HBO Europe’s first Danish original production is executive produced by Hanne Palmquist, Steve Matthews and Antony Root. The show received support from the Danish Film Institute. Filming is set to start in January 2020. 

Kamikaze is based on the novel Muleum by established Norwegian author/screenwriter Erlend Loe (North, Struggle for Life), adapted for television by rising writing talent Johanne Algren (Holiday).

The life-affirming drama focuses on Julie (18) who seems to have it all: beauty, youth and money - lots of money. However shortly after her 18th birthday, she receives a final message from her father. Seconds later, her parents and big brother are killed in a plane crash in Uganda, leaving her all alone, in a giant mansion. As the loss of her family sinks in, she is forced to find a reason to keep going, and embarks on a dangerous journey of rediscovery that will take her from her native Denmark to all corners of the world.

Annette K. Olesen said she was gripped by Erlend Loe’s novel when reading in on a plane from Italy in 2009. “I instantly felt it was a fantastic visual story with a mad, wild, angry and funny energy,” she stressed, adding that the uniqueness of Kamikaze is “the combination of a universal feel of profound meaninglessness, a classic coming-of-age-story and a dry, sharp and life-affirming wit.”

Johanne Algren, added:  “I can't think of a better story to tell an audience - the young human being who has everything and nothing at the same time. All she [Julie] sees is meaninglessness, so she embarks on a journey through it all and ends up experiencing life, not from the outside, but from the inside. I think it is rare to feel so connected and deeply touched by a material that is not originally your own. I am therefore very grateful that the project Kamikaze landed on my desk.”

Hanne Palmquist, Commissioning Editor and VP Original Programming said: “Where most Nordic series for young adults are focused on friendships, life at school and the local environment, Kamikaze definitely turns its back on the home turf and takes you on a tour de force out in the world – from Seoul to Mexico, London to the Sahara Desert.”

Kamikaze is the fourth Nordic series commissioned by HBO Europe after the Swedish comedy drama Gösta, the Norwegian quirky sci-fi Beforeigners, and the upcoming Swedish series Beartown adapted from a novel by best-selling author Fredrik Backman.