Nordisk Film takes majority stake in Drive Studios

The next generation-driven Danish production house plans to expand in Norway and Germany.

Nordisk Film which first invested in Copenhagen-based Drive Studios in 2017, is now majority shareholder in the company which has evolved in recent years as a solid provider of cost-effective scripted and non-scripted content for all platforms.

Besides the kids-oriented brand Oiii produced with Nordisk Film for TV2 Denmark and TV2 Norway, so far Drive Studios has produced mostly short form young adult/drama comedies such as Xee’s football comedy Sunday, and female-driven Limboland, best short fiction series winners at the Danish TVprisen awards in 2020 and 2021 respectively.

Since 2018, the company headed by Sigurd Bæk Jensen, has also developed online content in Germany via Drive Beta, for the youth streamer “funk” and Tik Tok among others.

Commenting on its bigger stake in the company, Nordisk Film’s SVP Kenneth Wiberg said: “In a short period, Drive Studios has created innovative and impressive content and TV series and they have shown, that they can work outside Denmark as well. They are a great and innovative team, and in Nordisk Film we want to be even closer partners as they embark on their new journey of further expanding the company.”

Drive Studios’ next step is to export its concept of ‘affordable’ fiction to the German and Norwegian markets where the company already has a footprint. The company’s Head of International & Sales Jes Branhøj told nordicfilmandtvnews.com: “We have a strong back catalogue of titles with several seasons. One of the advantages for instance of our shows Being 29 or Limboland, is that they can be scaled, the titles focus less on specific locations and they are translatable and relatable both in regards to storylines and situations.”

The company is looking into recruiting Heads of Scripted in Norway and Germany to implement its ambitions in both territories. “We are looking for profiles with a good amount of scripted-experience, who are open-minded and able to think out of the box, both in regards to production and the creative processes,” stated Branhøj.

Meanwhile in Denmark, Drive Studios’ is venturing into long-form scripted and crime.

After the realistic crime short series 2 døgn (2 Days) which premiered on the Danish platform Xee on February 22, the production house is working on its first high-end drama, the eight-part series The Legend. The crime drama set in an undercover agent world is created by head-writer Adam August (Follow the Money, Darkland). The project in early development will be produced with Denmark’s Profile Pictures.