New TV series: Studňa and The Greatest

The week of 2 November brings Studňa, Tereza Kopáčová’s drama about the Jelínek family, to TV Markíza. Internationally, The Greatest follows Muhammad Ali’s transformation from Cassius Clay into a sporting and cultural figure, with family, faith and public life alongside boxing.²¹

Slovakia and Czechia

This week’s regional selection is a Czech production making its television premiere on Slovakia’s TV Markíza. Studňa is a six-part Voyo Original whose account of a family in Vonoklasy stretches from a young couple’s first attachment to a fatal tragedy and its aftermath.²

Studňa

Tereza Kopáčová · TV Markíza · 2 November 2026

The starting point is a relationship, rather than the tragedy that later defined the family’s story. According to TV Markíza’s account, Marie and Standa Jelínek met at a village dance in 1932, married and established their home in Vonoklasy, in central Bohemia. Their long-awaited son, Slávek, grows up between loyalty to his parents and a wish for a life of his own. The broadcaster describes a couple who believe their strength lies in staying together against whatever life brings, while indicating that their troubles cannot all be attributed to fate. The series follows their early love, the night in 1968 when the couple died, and the events that followed. Directed by Tereza Kopáčová, it begins on TV Markíza on 2 November, with episodes scheduled for Mondays at 20:30.²

David Švehlík and Johana Matoušková play Standa and Marie from youth into later middle age; Filip František Červenka portrays the adult Slávek. The supporting cast includes Jana Nagyová as Marie’s mother, Marián Mitaš as the neighbour Gombár and Gabriela Marcinková as Petra, Slávek’s colleague and lover. Miro Šifra and Kristina Májová co-wrote the screenplay. Markíza says its development involved examining contemporary files and municipal chronicles, as well as consulting psychologists. Kopáčová identifies toxic relationships and mental health as themes of the drama, placing the family’s internal relationships alongside the reconstruction of the historical events. The production is listed under the original Czech title Studna. Its arrival on Markíza follows recognition elsewhere: the broadcaster reports three České levy, for the series and the lead performances by Švehlík and Matoušková, plus the Czech Film Critics’ Award in the Mimo kino category. It also reports International Film Gala awards for series, direction and editing.²

International

The international selection turns to the life of Muhammad Ali. The Associated Press’s streaming preview describes a series that places the boxer’s achievements alongside the personal commitments and public attitudes that shaped his life.¹

The Greatest

Ben Watkins · Prime Video · 4 November 2026

Ben Watkins’s The Greatest arrives on Prime Video on 4 November. The Associated Press describes it as the first authorized live-action series about Muhammad Ali. Its biographical arc follows the transformation from Cassius Clay into a figure whose significance extended beyond sport. Boxing achievements form part of that account, but the stated scope also takes in family, faith and civic attitudes: the series is concerned with the person outside the spotlight as well as the athlete within it.¹

That distinction is central to the premise outlined by the Associated Press. Rather than describing only a succession of sporting milestones, its preview identifies Ali’s private life and his emergence as a cultural icon as subjects of the dramatization. The authorized status concerns the production’s relationship to its subject; the account of what the series covers includes both his public transformation and the relationships and beliefs beyond his boxing career.¹