As part of the Industry Days of the Serial Killer International Festival of TV and Web Series, Oneplay creative producer Klára Follová presented “Doing It Right: A Case Study on Monyová”, an in-depth discussion of the popular Czech series that won the festival’s top prize, the Primetime Killer Award, last year. The biographical six-part series tells the story - starting in 1997 - of Simona Monyová, a popular best-selling author who was murdered by her husband in 2011 after many years of abuse and domestic violence.

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Follová described Monyová’s death as becoming part of the Czech collective memory, meaning that the team also had a responsibility to reflect her life on screen in a meaningful, respectful way. The project’s approach thus became one that sought to strike a balance between both drama and responsibility without resorting to didactic tendencies, she explained. The creative producer spoke about Monyová’s family as a major part in the process and an important collaborator. Trust was established between the team and the family, leading the latter to also be included in the story with their real names.

From an ethical perspective, Monyová’s murder was intentionally never shown on screen, a product of the team’s choice to “avoid using violence as an attraction”. Follová explained one of the project’s key questions: “How do we portray escalation truthfully while preserving Simona’s humour, ambition, motherhood, friendships and creative voice?” The goal, she said, was to translate ethical principles into rules. The portrayal of domestic violence as perpetrated by Monyová’s husband was depicted as it occurs in real life, rather than playing into dramatic tropes.

This was also done so that others in a similar predicament might be able to recognise themselves in Monyová’s situation and seek help. A campaign ran in parallel with the series, including a special web page with contacts to help those who may be experiencing domestic violence as well as additional information at the end of each episode. The ROSA Centre for Women, one of the longest-running Czech organisations supporting survivors of domestic violence, reported an 85% increase in calls to its crisis line, said Follová, who called this the “biggest award” the show could have received.

With this artistic and responsibility-led backdrop, Monyová went from a Czech streaming series into an internationally recognised project, having also been selected for the Berlinale Series Market. “I think we are the proof that ethical storytelling, commercial success and social impact are not polar opposites; on the contrary, they can support each other,” concluded Follová.