TV Drama Vision - Nordic Commissioners unveil key titles, visions and challenges for 2023

Set under the overarching theme, ‘Navigating Disruption and Cultivating Talent', the two-day intense Göteborg TV Drama Vision industry event closed last Thursday, in an overall optimistic mood, thanks to the display of exciting upcoming high-end series, and the industry’s willingness to find pragmatic solutions to face the economic headwinds.

Most commissioners that took centre stage at the Stora Teatern said 2023-24 would be a time of readjustment in the paradigm shift, with many acknowledging they would invest more coin into less shows, while taking flexible approaches towards windowing.

“We are all seeing an inflation of budgets, more restrained willingness from people to take risks, less projects for money but hopefully better content,” said TV 2 Norway’s Head of Drama Alice Sommer adding: “we need to be more flexible with rights, and pragmatic with our partnerships.”

Her counterpart at NRK Marianne Furevold-Boland concurred: “These are challenging times, with high inflation, escalating costs, less projects commissioned. So let’s help each other to do smart productions, and dare to be transparent,” she suggested.

Among global streamers, Viaplay’s SVP Scripted Content Camilla Rydbacken said:” we adapt to different financing solutions, and co-productions are more important for us.”

Karin Lindström, Head of Originals, Nordics, Amazon Studios also said she is flexible regarding rights and windowing, and “happy to collaborate with local channels.” For her the earlier she can have conversations with producers regarding rights, the better.

Offering his opinion from a global distributor’s perspective, Eccho Rights’s MD Fredrik af Malmborg said that co-productions and early partnerships to help producers safeguard their rights, are the way forward to future proof the industry. He also praised the licensing versus commissioning model. “Series are either commissioned or acquired, but commissioning takes time. Now we go the acquisition route, we invest more as a producer, co-produce, then do licensing instead of commissioning,” he said.

Swedish producer Jan Blomgren, CEO at Art & Bob welcomed this option. “This new model -similar to the version of making indie films - whereby as a producer you start off with the licensing puzzle, private equity, then raise the rest through pickups, is an exciting development in the business and I hope to see more of this in the future. You have to invest more as a producer, take more risks, do packaging before getting the greenlight, but it does have advantages,” he noted.

Looking also at creative solutions from a producer’s perspective, Norwegian producer Gudny Hummelvoll of Rubicon, and president of the European Producers Club, was in favour of a cohabitation of the two models - the traditional public service-driven route and global streamers financing - “they help us make high-end shows” she underscore. But she said regulators need to negotiate with global platforms to help producers who do give away their rights, get a remuneration based on success. “Then we can all reinvest into development of new content,” she observed.

As a lobbyist, Hummelvoll also called public funders, heads of drama, to invest more in minority-co-productions.

Other speakers at TV Drama Vision, invited to outline new developments to help Nordic producers weather the financing storm, were Petri Kemppinen, CEO at Helsinki-based Aurora Studios who discussed his company’s €13.5 million Finnish Impact Film Fund (see our separate story: CLICK HERE) and Eurimages’ Alex Trăilă, who presented the Council of Europe’s upcoming Drama Series Fund.

HOT UPCOMING NORDIC SERIES
Besides the inspiring financing and production talks, TV Drama Vision was as always, a thrilling showcase to discover upcoming Nordic - and selective European - shows set to premiere in 2023 and beyond.

Here is a snapshot of the Nordic commissioners’ key upcoming titles and a summary of their strategy for 2023.

DR
Head of Fiction DR Drama Henriette Marienlund said the Danish pubcaster will invest in less dramas in 2023, around 4 shows across adult and family content.

Upcoming titles include:

• Prisoner (Huset), prison drama created by Kim Fupz Aakeson, starring Sophie Gråbøl, Daniel Dencik. Premiere August 2023.
• Season 2 Carmen Curlers, new season of the hit period drama about the Danish hair curling invention, from writer/creator Mette Heeno. Premiere fall 2023.
• Troldehjertets hemmelighed, family Christmas series for the entire family.

TV2 DENMARK
Recently appointment Head of Drama Mette Nelund said TV 2 Denmark will continue to invest heavily in drama series, with its slate set to grow from 8 shows in 2023 to 11-12 by 2025.

“We want TV 2 Play and TV 2 to tell important stories that connect us and inspire conversations about significant topics,” she said. The slate includes a mix of recurring hit series like New Nurses, Seaside Hotel, and new titles.

Nelund said TV 2’s ambition is to ramp up its co-productions with other broadcasters, notably in the crime and drama genres.

Selected upcoming series:

• DNA S2 (Bortført). Crime series starring Anders W. Berthelsen, created by Torleif Hoppe for TV2/Arte. Premiered early 2023.
• Sommerdahl Murders, new season of the crime series.
• Killjoy. YA series created by actress Emma Sehested Høgh with director Jennifer Vedsted Christiansen for Uma Film. Premiere March 26.
• Agent. Comedy about celebrity agents, created by Nikolaj Lie Kaas for Zentropa. Premiere later this year.
• Oxen. Crime drama co-written by Int’l Emmy-winning duo Mai Brostrøm and Peter Thorsboe from Jens Henrik Jensen’s eponymous book series. Premiere in 2023.
• Families Like Ours, refugee drama created and co-written by Thomas Vinterberg with Bo Hr Hansen. Produced by Zentropa. Premiere TBC.

SVT
Head of Drama Anna Croneman said the Swedish pubcaster will continue to focus on three major editorial strands: exciting and enriching series such as The Thin Blue Line, series promoting togetherness and community such as The Bonus Family, unexpected and innovative series such as Caliphate.

Upcoming shows include:

• X22, drama created by Jens Östberg. Produced by Filmlance in collaboration with Garagefilm International and Viaplay. Premiere fall 2023.
• Detective (Detektiven från Beledweyne), fish out of water crime series, produced by B-Reel Films. Written by Aaron Levander. Premiere spring 2023.
• Keeping it Together (Hålla samman), family heart-warming drama from head-writer Erik Ahrnbom, produced by Anagram. Premiere October 30, 2023.
• Painkiller, debut series of auteur filmmaker Gabriela Pichler about a mother/daughter relationship, life, class and culture clashes. Produced by Garagefilm. Premiere 2024.

C MORE/TV4
Starting in 2023, Telia’s brand C More will cease to exist. TV 4 will become the unique platform and home for content (including drama series) in Sweden, with MTV in Finland acting as home for Finnish content, explained Piodor Gustafsson, Director of Scripted Content for TV4/C More in the Nordics and Baltics. The strategic move won’t affect TV4 and MTV’s drama budgets, although “there will be more money for less shows”, and the slate of 14 series lined up for 2023, will be slimmed down in 2024,” said Gustafsson.

Selected Premium TV4/C More series coming up:

• Evil (Onskan). Drama based on Jan Guillou’s best-selling book. Written by Fredrik T. Olsson, directed by Erik Leijonborg, Daniel Di Grado for SF Studios. Premiere fall 2023.
• Estonia. Disaster drama featuring the true-life ferry tragedy of 1994. Co-production between Sweden (Kärnfilm/TV4), Finland (Fisher King/MTV), and Estonia (Amrion/Telia Estonia), with co-financing from Beta Film. Written by Miikko Oikkonen, co-directed by Måns Månsson and Juuso Syrjä. Premiere fall 2023.
• Hostage (Kapningen). Hostage drama thriller, sequel to Sthlm Requiem, based on Kristina Ohlsson’s novels. Premiere February 6, 2023 on C More.
• Top Dog 2.

NRK
Head of Drama Marianne Furevold-Boland (see our separate interview: CLICK HERE) said NRK Drama is focusing on “content that speaks to the hearts and minds and steers conversations”. Budget for drama will be reduced as part of the pubcaster’s overall savings plan.

High-end shows include:

• The Wedding Party (Heajastallan), drama comedy about a Sámi wedding turning wild. Created by Åse Katrin Vuolab for Mer Film. Premiere fall 2023.
• Power Play (Makta). Portrait of a turning point in Norway’s political history, through Labour politician Gro Harlem Brundtland’s raise to power in the 1970s. Created by Johan Fasting for Motlys and November Film. Premiere fall 2023.
• Saving the Fucking Planet (Vi lover et helvete). YA series created/written by Kristin Vestreim, Karina Lystad and Rebecca Wirkola Kjellmann for Fenomen/Rein Film.
• Dates in Real Life, drama about modern dating, created by Jakob Rørvik for Maipo Film. Premiere 2024.

TV 2 Norway
As explained to us earlier, (CLICK HERE) Head of Drama Alice Sommer said her budget for 2023 remains stable. Her and her team at Norway’s largest commercial pubcaster focus on strong local, relevance content, across crime, suspense, drama and comedy.

Upcoming slate includes:

• The Party Bus (Russbussen), written by Miriam Larsen. Produced by The Oslo Company. Premiered January 26 on TV 2 Play.
• Crypto Kings (Krypto Kings). Comedy written by Vegard Thomassen, Kim Sett Johnsen, Morten Christensen, Mattis Jevne for Feelgood. Premiere February 2023.
• Escaping Bolivia (Flukten fra Bolivia). Crime drama inspired by true events. Created and co-written by Emilie Beck, with Helena Nielsen, produced by 4 1/2 and Fremantle. Premiere 2024 (TBC).
• E14-Unit for Special Intel. Spy thriller set during the Balkan conflict in the 1990s. Created by head-writer Sebastian Torngren Wartin. Produced by Rubicon. Premiere 2024.
• The Adrenalist (Smugleren). Gangster drama based on a true story, set in the 1920s. Created/directed by Pål Sletaune for True Content Production Norway. Premiere TBA.

Yle
Budget for drama is stable, with the platform Yle Areena driving the Yle output, according to Head of Drama Jarmo Lampela. The Finnish pubcaster orders around 4 flagship series a year - mostly international co-productions, next to fully-financed domestic dramas, romcoms and a few comedies.

Selected upcoming series:

• 66 North Precinct (Pohjooisen Tähti). Character-led crime series set in Lapland. Created by Olli Haikka and Timo Varpio for Yellow Film & TV. Premiere March 2023.
• Hormones! Comedy from showrunner Johanna Vuoksenmaa for Dionysos Films. Premiere fall 2023.
• Ride Out: High-octane drama set in the world of motorcycle Grand-Prix road racing in the 1970s. Created by Sami Keski-Vähälä. Premiere 2024.

Elisa Viihde

Chief Content Officer Ani Korpela said Elisa’s strategy for 2023 is to order 7-8 series, a mix of 100% financed series and international co-productions for the global market. Recent hits for the major platform covering Finland and the Baltics include Summer of Sorrow produced by Rabbit Films.

Selected upcoming series:

• Evilside. Crime series directed by Jussi Hiltunen for Whatever Group, and Handmade Films in Norwegian Woods. Premiere in the fall 2023.
• Arctic Circle S3. Returning season of one of Elisa Viihde’s biggest successes. Produced by Yellow film & TV.

Viaplay
Camilla Rydbacken, Viaplay SVP Scripted Content said the sustained ambition of the Nordic-based global streamer is to offer a broad slate of at least 70 Viaplay Original series and films, not only from the Nordics but also from its markets including the Netherlands, The Uk and Poland among others.

Rydbacken unveiled exclusive clips from Hans Rosenfeldt’s TV adaptation of Astrid Lindgren’s classic, Ronja The Robber’s Daughter, which became the most buzzed about show among Swedish TV delegates in Göteborg. Shooting is half way through.

Other selected upcoming series include:

• The Architect. Norwegian series selected for the Berlinale Series competition. The futuristic dark satire about the housing crisis, was co-written by Nora Landsrød and Kristian Kilde for Nordisk Film Production.
• Thunder in My Heart S2. Created and starring Amy Deasismont for B-Reel Films. Premiere in 2023.

Commenting on this year's TV Drama Vision, organiser Cia Edström said: "We were amazed by the huge interest to attend onsite after the pandemic and it was fantastic to be back with a full scale conference at Stora Teatern.

Our aim for the content will continue to be to present the best series and creative talent in the region, with a European outlook and to spotlight the most relevant global trends and topics together with the Industry."