BNT's "The Portal" is in the top 10 best TV series on European Public Broadcasters for 2021

Bulgarian National Television’s (BNT) series, “The Portal”, is among the 10 best TV series, broadcasted by European public media outlets.

The production will be presented during the annual meeting of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) "Proud to Present Fiction 2021", scheduled for November 9. This year the forum will showcase the 10 best European media fictional series for adults that were recently produced, some of which are yet to premiere. The session will be held online and will give the members of EBU the opportunity to present their productions, share experiences and broaden their opportunities for showcases in foreign countries.

The event is not competitive – the participation in the prestigious selection is a success for the series’ creators.

BNT broadcasted the 6-episode adventure drama with romantic, science-fiction, and intriguing crime, this spring. The show brought the viewers back in time and immersed them in the world of the music field.

It tells the story of criminal psychologist Krum Bonev (played by Velislav Pavlov), who finds himself in the year 1979 in order to investigate a murder, that has not yet been commited. Meanwhile, an intruder from the past – the charismatic scientist Dzhinghibi (played by Aleksandar Kunev) starts his adventure in 2019.

“The Portal” is also the last production the memorable actress Tatyana Lolova had a role in. The character of Aunt Zorka – a high-spirited woman that keeps her bright personality despite the vicissitudes of life, was created especially for her.

The screenwriters for “The Portal” are Matey Konstantinov, Iliyan Dzhevelekov, and Nelly Dimitrova, the director is Iliyan Dzhevelekov, the cameraman is Martin Balkanski, the creative person is Georgi Dimitrov and the executive producer was “Miramar film”.

The recognition by foreign professionalists comes after the series received exceptionally positive reviews from both the audience and the critics in Bulgaria. Silviya Nedkova, a writer for the “Ploshtad Slaveykov” website, called it Bulgaria’s “first series that successfully follow the western standards”, while Mitko Novkov, a journalist, critic, and writer, defined the plot as “fascinating”, the mystery as “obsessive” and the detective element as “perfectly executed in compliance with the genre’s canons”, in the website kultura.bg.

EBU’s selection includes two more series by the Swedish television SVT – “Dough” and “Thin Blue Line”, “The Optimists – Caribbean Season” (Russia), “New Heights” (Switzerland), “Lockdown” (Belgium), as well as four German series – “Marnow Murders” by ARD/NDR and “Loving Her”, “Sheeple” and “Fury” by one of the biggest European TV broadcasters – ZDF.