Manousos Manousakis, writer who defined Greek TV drama genre, dies

Screenwriter, director and producer Manousos Manousakis, an influential force in Greek entertainment who is credited with shaping the TV drama genre and challenging taboos about "forbidden love," died on Wednesday at the age of 74.

Born in Athens in 1950, Manousakis studied directing at the London Film School and started out in the Greek cinema industry in 1970, going on to work on a string of successful projects, including the most recent "Ouzeri Tsitsanis" or "Cloudy Sunday," a 2015 World War II drama based on the book by Giorgos Skabardonis.

Manousakis' most celebrated work, however, was in television, which he elevated to new heights after the privatization of broadcasting in the early 1990s with hit series like "Psithiroi Kardias" (Whispers of the Heart), "Angigma Psychis" (Touch of the Soul) and "Tmima Ithon" (Vice Squad), among many others, which touched on...