And Then There was Agatha Christie’s Sven Hjerson

Since early December, filming is underway in Åland on the innovative crime show Agatha Christie’s Sven Hjerson, backed by Nordisk Film & TV Fond.

The series described as ‘a modern, playful whodunnit with a twinkle in the eye’, is set to break new ground, as the world’s very first spin-off of an Agatha Christie character, and the first Agatha Christie inspired murder mystery set outside the UK.

The show consists of eight episodes, revolving around four murder mysteries, with an overall arc spreading throughout the series.

Liselott Forsman, CEO at Nordisk Film & TV Fond says: ”The production solves in a smart way the mystery Agatha Christie created by mistake when giving her Finnish meta character a Scandinavian name. Placing the series in Åland, where 88% of the inhabitants have Swedish as their mother tongue, enables a language authenticity we cherish in the Nordics. The Fund also cherishes that the series builds a bridge between a small and unique Nordic community and the international series industry”.

Johan Rheborg (Partisan, Solsidan) embodies the meta character Sven Hjerson, inspired by the fictional Finnish detective of Agatha Christie’s own fictional author Ariadne Oliver.

In the pure Christie-esque manner, the former criminal investigator Sven Hjerson is an analytical observer, smart, intuitive, with a dry sense of humour, and as in Agatha Christie’s original stories, he loves icy winter swims, grated vegetable and doesn’t care much about women.

Hjerson’s side-kick in the series is the female TV producer Klara Sandberg, played by Hanna Alström (Kingsman-The Secret Service, Sami Blood).

Scandinavia’s finest talents behind the camera include UK/Swedish concept director Lisa James Larsson (Britannia, Victoria, Ego), overseeing the first two episodes, episodic director Lisa Farzaneh (Quicksand, Tog Dog), cinematographer Frida Wendel (Love Me, Britannia, Striking Out), and production designer Ulrika von Begesack (Iron Sky, Ted-Show Me Love).

The creator and co-writer is BR-F’s Patrik Gyllström, writing alongside Björn Paqualin (Blue Eyes, Hassel), Jakob Beckman (I am Zlatan) and Martin Luuk (Four Shades of Brown).

Spear-heading the show are producers Patrik Andersson and Ulf Synnerholm of Stockholm-based B-RF (Before We Die, Midsummer), together with Scandinavian group C More/TV4 and London-based Agatha Christie Limited (ACL), headed by the iconic British crime novelist’s great grandson James Prichard. Germany’s ZDF, Nadcon serve as co-producers and ZDF Enterprises as global distributor.

Joining the group of European financial partners is the government of the autonomous Finnish province of Åland, which is investing its biggest sum ever in a fiction project - €515,000 (€250,000 against production spend and €265,000 as co-producer).

“This is a political decision from our government both to put Åland on the world production map, and to bring in fresh cash to the local community, as we’ve been badly hit by the downturn in tourism, linked to Covid-19,” told Åland’s film commissioner Titte Törnroth to nordicfilmandtvnews.com. “Then of course we’re very proud to welcome Sven Hjerson as a native Ålander!”

CAB CONNECTION
As explained by James Prichard (see separate interview), ACL was the initiator of the project. As part of the company’s ambition to reach new audiences, notably though foreign language content of the highest standard, the company’s creative director Basi Akpabio had been looking for a possible partner to exploit the loose Scandi Sven Hjerson connection. It took a chance encounter in a cab in Cannes 2015, between an ACL rep and Josefine Tengblad, head of drama at C More/TV4, for the idea to start taking shape.

“One of my goals is to find local compelling unique shows, with a potential to work nationally and sell internationally,” says Tengblad to nordicfilmandtvnews.com. “Having the opportunity to be the first to create a new universe out of one of the biggest brands in the world was like a dream come true. “

Tengblad asked several production companies to pitch some ideas, and B-RF, emerged as a clear winner. “They had found a great arena, with the two main characters Sven and Klara, and really wanted to make a modern Agatha Christie version,” she says.

Andersson says B-RF immediately saw the huge potential in the project. “We wanted to do something else rather than the usual Nordic noir, something more elevated, innovative, tongue-and-cheek, to cater to the Agatha Christie fans around the world, while avoiding ‘cosy crime’,” he explains.

Reaching out to ZDF in Germany was an obvious choice. “ZDF are the prime suspects when it comes to ambitious Nordic crime shows, and they understood immediately the world we wanted to construct.”

The involvement of Åland at the highest governmental level was another key element for Andersson who hopes to see in it a ’long-time commitment for multiple seasons’.

The 2019 release of the film Knives Out and its successful modern take on Agatha Christie’s legacy also comforted all parties in their determination to pull off the show.

Regarding the casting, the name of Johan Rheborg to bring flesh to Sven Hjerson came up quite quickly. “He is one of our biggest comedians in Sweden, and has appeared recently in more dramatic roles, notably in Partisan. He is simply perfect for the role,” continues Andersson.

Finding the right Klara during the pandemic was a longer and challenging process spread over a year. Says Tengblad: “We needed a versatile actress, with comic talent who would connect with Johan. It took time, but Hanna [Alström] really impressed us and seeing Hanna and Johan together now is really fantastic,” says Tengblad.

Filming of the first part between Åland and Stockholm will end before Christmas, before resuming at the New Year until mid-April 2021.

The premiere on C More/TV4 is set for the fall 2021.

Read our story with James Prichard, CEO of Agatha Christie Limited who discusses creating the Agatha Christie’s Sven Hjerson series with Sweden’s B-RF and C More/TV4. CLICK HERE.