US actor and Bruce Springsteen guitarist Steven van Zandt (pictured) put Norway way up on media and broadcasters' radar on Monday when he praised the innovative Norwegian mobster dramedy Lilyhammer, on which he has an acting and co-writing credit. The series produced by Rubicon for NRK, with support from Nordisk Film & TV Fond was just picked up by Netflix for US, Canadian and Latin American distribution.

Lilyhammer will be the flagship programme for the VoD provider which has over 25 million viewers in North and Latin America. The acquisition is part of the US group's new push for more original TV content and will be launched in America simultaneously as on NRK, early 2012.

In the 8x45' TV series Steve van Zandt plays Frank ‘the fixer' Tagliano who testified against his mafia boss and is sent to Lillehammer as part of an FBI witness protection programme. In the former Winter Olympic Games city, Frank tries to buy himself a new conduct, but starts to ‘corrupt the incorruptible Norwegians', as explained by The Sopranos star.

Van Zandt who was first approached by Rubicon when on a rock ‘n' roll tour in Bergen three years ago, immediately fell in love with Lilyhammer's clash of cultures concept and spent a year developing the script with Norwegian co-writers Anne Bjornstad and Eilif Skodvin. They worked hard on finding the right English and Norwegian language mix, on making it a true character and plot-driven dramedy. Most importantly, they decided to keep it deeply rooted into Norwegian culture and landscape. "From day one I knew the series would travel because of its innovative concept. But I strongly believed in making it as Norwegian as possible." Something very personal and small often ends up being universal," observes Van Zandt."

Lasse Hallberg, head of Rubicon who also insisted on making Lilyhammer a local product in original language said the endorsement of US subscription Video on demand service Netflix confirmed his own belief in Lilyhammer's international potential. He felt the groundbreaking deal prior to the series' airing on domestic television, would help to boost Norwegian drama across the Atlantic.

At MIPCOM, the series was being actively promoted by sales company SevenOne International. "This kind of ‘fish out of the water' programme is what people want," asserted the company's managing director Jens Richter.

As for The Sopranos star who felt great pride in working with a top class Norwegian cast with' no diva attitude', he said he was looking forward to Lilyhammer's second season..." only if there is more sex and named women", he said with a wicked smile.