As Beta Film is celebrating its 60th anniversary, we catch up with Riesenkampff on his company’s drama strategy.

Among Beta Film’s top MIPTV offerings is the 8-hour Norwegian series Atlantic Crossing, to be sneak previewed on Sunday at the MIPDrama Buyers Summit. The period drama starring Sofia Helin and Kyle MacLachlan centres on Norwegian Crown Princess Märtha who fled the Nazis to live temporarily with her children at the White House and had a significant impact on US President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s decision to enter the war. The show produced by Cinenord Drama for NRK is set to premiere end of 2020/early 2021.

At what stage did you board Atlantic Crossing and why?
JR: We came in very early in the development stage, in 2016. We read the script and absolutely loved it. It’s the journey of a female heroine who due to circumstance, gets very close to Franklin D. Roosevelt in the White House and becomes a political figure at a crucial time in history. Not only is the story about her and her relationship with FDR fascinating, it is rather unknown, which makes it even more appealing. Also, few stories focus on FDR, unlike Churchill for example, and we will see him through Märtha’s point of view. 

As co-producer and world distributor, we’ve been heavily involved on the financial and creative side, giving our regular input on every aspect. Atlantic Crossing is perhaps our biggest show since Babylon Berlin therefore we have high expectations on its global potential. 

The series was first pitched at C21 Drama Summit in London last November by the creator Alexander Eik and key actors Sofia Helin and Kyle MacLachlan. How was the response from buyers, including from the US?
JR: Again, the true story of Märtha’s relationship with FDR is not so well-known, so this has created a lot of interest from buyers, including from the US, and the presence of US actor Kyle MacLachlan has immediately put the project in another league. At MIPDrama Summit in Cannes, we will unveil 15 minutes of scenes across the series; we’re looking forward to getting buyers’ first reactions. The series will not be delivered before summer 2020, so we have time to discuss it. After C21, we managed to convince buyers that this will be a unique project from Europe, as strong as The Crown and Babylon Berlin in terms of story, cast, production level and overall quality. 

What type of German platform is best suited for the series? 
JR: I believe it’s more a free TV show than a cable show, but I’m confident we will attract interest across all platforms. 

You have widened your slate to content from all over continental Europe, Russia and even Middle East. What is the share today of Scandinavian drama in your overall slate? 
JR: There has been an incredible development in the last few years with continental Europe joining Scandinavia and the UK in the production of high-end local drama for global audiences. We have a long-time relationship with Spain [Antenna 3 and Moviestar+] and recent shows such as The Pier from La Casa de Papel creator Álex Pina have been hugely successful for us. We’ve also been very pleased with the global sales on our Russian drama Trigger. So yes, we’re looking at all acquisition and co-production opportunities.

But Scandinavia remains one of our top priorities as we have a long history with the region. We’ve successfully brought to the world landmark series such as 30 Degrees in February, Mammon and Skam (through an exclusive deal that we had with NRK Super). We also have a partnership with Dramacorp that has a strong slate of projects lined up for 2019-2020, such as Agent Hamilton that starts shooting this month. 

How is the cult youth series Skam doing internationally as a format?
JR: It’s been absolutely amazing. So far we have remakes in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium, with multiple seasons in the making in those territories, and we’re looking at several more remakes, all curated by NRK with local partners. The show is a perfect fit for the 12-25 audience that broadcasters struggle to reach.

What is your strategy to stay on top of the game in today’s competitive drama market?
JR: We’re expanding across Europe and beyond to bring quality drama to the world. Before, foreign language was less important for our slate, but we’re experiencing a big demand for local drama from all over the world and new platforms keep popping up. Our brand is well established and we will continue to selectively co-produce and sell the most outstanding shows such as Atlantic Crossing.