever. The Elite addresses these anxieties in a way that’s exciting, sexy and dangerous, and it makes politics feel like a fight to the last blood. The Elite is an inherently feminist show, and it uses witchcraft as a way to maintain a conversation about the change of gender roles. The fantastic elements exist to highlight very human problems and allow the show to talk about the very idea of corruption, both personal and societal. It collides the carefully designed structures with the raw, naked power of natural chaos - both thematically and visually. Though we deal with politics in the EU the show remains firmly apolitical. We don’t take sides and we don’t criticise parties.

Esther Turan
We look forward to participating in TV Beats to reach the full potential of this unique project. We haven’t seen a TV series that is a pan-European story set in Brussels, a high-concept drama/fantasy that naturally touches upon interest for all European countries. As a female producer, the most important thing for me in this story is that we can present nuanced, strong female characters, through extreme, dramatic situations we can gain a glimpse into the deepest mysteries of female desires and social dynamics. We, the creators come from a country where everyday life is permeated with corruption. This series gives us the opportunity to present the surreal and absurd moments of the life of the political elite with black humour and high-concept elements.

Renáta Fükő
The Elite is well-suited for VOD platforms, considering their format and story. It stands out as one of the most popular genres due to its high-concept nature and inclusion of fantasy and horror elements. In addition to the high-concept elements, those who are interested in political and intrigue-driven series will also enjoy The Elite. The main language of the series The Elite will be English, providing universal accessibility for a global audience. However, the diverse cast of characters will reflect their individual backgrounds, allowing for a rich and authentic representation of various cultures and languages. Considering the potential co-producing countries involved, namely Belgium, Austria, Sweden, Poland, Italy, and Hungary, these countries would indeed be the main target markets for distribution.