Beta Film attracts buyers with The Swarm, Agent Hamilton, Estonia

The sale announced today comes on top of earlier deals on the spy thriller Agent Hamilton - New Missions with MHz in the U.S., TV2 in Norway, DR for Denmark, NPO for Netherlands and Syn for Iceland.

The two seasons of the Swedish series - Agent Hamilton and its sequel Agent Hamilton-New Missions starring Jakob Oftebro were produced by Dramacorp Pampas Studios, in co-production with TV4/C-More, Beta Film and ZDF.

The sale to AXN Co of Agent Hamilton reboot based on Jan Guillou’s best-selling spy novels and characters, was part of an overall package deal with Japan’s pay-TV broadcaster announced April 18 by the major European independent group headed by CEO Jan Mojto.

The Japanese package deal also included the three seasons of the Canadian hit crime show Hudson & Rex featuring the detective Hudson and his partner and former K-9 dog Rex, which has sold to over 120 territories worldwide including TV4 in Sweden and TV2 Denmark.

In a separate deal, Beta Film closed the event eco-thriller The Swarm co-produced by Viaplay, to Sky UK and Moviestar+ in Spain.

The series has gathered a record audience on Germany’s ZDF with over 10 million views per episode on linear and streaming. It will next launch on Viaplay in the Nordics May 28.

Produced by Game of Thrones’ executive producer Frank Doelger and NDF Int'l Production's Eric Welbers, The Swarm is one of Europe’s biggest TV productions to date, commissioned by ZDF, France TV, Viaplay, Rai, ORT, SFR and Hulu Japan.

The show which opened the Berlinale Series last February chronicles the struggle of humankind against an unknown enemy that lives in the depths of the sea. The stellar ensemble cast playing a small group of scientists trying to save humankind, includes Swedish actor Alexander Karim (The Lawyer) and Finland’s Krista Kosonen (Beforeigners).

AT MIPTV, Beta Film held various high-profile events for its buyers and the trade press, including its tradition Beta Brunch - April 18 - where Jan Mojto and Beta Film’s sales team introduced the group’s packed spring line up.

Next to Elsa Morante’s La Storia, the AI surveillance thriller Concordia by The Swarm’s multi- Primetime Emmy-award winner Frank Doelger, Beta Film’s slate of mega-European series pitched in Cannes includes the Finnish/Estonian/Swedish disaster thriller Estonia.

The eight-part series based on the still unresolved true sinking of the MS Estonia ferry in 1994, is now in post-production.

The show produced by Finland’s major production house Fisher King, with Panache Productions, Amrion and Kärnfilm, continues to gather heat among buyers, according to Justus Riesenkampff, EVP Nordics & Benelux who is confident to raise the remaining 50% of the budget, outside Scandinavia and Estonia.

“It’s a mega project, from visionary creators [writer Miikko Oikkonen, concept director Måns Månsson], which it grabbing a lot of attention from buyers beyond Germany, where we’ve secured a deal with Prosieben. We will soon announce other pre-sales,” said the sales executive.

As previously announced, in our story: Estonia‘s producers dive into the making of Beta Film’s event series showcased at Mipcom, filming of the €15m series commissioned by MTV3 Finland, C More-TV4 Sweden and Telia in Estonia, required warfare-type of organisation and a sophisticated level of production, compared by its producers Matti Halonen and Johannes Lassila to a James Bond movie.

Estonia’s production outfit Fisher King is among the four Nordic labels part of Beta Nordic Studios, alongside Sweden’s Unlimited Stories, Iceland’s Sagafilm and Norway’s Cinenord.

“We’ve reached a significant level with these companies and are very happy, but we can still expand further in the Nordics,” said Riesenkampff, chairman of Beta Nordic Studios.

The first Unlimited Stories’ production handled by Beta Film and Beta Cinema is the anticipated English language feature Hammarskjöld starring Michael Persbrandt as the legendary Swedish UN General Secretary and Nobel Peace Prize winner Dag Hammarskjöld. The film will be released in the Nordics by Nordisk Film.