It has been a bumpy ride on the Nordic market since 2022, but the output now seems to be on the right course, according to Adam Price.

It has been a bumpy ride on the Nordic production market since 2022 for well-known reasons, but the Nordic output seems to be on the right course in terms of creativity and volume, according to Adam Price, who sat down with NFTVF for a current, honest look at the state of affairs.

Danish screenwriter, playwright, and restaurateur Adam Price is a partner in SAM Productions Aps. He has a full portfolio of scripted series under his belt, including Borgen (2008–2012), the critically acclaimed political drama series, which has been sold to more than 80 countries. He was behind Ride Upon the Storm (Herrens veje) (2017–2018), which has also been widely sold internationally. Price also wrote the Norwegian Netflix series Ragnarok (2020-), which has gained worldwide attention.

“In short, projects are being commissioned, but we are coming out of a serious slowdown, with production companies going under and film professionals losing jobs,” Price told NFTVF.

“A poignant example: These days broadcasters-streamers expect a greater financial commitment from the production company upfront. That makes a difference.”

The Nordic market was hit by a triple tackle, first a local damaging conflict over rights, then high inflation in the wake of war, followed quickly by what amounted to a Viaplay meltdown. Add to that simple market saturation.

In 2024, Price still sees less risk-taking in general. Broadcasters are commissioning less than in the golden years before 2022.

"We experience the aftermath everywhere. The boldness is gone. We were especially hit by the Danish rights crisis with Netflix - less by Viaplay's problems, which affected others. Netflix is now commissioning projects, but not the same volume as in previous years. Foreign investments are missing,” Price said, adding that the Nordic pubcasters cannot be expected to compensate with more projects than they already are.

“However, before we get too gloomy, SAM Production and others are seeing a gradual Nordic comeback on the horizon.”

SAM Productions operate out of Copenhagen and from Stockholm since late 2022, and perhaps Oslo very soon.

“We now have a decent-sized staff in Stockholm, and we are looking into establishing a permanent office in Oslo. We identify as a Nordic company, as we have just delivered three new seasons of Ragnarok, produced in Norway for Netflix. We also have Swedish feature films in our pipeline, and we expect a major TV production to start filming in Copenhagen this autumn.”

Primarily a screenwriter, Adam Price is ready to discuss genres, stories, locations, etc., and how the Nordic TV business can maintain or develop its track record of diversity in stories and characters – recently demonstrated in full at the Scandinavian Screening.

"Why not develop a Nordic sci-fi series if you can find the right story and budget? Or look in the opposite direction, such as DR’s comedy The Orchestra (Orkestret) (from SAM Productions), which could inspire good stories and characters unfolding in a relatively uncomplicated production.”

This summer, Price is working on scripts in both Danish and English, but he has trouble sharing details.

”We are in the middle of several long-term projects in various stages of development, which include new markets. A good deal of these projects are on the verge of getting a greenlight, so we are waiting for that.”

SAM is a screenwriter-based production company that creates stories for an international audience and for Danish viewers, both TV series and feature films.

Søren Sveistrup, Adam Price, Meta Louise Foldager Sørensen and STUDIOCANAL founded SAM Productions Aps in 2014.
STUDIOCANAL is a subsidiary of the CANAL+ Group.