This is the first time that Wild Bunch Television partners Nordic producers as co-financier and world distributor.

Wild Bunch Television’s Diana Bartha, Head of International sales and Development said: “We cherry pick series and look for the best talent worldwide. Scandinavian dramas are now a staple of quality in the industry so we obviously keep a keen eye up north. But the key element for us was that these three series are very different from what we could expect from Scandinavian content. They go beyond the Scandi noir, deal with universal topics that will appeal to the international market and are of the highest production standard.”

Two of the series introduced at MIPTV, have been selected for Series Mania in Lille (April 27-May 05).

  • The Oil Fund (10x30’) produced by Zwart Arbeit for Discovery/TV Norge, is created by Harald Zwart (The 12th Man, The Karate Kid) and writer/producer Tom Gulbrandsen.

    The dramedy is loosely based on real events from the crazy world of business and highlights the boundless complexity of balancing money-making with social responsibility. US Oscar-winning actress Marcia Gay Harden (Pollock, Mystic River) is cast as the US ambassador in Oslo, playing against main Norwegian actors Thomas Gullestad (The 12th Man), Katrine Thorborg Johansen (Homeground), Marit Andreassen (Struggle for Life) and Elias Holmen Sørensen (The Ash Lad, in the Hall of the Mountain King).

    Two episodes of the show will screen as a world premiere at Lille’s Series Mania in the International Panorama section. The Oil Fund is backed by Nordisk Film & TV Fond. 
  • Dragonslayer666 (12x26’ or 24x12’) produced by Dionysos Films for Yle has already garnered critical success in Finland, including a Finnish TV Venla award for Best Children and Youth series.
    The series is written and directed by Aleksi Delikouras, based on his own best-selling novel.

    The central character is 19-year old gamer DragonSlayer666, who’s mum destroys his computer. To be a professional player and to realise his dream, he’s forced to step out of his room, face the real world and learn the meaning of friendship and teamwork. Dragon slayer666 will screen at Series Mania’s Short Formats Panorama.

Wild Bunch has also partnered Iceland’s new production company Glassriver, SVOD service Síminn and US-based MGMT Entertainment on the international thriller The Trip currently in development.

Top Icelandic writer/director Baldvin Z (Case, Trapped, Life in a Fishbowl), writer Andri Ottarsson (Case, Stella Blomkvist) and producer Abby Haflidadottir (Case)  teamed up again on their most ambitious TV show to date, inspired by a true case.

On the final night of Hekla’s trip with her classmates to Puerto Rico, her twin babies disappear without a trace. Following an investigation, their murdered bodies are found, and the group of friends returns to Iceland, completely devastated. 25 years later, the arrival in Iceland of a young woman claiming to be one of Hekla’s daughters shakes up the fragile equilibrium of her narrow-minded community, reopening painful wounds from the past.

Glassriver producer and CEO Hordur Rúnarsson told nordicfilmandtvnews.com: “The Trip is a thrilling series that goes beyond the Scandi noir genre. A big part of the series is set in Puerto Rico, and partly on mainland USA. Not only will it bring striking contrast with Icelandic scenes, it will also create an interesting cultural dynamic.”  Principal photography is planned for early 2019.

Non-Nordic shows on Wild Bunch’s MIPTV line-up include the ready-made Chilean noir drama Mary & Mike (6x50’) created by Esteban Larraín, Macarena Cardone and Patricio Pereira, and Australia’s drama series Sixteen about sixteen girls who disappear on an overnight hike and come back pregnant with a new species.