C More Commissions Spy Thriller Based on Jan Guillou’s Hamilton Books

STOCKHOLM: The Swedish commercial broadcaster TV4’s SVOD service C More has made a two-season commitment to a spy thriller series based on Swedish author Jan Guillou’s best-selling Hamilton books.

A co-production between IRLC and Dramacorp, the series is planned to go into production at the end of next year. Petter S. Rosenlund, head writer of NRK’s hit The Heavy Water War (Saboteurs in the U.K.), is confirmed as head writer. An international writers’ room is currently being set up.

Dramacorp and IRLC are in discussions with additional international broadcast and co-production partners on the series, which is a reboot of Scandinavia’s most successful literary property ever, selling more than 10 million copies over the years.

Dramacorp’s Patrick Nebout, whose recent credits include the Franco-Swedish hit thriller Midnight Sun for SVT and Canal+, will executive produce the series together with Mia Sohlman, who recently produced SVT’s political thriller Blue Eyes.

Josefine Tengblad, the head of drama at CMore and TV4, said: “We’ve been looking for a strong local production with international potential for quite a while now, and with Hamilton, we really feel that we found what we’ve been waiting for. It’s one of the strongest brands in the Nordic countries with a main character that the audience loves. The story also has a theme that shines light on what is going on in our world today.”

Nebout noted: “There’s a good reason why the Hamilton books are the most popular spy thrillers in Nordic history: they’re inspired works of storytelling. Guillou writes with authority and authenticity, offering escapism that, unlike the James Bond end of the spy-thriller spectrum, is also totally and terrifyingly believable. Given Hamilton’s Swedish provenance, we’re thrilled to have C More and TV4 come on board as our first broadcast partner. But although these stories have their roots in northern Europe, they deal with themes—surveillance, paranoia, deception, the abuse and misuse of power for personal and financial agendas, and the very concrete and collateral effects those have on individuals—that sadly know no borders in our chaotic, connected world.”

Jens Alex, the managing director of IRLC, added: “IRLC has in a short period of time originated and acquired strong brands such as Hamilton, the hit-series Crimes of Passion and latest, The Great Century. We’re excited to team up with Dramacorp and TV4 for this high-concept reboot of such an iconic character and story as Hamilton.”