Chasing Fifty

The Markovič Method: Hojer is a six-part series about the capture and conviction of one of the most horrific serial killers in the era of normalization in Czechoslovakia, Ladislav Hojer, by the legendary detective Jiří Markovič.

At the end of the 1960s, when the air is filled with rock-and-roll and student rebellions are changing the world, the older of two brothers joins a prestigious newsroom of the public radio broadcaster. Not long after, he finds himself in the middle of a dangerous conflict between journalists and the secret service.

Set in Czechoslovakia, the drama follows the lives of its characters against the backdrop of real historical events that shape their personal stories. To evoke period atmosphere, the series intersperses authentic clips from vintage Czechoslovak film newsreels, using their original commentaries or newly recorded historical voice-overs by Vladimír Fišer. A narrator, initially voiced by Vojtěch Kotek and later by Matěj Hádek, provides continuity and reflection, guiding viewers through changing times. Under the guidance of screenwriter Rudolf Merkner, each episode’s script weaves family and individual dramas into key moments of Czech and Slovak history: political shifts, cultural trends, and social transformations from the 1960s onward.

Jiří Markovic thought capturing Ladislav Hojer would be the defining case of his career. He was wrong. As communist Czechoslovakia prepares for the 1985 Spartakiad, an unpredictable serial killer terrorizes Prague. Under intense pressure from state authorities, Markovic and his team race against time to stop a murderer the entire country fears, testing the limits of justice, politics, and morality.

Based on real characters and events, this haunting drama focuses on the personal sacrifice of a Prague history student, Jan Palach, who set himself on fire in protest against the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1969. Dagmar Burešová, a young female lawyer, became part of his legacy by defending Jan's family in a trial against the communist government, a regime which tried to dishonour Palach’s sacrifice, a heroic action for the freedom of Czechoslovakia.

Mrs. Zahrádková has a plan to convince the other co-owners of the flats to finally save the house in which they live together and which is in emergency condition.

The young Maria Theresia sees her life clearly in front of her: she will marry Franz Stephan of Lorraine and start a family of many with him. Even if Franz Stephan is not quite sure of his luck and her father, Emperor Charles VI, and his powerful advisor Prince Eugene of Savoy forge quite different plans for them. It looks quite as if the young archduchess must sacrifice her happiness to the cause of the state

It follows young alchemist Amélie as she acquires a magical power: partially influencing the flow of time. But she is split in time, and Amélie from the present meets Améliw from the past, who accompanies her every step of the way.

Finding the body of the regional politician Karas, killed in the spirit of medieval torture and carefully arranged in a strange scene, unleash police hunt for a sadistic perpetrator. He puts investigation team in the way of a complex series of murders that shake the local region and criminologists themselves.

The story of Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, the leader of the first expedition to reach the South Pole in 1911, and the first person to reach both the North and South Poles in 1926. Follows his all-consuming drive as a polar explorer and the tragedy he brought on himself and others by sacrificing everything in the icy wastelands to achieve his dream.

Rendy and Jáchym have enough of spending New Year's Eve with their parents plus they want to learn how to ride a snowboard. They have not yet stood on a real board, just a video game one. They win a season pass at the Arcade and they arrange an accommodation at Jáchym's cousin Milan's mountain lodge. Jáchym has to take his annoying sister Marta with him. They are allowed to stay in exchange for doing housework. The lodge is also housing three hot girls who the boys fall in love with. Jáchym and Rendy have to walk the dog, clean the dishes, clean the lodge, get along with Marta and other things all while they learn how to snowboard and impress the girls.

The only thing separating Nina and Richard from divorce is a contract they once wrote on a paper napkin while drunk, in which they pledged that whoever causes the end of the relationship will not receive a single crown from their joint property.

Frank, a native New Yorker, inherits his ancestral estate, Castle Kostka, and returns to the Czech Republic with his daughter Maria and wife Vivien after over forty years abroad. They find the castle in gradual decay, inhabited only by the long-slumbering steward Josef, housekeeper Mrs. Tichá, and hypochondriac handyman Krása. As the staff slowly awakens from the post-revolutionary 1990s inertia, Frank’s family faces a difficult decision: sell the dilapidated property and return to America or undertake the challenge of restoring Castle Kostka.