Nordic Drama Queens strike first look deal with Sofia Helin

The deal is a major coup for the Stockholm-based production powerhouse Nordic Drama Queens, set up just over a year ago, with the backing from talent-oriented US group Fifth Season (formerly Endeavor Content).

“This type of first-look deal with a major talent is very common in the US but quite unusual in the Nordics,” emphasised Josefine Tengblad, co-founder of Nordic Drama Queens, alongside producers Sandra Harms and Line Winther Skyum Funch.

Sitting at a restaurant yesterday in London's St Pancras International - on the opening night of Content London - the three Nordic Drama Queens explained to nordicfilmandtvnews.com how and why their partnership with The Bridge's star actress came to life.

Harms who first collaborated with Helin on the HBO Max comedy show Lust about middle-aged women struggling to keep their libidos alive, said the actress approached her and her production partners, with a keen desire to tell more of those important stories, anchored in reality.

"Besides being a wonderful actress, Sofia knows how to take part in the creative process, how to encourage screenwriters to bring a common vision to fruition, and she has an eye for projects that resonate with our time," Harms commented.

"Not many actors know how to develop ideas and get invited in writers' rooms, But Sofia does have that talent," added Tengblad, who feels securing new original ideas, and building mutual trust with talent is quintessential in today's competitive scripted space.

For the moment, a feature film and a series are being developed by the four female collaborators.

READ OUR EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH SOFIA HELIN: CLICK HERE.

Next to her new partnership with Nordic Drama Queens, Helin will continue to take acting assignments with other production outfits. The marquee Swedish talent will appear early 2023 on small screens, in Viaplay’s drama Limbo and in C More/TV4’s crime series Fallen scripted by Camilla Ahlgren (The Bridge, Quicksand).

Ahlgren is also attached to Nordic Drama Queens’ first TV project Cry Wolf (Vargasommar), co-written with The Bridge creator Hans Rosenfeldt, based on his eponymous first solo novel. According to Tengblad, filming of the C More/TV4 crime show set in Haparanda, northern Sweden, is due to start in the summer 2023.

Helin is represented by PMJ Artistgruppen in Sweden, United Agents in the UK and Players Agentur Management in Germany.