Jan Hřebejk Shoots Nine-Part Series "On the Body," Based on Martina Formanová's Book

Czech Television is presenting a new nine-episode series called "On the Body," directed by Jan Hřebejk, based on the book "Stories on the Body" by Martina Formanová, published nearly a decade ago. Its central theme is partnership in all its forms — including the bonds between parents and children.

In many ways, the series speaks for a generation: its characters are raising children who are just beginning to find their place in the world, while also dealing with ageing parents — who, as it turns out, sometimes find themselves in situations far more tragicomic than those of teenagers.

A shared past for director and screenwriter

Hřebejk turns 60 next year. He and Formanová were classmates at FAMU's film department in the early 1990s, though the two had never worked together before this project. Formanová wrote the screenplay for Hřebejk based on her short stories, and the separate storylines are tied together by an approaching class reunion.

Exactly which of the nine episodes will feature that reunion remains unclear at the outset, so the opening instalments spend quite a while introducing the future attendees, their problems and the twists in their lives. At times, viewers may start to worry that as more characters appear, it will become harder to keep track of them all.

The intertwined fates of former classmates

From the very beginning, the former classmates' lives are closely intertwined — perhaps too closely, given that they all apparently live in a big city. Central among them is the entrepreneur Adrian, owner of the yacht seen in the opening scenes of the first episode. He is played by Slávek Horák, one of Hřebejk's fellow directors who appear in the series in acting roles.

The first episode also features cameo appearances by director Radim Špaček and chef Roman Vaněk, whose characters work at the studios of the Radost television channel — part of Adrian's extensive business empire. Another former classmate, Karin, also works there; she is played by Lucie Žáčková, who combines exaggerated naivety with sarcasm.

A doctor, two daughters and a delicate storyline

Director and producer Viktor Tauš, who has plenty of acting experience of his own, plays a doctor whose wife leaves him in the very first episode, leaving him alone with his two daughters, Kaya and Maya. Twenty-one-year-old Maya is not only sleeping with Adrian but also taking money for sex — and not only from him. After the first episode, it's clear that the "who's with whom" storyline is only going to develop further, and that's likely what will keep viewers hooked in the episodes to come.

Other characters in their forties and fifties are played by Taťjana Dyková, Mikuláš Křen, Klára Issová and Tomáš Mecháček. The cast also includes Zuzana Bydžovská, Iva Janžurová, Bolek Polívka and Jiří Schmitzer — and there's even a chance the band Olympic will make an appearance.

The series is set to premiere on Czech Television in 2026, with each of the nine episodes running 54 minutes.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz