Tragicomic VRT series Sense of tumour scores in Czech Republic

Earlier this year, Sense of tumour, originally written by creator and screenwriter Leander Verdievel, premiered in the Czech Republic. And with success, says producer Matěj Stehlík: "Over the past four Sunday nights, more than 1.2 million viewers watched each episode and the share was around 30 per cent. Sense of tumour, or Smysl pro tumour as the series is called in Czech, has so far always been the best-watched programme of the day."

"Sense of tumour, the story of the co-author of the original version by Leander Verdievel and the series itself made a fundamental impression on us from the start. We immediately realised that the narrative form of such a serious story is truly exceptional, and that the series offers a unique opportunity to convey a message and give the Czech audience insight into the lives of oncology patients and their families and friends with empathy and humour. There is still a certain taboo surrounding this topic in the Czech Republic, which we aim to break through with this series." - Matěj Stehlík, producer 'Smysl pro tumor'

Leander Verdievel, creator and screenwriter of the original series Sense of tumour - which is partly based on his life - was invited to the premiere of Smysl pro tumour at the Serial Killer festival in Brno at the end of September last year.

"It is not obvious to bring a tragicomic story about cancer in the Czech Republic. But I am proud that we are bringing this story here. When I first saw the original series, I immediately knew: this has to be told in the Czech Republic. Especially since cancer is such a big problem here." - Television producer Leander Verdievel

About Sense of Tumour

The series tells the story of Tristan Devriendt, who has spent the last six years studying medicine, pragmatically splitting it into theory at the bar and anatomy under the sheets. During his internship at the Neurosurgery Department, he is favourably noticed by the brilliant surgeon Mercier, who, in his turn, notices a tumour in Tristan's nose. Suddenly, Tristan is no longer a brilliant med student, but a cancer patient.

Everyone around Tristan responds different, ranging from dramatically crying their eyes out to nervously bursting out in laughter. Tristan refuses to give up his ambitious goals and intends to pick up the threads of his old life as soon as possible, casually trying to squeeze twenty-five radiation sessions and six chemo courses into his schedule. However, he soon learns that things are far tougher than he imagined.

Sharing a room with an older man with a giant brain tumour, freezing your sperm, unstoppable vomiting sessions... Tristan's hospital stay differs dramatically from the time he was living it up there as an intern who flirted with all the female assistants.

The original version of Sense of tumour is available in Dutch on VRT MAX.