discovery+ boosts Swedish Originals with Udda veckor, Nour El-Refai series

Toplining the short format comedy drama Udda veckor (Supermom) is Christine Meltzer (Parterapi, Sommaren med släkten) as Frida, a freshly divorced mum who juggles between her career, new lovers and the shared parenting of her three children with her ex, Linus Wahlgren (Partisan, Bäckström).

The series was created by Feelgood’s Mia Hundvin and Kari-Anne Henriksen, with FLX’s Adrian Boberg as co-writer. Emma Bucht (Bonus Family, Black Lake, Solsidan) is concept director.

“Our ambition is to tell recognisable, refreshing stories about the aftermath of a divorce in a way that makes the viewer both laugh and cry,” said Lasse Hallberg, CEO of Feelgood’s parent company Monday Production. “What is unique is that Norway's foremost comedy company Feelgood and the series creators have written and made an original series directly for the Swedish audience, in collaboration with Sweden's perhaps foremost comedy company FLX,” he stressed.

The series was supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond.

US Discovery group’s streaming service discovery+ also announced this week the commissioning of a coming-of-age drama based on the multi-season Danish sitcom Sjit Happens. Swedish actress/comedian Nour El-Refai (Bonus Family, My Father Marianne, Jordskott) will made her debut as concept director and creator.

In the title roles are Lancelot Ncube (Caliphate, Normal People), Oscar Zia (Cryptid) and Yandeh Sallah (Eagles).

“It has been my dream for the last ten years to direct, and I’m so happy to finally get a chance to write and create a drama series. I am most proud of the cast which was carefully selected and will contribute to making this debut the best possible,” said El-Refai.

Axel Eriksson, VP Content and Programming at Discovery Networks Sweden said both Supermom and the untitled Nour El-Refai series are part of discovery+’s ramping up of its local content. “We continue our aggressive content strategy and invest more in original series with some of Sweden and the Nordic region’s top talents. With our strong global footprint, this means that we can create unique content and experiences for our users,” said Eriksson.

discovery+’s latest relationship comedy drama How to Buy a Baby (Alla utom vi) starring Alba August and Björn Gustafsson premieres Friday February 12.