Per-Olav Sørensen on The Global Ensemble Drama’s Nordic - UK expansion

Three years and a half after the launch of Oslo-based The Global Ensemble Drama (TGED), veteran writer/director/producer Per-Olav Sørensen (Quicksand, The Playlist, Nobel), has doubled his staff and widened the Norwegian production outfit’s footprint with new offices in Sweden, Denmark and the UK.

Next to Sørensen, CCO and director, high-profile Nordic executives joining TGED include the new CEO Petter Testman-Koch, former CEO at Fremantle Norway and producer of NRK’s smash hit Exit who replaces Janne Hjeltnes, now COO and producer at TGED.

Former Netflix executives Nathalie Laurent-Marke (in charge of local language comedy specials EMEA/India for the global streamer) is now TGED’s Head of Int’l Co-production, based in London, while Shajan Kozegary who was creative executive-Nordic Films at Netflix takes on the duties of Head of TGED's Swedish office and producer.

Heading the Danish office is Anne Borgaard Sørensen, former executive producer Viaplay Originals in Denmark who will also produce for TGED.
Other new recruits take in Eleonore Anselme, former producer at Hummelfilm, and line producer Kristian Nissen.

The Global Ensemble Drama which produces films, series and documentaries is part of The Global Ensemble (https://globalensemble.com) talent-led group with sister companies Global Ensemble Talent Management, The Global Ensemble Theatre, Scope Global and Immaterial Literary Agency.

After the recent launch of the Netflix show A Storm for Christmas and the two Royalteen movies, TGED is currently filming for the global streamer the series Midsummer Night, starring Pernilla August, Dennis Storhøi, Amalia Holm, Sofia Tjelta among others. The series is created, and directed by Sørensen, who serves as co-writer with Sofie Forsman (Barracuda Queens, Young Royals), Tove Forsman (Barracuda Queens, Young Royals) and Anna Fredrikke Bjerke (Gemini).

We spoke to Per-Olav Sørensen.

What convinced you to expand outside of Norway, and how do you intend to use your new offices in Sweden, Denmark and the UK to develop and produce premium content for the local and Int'l markets?
Per-Olav Sørensen: Since producing film and TV drama is already an international and global industry, and we always do international collaborations, we think this is a natural step for us. Several of our projects already have an international set up and our new offices in Sweden, Denmark and UK will only add human resources and increase the competence in our team.

So far at TGED, you've delivered mostly youth-oriented shows and drama comedies for Netflix. Going forward, will you widen your slate to different genres/formats and for different broadcasters/platforms and how?
POS: This is partly true, since two films in the Royalteen sequel were made back-to-back. But both A Storm for Christmas and Midsummer Night are drama series for a broader audience. The producers in our team are mostly known for other genres and bigger drama productions. Our slate will change, but we will always be open to good projects in any genre.

How many series/films do you plan to deliver each year for the various markets, including international co-productions?
POS: Nobody can plan this for sure. But by increasing our team as we do now, we are getting ready for a bigger workload as well. So, let's see what the next few years bring.

You work closely with the literary agency IMMA run by Trude Kollas. So far have you collaborated on any projects?
POS: We will develop this collaboration in the years to come, so we do not have all the details yet. But of course, TGED as a production company wants to be in the loop when a new and interesting IP suddenly shows up. For us, it's part of keeping track of both talent and stories.

Your company is talent-driven and your sister company Global Ensemble Talent Management (GETM) handles over 100 talents. What views to do have on the current actors and writers' strike in Hollywood and the main issues on the table regarding residuals and AI?
POS: The Global Ensemble Drama and GETM are two independent limited companies, where GETM's main job is to take care of, manage and work for their talents both locally, in the Nordic region and internationally. The Global Ensemble Drama works with talent from all over the world, represented by several managements and agents. But it is hard to compare the business in Hollywood, and the business in the Nordics for instance. In the US, the film workers do not have the social security system as we have in the Nordics, neither are actors on contracts with state owned theatres. On the other hand, we have totally new challenges linked to global streaming and AI. Hopefully the strike will give birth to new guidelines for both residuals and AI.

Is the strike affecting your plans to work on English-language projects?
POS: Yes, the strike does affect some of our projects. No reason to deny this. We all hope for a solution on the strike as soon as possible. But we really do not think the strike will gain the Nordic market at all.

Do you continue to work for other indie production companies, the way you did with Yellow Bird UK on The Playlist?
POS: As long as we have good projects at TGED, I am happy to direct for the company. But yes, I am also open for other projects. Again, let's see what happens in the next couple of years.

The Nordic film and series industry is experiencing financial headwinds, both in the public and private sector, as seen most recently with Viaplay's drastic cut down of its global expansion and scripted content creation. For you what are the best ways to stay afloat and keep attracting top talents, partners and audiences?
POS: We have had a drama boom partly because of a streaming service revolution. Then we had a pandemic, and now we are in the middle of a war in Europe. Of course, the market will change, and the dynamics between who will invest, and who will cut, will be unpredictable for a good while longer. But one thing has changed for good. We all know local shows like Squid Game, La casa de Papel or Troll can reach a vast global audience.

Local shows and talents are a much bigger part of the industry now, compared with only a few years ago. But of course, the powerful US and UK film and TV industry, will do their best to regain market shares. In both scenarios we have found it wise to strengthen our team.

What films and series do you have in development, production or in post-production?
POS: We are filming the drama series Midsummer Night for Netflix as we speak, and we are in development with TV2, NRK, Netflix, Universal, Scanbox and projects linked to the Norwegian Film Institute. We are also in development with Viaplay on a drama series, but due to Viaplay's cuts we are not sure where this project will find its home in the end. Hopefully it will stay at Viaplay if they decide to continue their drama production. In any case, we aim at producing two films and two drama series in 2024. But as we all know, things might change.


Photo caption:
The Global Ensemble Drama, back row from left; Per-Olav Sørensen (CCO/Director), Kristin Hellebust (Business advisor/Board Member), Mai Kristiansen (Office Manager/Controller), Hadrien Josse (CFO), Magnus Ramsdalen (Producer), Anne Borggård Sørensen (Managing Director Denmark/Producer), Kristian Nissen (Line Producer), Nathalie Laurent-Marke (Head of International Co-Productions) and Anne Helene Mortensen (Chair of the Board). Front row, from left; Shajan Kozegary (Managing Director Sweden/Producer), Carmen Gloria Perez (CCO’s Assistant/Controller), Trude Kolaas (CEO at IMMA Literary Agency), Janne Hjeltnes (current CEO, to be COO), Ingrid Skagestad (Producer), Eleonore Anselme (Producer), and Petter Testman-Koch (CEO, boarding fall 2023).