Max Anger-With One Eye Open is the first series to hit TV screens since Mikael Newihl joined Stockholm-based Nice Drama as Creative Director in 2018, and his first assignment as head-writer as well as executive producer. Co-writers are Anders Sparring (The Hunters), Jörgen Hjerdt (Blue Eyes, Sthlm Requiem), Pauline Wolff (Sthlm Requiem) and Åsa Anderberg Strollo.

The eight-part TV show is based on Swedish author and TV personality Martin Österdahl’s spy novel Ask No Mercy, first in a best-selling book series about former special ops soldier Max Anger.

Lisa Farzaneh (Quicksand, Agent Hamilton) and Jesper W. Nielsen (Greyzone, Dicte) shared the directing duties, working with a strong cast including Adam Lundgren (Chernobyl, The Restaurant) Evin Ahmad (Snabba Cash, The Rain), Johan Rheborg (Partisan), Joel Spira (Thicker than Water), and Ieva Andrejevaitė (Berlin Station) among others.

The story is set mainly in 1996 in a volatile Russia, where a new president is about to be elected. Max Anger is working for Vektor, a think tank conducting research on Russia, while secretly nurturing a love affair with his Russian colleague Pashie. When she suddenly disappears, he is plunged into a world of crime, corruption and international intrigue in St. Petersburg, where the fates of both Pashie and an entire country hang in the balance.

The series was produced by Nice Drama’s Lejla Bešić and Jan Marnell, in association with the UK’s Twelve Town, with support from Nordisk Film & TV Fond.

REinvent International Sales handles distribution.

When did the project first land on your desk? The first time I heard about it was in 2018 through Christian Wikander (then working at London-based Twelve Town as head of co-production). The series was originally meant to be adapted by Lars Lundström and Anders Sparring…
Mikael Newihl: Big projects can take a while to get a greenlight and they often change shape along the way. Christian Wikander and Stefan Baron [at the time at Nice Drama, before moving to Yellow Bird] initiated the project and later Alexander Tanno [Nice Drama CEO] took over, and it became real, at the same time as I joined Nice Drama as Head of Development. That was two and a half years ago. I always had the creative lead from Nice Drama on the project and became head-writer before we got the confirmed greenlight. Christian Wikander was a great force in the project until he left for HBO a year ago, and Alexander Tanno has been a real rock throughout the project.

Anders Sparring was there from the beginning. He is wonderful to work with. He liked the ideas I had and wrote some episodes, together with Jörgen Hjerdt, Pauline Wolff and Åsa Anderberg Strollo.

Was this your first experience as writer of a book to-screen adaptation?
MN: Yes, although I had been part of projects where other writers had been responsible for literary adaptations. When I was Viaplay’s VP Drama for the Nordics, I worked closely with writers/creators, not simply as an ordinary commissioning editor. I brought that experience with me to Nice Drama.

Had you read Martin Österdahl’s book ‘Ask No Mercy’? If so, what did you enjoy most about it?
MN: I liked the historical time period from the 1990s. That has always fascinated me. The world was moving towards something ‘better’ all the time. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, I was overtaken by the wind of change and new possibilities opening up. At the same time, I was wondering: does everybody want to be ‘like us’, adopt Western ideals? Perhaps not?

Martin Österdahl’s book really focuses on events at the time that helped shape the world we live in today. I tried to develop this thematic even more in the series - even if it’s only a backdrop - and let the characters reflect about it. Our naïve way of thinking in the 1990s is something that intrigued me. Then of course, the political backdrop of Russia in the 1990s and the main story about Max Anger are elegantly woven together.

How would you describe the main plot and themes of the series?
MN: The main plot is Max Anger, an ex-military who has finally found the love of his life-Pashie. But when she goes missing, and there is a suspicion that she might be a spy, he goes to St Petersburg to find her. The story becomes a deadly hunt that leads to a conspiracy that could change the whole world. At the same time, Max has to face his past. It’s both a love story and spy drama thriller.

What type of input did you get from Martin Österdahl who is an expert on Russia and himself witnessed the transformative post-soviet era in the 1990s?
MN: I first met Martin when he used to work for SVT; he is a brilliant guy and a brilliant author. He has a full respect for the adaptation process, what it means to move from one medium to another. I submitted the final shooting script to him, and he wrote a few notes back. Overall, he liked our adaptation. It was important for me to have the freedom to shape the source material the way I wanted.

How much research did you do to make the storyline as authentic as possible?
MN: Indeed, I did a lot of research on a historical point of view. It’s fun and fascinating to read about the politics at the time. I did the research mostly remotely from home-due to Covid-19. The book is also filled with valuable historical elements, and Martin himself was a great source.

What were your inspirations for the universe and visual style? Series like Moscow Noir, Chernobyl or the film Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy?
MN: I guess if you speak to the DoPs Aril Wrestblad and Eric Kress, as well as co- directors Lisa [Farzaneh] and Jesper [W. Nielsen], perhaps those were in the back of their minds. They truly did an amazing job nailing our unique visual style together, with the costume and set design departments. But my storytelling-vision was to create a forward-driven story, while at the same time creating character depth that would still touch the viewers. My priority was also to get the thriller plot understandable, interesting and suspenseful. Combining all this was a big challenge, but if I may say, I think we’ve succeeded pretty well. There is a good mix of touching drama moments and action/suspense.

How did you work in the writers’ room?
MN: We were a super team and had a great time, we built the overall storyline together and worked as a group for 4-5 months, until March 2020. After that, I continued to work with final versions and shooting scripts. Then due to the pandemic, I had to constantly do rewrites, until we started shooting.

What type of changes were necessary?
MN: We were meant to shoot in St Petersburg, but couldn’t as they shut down the border one week before we were due to travel. We went to Ukraine instead to shoot. I had to rewrite elements that would match the new location. Then actors were tested Covid-19 positive, and couldn’t be on set to shoot specific scenes, so I had to adjust the writing. We had to find cost-effective ways to do things. It was a good thing for the production that I was working in-house at Nice Drama. I was fully dedicated to the show and worked on it until last week actually…among a lot of other things, of course!

How would you describe Max Anger - in what way is he an attractive ‘hero’?
MN: He is a true human being-not a super hero. He has a childhood trauma that he tries to deal with, and was about to open up about it with Pashie, when she disappears. You understand why he’s so desperate to find her. A lot of people can connect to his flaws and insecurities. But put in a special situation, he raises to the challenge, also because as a former special-op soldier, he has special skills.

What about Pashie Kovalenko? She seems to tick all the classic boxes of a noir femme fatale…
MN: She is super cool. But again, as a Russian, she comes with her own views of the world; she is quite outspoken about East vs West, it makes her character all the more interesting.

How was your collaboration with directors Lisa Farzaneh and Jesper W. Nielsen?
MN: I was fully involved with them all along, but due to Covid, I couldn’t be on set. I sat at home, watched daily rushes and supported Lisa and Jesper, as well as the producers Jan [Marnell] and Lejla [Bešić]. Both directors came on board at the same time. They did the initial prep work together, although they had their own block of episodes to focus on [4 first for Lisa-last 4 for Jesper]. I think that was a real advantage and they did a great job.

Were you involved in the casting?
MN: Yes. As Nice Drama executive producer, I was involved in all decisions. Usually when I write, I focus only on that, then I step out of the writer’s role to wear the exec producer cap. But during the post production, I acted from both perspective at once. It is quite uncommon as head-writer to be involved in the whole process, to sit and discuss the scene structure with the composer to find the perfect score, or discuss the key element in a scene with the sound designer. It has been a true privilege. I wish all writers would have the chance to experience that!

In what way were Adam Lundgren and Evin Ahmad perfect for their roles?
MN: When I started writing as head-writer, no actor was confirmed but for me - Adam and Evin were THE ones I wanted. I wrote with their voices in my head. Adam at the beginning wasn’t so sure. But when I sent him my versions of the scripts, I think those convinced him. He is in a way the perfect actor that goes against the stereotype of the superhero or ex-military. He is a gifted actor; you can feel his inside on the outside. That’s so important for Max Anger. Plus it was an opportunity for him to take on a total different role compared to all the things he had done previously.

Regarding Evin, I’ve worked with her a long time ago and have long admired her acting talent. She is a natural star but never "takes over" the scene, she is "in" the scene.

Now she’s also having a well-deserved break with Snabba Cash. I was super happy when she said yes to us, and would love to work with her again.

Would you say that the themes of corruption, Russian espionage cyber-hacking make the series super relevant for the viewers, although it’s wrapped as a period piece?
MN: Absolutely. When I boarded the project, I felt this series should be something else - more than just another Nordic noir. Then story-wise, it was a unique opportunity to dive into those themes. This week the headlines were full of stories about the US and Denmark’s intelligence services, spying on Sweden, Norway, France and Germany. It happened then and it happens now. It would be 90´s-naive to think otherwise😉

What’s the plan with the full Max Anger franchise? Will you continue working on the next two book adaptations?
MN: I really hope so but it depends on Viaplay and TV ratings. I have to say, we’ve had a fantastic support from Viaplay's Sara Askelöf through the whole project. That has meant a lot. I have fresh ideas about how to develop the next season. Let’s see…

What else are you currently working on at Nice Drama?
MN: I have co-created with one of my writer-colleagues, an international thriller set across different continents. We have shared it with international distributors and have received overwhelming feedback. We’re working with a local platform in the Nordics and hope to get a greenlight in the fall.