What is Viaplay’s drama strategy?
Jonas Karlén: Our strategy is first and foremost to invest in great stories. We know that combining acquired foreign TV dramas such as The Blacklist, Empire, Lethal Weapon, Mozart in the Jungle with original Nordic drama is very attractive to our subscribers. But as we cater to the entire family, we offer not only TV dramas and feature film, but also kid content and sports. In terms of genre, we are interested in a wide array of programmes, from comedy drama (Swedish Dicks), drama (Occupied 2), to thrillers (Hassel), kids shows (The Great Experiment) and quality biopic (Superswede about Ronnie Peterson). 

What does Viaplay Original stand for?
JK: It’s a good question. It’s a series, film, documentary or kids content that premieres exclusively on Viaplay. Basically it’s quality content specifically produced to attract our viewers. 

Your window arrangements with producers seem to vary widely and to be tailor-made for each project…
JK: Yes. Once we have found great stories, we negotiate either an exclusive with a producer such as with Swedish Dicks or Hassel, or we co-produce with other partners that have the first window, such as SVT with Our Time is Now or Nonstop Entertainment with Superswede. A third option is to co-produce with MTG affiliates such as TV3 and to get a simultaneous release. That was the case with Black Widows [Swedish version of the Finnish show] and Svartsjön (Black Lake) that premieres on October 20. Our goal is not to replace traditional broadcasters but to find ways to collaborate. The most important thing is to deliver the best dramas to our subscribers. 

Who takes the decisions at Viaplay to greenlight projects and how involved are you in the development process?
JK: I work with an in-house content team. They scan the market for interesting stories and projects. Early in the process, they introduce the projects to me and we decide whether to invest in the development process or not. 

Typically how do you collaborate within the MTG group and with MTG’s in-house satellite producers?
JK: We’re always looking for the best stories, wherever they come from. Luckily a lot of quality content comes from our own MTG brands such as Brain Academy (Swedish Dicks) and Nice Drama (Hassel, Superswede).

How do you make sure you attract the best projects in today’s saturated market?
JK: We have exclusives with some of the big six US studios such as Universal, Fox, Disney and Sony. That’s one way of securing high profile content. Then we want to be among the best to offer quality original Nordic drama. As we are the only Nordic streaming service producing exclusive content, local producers view us as very attractive new partners and we are approached constantly. We’ve shown - through our current slate - that we are serious in going into original content.

What is your mid-term plan?
JK: We want to bring the best stories and viewing experience to our consumers, with strong drama, kids content and sport and we will continue to invest to strengthen the role we already have as leading Nordic streaming service. We will increase our focus on original content in the coming years to become even stronger in that field. 

Upcoming origin Nordic scripted content on Viaplay: 

• Swedish Dicks (10x25’). Exclusive premiere on Viaplay Nordic September 2. 
  The comedy series starring Peter Stormare and Johan Glans as two unlicensed private-eyes in LA is the first Viaplay Original series. Brain Academy is producing with LA-based Viking Brothers Entertainment. Lionsgate Television handles global distribution. Season 2 has just been greenlit with showrunner Petter Settman attached again. Filming is set for spring 2017 with an exclusive premiere on Viaplay across the Nordics set for late 2017.
   
• Svartsjön/Black Lake (8x45’). Premiere Viaplay and TV3, October 20 in Sweden Denmark, Finland, Norway. 
  The Nordic noir is co-written by Ulf Kvensler, Moa Herngren, Peter Arrhenius and Jonathan Sjöberg. The show focuses on a group of friends who visit the abandoned Black Lake ski resort and witness a horrific crime. In the main roles are Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Filip Berg, Nils Ole Oftebro. Valter Skarsgård, Mathilde Norholt. Jarowskij is producing. Zodiak Rights handles world distribution.
  
  
• Det stora experimentet/The Great Escape (24x15’). Exclusive premiere on Viaplay Nordic December 1st, 2016. 
  The first Viaplay Kids original is hosted by famous Swedish TV personality and creator Beppe Singer. The Christmas calendar combines science and education in an entertaining way. Nexiko is producing.
  
  
• Okkupert/Occupied Season 2 (8x45’). Premiere Viaplay autumn 2017, six months later on TV2 Norway. 
  The returning season of the hit Norwegian political series is co-written by Karianne Lund, Ståle Stein Berg and concept director Erik Skjoldbjærg. The show produced by Yellow Bird Norway is co-produced by Arte.
   
• Hassel (10x45’). Exclusive premiere on Viaplay Nordic in the autumn 2017. 
  Nordic noir starring Ola Rapace as the iconic detective created by author Olov Svedelid. Creators Henrik Jansson-Schweizer and Morgan Jensen co-wrote the script with Björn Paqualin and Charlotte Lesche. The show is produced by Nice Drama in co-production with Beta Film that handles world sales.
   
• Vår tid är nu/Our Time is Now (20x58’-two seasons). Premiere SVT, autumn 2017, Viaplay a year later. 
  The Swedish family restaurant saga spans over three generations. It is written by Ulf Kvensler based on an idea by Johan Rosenlind. Harald Hamrell directs. In the main roles are Suzanne Reuter, Adam Lundgren, Mattias Nordkvist. Jarowskij is producing.
   
• Superswede. Documentary film. Premiere in Swedish cinemas autumn 2017 via Non Stop Entertainment. Viaplay in the spring 2018.
  The biopic about Formula 1 champion Ronnie Peterson is directed by Henrik Jansson-Schweizer. Nice Drama is producing.